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F-100 450 gallon tank fins


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For years I have been wishing to do a F-100D with the large, constant diameter, underwing fuel tanks. Problem is, no kits includes them among the stores. I just couldn't be happier when not long ago I discovered that those tanks were the same carried by the F-101, and I had two at hand which I had laboriously corrected from a Matchbox kit, only to find out that I wouldn't actually need them for the version I was planning :)

So far so good.

However, after close examination of pictures, I found out to my absolute dismay that those carried by the Huns had horizontal fins of some sort!

Sooooooooo: does any of you happen to have any pictures that show the size/shape of those fins, or some plans that portray their shape?

You would make this soul very happy!

Thanks in advance!

:rolleyes:

Jorge.

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For years I have been wishing to do a F-100D with the large, constant diameter, underwing fuel tanks. Problem is, no kits includes them among the stores. I just couldn't be happier when not long ago I discovered that those tanks were the same carried by the F-101, and I had two at hand which I had laboriously corrected from a Matchbox kit, only to find out that I wouldn't actually need them for the version I was planning :wacko:

So far so good.

However, after close examination of pictures, I found out to my absolute dismay that those carried by the Huns had horizontal fins of some sort!

Sooooooooo: does any of you happen to have any pictures that show the size/shape of those fins, or some plans that portray their shape?

You would make this soul very happy!

Thanks in advance!

:worship:

Jorge.

Those were ferry tanks that had a dedicated pylon for them.

I have some stuff in my HUN folder. I'll see what I can find.

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Thank you so much, Harold!

I didn't know about the specific pylon.

Any help you could give me would be highly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Jorge. :thumbsup:

Just got in from work...

I'll do search and post what I have.

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If you can get hold of the Squadron/Signal "F-100D/F Walkround" book there is a three view drawing on page 9 which shows the shape and location of the fins on the tanks. Just out of interest, the F-100s of the 20th.TFW carried these 450 gallon tanks as more or less standard until the mid- to late sixties. . . Hope this is of some help to you :thumbsup::bandhead2:

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Just spotted while looking at the F-100 pylon photos, I think the close-up photo of the series III pylon is actually a photo of the one fitted to the outboard stations. I may be wrong, but according to my interpretation of my F-100 pics, the 450 gallon tank had a longer pylon with a slightly swept back leading edge. Hope this does'nt mean I'm turning into a pedantic old fool !

:)

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Just spotted while looking at the F-100 pylon photos, I think the close-up photo of the series III pylon is actually a photo of the one fitted to the outboard stations. I may be wrong, but according to my interpretation of my F-100 pics, the 450 gallon tank had a longer pylon with a slightly swept back leading edge. Hope this does'nt mean I'm turning into a pedantic old fool !

:)

By jove, I think you are correct.

I posted the wrong pylon!

I have sooo much in my F-100 file without notations, I get confused. Or is it that I am just confused?

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You're looking for one of the Holy Grails of F-100 parts. :thumbsup: A friend even tracked down somebody who works for Sargent-Fletcher, the company that made the tanks, to see if they had any drawings of the fins. Nothing. You may have to just use the TLAR (That Looks About Right) method and dare somebody to prove you wrong.

For the pylons, my book shows they were Type VIII. They were about as long as the pylons attached to the 275- & 335-gal tanks.

Cheers!

Ben

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You're looking for one of the Holy Grails of F-100 parts. :thumbsup: A friend even tracked down somebody who works for Sargent-Fletcher, the company that made the tanks, to see if they had any drawings of the fins. Nothing. You may have to just use the TLAR (That Looks About Right) method and dare somebody to prove you wrong.

For the pylons, my book shows they were Type VIII. They were about as long as the pylons attached to the 275- & 335-gal tanks.

Cheers!

Ben

Thanks Ben,

I knew I posted the wrong ones after I looked at the post this morning.

ah, old age is creeping up really fast.

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I found these in my HUN folder...

F-100450-galdroptankfins.jpg

And

450gallontankspecs.jpg

These measurements came to me from someone that taped the actual tank. I think I have the conversions fairly close. However, I am not so sure about the middle and rear measurements. I think they should be reversed.

