7/26/2023 0 Comments Thunderbird plane modelThe first Thunderbird painted F-16 arrived at Nellis AFB, Nevada on June 22nd, 1982. The F-16 had been considered as a replacement long before the diamond crash. Instead the unit took the time to convert to a new aircraft type.Īs a replacement for the T-38A the Thunderbirds were given the F-16A/B block 15. As a result of this tragic loss, no shows were flown by the Thunderbirds during the 1982 season. The infamous "Diamond Crash" happened with the T-38 during a practice flight on January 18th, 1982 in which the entire team flew into the range. In its place, the T-38A was chosen which was smaller and not as noisy, but did use far less fuel and required less maintenance. The F-4E was dropped due to the energy crisis in the early 70's. The F-4E was a powerful aircraft and a crowd pleaser. The 1969 season saw the first of Thunderbirds with the F-4E. To save the season the team quickly converted back to the F-100 'Super Sabre' but this time flew the D model. In 1963 the Thunderbirds converted to the F-105B 'Thunderchief' for a short while only as an accident grounded the team. In 1958 the Thunderbirds where awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Thunderbirds moved to their current home at Nellis AFB, Nevada. During the F-100 conversion also brought a new home base. Following the 'Thunderstreak' was the F-100C which was a supersonic aircraft. The Thunderbirds first major show took place over the days of September 5-7th, 1953 at the Dayton air show in Ohio.įor the 1955 season, the Thunderbirds converted to the F-84F 'Thunderstreak' which was a swept wing version of the F-84G. Even before the squadron was officially recognized, they had been practicing for weeks. The first show took place only a week after the inception date of the squadron on June 8th, 1953 at its home base Luke before a small crowd. The first team was handpicked from Luke AFB only and flew the F-84G. As is still used today, the name chosen was Thunderbirds. Having no name, a contest was held at Luke AFB in June of 1953 to select a name. At the time, the unit had not been named and was officially known as the 3600th Air Demonstration Squadron. Inception of the Air Demonstration Squadron (ADS) was on June 1st, 1953 at Luke AFB, Arizona.
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