The Super Sabre was always considered a
‘hot ship’ and it certainly looked the part with
its clean lines and swept-back wings. The pilot
sat on an ejection seat under a one-piece
clamshell-type cockpit canopy. External view
was generally good, although somewhat
restricted in the forward direction by the long
nose for take-o and landing. Conventional
stick and rudder pedals connected to the
control surfaces through an arti cial feel
The need for speed
The F-100 was the world’s rst level-supersonic military aircraft, preceding the Soviet Union’s
MiG-19 into the air by several months. Test pilot Pete Everest took the world air speed record
on 29 October 1953, pushing 52-5754 to 755mph at very low altitude over the Salton Sea
in California. This record lasted until 20 August 1955 when Horace Hanes took a F-100C to
822.1mph, guaranteeing the Super Sabre’s reputation as a ‘hotship’ of the 1950s.system. The stick grip mounted the bomb
release, the gun trigger and nosewheel
steering button. The fuselage was of metal
stressed-skin construction using mainly
aluminium but with signi cant amounts
of titanium in the rear (hot) section. Three
fuselage-mounted fuel tanks contained the
total internal fuel load on the F-100A, although
supplemented by additional fuel cells in the
‘wet’ wing of the F-100C onwards.
The Super Sabre can be considered as
having come of age with the F-100C, this
variant proving well-suited to the air-ground
role. However, more than half the 2,294 SuperSabres of all variants produced were the later
D models, and it was this variant that saw most
service in Vietnam and with NATO air forces
in Europe. The F-100D’s design incorporated
an increase in n height, aps inboard of the
ailerons which gave rise to a ‘kinked’ trailing
edge, and outboard wing fences.
The F-100’s real period of active service
came in South-east Asia, the type’s
involvement starting in May 1962. US forces
were soon heavily involved in Vietnam; in
February 1965 the US President authorised a
series of air strikes against military targets in
North Vietnam. This was the start of Operation
‘Rolling Thunder’, a sustained bombing
campaign in which F-100s would gure
prominently. Over the years of operation in
Vietnam, the F-100 eet was worked hard and
as a result su ered signi cant losses – 198 in
combat and 44 to other operational causes.
Eventually time caught up with the Super
Sabre, but its place in aviation history as a
‘speed merchant’ is assured.Above: ‘You owe me two beers’. Test pilot George
Welch took the YF-100 prototype supersonic on
its rst ight, thereby winning a bet with his F-86
chase plane pilot.
Right: On 29 October 1953, Lt Col F.K. ‘Pete’
Everest ew the YF-100, 52-5754, to a new world
speed record of 755mph at low level over the
Salton Sea in California.
Left: Super Sabre record-setter Col Horace A.
Hanes ew an F-100C to 822mph at 35,000ft over
the Mojave Desert on 20 August 1955.