F-84G-21-RE (Italy)

▄F-84G-21-RE

◔IL-10

▄F-84F

▄F-84G-21-RE

◔IL-10

▄F-84F

Italy

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.7	7.7	8.0

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:82 000

Purchase:240 000

Show in game

This page is about the Italian jet fighter F-84G-21-RE (Italy). For other uses, see F-84 (Family).

Description

The ▄F-84G-21-RE Thunderjet is a rank V Italian jet fighter with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/RB) and 8.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica".

Republic Aircraft Company’s jump into the jet fighter market was not as smooth as they would have liked. All aircraft companies have issues early on with their prototypes and early models, however, they tend to grow out of them rather quickly, unfortunately, this was not to happen for Republic with the F-84. Designing fighters around a jet engine was relatively new and prototypes were rushed before full testing could take place. While promising that the F-84 would best Lockheed’s P-80 Shooting Star, the F-84B, C, D and E variants, for the most part, fell short. The issue was not solely the problem of the jet, but also the engine it was required to use. Deficiencies noted included weak wings, twisting of wing-tip fuel tanks, structure warping, skin buckling and a severe shortage of engines and engine parts for overhauls when the aircraft was used more often than expected. Several times the entire fleet of F-84s were grounded until severe defects could be rectified.

Six years after the YP-84 rolled off the assembly line, Republic had many of the previous deficiencies fixed and rolled out the F-84G. Not only did the F-84G address all of the previous model’s issues, but it also came out with several ground-breaking features which included the first fighter aircraft with the ability to refuel mid-flight and the ability to carry a Mark 7 nuclear bomb. Issues with the wings resulted in thicker wings adding strength to reduce twisting especially at high speeds and the wing-tip fuel tanks were modified to make them more aerodynamically stable during manoeuvres. This aircraft served the United States Air Force into the mid-1960 before it was retired, however other nations such as France and Taiwan (Republic of China) continued to use the fighter past that point with Greece finally retiring their last three in 1991.

Even with the changes from earlier models, even in-game pilots will notice the quirkiness of the F-84G. Even with the more powerful Allison J35-A-29 jet engine, actual pilots of the Thunderjet nicknamed it “The World’s Fastest Tricycle” (a play on the newer tricycle landing gear configuration) or “The Lead Sled” due to its extremely long takeoff roll. Even though an upgrade from the F-84B, this aircraft has the same roll-out time, typically due to the heavier payloads afforded to this aircraft. Though, once at altitude and during attack runs, the F-84G is an incredibly stable platform and can be outfitted with a number of various suspended armaments along with its six 12.7 mm M3 Browning machine guns. Though each gun only has 300 rounds of ammunition, trigger control is necessary or else the pilot will be left with empty guns in short order. Considered a multi-role aircraft, the F-84G can be utilised as a fighter-interceptor, bomber interceptor and ground attack fighter. The F-84G can be laden with a variety of bombs ranging from 100 lbs all the way up to two 1,000 lb bombs. HVAR and Tiny Tim rockets are a viable option alone or mixed with bombs to expand the options of targets to be attacked depending on the map the pilot is flying in.

Like many jet fighters, flying slowly makes for an easy target and this is no exception for the F-84G. Speed is necessary to ensure manoeuvrability both to engage a target and to shake a tail. Though not the fastest fighter at this rank, the F-84G can hold its own and when pressed, the six centre lined M3 Browning machine guns can punch enough holes in an enemy fighter to bring it down and allow it to move onto the next target. Don’t expect this fighter when laden down with two 1,000 lbs bombs or two Tiny Tim and 24 HVAR rockets to excel in a dog-fight as it won’t with all that weight, however, after all that ordnance is released the F-84B can then mix it up, though it is preferable to maintain speed while performing Boom & Zoom manoeuvres allowing the fighter to get on target and then speed away to set up for the next shot.

While dealing with mixed reviews over its positive and negative aspects, the F-84 series aircraft paved the way for a later aircraft which magnified all of the positive qualities of the F-84, being a stable firing platform, loaded to the gills with assorted suspended armaments and a main gun which rained destruction on the enemy, this aircraft would later be know as the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
976	971	12,500	28.9	30.4	29.9	29.3	1,040
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
?	?	12,500	??.?	??.?	?.?	?.?	1,040

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	✓	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
1,045	320	550	~??	~?

