(Author’s note: This information was originally published in the IPMS/USA Flight 19 Chapter newsletter, The Debrief, way back in the dark ages, sometime around 1997 or so. It has been updated–more than a few times–since the original publication.)
I remember the first time I saw an aircraft from the Florida Air Guard in flight–Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, AFROTC Det 157 Pass In Review, Fall semester 1982. Two FANG F-106's zoomed over the formation a few times. Since then, I was on a mission to research the colors and markings of the airplanes that served the Florida Air Guard through the years.
The 159 FS, 125 FG can trace its origins to the 352FG of the 353FG from World War II. During the war, the group was equipped first with P-47's, then P-51's. At the close of hostilities, the Group was disestablished and allotted to the National Guard. The unit was federally recognized on 9 Feb 1947 as the 159 Fighter Squadron (Single Engine), and was originally equipped with F-51D’s. The unit called the Thomas Cole Municipal Airport in Jacksonville, FL home. In only its second year of existence, the Florida Air National Guard became one of the first jet-equipped ANG units when it transitioned into the Lockheed P-80C. The unit was re-designated the 159FS (Jet) on 1 Aug 1948, but did not become fully operational as such until the following January.
The FANG's hangar at T. I. Cole Municipal airport with P-51 Mustangs all in a row
The FANG's flight line with early P-80s adorned with the "Florida Rockets" demonstration team insignia
During the Korean War, the unit was called to active duty. On 10 Oct 1950, the 159FS joined two other ANG units to form the 116 Fighter Bomber Group at George AFB, CA. The unit also received new equipment in the form of Republic F-84Es. Transferred to Misawa AB, Japan, the unit provided air defense and saw combat duty over the Korean Peninsula. The unit was released from active duty on 9 July 1952. One of the notable achievements while on active duty was the unit’s participation in Operation High Tide, the first practical use of air-to-air refueling in a combat zone.
FANG F-84's in Japan, 1951
KB-29 refuelling an F-84 over Korea in 1952
Returning to Jacksonville, the unit was again re-designated, this time as an interceptor unit, the 159FIS (now an asset of the Air Defense Command) re-equipped with the North American F-51H. It retained the Mustangs until 1954, although at one time plans were to re-equip with F-86A’s. The unit received only four Sabres, and the Lockheed F-80C-10-LO (re-manufactured F-80B’s and C’s) became the mission aircraft in 1954.
FANG F-51H Mustangs in flight
A late-model FANG F-80C-10-LO circa 1955. Look at those tip tanks.
The Florida Air National Guard reached group strength on 1 July 1955 and was federally recognized as the 125FIG (AD). The unit has remained an air defense unit, operating with F-86D’s from August 1956, converting to F-86L’s in June 1959, then operating F-102A’s (July 1960), F-106A’s (Fall 1974), F-16A (ADF) (April 1990, coinciding with the unit becoming TAC-gained), and finally, the F-15A/B in late 1996. The unit currently flies the F-15C/D Eagle as its primary mission aircraft.
A FANG DogSabre
A FANG Deuce pops the 'chute as the mains touch down. I can almost smell the rubber burning…
The most colorful F-106A of them all, the FANG's Bicentennial "City of Jacksonville"
A FANG F-16A–not an ADF, though!– at Wright-Patterson AFB, 1987
A FANG F-15 flies over the Space Shuttle Endeavour prior to mission STS-108
The unit has been a part of Air Combat Command since the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command in 1992. The unit now flies out of the Jacksonville International Airport, having moved there in 1968.
From a modeler’s standpoint, you will need to model the following aircraft: F-51D, F-80C, F-84E, F-51H, F-80C-10-LO, F-86D, F-86L, F-102, F-106, F-16A, F-16ADF, F-15A, and F-15C. Fortunately, all of these aircraft are available as kits in one form or another. I prefer 1/48 scale, and for those models, I recommend the following:
F-51D: Tamiya or Hasegawa, with a nod to the Tamiya kit as being slightly easier to build.
F-80C: Monogram, since you don’t have a choice. You may want to see if you can beg, borrow, or steal the January 1989 issue of FineScale Modeler, in which Bob Steinbrunn converted this kit to the YP-80. A lot of the details are different, but there is a lot of information in there that you can use on the F-80C.
