Republic XF-84H Thunderscreech (Air Force Legends, 219)

Normally I don't complain about the size of the AF Legends at their various price points. In this case I suspect Mr. Ginter might be well served to consider a revised edition completed by a specialist author on the USAF of this era.(Calling Mr. Pace!) I would have liked to have seen a bit more about the other issues of the time as well.While the common deficiencies of the turbojet are listed in the text, a direct comparison the F-86 in terms of performance and range certainly opened my eyes to why this concept was being pursued. The envelope is almost identical except for range is much greater for XF-84H.This monograph opened more questions and then left me wanting for more. For example it states the switch over to the single propeller shaft was done before the aircraft were built. The picture of the prop tach shows a needle marked "1". This is typical of a dual tach set-up. Why have that when you're only driving a single shaft propeller? Other questions arise such as why did the RH wing have an additional fuel cell with an extra 10 gallons compared the the LH wing? Another missing tidbit was why BuAer insisted on an afterburner.The book follows the usual Legends format with a little pre-history, design, usage then the available models. As usual with the series there is an abundance of detail photographs. A nice surprise was a one page description of the XF-88B. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in early jet fighters or USAF experimental programs,

This book contains a lot of good pictures of the XF-84H and a nice table of geometric characteristics. But I thought it had too many pictures of landing gears and ejection seats. I thought it contained a number of technical errors. For example, the Navy T40s used a combining gearbox where both propellers could be turned by either engine, not separately with each prop being powered by its own engine. The anti-torque fin called a "take-off fin" would have been worthless at take-off because the aircraft speed would have been to low. And I question all of the references to an afterburner. I have looked up the tailpipe of the XF-84H at the Air Force Museum and I don't see anything that looks like an afterburner - no fuel nozzles and no flame holder. And he didn't say anything about the 3000 rpm prop designed and built for the Navy. (See the AAHS Journal. Fall 2015.)

I have been curious about this aviation curiosity since I saw the XF-84H sitting out in the weather on a pedestal as a "gate guard" at Meadows Field in Bakersfield. I thought the book had a good mix of pictures, tech. details and analysis that show that this project was an attempt to solve some vexing technical problems at the time. Given the unreliability of the Allison XT40 turboprop engine that powered these planes, the story is a reminder of the supreme courage of the test pilots who strapped themselves into these crates and "pushed the envelope."

Obscure aircraft history are my favorite reads. Great book , condition was excellent and fair price.

Was interested in more of the background of the USN's involvement in program but found it lacking in more detai. Otherwise consistent with information in other releases in this series. A good informative read and reference.

Good book

I really like all Steve Ginter's books. I've been looking on the internet for information on this plane but could not find the information that's is in this book.

Gave me needed info to build a large scale model. Glad I got it !