Survivability and armour

• 6.35 mm Steel - Fore cockpit armour plating
• 8 mm Steel - Armor plate behind pilot's seat
• 12.7 mm Steel - Armored headrest
• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armored windscreen

Armaments

Offensive armament

The F-84G-21-RE (Italy) is armed with:

• 4 x 12.7 mm Browning M3 machine guns, nose-mounted (300 rpg = 1,200 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M3 machine guns, wing-mounted (300 rpg = 600 total)

Suspended armament

The F-84G-21-RE (Italy) can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (200 lb total)
• 2 x 250 lb AN-M57 bombs (500 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 24 x HVAR rockets
• 32 x HVAR rockets
• 24 x HVAR rockets + 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (200 lb total)
• 24 x HVAR rockets + 2 x 250 lb AN-M57 bombs (500 lb total)
• 24 x HVAR rockets + 2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 24 x HVAR rockets + 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 24 x HVAR rockets + 2 x Tiny Tim rockets

Usage in the battles

The F-84G-21-RE should be played as an aggressive Boom & Zoom aircraft. Meaning that as soon as you spawn in it, you turn to the direction of the enemy airfield to rush and reach 850+ kph. Engage those who are climbing, there is also a chance of catching a few away-from-keyboard climbers too. After climbing to engage an enemy at altitude, do not turn back to follow them if they evade. Continue zoom climbing, do a vertical loop and maintain level flight to gain a little bit more speed. After that, the only way you're supposed to fly against enemies is by diving, engaging, zooming up, vertical loop then rinse and repeat.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair			Offensive 12 mm	FRC mk.7	FSBC mk.1
II	New Boostes	Compressor	Airframe		FRC mk.7a	FSBC mk.5
III	Wings Repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs		FMBC mk.1
IV	G-Suit	Engine Injection	Cover		LFRC mk.12	FLBC mk.1

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very high top speed for an early jet
• Air spawn, good for rushing
• Can carry large amounts of payloads
• Wide variety of secondary armament (bombs, rockets)
• 6 x 12.7 mm M3 machine guns
• Very good acceleration for an early jet, even stock
• The best climber from 7.0 - 8.0 (excluding the G.91s)

Cons

• Not good at turning
• May rip if pulled hard enough
• Roll rate is average without New Boosters
• Engines overheating

History

In early 1944, Alexander Kartveli, the chief designer for the Republic Aviation Aircraft Company set out to work on a replacement for the piston-powered P-47 Thunderbolt which instead would be powered by a turbojet. All attempts at trying to use the P-47 frame to accommodate a turbojet failed and Kartveli resorted to designing a brand new aircraft around an axial compressor turbojet engine. Due to the nature of the engine taking up a large majority of the fuselage, fuel tanks were designed to be in the wings of the aircraft, however, the body was streamlined to make the smallest profile possible and retain all necessary critical components.

The USAAF in September 1944 released new requirements for a daytime fighter along with specific characteristics such as the top speed of 600 mph (966 kph), armament of six 21.7mm machine guns or four 15.2 mm machine guns along with housing a General Electric TG-180 axial turbojet also known as the Allison J35 series turbojet engine. Republic proposed their new aircraft and on paper proposed it would be superior to Lockheed’s P-80 Shooting Star. The USAAF noting Republic’s already proven experience with single-seat fighters proposed a contract without holding any competition. These initial order fighters were listed as YP-84As and P-84Bs.

These early test aircraft were put to wind tunnel testing and it was found that major flaws developed when subjected to high speeds, notably longitudinal instability in the aircraft’s frame and stabilizer skin buckling at high speeds. Also noted was issues with the weight of the aircraft and the problem with early turbojets not producing enough thrust for takeoff and climb outs (a problem which plagued the F-84B aircraft until more robust engines were outfitted). Early J35-GE-7 engines were replaced with J35-A-15 versions which helped with the thrust ratio, however wing-tip fuel tanks were added to the mix prior to proper testing and issues developed which at one point grounded the fleet of aircraft until modifications were made.

