Famous fighter aircraft: final retirement, by country and by date.

[Archibald]

I thought it might be fun to check the retirement dates of famous jet fighters, say post WWII. Could be extended to attack jets and propeller fighters too. Also foreign types.

Last F-80C: Uruguay, 1970 https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p80_12.html
Last F-84G: Portugal, 1975 https://www.key.aero/article/republic-f-84g-thunderjet-angola
Last RF-84F: Greece, 1991 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/348th_Tactical_Reconnaissance_Squadron
Last F-86: Bolivia, 1994 https://www.key.aero/article/f-86s-t-33s-and-more-touring-bolivian-air-force-bases-1990s

Last F-100: Turkey, 1988 also Taiwan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_F-100_Super_Sabre (ANG retired theirs in 1979, Denmark in 1982)
Last F-104: Taiwan (1998) Italy (2004)

More later...

 

[Archibald]

wwiiafterwwii

wwii equipment used after the war

wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com

Last clash between propeller fighters: July 1969, Football war. Mustang vs Corsair
Last B-24: India, 1969
Last B-17: IGN, France, 1984 (= US Geological Survey)
Last Skyraider: Gabon, 1983 (ex- French Algerian war aircraft) ------ http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/article_gabon_skyraiders.html
Last P-47: Peru, 1966

The very last missions of the most famous warplanes took place in unlikely times and even more unlikely places

Today we are quite used to aircraft such as the B-52 having been in service since the time of the dinosaurs but this is a relatively modern phenomenon. It was rare until well after the Second World…

hushkit.net

Last Mustang: Dominican Republic, 1984 (WDF ?) https://laststandonzombieisland.com/tag/dominican-republic-p-51/
Last Corsair: Honduras, 1979 (WTF ?) https://www.jets-are-for-kids.ch/pdf/Honduran F4U.pdf

 

[Archibald]

Last Crusaders:
-December 1999 (French Navy)
-Philippine F-8Hs stopped flying the next year, 1988. Mount Pinatubo big tantrum in June 1991 definitively grounded them.

-VFP-206 finally relinquished its RF-8Gs on March 29, 1987, becoming the last Navy unit to fly the Crusader.

Last F-101: Canada, 1987 https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/f101_4.html
Last F-102s: 1979 (Greece & Turkey) 1976 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_F-102_Delta_Dagger
Last F-105: 1984 https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/f105_5.html
Last F-106: 1988 https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/f106_1.html

 

[Archibald]

Dassault types
Last MD-450 Ouragan: El Salvador, 1989
Last Mystere IVA: France, 1982 (advanced training, replaced by Alpha Jets)
Last SMB-2 (Saa'r with a J52): Honduras, 1996 (!!)

 

[Archibald]

British types are harder to find

Gloster Meteor (FR.9) Ecuador: 1977 (!) http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/ecuador/AirForce/Ecuador-af-EC2111.htm
DH. Vampire: http://www.airvectors.net/avvamp_2.html [Switzerland 1990 https://www.airvectors.net/avvamp_2.html]
DH. Venom: Switzerland 1984
Hawker Hunter: Switzerland (1990's) Zimbabwe https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/12/flying-history-zimbabwes-proud-aircraft.html

 

[Archibald]

Now that's interesting... by 1969 south american air forces still had
-Meteor (Ecuador: FR.9)
-Vampire (Chile : trainers)
-F-80C (Uruguay)
-Ouragan (El Salvador, ex- IDF/AF)
-F-86 (Bolivia)

 

[Archibald]

Dominican Republic P-51 – laststandonzombieisland

Posts about Dominican Republic P-51 written by laststandonzombieisland

laststandonzombieisland.com

Holy cow... P-51Ds facing MiG-21s... in 1983 !

 

[Archibald]

Just for the record: good old Mirage III is still in service with two countries: Egypt and Pakistan.
-The latter swept every single airframe they could get their hands on, in the ROSE program.
-I have no idea why Egypt keeps its Mirage 5 in service, considering the boatload of more modern types in their inventory. It is just beyond me.

And of course Austria pulled a F-104S with their Drakens, dumping them only in 2005. Frack, they almost outlived the Viggens (!) retired by Sweden in 2006 !
Last Swedish Drakens were retired in 1997 by F10 squadron.

Skyhawks, Tigers and Phantoms are seemingly eternals.

 

[Hood]

Good work searching these out.
Some of them are surprising but it just goes to show how long-lived some these aircraft were and how some nations kept some of these types for a long time.

 

[Archibald]

Good work searching these out.

The Internet has been my playground since 2002...

Weirdest discovery relates to the F-84s. Portugal kept their -G flying so long only because of the Angola crisis. And if the carnation revolution had no swept the old Salazar world in 1974 there might still fight there.

And the Greek RF-84F - 1991, WDF. Seems reconnaissance (and 348 squadron) were HAF last priority. They had not enough RF-4s, that's the reason. The said Recce Phantoms soldiered on, same squadron, until 2017.

But the Dominican Mustangs fighting the cubans in 1983 beat them all, by a long shot. And they faced MiG-21s ! When you think about it, the Mustang outlived the F-80 and even the F-84G !! And almost the F-84F, but Greece saved it. Crap, it outlived the F-100, since Turkey retired theirs in 1982. Also the F-102 - this is getting more and more ridiculous...!

