Castle Air Museum Completes Restoration of F-84F Thunderstreak

In placing the aircraft back on display, the museum seeks to highlight its role during the Berlin Crisis of 1961

Adam Estes
Adam Estes
F-84F 51-9533 in the foreground of a row of aircraft on display at the Castle Air Museum, June 9, 2023
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Republic F 84F Thunderstreak ‘9433 FS 433 29550941782 scaled 1
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 51-9433 (buzz number FS-433), March 2016 (Wikimedia Commons)

On December 21, 2024, the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California, will officially complete the restoration of their Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, which was brought into the museum’s restoration hangar in May of this year. With its unveiling, the museum also seeks to highlight the role their example served during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. 

The aircraft on display at the former Castle Air Force Base (now Merced-Castle Airport) was originally built under license from Republic Aviation at the General Motors-Fisher Body plant in Kansas City, Kansas, as an F-84F-30-GK, and was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in November of 1954. From there it was assigned to the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing of Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Bergstrom Air Force Base near Austin, TX and was later transferred to the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing (later redesignated as the 31st Fighter Bomber Wing) at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.  In 1957, it was briefly transferred to the 401st Fighter Bomber Group of Tactical Air Command (TAC) before going into the 166th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) of the Ohio Air National Guard at Lockbourne AFB (now Rickenbacker ANG Base), OH.

164th Tactical Fighter Squadron Two F 84F Thunderstreaks
Republic F-84F-30-GK Thunderstreaks 51-9433 ANG-433 and F-84F-55-RE 52-6938 ANG-938 of the 121st Tactical Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard (US Air Force photo)

It was with the 166th TFS that in October 1961, 51-9433 would be deployed to Europe in response to the Berlin Crisis, which saw the United States and the Soviet Union go into a standoff over the status of Berlin, whose NATO-aligned western half stood in the heart of communist East Germany. It was also during this crisis that the Berlin Wall was erected to enclose the people of West Berlin and prevent East Berliners from using the city’s western half to seek asylum in West Germany. Due to funding issues, however, only 26 of the 166th’s Thunderstreaks were able to be deployed to Étain-Rouvres Air Base in France in November under the 7121st Tactical Fighter Wing, who stood watch, waiting for a decision from the Pentagon. With the de-escalation of the Berlin Crisis, the 7121st TFW remained on standby until they were stood down the following year and returned to Ohio. 

However, 51-9433 would be reassigned to stay at Étain with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing. From there the wing was relocated to Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, where it was on the alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis as well, for it was assumed that if war broke out over Soviet missiles being stationed in Cuba, the Soviet armies in Europe would make a rapid westward advance through Germany to get to France. But though the resolution of that crisis would not result in the end of the Cold War, tensions had once more simmered down, and 51-9433 returned to the United States to join the 149th Fighter Squadron of the Virginia Air National Guard. 

IMG 8831 scaled 1
F-84F 51-9433 on display at the Castle Air Museum, June 9, 2023 (Adam Estes)
By the mid-late 1960s, the old Thunderstreaks were being phased out of the ANG units across the US and put up for disposal. The end of 51-9433’s service life would come with the aircraft being reserved as a ground target for missiles and weapons testing at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the high deserts of California, alongside a few other Thunderstreaks.

Fortunately, 51-9433 managed to stay around long enough to be selected for preservation under the National Museum of the United States Air Force’s Loan Program, administered by the Dayton-based museum to determine where retired aircraft should be loaned to. By 1991, the Air Force Museum’s Loan Program selected the Castle Air Museum as the home for 51-9433, considering that Castle had become a home for other retired military aircraft saved from weapons testing at China Lake.

At Castle, the Thunderstreak was painted in its 12th SFW colors, but being one of the many planes on display outdoors, the colors faded over time, and its exposure to the elements took a toll on the structure of the aircraft. As a result, museum restoration specialists, led by Greg Stathatos, towed the F-84F to the museum’s restoration hangar for a refurbishment on May 24. Over the summer and fall, the aircraft has been refurbished and repainted to reflect the livery it wore during the Berlin Crisis, standing guard as a Cold War Warrior.

The museum had planned to unveil the aircraft to the public in December 2024, but with Castle being an outdoor museum, local rain softened the ground it would have to towed across to go back on display, so the ceremonies had been delayed for fairer weather. Now, the Castle Air Museum will be unveiling the restored Thunderstreak on Saturday, January 25. From there, it will be placed back on display at the museum, and another aircraft will likely be sent to the restoration hangar to receive attention as well. For more information on the Castle Air Museum, visit the museum’s website HERE.

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Raised in Fullerton, California, Adam has earned a Bachelor's degree in History and is now pursuing a Master's in the same field. Fascinated by aviation history from a young age, he has visited numerous air museums across the United States, including the National Air and Space Museum and the San Diego Air and Space Museum. He volunteers at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino as a docent and researcher, gaining hands-on experience with aircraft maintenance. Known for his encyclopedic knowledge of aviation history, he is particularly interested in the stories of individual aircraft and their postwar journeys. Active in online aviation communities, he shares his work widely and seeks further opportunities in the field.
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