At the Dawn of the Jet Age, the F-84 Thunderjet was a Rumbling Presence

An F-84G preparing for take off in Korea. (National Museum of the US Air Force)

Designed by Republic Aviation Corporation engineer Alex Kartveli — progenitor of the P-47 Thunderbolt — the F-84 Thunderjet became the US Air Force’s second operational jet fighter but the first to enter service after World War 2. Overshadowed by the debonair F-86 Sabre during the Korean War and dubbed The Hog in tribute to their sluggish take off behaviour, F-84s…