F-84E: The best result can be had by simply buying the Revell issue of the kit–it is a proper F-84E. Your other two viable choices would be the Tamiya or ProModeler F-84G kits. If I understand correctly, the ProModeler kit is closer in shape and detail to an F-84E. You’ll need to fill the slipway door for the refueling probe on the wing and the engine suck-in doors on the fuselage sides on the Tamiya or ProModeler kit. If you use the Tamiya kit, you’ll also need to scratchbuild refueling probes for the tip tanks. There are other differences as well.
F-51H: Classic Airframes or HiPM. Personally, I am going to kit bash the two, taking the best parts from each. The CA kit is more accurate shape-wise. (Of course, if you are into such things, Collect-Aire makes/made a resin kit…)
F-80C-10-LO: Monogram again, only replace the tip tanks with those from a Hobbycraft or Testor’s T-33.
F-86D: Get the Revell of Germany issue of the Dog Sabre, because it has the proper braking parachute fairing on the tail. Wow, an out of box build!
F-86L: Use the Revell of Germany F-86D and swap wings with a Hasegawa F-86F-40, or be adventurous and extend the wings yourself. You’ll need to make other additions such as the SAGE antenna yourself, but it is no big deal. One thing to keep in mind–Hasegawa’s F-86F-40 does not include extended wing slats.
F-102A: Monogram and ProModeler. FANG flew both Case X and Case XX winged Deuces, so it is best to have both kits. For the adventurous, C&H Aero Miniatures also make a TF-102 conversion set. Now, c’mon–you really, really want a Tub, dontcha?
F-106A: Monogram. Again, no choice here, but it is a stellar kit. I am in the midst of re-scribing one as we speak–no mean feat, but worth the effort in my book. Airwaves does a conversion to the F-106B that is pretty comprehensive. C&H also do one, but I have not seen it, so will not comment other than to say if it is like their Tub, it is worth the asking price.
F-16A and F-16A(ADF): Hasegawa’s F-16A, either out of box (for the F-16A) or suitably modified with the spotlight on the nose, data link antennae forward of the windscreen, and bulge on the tail (for the ADF). At one point, someone was supposed to do an Air Defense Variant update set, but it never saw the light of day. Revell supposedly did an ADF kit, but you’d be best to start with the Hasegawa kit and go from there. Now, if Tamiya were to include Block 15 jets in their superb F-16 family, go with them.
F-15A and F-15C: Monogram. Believe it or not, this oldie is still the most accurate F-15A on the market. If you can, get the kit released as a C model–it isn’t truly a Charlie, but close enough–, that version has crude representations of the turkey feather-less exhaust cans. With a little sheet and rod, you can do the rest (and I know you can!)…if you must have an engraved panel line F-15, go with Hasegawa’s kit. It is mostly a Charlie model, however, so you’ll have to backdate it to an Alpha yourself. Either that or break out the scriber…
Now, if you build in 1/72, here are the ones to use:
F-51D: Probably Hasegawa’s, but Tamiya just shrunk its quarter-scale kit…
F-80C: Airfix, or Sword.
F-84E: Tamiya or Academy. Same comments as the 1/48 models, although I haven’t really looked at the Academy kit. Again, surf over to the F-84 Thunderjet website.
F-51H: Beech-Nut did one a few years back, and it wasn’t great. If memory serves, didn’t MPM do one recently? If so, I’d probably start with that one, having seen the Beech-Nut kit…
F-80C-10-LO: Again, Airfix or Sword, with Hasegawa T-33 tip tanks.
F-86D: Hasegawa. Make sure you get the release with the parachute pack. You can use an Airfix kit, but why?
F-86L: Hasegawa–try to find the JASDF kit, as it may already have the extended span wing.
F-102A: Hasegawa, no choice.
F-106A: Ditto.
F-16A and F-16A(ADF): Hasegawa, suitably modified. Revell of Germany recently produced an F-16 Mlu kit that may work, too–you may need to bash an F-16A kit and this one to get the correct combination of parts…
F-15A/F-15C: Probably Hasegawa, although the old Revell or Monogram kit may be just as good.
