USAF/ANG Thunderstreaks March 3, 2023 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
Thunderstreaks of the K.Lu (in active service)... December 26, 2022 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
RF-84Fs of the Belgian Air Force October 26, 2022 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
AEROSEUM, Goteborg (Sweden) September 2022... October 25, 2022 | Frank
Wrecks&Relics (2011-today) October 1, 2022 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
RF-84Fs of Greece (Hellenic Air Force) January 27, 2022 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
F-84F of the Greek/Hellenic Air Force October 9, 2021 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
German F-84F December 2, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
Thunderstreaks of the French Air Force November 7, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
Welcome!
Our website is dedicated to what we refer to as our “Golden Years of Spotting”: the period between 1960 and 1980, when lots of time, effort and money was spent to see as many military aircraft as possible. Our main station at the time was Eindhoven, an airbase of the Royal Netherlands Air Force that hosted a number of Thunderstreak – and later of NF-5 squadrons. No need to say that it was the Thunderstreak that inspired us to give the chosen name to this site.
Thunderstreaks.com is divided into 7 different chapters or “albums” (the black bar on top). Each album is divided in a number of sub-chapters (“categories”) in which we go in more detail.
In the F-84F album we present a number of galleries, each dealing with the various users of this airplane.
A second album is about the RF-84F Thunderflash, the reconnaissance variant of the Thunderstreak. This aircraft served with many NATO air forces; we have a category for each one of them.
The third album is dedicated to pictorial reviews of AIRSHOWS that we visited in the mid- and late Sixties as well as in more recent years. We have split the Airshows-album in three categories/eras holding respective galleries.
A seperate album is on PRESERVED AIRCRAFT: preserved in museums all over Europe, the USA and the rest of the world, but we also present a gallery on “exhibits“: airframes used in traveling exhibitions, roadshows and whatsoever. Also included in this album Preserved Aircraft is “Wrecks & Relics“: monuments, gate-guards and so on. And the fourth is the category “Warbirds“, dealing with civil registered aircraft painted as military aircraft (what in most cases they once were).
The fifth album is called SPOTTING and holds two categories . One focuses on us as aircraft spotters, being not certain if there would be any flying-activities; and the other one is an aircraft-spotters category with galeries consisting of pictures taken by us during special events.
KLu & BAF is an album under long-term construction; in 5 categories we will deal with the different types of aircraft that we have seen in service with the Royal Netherlands Air Force (KLu) and the Belgian Air Force (BAF).
The album BASE VISITS holds reports of visits that we made to various active air bases during normal operational flying days and NATO exercises.
For more (background)information on us and our website simply click the “introduction“-button on the top right side of this homepage; this page also holds a short instruction on how to navigate this site.
Enjoy! Please note that we try to update our site with new material regularly. The most recent update is shown in the left-upper tile on this homepage.
Hans Engels / Frank Klaassen / Gijs Hiltermann
Eindhoven (NL) , July 1993 (Arrivals for Open Days)
November 6, 2020 | Hans
A wide variety of aircraft types presented itself during the 1993 Eindhoven Open Days ( see report elsewhere on the site).
On the 1st and 2nd of July the landing-area was already crowded with aircraft-spotters and photographers (Hans included) . … Read More
Belgian Thunderstreaks: Period of Active Service
July 20, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
We have seen the Thunderstreaks of the Belgian Air Force very frequently, both in operational conditions , in storage and/or as museum-pieces. This post deals with pictures of Thunderstreaks in Belgian Air Force service, while they still were operational.
Belgian Thunderstreaks: Aircraft w.f.u.
July 10, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
Many Thunderstreaks of the Belgian Air Force ended their service lives at the aircraft-depot at Koksijde AB. Most of them were scrapped but some survived: at first as eye-catchers (“decoys”) – sometimes disguised as Mirages ! – and later in museums or as monuments. This gallery gives an overview on the faiths of various Belgian Thunderstreaks. Note that withdrawn a/c may not be present anymore at the given locations.
