Republic F-84 Thunderjet Fighter Family

The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was a straight-wing, single-engine American jet fighter family that carried the Army Air Forces into the postwar era. Its XP-84 prototype first flew in 1946, and the production line developed through day-fighter, long-range escort, fighter-bomber, and reconnaissance forms, including the swept-wing Thunderstreak and Thunderflash derivatives. More than seven thousand F-84-series aircraft served the United States and allied air forces, making the family a major bridge between wartime piston fighters and Cold War jet operations.