As far as other types go, you can get the T-33 (1/48 Hobbycraft or Testor, 1/72 Hasegawa), and there are two-seat F-106B conversions (Airwaves or Falcon in 1/72 for the Hasegawa kit, Airwaves and C&H Aero Miniatures in 1/48 for the Monogram kit). The only TF-102 conversion that is still available is the C&H Aero Miniatures in 1/48 for the Monogram kit. Airmodel did a crude vac conversion in 1/72, if you can find it…
If you are bent on having an F-86A in your FANG collection, good news! Cutting Edge has both 1/72 and 1/48 conversion sets! Or, you can follow Paul Boyer’s lead and convert one yourself!
As far as goes support aircraft, FANG employed various types through the years such as C-45's, C-47's, T-6G’s, C-130's and C-26 Metroliners. If it feels good, do it!
Decals are out there for FANG birds, too! Experts’ Choice has a few sheets for the F-16, F-84, and F-106, and SuperScale had several sheets featuring FANG F-16's. Both Scalemaster and Archer’s Fine Transfers offered the Bicentennial “City of Jacksonville” markings, SM in 1/72 and Archer in 1/48–they are hard to find, but are really striking! The good news in 1/72 is that Hasegawa just re-issued the F-106 with these decals included. Get them while you can, though, as this is limited run. Also, TwoBobs did a run of FANG F-15's, but they may be gone by now.
Fortunately, the rest aren’t hard to come up with using black letter/number sheets and the Experts’ Choice ANG crests. Trust me, would I steer you wrong? Don’t answer that just yet…
My personal take on building the models–I am in the process of re-scribing a Monogram F-106, and recommend it only for those strong heart, pure of spirit, and only after purging your mind of all impure thoughts! It is quite nerve-wracking, but I feel that it looks better. If I were doing this in 1/72, I might want to update and detail the F-102 and F-106 from Hasegawa. Fortunately, I believe Eduard have released photoetched brass sets for most of the aircraft you’ll be building. While this will tart up the cockpits, the weapons bay on both the Deuce and the Six need help! It is easiest to build the models with the weapons bays shut, but if you must have them open, get thee to copies of the relevan
t Detail and Scale volumes.
If you use the Academy 1/48 F-16, get a replacement seat at the very least. The kit seat looks somewhat akin to a La-Z-Boy. The kit isn't all that accurate, but to those who find it acceptable, go for it.
Otherwise, build your models as you normally would. Paint schemes vary from highly weathered to pristine–the early equipment was second-and third-hand, and it showed! Ghosts of the “U.S. Air Force” titles were visible on the bare-metal aircraft, and the bare metal wasn’t polished to a showroom shine.
The F-102's in the ADC Gray scheme were clean, but the Deuces in the SEA camouflage tended to weather a bit. The F-106's were very well kept. The F-16's and F-15's are well kept, too, so I would refrain from weathering any of them much. Perhaps a slight fade to an SEA camo’d F-102, but not much more.
Check your references as pertain to cockpit and gear well colors, as they vary from interior green, chromate yellow, black, gray, and white.
As I close this installment, a word on research is in order. A frequent question is “How did you find that out?” Well, in the days before the Internet, you pretty much had to scrounge for every bit you could find. To a large extent, that is still true, but the Internet has made a lot more information available. However, just because you read it on the Internet (or in print, for that matter) does not necessarily mean you should take that information as the Gospel truth.
Most of my research on this subject was done pre-Interwebs, and it was actually fun. The challenge wasn't so much the basic information itself (i.e., aircraft types and dates they were assigned), as there are a few good books out there that cover the U. S. Air National Guard. The challeneg back then was finding photograhs of the airplanes. Various books, magazines, interviews, and other sources yielded most of what I needed. The rest sort of fell into place through various friends in the hobby and the aviation industry. Today, a Google search and a trip through Wikimedia Commons will turn up more photos in a minutes than I was able to get in ten years. Count your blessings. It wasn't always this easy.
Thanks for reading. From time to time, I'll do posts of this sort, as I have a few favorite Squadrons that I research.
Be good to one another. I bid you Peace.