I checked MiG-17 operators and North Korea is the last user standing. MiG-19s (and J-6s) in comparison are still out there in numbers (Bangladesh, from memory). Much less fun browsing Soviet types, as the 1990's essentially wiped all of them up to MiG-23 - minus MiG-21s. Vae victis, as they say...

 

[perttime]

...
And of course Austria pulled a F-104S with their Drakens, dumping them only in 2005. Frack, they almost outlived the Viggens (!) retired by Sweden in 2006 !
Last Swedish Drakens were retired in 1997 by F10 squadron.
...

The last Finnish Draken flight was at Rovaniemi on 16 August 2000.

 

[pathology_doc]

And of course Austria pulled a F-104S with their Drakens, dumping them only in 2005. Frack, they almost outlived the Viggens (!)

Swordfish says "Outliving your replacement? Hold my beer."

 

[Archibald]

Swordfish says "Outliving your replacement? Hold my beer."

B-52 says "Outliving your replacement? Hold my beer."

 

[pathology_doc]

B-52 says "Outliving your replacement? Hold my beer."

No, the B-52 says "Hold my KEG."

 

[Archibald]

Talking about it: this blew my mind. https://mil.in.ua/en/news/yak-52-shot-down-a-russian-reconnaissance-drone-in-the-sky-over-odesa/

You know what ? it must be the first "propeller-piston aircraft" air-to-air victory since the 1969 "Football war" mentionned up thread. Also it looks so much like the first air to air victory, ever: Frantz & Quenault, october 1914. Slow plane, two guys, and an improvised weapon !

The "shahed air war" is rewritting air combat statistics, week after week. The other day it was France first victory since April 1945... by an helicopter with a 7.7 mm gunner.

 

[Archibald]

On the Soviet (and Chinese) front... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-6#Current_operators

Two interesting facts a) the Chinese build twice more J-6s than the Soviets build MiG-19s (4500 something versus 2200 and counting). b) because the chinese production run was so long, obviously J-6s are still in service when MiG-19s are all gone... except perhaps North Korea. Which also still has MiG-17s, last in the world.
Also the Q-5 with the solid nose. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanchang_Q-5

I remember when I was playing Novalogic's F-22 Raptor video game, Q-5s were called A-5C. Early on I thought they were Vigilantes.

 

[Archibald]

Corrected the F-100 entry. Not only Turkey but also Taiwan retired their F-100s the same year... 1988. Hence Greece RF-84Fs and Bolivia F-86s outlived the Huns.

 

[Archibald]

By the way Portugal used PV-2 Harpoon until... 1975. Including Angola, along the F-84G. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Ventura

I realized I haven't checked the last P-38s, P-39s and P-40s.

Last P-38s were seemingly tied up in a race to 1957 by Italy, the Dominican Republic, and... the CIA.

Last P-40s: Brazil, 1954

Last P-39 / P-63: Soviet Union, 1953.

256th Fighter Aviation Regiment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When the USAF Attacked a Soviet Airbase - Military History - Military Matters

It isn't well remembered that the USAF once attacked a Soviet airbase. But though both sides quickly moved on, questions still remain.

militarymatters.online

 

[perttime]

Some more Finnish military jet last flights,
in addition to the Draken (16 Aug 2000)

de Havilland Vampire: 15 July 1965 (D.H.115 Vampire Mk.55)
Folland Gnat F.1: 12 October 1972
MiG-15UTI (trainer): 07 February 1977
Fouga CM.170 Magister: 19 December 1988
Mig 21F-13: 17 January 1986
MiG-21BIS: 07 March 1998

 

[publiusr]

Like reading obituaries...sigh

 

[Archibald]

(I've changed the thread title, to include famous WWII fighters, piston-engines)

Before the football war and its Corsairs vs Mustangs fights, July 1969... last piston-engine aircraft air-to-air victories must have been these.

“Spads four - MiGs nothing”: Skyraider MiG Kills Part II - The Aviation Geek Club

“Spads four - MiGs nothing”: Skyraider MiG Kills Part II

theaviationgeekclub.com

 

[Archibald]

France 1940 aircraft (vae victis !)

-Last D-520 (trainers), Potez 63 (CEV flight test center) were retired circa 1953.

-the MB-175 turned torpedo bomber for the Aéronavale in 1945 (80 built) was not retired until 1960 !

-LeO-451s lasted much longer: used as transport aircraft as far as the Algerian war (at least 1957 !)

97 - SNCASE LeO 453 L et S en AFN. - Le blog de Avions de la Guerre d'Algérie

SNCASE LeO 453 L et S en AFN © Jacques Moulin 2012 Profil d'un LeO 453 L. L'insigne sur la dérive est celui de l’AIA d'Alger qui a modifié l'avion. (Profil sommaire de Jacques Moulin). Le LeO (Lioré et Olivier) 45 est un appareil très connu. C’était le...

avions-de-la-guerre-d-algerie.over-blog.com

-"True" MS-406s were not retired until 1948 by Finland (!!)
-Last MS-406 (derivates) lasted into the 1950's in Switzerland
------a) D-3800s : 1954
------b) D-3801: 1959

-One Amiot 351 had been preserved well into the 1970's by Felix Amiot. After his death he went to the Musée de l'air reserves at Dugny... which burned in May 1990 (sigh, facepalm).