picture 170431

A reconstruction of the Republic F-84 Thunderjet serial number 10547/47 (ex-USAF 52-8381) assigned to the 117th Fighter Regiment, 44th Aviation Division JRV, Batajnica AB, as of first week of October 1953. As usual for ex-USAF aircraft of this period, it was left in its ‘bare metal’ overall finish, with the upper side of the fuselage painted in olive drab. Unless removed, all the USAF maintenance stencils were left in their place. The Yugoslav national insignia was applied instead of earlier USAF insignia, and the national flag over the USAF serial on the fin. This aircraft remained at Batajnica during the Trieste Crisis, but was subsequently passed to the 204th Regiment (at the same base). (Artwork by Tom Cooper)