aviation - the past, present and future of flight

N

orth American F-100 Super

Sabres served with the Royal

Danish Air Force (RDAF –

Kongelige Danske Flyvevåben)

for 22 years from May 1959 to August 1982.

Seventeen F-100D single seaters and three

F-100F two seaters had  rst been offered

in March 1958 by the USA, as part of a

Military Assistance Program (MAP), with

the Danes accepting two months later.

Eskadrille 727, based at Karup, was the

 rst unit to receive the aircraft, replacing its

Republic F-84G Thunderjets.

Prior to the arrival of the  rst F-100s  ve

RDAF pilots were converted to the aircraft

at Nellis AFB under the command of Flight

Lt (later Major) F T Petersen. They returned

to join Esk 727 and were responsible for

training Republic F-84G pilots to  y the new

advanced, heavy, and not very forgiving

airplane. Two USAF pilots also took part

in the conversion. In September 1959 the

squadron was declared operational with

three F-100Fs and 17 F-100Ds.

Orders for more F-100s were placed by

Denmark in 1960 under the MAP scheme

and 31 F-100Ds and seven TF-100Fs (the

two-seater) were delivered, replacing the

F-84Gs of Eskadrilles 725 and 730 based at

Karup and Skrydstrup respectively. Ground

attack, close air support (CAS) was the

primary mission of the aircraft, often referred

to as the Hun, a shortened version of one

hundred. In USAF service, the aircraft could

deliver a nuclear bomb, but it did not have

this role with the RDAF.

TROUBLESOME TIMES

The F-100 was well regarded by the pilots

who  ew it; despite the fact it had a high

accident rate in Danish service.

General Christian Hvidt amassed

1,000hrs on the type with Esk 725 at Karup

between January 1963 and December 1969,

he explained: “It was a very stable platform

at low level and performed the  ghter-

bomber role very well; [it was] rather easy to

handle and a very nice aircraft for formation

 ying.” However, it was unforgiving if you

failed to pay attention to its idiosyncrasies.

“The main challenge was adverse yaw at a

high angle of attack, hard manoeuvring or

tight  nal turns. This aircraft needed a fair

amount of rudder during these manoeuvres,

and unfortunately, quite a few pilots lost

control and some also their lives, when not

following the correct handling procedures.

“The F-100 did not have a good safety

record in Royal Danish Air Force service. The

main reason being the challenge of  ying

low-level,  ghter-bomber attack missions

in Northern Europe, and handling the

peculiarities mentioned, as well as a period of

several engine failures, which is obviously a

terrible problem with a single-engine aircraft.”

DANISH SUPER SABRES

F-100s ON THE FRONT LINE

The F-100 is remembered with affection by Danish pilots, despite the fact it

had a high accident rate. Doug Gordon fi nds out what the attraction was.

78 Aviation News incorporating Jets September 2018

Above: North American TF-100F Super

Sabre, GT-874, of Esk 730  ying over the

Baltic Sea. Latterly, the F-100’s mission

became focussed on preparing and training

to counter an invasion from offshore.

Flyvevåbnets Historiske Samling

Aircraft, GT-949, of Esk 730 at RAF Wattisham on a very wet open day in August 1981.

all RDAF F-100s were adorned in a dark green colour from the early 1970s. Doug Gordon