From Republic To Republic

1/48 Turkish F-84's

by (Ozkan Turker, Ahmet Donmez, Tolga Ulgur)

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  Republic Day in Turkey 2006 

 

The brain child of Alexander Kartveli, Republic’s straight wing F-84 had become obsolete by the time problems with the airframe and powerplant were solved. However, new developments, such as the company’s swept wing F-84F, had its own problems.  Linking with the need for a fighter-bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons, led the USAF to  press the F-84G “Thunderjet” into service as an interim fighter, which eventually ended  up with greater production figures than any other variant.  

The F-84G saw service with almost every NATO Air Force, Germany and UK being  the only non-operators.

Deliveries to the TuAF started in 1952.  The first batch came from the USA and when other NATO countries received other types in the mid fifties, another 120 aircraft were delivered to Turkey, eventually totalling nearly 480! 

Besides tremendous losses, many  had to be withdrawn by 1960 as the airframes reached their operational life. Nevertheless, over 200 aircraft remained in service. The last units were withdrawn by 1966 while serving alongside with F-5A’s  in western Turkey.  

Of the two F-84G models depicted here, one is 51-10995 of the 183 “Akrep” (Scorpion) Filo Jet Training Air Group at Eskisehir Air Base. Delivered in March 1953, this ex-USAF machine crashed in 1959 with the loss of the pilot.  

The new generation Revell kit is a pleasure to build. It is molded in light blue plastic with engraved panel lines. A small  photo etched fret;  contains  boarding ladder, airbrake and  buckles for seat comes with the kit. It is painted with a mixture of alclad paints and Tamiya enamels. Decals are a mixture of kit-supplied stencils (very few kept during operational life), custom-made numbers and scorpion nose art. It should be noted that all national insignias for all four models came from the superb decal sheet  by Turquoise Decals.  Model by Ahmet Donmez.  

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Another F-84G, 51-943 is also an ex-USAF machine, serving with TuAF for almost eight  years; it was withdrawn from service by early 1960.   

It’s a Tamiya wonder.  Engraved panel lines, fine engineering, usual Tamiya stuff.  It is much easier to build and produces a flawless outcome. NMF is  with Alclad.  Numbers are both custom-made decals and Carpena Decals Sheet. Model by Tolga Ulgur.

Though both are superb models, our humble opinion is that the Revell undertaking is more successful at capturing the sleek lines of the Thunderjet. Again, this is only a “feeling”, and no thorough research or painstaking calculations have been made whatsoever.

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 Realizing the potential of swept-wing design, the Kartveli team started to design their own, although not without problems, of course! Although the first roll-out  was in 1952, the entire F-84F program was haunted throughout its production by the untested bigger and more powerful J65 engine, problems with the hydraulic and electrical systems, and production tool diversions to other, much-needed projects. Nevertheless, of the roughly 2,400 aircraft produced by Republic, 852 were destined  for MAP sales. None of these new machines were earmarked for the Turkish Air Force. Between 1959 and 1962, TuAF received hand-me-down F-84F’s from the French Air Force. When the German Air Force decided to replace its F-84F fleet with F-104G’s, 165 of this type together with  ex-Dutch Air Force machines were refurbished to F-84Q Standard (Martin Baker ejection seat and Standard NATO camouflage: ocean grey/dark green upper surfaces with medium grey undersides) and delivered to TuAF between 1964 and 1966. 

Almost 300 examples in both versions were received. The last operational unit was replaced with North American F-100C’s in 1972. The type was put in reserve and eventually withdrawn from service in 1980. During their operational career, F-84F/Q’s were extensively used as interceptors and flew armed CAP missions over Turkey’s  eastern border. Repeated harassments and border intrusions by the Iraqi military aircraft resulted in being shot down by TuAF  F-84Fs in August 1962.  

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The modeled F-84F is an ex-French machine. This is a typical mid-1980’s Monogram kit by every standard, with raised panel lines, a detailed cockpit and wheel bays. Though its construction may deplete a few years from a happy adult life, results are pleasing. Humbrol metal cote was used for the metal finish.  Numbers are custom made, with stencils from spares box and national insignias from Turquoise, as usual. Model by Ozkan Turker.  

Here comes the last of the breed: RF-84F. Based on experiences during the Korean War, the need for a high-speed photo reconnaissance platform evolved in this sleek and somewhat elegant machine with the most bombastic name of all:  “Thunderflash”! Determined not to leave photo-recon pilots unarmed, four .50 calibre machine guns were mounted under intakes on the wing root. Flight systems, engine, canopy and landing gear were the from F-84F series; the RF-84F was capable of carrying six cameras in a slender nose. 

To enhance TuAF’s reconnaissance capability, 46 RF-84F’s were delivered via MAP between 1956-58 to replace RT-33A’s. As records are a bit vague here, more were to follow during 1963-64 from various NATO allies. This type was phased out in favour of RF-5A’s in the mid-seventies, with the last  examples withdrawn by 1980.  

This RF-84F, “51-1850”, an ex-USAF machine, belonged to 184. Filo “Squadron” during the late 1950s. Withdrawn from service by 1960, however, the RF-84Fs of 184. Filo were the first TuAF aircraft to see action on the morning of 21 July 1974 over Cyprus. Type withdrawn completely by 1980. 

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Model: unfortunately a Heller venture from the early 80’s.  Believe me, I really tried hard to say something nice about this kit, but to no avail….raised panel lines, a one-piece canopy (which is good, because there is nothing to be found underneath), simplified landing gears, etc.  Some scratch details  for cameras  and a photoetched set from Reheat helped a bit. It is very difficult to add weight to the nose, as there is virtually no space available here due to extensive glazing, To make things more complicated, the nose  rests on a clinically weak landing gear.  

Scorpion nose art provides possibly an unofficial squadron badge, and it is evidently not carried by all planes of the outfit. This is a two-player game:  construction by Ahmet Donmez, painting and decaling by Ozkan Turker with Humbrol metal cote. Tactical numbers and nose art are custom made as other models on this page.   

It seems defence duties for Turkish Aerospace rested extensively on one brand. During a roughly thirty year span, an amazing total of nearly 900 Republic jets served  in the Turkish Air Force. It seems to be a durable product you can rely on…. Today, many surviving examples—none airworthy although reasonably well preserved—can be seen in Aviation Museums in Turkey.  

Happy Modelling  

Ahmet www.ozkanturker.com

Photos and text © by Ozkan Turker, Ahmet Donmez, Tolga Ulgur