There is something quaint about an airplane that doesn’t just carry the newest technology, but stories of men who constructed it, flew it, and now maintain it. One such aircraft is the North American F-100 Super Sabre. The first US. Air Force fighter plane to fly supersonic in level flight, not only shattered the speed record, but it also changed the art of flight.
George S. Welch test-fl ew the first YF-100A on May 25, 1953, at Edwards Air Force Base, Mach 1.03 break. It was an engineering wonder and not a token of American will and American technical prowess in the context of an unfriendly Cold War, when technological superiority meant more than anything else.
Nickname “The Hun,” the F-100 began the classic “Century Series” aircraft of the 1950s and ’60s. Swept wing, needle-nosed fuselage, and powered by its mighty Pratt & Whitney J57, it flew to Mach 1.4 speeds and consumed terrain that made it a terror to behold on the battlefield. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum states that the F-100 established the standard by which the performance of supersonic flight was measured.
But statistics and facts only reveal half the Super Sabre story. Throughout its career, the aircraft were reconfigured from high-speed fighter interceptors to behind-the-scenes workhorse close air support craft. The C and D models, employed in close air support, served a crucial role in the early part of the Vietnam War, having flown more combat sorties than any other fighter aircraft in the inventory.
MAPS Air Museum board member and former F-100 pilot Ken Ramsay placed the service record of the plane into perspective by tens of thousands of them, “a genuine backbone of the skies in a critical period.”
The F-100 didn’t so much fly into the air. Early test flight aircraft were plagued with hellish stability issues, which caused them to crash, such as the notorious “Sabre Dance,” a rolling characteristic that would roll the aircraft out of control. Test pilots such as Barty Ray Brooks, George S. Welch, and Geoffrey Dalton Stephenson pushed the jet to the brink of damnation. Their courage was rewarded in design tweaks that were added, such as yaw and pitch dampers, which brought the plane to specification so that it was safer and more dependable for whoever came next after them.
It’s not so much how the F-100 is made or how fast it can go, that’s just so amazing—although both are amazing. It’s the endearing culture that has been developed around it. Dozens of hours are invested by volunteers, collectors, mechanics, and pilots in the restoration and upkeep of the aircraft. In an installation such as the Iowa Air National Guard base at Sioux City, the old timers pass on their knowledge to the young mechanics, and each aircraft is a history full of the pilots who had flown them and the mechanics who had worked on them.
Other museums, such as the Fort Worth Aviation Museum and MAPS Air Museum in Ohio, include the history of the Super Sabre. Not only is the aircraft preserved, but also the history of what happened behind it. Exhibited are artifacts, personal belongings, and pilot and flight crew histories, such as Medal of Honor recipient Colonel George “Bud” Day’s personal effects and Thunderbirds demonstration aircraft, so that people can connect with the human side of air history.
Restoration itself is a product of stubbornness and technical ability. Mojave Desert restoration of F-100 tail N418FS is one beautiful example of it. Planning, high-quality equipment, and consultation with veterans, engineers, and volunteers were all on the agenda. Their achievement will surely make the airplane an inspiration, not a sitting monument, but a flying tribute to stubbornness and perseverance.
To line pilots and line men, the F-100 is more than sheet metal and rivets—it is a friend. The love for the airplane still lingers in Ken Ramsay’s memory: sensitivity of control, thrill of low flying, and esprit of the flightline. To restoration crews, each second of bringing a fighter back to life is a testament to belief in history and love for those who wrote its history.
The F-100 Super Sabre is history, not speed or power. It’s a tale bigger than brilliance, bigger than honor, and bigger than men’s devotion to flying into the unknown. In museum displays, restored aircraft, and personal memoirs, “The Hun” takes to the skies—less so in the air, but in the breasts of all living its entire history.