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Thanks a lot for all the help, gentlemen!

I have been doing some comparisons with the drawing and dimensions provided:

F-100450gallontank-comparisons-smal.jpg

Above is a picture I found on the net (mirrored for convenience), that shows the drawing to be spot on. If there are slight differences they may be due to distortion in the picture. What I did notice is that the pylon leading edge is not vertical, but has a slight sweep.

Second, I took a picture of the Esci 1/72 Sabre and the corrected Voodoo tank I had. I then sized it to match the dimension in the picture above. My tank is shorter than in should be, both in the picture and in reality, as it is some 5 mm. shorter in scale than the actual dimensions (can't believe I'm gonna have to lengthen it! :wacko: ), but the diameter looks just right.

Harold's drawing is shown again below for comparison purposes.

As for the tank fins, in the drawing where they are attached to the tank they look like the fins on F-104 tanks, with both the leading and trailing edges having the same, slight sweep. However, in the drawing where only the fin is shown in enlarged form, I would definitely say the trailing edge is at 90 degrees relative to the line of flight... probably that's closer to reality...?

Let's see if hooter's pics from the Squadron Walkaround arrive and they can provide some additional help to solve the mistery.

And I have another question regarding another really weird F-100 fuel tank that I have just recently "discovered", but for that, I better start another thread!

My deepest gratitude to all!

Sincerely,

Jorge. ;)

Edited by f4h1phantom
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Jorge,

Quite an analysis. Obviously that was a labor of love.

Gene K

Ha! And you are telling me that? Guess WHO is one of the MASTERS from whom I take my inspiration! :bandhead2:

What other tank?

Is it the hoky Turkish(?) tank?

Beat me on that one, Harold! You must be a mind reader :bandhead2:

I came across a couple of pictures of Huns equipped with that tank a while ago. The thing is that I found the thinguie in Taiwanese and operational USAF machine pics, and in the Newark Air Museum aircraft too!!! It is a very rare sight and I must honestly say I had never seen that weird thing before nor had I heard of any mention of it whatsoever. Now, can anybody tell what sort of thing is that and where it did come from? ;)

Weirdtankf-100a_31540.jpg

Weirdtank-f-100d_63163-13.jpg

Weirdtank-f100-2cn223-103NewarkAriM.jpg

It may be old news for most of you, but I would like to recommend a page I have found on the F-100, and from where at least the middle picture comes from:

http://www.f-100.org/hun.shtml

You can see the full picture there, as well as some other great Hun shots, including a TER-equipped F-100 in Vietnam, which is totally new to me, having previously seen that only o Guard aircraft. And notice the Sidewinders in the aforementioned pic! :worship:

Seems you never know even half of what is out there!

Thanks all again for your contributions.

Sincerely,

Jorge. :bandhead2:

Edited by f4h1phantom
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Get a look at the pylons on that large shot!

What the heck is that?

I have found multiple photos of the tank, but can't find the maker.

C,mon Ben, help us out here....

Edited by Harold
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C,mon Ben, help us out here....

Huh? Wha? :woot.gif:

Seriously, I had never thought much of them beyond "Damn, those are ugly." So, I go back and check my F-100F fuel system manual, and danged if there isn't a special section devoted to them! They're called "Type II" 275-gal drop tanks and they were manufactured by Royal Jet Inc. of Alhambra, CA. I wonder if they're some sort of cheap, disposeable tanks. They're just too ugly to put on such a pretty airplane for any length of time. :woot.gif:

Ben

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Huh? Wha? :salute:

Seriously, I had never thought much of them beyond "Damn, those are ugly." So, I go back and check my F-100F fuel system manual, and danged if there isn't a special section devoted to them! They're called "Type II" 275-gal drop tanks and they were manufactured by Royal Jet Inc. of Alhambra, CA. I wonder if they're some sort of cheap, disposeable tanks. They're just too ugly to put on such a pretty airplane for any length of time. :doh:

Ben

See, I told ya, Ben would come through.

Oh yeah, they are really ugly. They must have been really cheap to make too.

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