North American Aviation F-100D "Super Sabre"

The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of Air Force jet fighters, it was the first Air Force fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. The F-100 was originally designed by North American Aviation as a higher performance follow-on to the F-86 Sabre air superiority fighter. The F-100 flew extensively over South Vietnam as the Air Force's primary close air support jet. In its later life, it was often referred to as "the Hun," a shortened version of "one hundred." The first F-100D (54-2121) flew on 24 January 1956 and entered service on 29 September 1956. On 16 April 1961 six Super Sabres were deployed from Clark Air Base in the Philippines to Don Muang Airfield in Thailand for air defense purposes; the first F-100s to enter combat in Southeast Asia. From that date until their redeployment in 1971, the F-100s would be the longest serving U.S. jet fighter-bomber to fight in the Vietnam War. Signed and Numbered by the Artist. See More...