The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunderjet was plagued by many problems. These were not solved until 1950. The definitive version was the F-84G introduced in 1951.
The Thunderjet became the Air Force's primary strike aircraft during the Korean War. Over half of the 7,524 F-84s produced served with NATO nations, and it was the first aircraft to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team. The USAF Strategic Air Command had F-84 Thunderjets in service from 1948 through 1957. NATO countries used the Thunderjet for many years.
F-84G KLu (Royal Netherlands Air Force / Koninklijke Luchtmacht) 
The type was also used by the Dutch Air Force in the fifties and early sixties. This plane has KLu code K-171 , serial 51-10806, and is a Republic F-84G-21-RE Thunderjet, here painted as "K-40/DU-24". This plane was phographed at the old former MLM air force museum at Soesterberg.
Photographed September 2011 by Cees Hendriks (C) Copyright IPMS Nederland
Many scale models have appeared over the years. In 1/72 scale the best models are from Academy, Tamiya, Hobbyboss. In 1/48 scale Revell has a nice kit with now a good Tamiya kit. The 1/32 scale model of Academy is a very good kit as well.
The Netherlands Air Force used the Thunderjet. Enthusiasts, modellers and historians can see more Thunderjet info at our Dutch NedMil pages here....
This walk around web page was first created January 2012