In 1947, the USAF changed the pursuit designation of the aircraft to fighter and thus the P-84 became the F-84. The YP-84A and the F-84B only differed when it came to the type of M3 machine guns they carried, as the F-84B had faster-firing machine guns than the YP-84A. Early successes of the F-84B were overshadowed by problem after problem including a speed restriction limiting flight to no more than Mach 0.8 as any faster and the aircraft experienced control reversal where the pilot would input normal commands with the control stick and the opposite manoeuvre would occur (for instance if the pilot pulled back on the control stick to make the aircraft climb, the aircraft would actually begin to dive and vice versa). Even with the speed restrictions, the entire fleet of F-84B fighters was grounded by 1948 due to parts shortages and structural failures. It was also at this time that the F-84C aircraft were also determined to be incapable of performing any of their mission parameters, however since the F-84D was already under production (with all of the B and C variants issues being resolved), the program continued. Funding was allocated to upgrade the B and C variants, however, both were finally withdrawn from active duty service by the end of 1952.

Testing of the F-84D determined that the wings needed to be covered with a thicker aluminium skin to strengthen them which was helpful because the engine was upgraded to the more powerful J35-A-17D. Here it was found that during high-G manoeuvres, the wingtip fuel tanks led to the structural failure of the wings due to twisting motions. A simple fix of adding a small triangular fin to the external portion of the fuel tank alleviated that problem. Despite the fixes introduced with the D variant, it too was withdrawn from active duty in 1952. The F-84E variant fighter saw modifications specifically with strengthened wings and a larger cockpit which was necessary to equip advanced avionics to include an A-1C gunsight which worked with an APG-30 radar. Folding rocket racks were also developed so that once the HVAR rockets were fired; the racks would fold flush with the wing increasing the aircraft’s overall aerodynamics. Unfortunately even with all of the modifications, failure of the aircraft hinged upon the Allison J35-A-17 engines which were only designed to be flown for 25 hours a month and would receive a complete overhaul after 100 hours of flight. Due to the number of sorties flown in the Korean War, engine overhauls were taking place more frequently and quickly exhausted all of the spare parts and new engines produced.

The final variant of F-84 introduced was the G variant which began service in 1951. Utilised for the next nine years, the F-84G had new innovations which became standard on future aircraft to include, a refuelling boom mounted on the left-wing for in-flight refuelling, instrument landing system to allow for landing during inclement weather, a J35-A-29 engine, an autopilot system and the first fighter with the ability to carry a single Mark 7 nuclear bomb. The F-84G was retired from US service in 1960, however, countries such as Portugal continued to use this fighter through 1974 and were flown out of Angola. The F-84 had a rocky start into the foray of turbine jet fighters, however, challenges and difficulties paved the way for the F-100 Super Sabre and the RF-101 Voodoo as their replacements.

At least 13 other countries bought into the F-84 program including Italy which purchased 256 F-84G fighters and operated them from 1952 to 1957.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

• [Vehicle Profile] F-84G Thunderjet: Blazing Rocketeer

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.

Italy jet aircraft
Aerfer	Sagittario 2 · Ariete
Fiat	G.91 pre-serie · G.91 R/1 · G.91 R/4 (Portugal) · G.91 Y · G.91 YS
AMX International	AMX · AMX A-1A (Brazil)
Panavia	Tornado ADV · ▄Tornado IDS · ▄Tornado IDS (1995)
	Foreign:
Vampire	Vampire FB 52A
F-84	▄F-84F · ▄F-84G-21-RE
F-86	CL-13 Mk.4 · ▄F-86K
F-104	▄F-104G · F-104S · ▄F-104S TAF (Turkey) · F-104S.ASA
F-16	▄F-16A ADF
AV-8	▄AV-8B Plus
Hungary
Mikoyan-Gurevich	◔MiG-15bis · ◔MiG-17PF · ◔MiG-21MF · ◔MiG-21bis-SAU · ◔MiG-23MF · ◔MiG-29
Ilyushin	◔IL-28
Sukhoi	◔Su-22M3
Saab	◔JAS39EBS HU C