 | Misawa 1959 F-86 Sabre Misawa Air Base (三沢飛行場, Misawa Hikōjō?) (IATA: MSJ, ICAO: RJSM) is a United States air base located on the northeastern shores of Honshū, in the city of Misawa in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku Region of Japan. The base is home to 5,200 US military personnel, as well as 350 US civilian employees and 900 Japanese national employees. Misawa is the only combined, joint service installation in the western Pacific. It houses all four US military services (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines) as well as the Japan Air Self Defense Force. Misawa also has scheduled civilian flights operated by Japan Airlines to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Osaka International Airport (Itami) and New Chitose Airport, making it one of the few joint civilian-military airports in the U.S. defense grid. The Misawa Passive Radio Frequency space surveillance site is used for tracking satellites using the signals they transmit. It also provides coverage of geosynchronous satellites using the Deep Space Tracking System (DSTS). It is one of the largest ECHELON ground stations.The American occupation of Misawa began in September 1945. Later, Army engineers restored the base for future use by the United States Army Air Forces. During the Korean War and Vietnam War Misawa supported fighter missions. The base was the launching point for clandestine surveillance overflights into China and the USSR during the 1950s. Misawa's fighters departed in 1972. In 1983 it was a major deployment site for rescue and recovery operations, following the downing of Korean Air Flight 007. On July 4, 1985, fighters returned to Misawa.The North American F-86 Sabre (sometimes called the Sabrejet) was a transonic combat aircraft developed for the US Air Force. The F-86 was developed in the 1940s following the end of World War II and was one of the most-produced western jet fighters in the Cold War era.By the end of hostilities, F-86 pilots claimed to have shot down 792 MiGs for a loss of only 76 Sabres, a victory ratio of 10 to 1 (but now appears to be closer to 4 to 1 with postwar totals offically credited by the USAF at 379 kills for 103 Sabres lost). Nonetheless, in the hands of skillful pilots, the Sabre's kill ratio over the MiG-15 was impressive. Of the 40 pilots to earn the designation of "ace" (five or more kills) during the Korean war, all but one flew the F-86 Sabre.The F-86 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1949, joining the 1st Fighter Wing's 94th Fighter Squadron "Hat-in-the-Ring" and became the primary air-to-air jet fighter used in the Korean War. With the introduction of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 into air combat in November 1950, in which it out-performed all aircraft then assigned to the United Nations, three squadrons of F-86s were rushed to the Far East in December. The F-86 could out turn and out dive the MiG-15, but the MiG-15 was slightly superior to the F-86 in ceiling, acceleration, rate of climb, and zoom (until the introduction of the F-86F in 1953)and flown from bases in Manchuria by Soviet VVS pilots, was pitted against two squadrons of the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing forward-based at K-14, Kimpo, Korea. * Crew: 1 * Length: 37 ft 6 in (11.4 m) * Wingspan: 37 ft 1 in (11.3 m) * Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.5 m) * Wing area: ft² (m²) * Empty weight: lb (kg) * Loaded weight: 13,791 lb (6,300 kg) * Powerplant: 1× General Electric J47 turbojet, 5,200 lbf (24 kN) * Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0132 * Drag area: 3.8 ft² (0.35 m²) * Aspect ratio: 4.78 * Maximum speed: 685 mph (595 knots, 1,100 km/h) * Range: 1,200 mi (1,000 nm, 1,900 km) * Service ceiling: 49,000 ft (14,900 m) * Rate of climb: 7,250 ft/min (36.8 m/s) * Thrust/weight: 0.38 * Lift-to-drag ratio: 15.1 * Time to altitude: 6.3 min to 30,000 ft (9,145 m) (C)Steve conley |
 | Misawa 1959 F-100 Super Sabre Misawa Air Base (三沢飛行場, Misawa Hikōjō?) (IATA: MSJ, ICAO: RJSM) is a United States air base located on the northeastern shores of Honshū, in the city of Misawa in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku Region of Japan. The base is home to 5,200 US military personnel, as well as 350 US civilian employees and 900 Japanese national employees. Misawa is the only combined, joint service installation in the western Pacific. It houses all four US military services (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines) as well as the Japan Air Self Defense Force. Misawa also has scheduled civilian flights operated by Japan Airlines to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Osaka International Airport (Itami) and New Chitose Airport, making it one of the few joint civilian-military airports in the U.S. defense grid. The Misawa Passive Radio Frequency space surveillance site is used for tracking satellites using the signals they transmit. It also provides coverage of geosynchronous satellites using the Deep Space Tracking System (DSTS). It is one of the largest ECHELON ground stations.The American occupation of Misawa began in September 1945. Later, Army engineers restored the base for future use by the United States Army Air Forces. During the Korean War and Vietnam War Misawa supported fighter missions. The base was the launching point for clandestine surveillance overflights into China and the USSR during the 1950s. Misawa's fighters departed in 1972. In 1983 it was a major deployment site for rescue and recovery operations, following the downing of Korean Air Flight 007. On July 4, 1985, fighters returned to Misawa.The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. As the first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first of a series of US fighters capable of supersonic speed in level flight. The F-100 was designed originally as a higher performance follow-on to the F-86 air superiority fighter.Adapted as a fighter bomber, the F-100 would be supplanted by the Mach 2 class F-105 Thunderchief for strike missions over North Vietnam. The F-100 flew extensively over South Vietnam as the Air Force's primary close air support jet until replaced by the more efficient subsonic A-7 Corsair II The F-100 also served in several NATO air forces and with other US allies. In its later life, it was often referred to as "the Hun," a shortened version of "one hundred."The F-100A officially entered USAF service on 27 September 1954 with 479th Fighter Wing at George AFB. By 10 November 1954, the F-100As suffered six major accidents due to flight instability, structural failures, and hydraulic system failures, prompting the Air Force to ground the entire fleet until February 1955. The 479th finally became operational in September 1955. Due to ongoing problems, the Air Force began phasing out the F-100A in 1958, with the last aircraft leaving active duty in 1961. By that time, 47 aircraft were lost in major accident.Escalating tension due to construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 forced the USAF to recall the F-100As into active service in early 1962. The aircraft was finally retired in 1970. The TAC request for a fighter-bomber was addressed with the F-100C which flew in March 1954 and entered service on 14 July 1955 with 450th Fighter Wing, Foster AFB. Operational testing in 1955 revealed that the F-100C was at best an interim solution, sharing all the vices of the F-100A. The uprated J57-P-21 engine boosted performance but continued to suffer from compressor stalls. On a positive note, the F-100C was considered an excellent platform for nuclear toss bombing because of its high top speed. The inertia coupling problem was more or less addressed with installation of a yaw damper in the 146th F-100C, later retrofitted to earlier aircraft. A pitch damper was added starting with the 301st F-100C, at a cost of US$10,000 per aircraft.# Crew: 1 # Length: 50 ft (15.2 m) # Wingspan: 38 ft 9 in (11.81 m) # Height: 16 ft 2¾ in (4.95 m) # Wing area: 400 ft² (37 m²) # Empty weight: 21,000 lb (9,500 kg) # Loaded weight: 28,847 lb (13,085 kg) # Max takeoff weight: 34,832 lb (15,800 kg) # Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney J57-P-21/21A turbojet # Maximum speed: 750 kn (864 mph, 1,390 km/h) # Range: 1,733 NM (1,995 mi, 3,210 km) # Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m) # Rate of climb: 22,400 ft/min (114 m/s) # Wing loading: 72.1 lb/ft² (352 kg/m²) # Thrust/weight: 0.55 |
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![Don\](images/articles/thumbs/beachrainthumb.jpg "Don\")
