North American F-100 Super Sabre

After the single-seat, supersonic F-100 fighter entered service in 1954, it developed a high accident rate, in part due to pilot inexperience with the Super Sabre. In response North American built a two-seat training version -- the F-100F -- to train new Super Sabre pilots.

The F-100F retained the basic combat capabilities of the F-100D, including six wing hardpoints to carry external stores, but reduced the number of 20mm cannon from four to two. North American delivered the last of 339 F-100Fs in 1959.

When F-100 units deployed to Southeast Asia, they included a mix of one- and two-seat F-100s, and both types participated in traditional bombing missions in support of ground forces.

As tactics developed, the two-seat F-100F became an important aircraft for two new missions -- surface to air missile (SAM) suppression, known as "Iron Hand," and high-speed forward air control (FAC), known as "Misty FAC."