Warbird Information Exchange

I was looking through 1970s issues of Air Classics for old displayed/derelict jets; figured I'd try to find where they are now. First up:

Credited to "D. Burnell", the caption reads: "Republic F-84F 'FS-426' is sitting in a junk yard off U.S. 74 on the west side of Rockingham, North Carolina. The craft appears to be in an experimental blue camouflage finish." (Note the signs behind it - "Rabbits/Raccoons/Monkeys/Snakes" - was this an old amusement park or zoo?)

I started looking up F-84F serials, and although there are three ending in 426, 51-1426 seems the most likely since it's been listed with a collection (NC Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame) in Asheboro, 50-some miles north of Rockingham. So I started looking for current photos, but came up with bupkis - this thread from 2005 originally had photos from Tulio and Mike Henniger but the links are broken:

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... 1&start=15

Then I checked the museum's website, but there's no F-84 listed.

Mike, Tulio, do you still have photos? Was the plane blue?

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

I have seen this F-84F at the Asheboro Museum within the past 10 years, but I do not know if it is still there.

Here are some photos of it (not mine, they belong to Christian Shepherd), with the serial no.
https://flic.kr/p/9ubnrW
https://flic.kr/p/9ubkHL

_________________
"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

Quick addition: Leon (Woodsy Airfield) sent me a couple shots of the plane he took around the same time (note: this is a preview until I work on the originals and make higher-res scans) with some back story:

"The photo of F-84 looking at right front of aircraft - info on back of picture says: F-84F-10-RE 11426 at Lassiter's Surplus & L and L Welding, west of Rockingham, NC just north of Rte 74... dated June 23, 1977... The photo of F-84 showing left front of aircraft: 11426 was originally from Ohio. It was turned over to Lassiter's from a North Carolina state college with 6 machine guns installed which were turned over to FBI. Price $5000..."

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Thank you DoraNineFan! Would it be OK for me to display the photos here on the board, and could I pass one along to Nathan Decker's F-84F page?

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

You are welcome but they are not my photos, so you will need to contact the owner (Christian Shepherd) in the links that I provided.

_________________
"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

The photographer has disabled downloading of his photos, but I'll ask.
Found another photo here, dated June 2005:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=21880
Google Earthed my way all over the airport and spotted the museum, but no F-84F. This isn't looking good...

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

I've often wondered what happened to the bird. My dad used to stop and let me play in it in the way to grandma's house she I was a Kid. The F-84 in Asheboro is NOT the same plane. That F-84 was displayed for years in Asheboro (I believe at the VFW) and was moved to the museum when it was open.

I heard the story about the bird At Lassiter's still having the guns in it. The owner told me about it. I actually asked about buying it. He told me he'd take $3500 for it. Unfortunately that was out of reach for a 12 year old kid. I used to dream about moving it to my backyard.

Interesting to know. Wonder how they ended up with the same serial painted on? Will the real 51-1426 please stand up?

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Just got the original photos from Leon and scanned them:






On the fuselage on each side there's the remains of a logo with the word "Flyer" at the bottom:


No word yet on this one's fate.

More of Leon's photos to come - including the whole sad story of the scrapping of a park display T-33

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Boy, that's sure interesting about the 6 machine guns. A different era for sure. The $5000 mentioned, was that a fine from the FBI for merely having these, or the sale price to Lassiter for selling(?) them to the fed? I'd believe anything. It would have been a kick to fire them a few times before turning them over...