Flyhistorisk Museum Sola · Military aircraft
Republic RF-84G Thunderflash
The RF-84F Thunderflash is the reconnaissance version of the F-84F Thunderstreak, with cameras in the nose. The YRF-84F first flew in 1952. It was somewhat slower than the fighter-bomber variant but could operate higher, at 45,600 feet; it was best suited to tactical low-level photo reconnaissance. A total of 716 were built and used by the USA and several NATO countries. The Royal Norwegian Air Force took on 31 RF-84Fs under US military aid; 717 Squadron at Sola received its first Thunderflash in 1956 and moved to Rygge in 1961. From 1969 the Thunderflash was replaced by the RF-5A. The museum's aircraft is an RF-84F-26-RE delivered in 1956. It arrived in bare aluminium and was painted in a three-colour camouflage scheme in 1961; a Martin-Baker ejection seat was fitted in 1960. It was withdrawn from service in 1970 with 2,457 flying hours, and was to be scrapped. That never happened — it stood at Rygge without an engine, got a coat of paint in the mid-1970s, and remained out in the open.
