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SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Covered in dust, a North American Aviation
F-100F Super Sabre sat in the desert at Davis Monthan Air Force
Base, Arizona. Bearing tail number 3880, the once proud aircraft was
assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard's 174th Fighter Squadron in
Sioux City, Iowa until her retirement when she was sent to the “The
Boneyard”. Although the desert ideal for keeping older aircraft
preserved, it is a far cry from the glory 3880 once experienced in
the skies.
The Air National Guard had a better retirement
plan for 3880 and brought it home the Air National Guard Paint
Facility in Sioux City, Iowa. After 38 years of sitting in the
desert, where it was almost used for target practice in the 1990's,
it received a full static display restoration.
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November 10, 2015 - The last North American Aviation, F-100 Super
Sabre housed at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, or
"boneyard", was painted and restored at the Air National Guard paint
facility in Sioux City, Iowa. The F-100 was flown by the Iowa
National Guard's 174th TFG in Sioux City during the 1960s and 70s
and will be placed on permanent static display at the National Guard
Bureau at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland. (Air National Guard
photo by Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot, 185 ARW /PA)
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According to Dave Miller, the paint facility manager at Sioux
City, the aircraft designated tail number 3880 was built in 1956 and
served at Sioux City starting in 1961 until its retirement in 1977.
Miller said it was the only F-100F remaining at the Aerospace
Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Arizona.
It's scheduled
to be on its way to the National Guard Bureau at Andrews Air Force
Base by the end of January. 3880 will be placed on display as a
tribute to Major General Donald Shepperd (Retired), an F-100F pilot
for the Mistys squadron during Vietnam and whose name is now painted
on the side. While deployed to Vietnam, Shepperd flew 58 missions
out of Phu Cat from Dec. 1967 to April 1968, as a part of the
Mistys.
The
Misty mission in Vietnam was to fly low and fast over the jungles of
Vietnam in order to locate targets. Once a target was located, they
would direct other aircraft in to strike the target, according to
MistyVietnam.com, a website operated by Misty Veterans.
The
tail markings of 3880 were changed to “HE” to representing the tail
markings the Mistys used during the Vietnam War.
The F-100F
Super Saber served at Sioux City longer than any other aircraft.
Sioux City used the F-100 from 1961-1977, a period of 16 years. It
saw combat in Vietnam, which included close air support missions for
troops on the ground and flew 250 thousand sorties during the
Vietnam War, more than any other fixed wing aircraft.
Now
clean and restored with new paint, 3880 has found a new home at
Andrews Air Force Base where it will be displayed for current and
future generations of Airmen to enjoy and honor the pilots of the
Misty missions in Vietnam.
By Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Daniel Ter Haar
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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