USAF/ANG Thunderflashes
July 1, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans 1
The USAF of course used the Thunderflash in largest numbers : after all it was an American design ! The last U.S . RF-84F Thunderflash flew with 173rd TRS of the Nebraska ANG; this unit converted to the RF-4C Phantom in 1972.
Best Hit Weapons Meet 1972, Larissa, Greece
June 30, 2020 | Hans & Frank 8
BEST HIT was a NATO competition in which the air forces of Italy, Greece and Turkey took part ( together with a joint “guest-team” assembled from USAFE´s 401 Tactical Fighter Wing ,Torrejon, Spain and U.S. Navy squadrons VA-15 and VA-87 , while on deployment to the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt in the Mediterranean Sea) Read More
Kleine Brogel Spottersday 2022
June 29, 2020 | Frank
On 10 September 2022 a (wet) spottersday was organized by the Belgian Air Force at Kleine Brogel AB. Due to very bad weather many participants cancelled their acts….
F-100 Super Sabre of the National Military Museum (NL)
March 20, 2020 | Hans
The famous F-100 Super Sabre also served in the Netherlands with the 32nd Fighter Day Squadron ,USAFE at Soesterberg AB from 1956 to 1960. In 1959-1960 they flew with red/white/blue tails.
The particular aircraft that is now on exhibition in … Read More
RF-84Fs of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe)
February 10, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
The German Thunderflashes were phased out in the years 1965-1966 in favour of the RF-104G Starfighter. Two squadrons (Geschwader) flew the RF-84F: AKG-51 at Ingolstadt (recognizable by squadron-code EA) and AKG-52 (EB) at Erding and later Eggebeck. Luftwaffe squadron-codes BD was used for aircraft assigned to WS-50, the training unit at Furstenfeldbruck.
Volkel AB (NL), August 31st ,2000 (Arrivals for Open Days)
January 19, 2020 | Hans
August 31st , 2000 was a busy day for all personnel at Volkel AB , the Netherlands because lots of aircraft were arriving in preparation for the Open Days that were organised there.
The many aircraft-spotters present were gathered to … Read More
Naval Air Station Valkenburg , NL , June 6th , 1992(departures Open Day)
January 18, 2020 | Hans
The days before and after a military aviation event such as an Open Day always attract many plane spotters and photographers , because of the participating aircraft arriving and departing on those days.
As an aircraft-spotter Hans visited the Dutch … Read More
Florennes Airshow (Belgium), September 1992
January 17, 2020 | Hans & Frank
Star of the 1992 Belgian Air Force Airshow at Florennes AB (12 September), attended by Hans and Frank ,was a Spanish Mirage F1. At Florennes AB the second BAF airshow took place in that year; one week earlier a similar event was organized at Beauvechain AB.
NATO Tactical Weapons Meet ,RAF Wildenrath , Germany , June 1967 (a/c spotting)
January 5, 2020 | Hans
In June 1967 Gijs and Hans went for a biking (!) -trip from Eindhoven to Brussels (Open Day , see elsewhere on the site) and via Bierset and Geilenkirchen to RAF Wildenrath , Germany . At Wildenrath the NATO Tactical … Read More
Spottersday Kleine Brogel (B), 11 september 2021
January 4, 2020 | Frank
To accommodate the 2021 Sanicole/Helchteren airshow (Helchteren is just a grass-strip), the performing aircraft used Kleine Brogel for their take-offs and landings. The 10th Wing of KB kindly organized a spottersday for that occasion, thus giving thousands of enthusiasts the … Read More
BAF : Lockheed T-33
January 2, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans 2
The Belgians received in total 38 Lockheed T-33 jet trainers , which were gradually delivered from 1952 onwards. At first the T-33s that came out of USAF-stocks flew in bare -metal with their TR Buzz-numbers on the nose.
Later … Read More
KLu: Sud Alouette III
January 1, 2020 | Frank & Gijs & Hans
On January 1 2016 the Dutch Air Force farewelled the last 4 surviving Alouettes, then based at Gilze Rijen AB. And thus ended a 51 years long career.
The first of the 77 examples entered service in 1964. Five of … Read More
