USAFE F-86F Sabre 32nd FDS “Slobberin’ Wolfhounds” 1955
When I got the invitation from George Blair @gblair to participate in the Sabre and Fury group build, I thought this was a nice opportunity to make use of the small decal set I had lying around in my stash.
The decal set is intended to make a rendition of a Sabre that flew in the mid fifties at Soesterberg AFB.
As already a lot has been written about the history of the Sabre on this platform, I will skip this part of history and only focus on the short (2 year) history of the Sabre in the Netherlands.
In 1954, the Dutch government agreed to the stationing of a US Air Force fighter squadron to augment its air defense. The USAF forces operated from a part of Soesterberg Air Base which was named “Camp New Amsterdam”, in honor of the first Dutch settlement in America, Nieuw Amsterdam, later renamed New York City.
The first U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) unit to operate from Soesterberg was the 512th Fighter-Day Squadron, which arrived with North American F-86F "Sabre" on 16 November 1954 from RAF Manston in the UK. By July 1955, the 512th reached full operational status. The squadron markings of the F-86s were with three green bands at the vertical tail.
It was a tradition in the U.S. Air Force that a squadron, which is stationed in a foreign country, has a historical tie with that country. Because the 512th Sqn had no historical ties with the Netherlands, the Americans started a search for their traditional historical link between the two countries. It was found that the World War II 32nd Pursuit Squadron was stationed on the Netherlands Antilles islands Curaçao and Aruba in the Caribbean Sea, which then gave the squadron its historical ties. The squadron's main task at that time to search and destroy enemy submarine groups. These submarines groups were nicknamed “Wolfpacks” and the squadron pursuing the submarines were the “Wolfhounds”.
In September 1955, the designation of the 512th was transferred to RAF Shepherds Grove, where it replaced the 78th FIS. Its aircraft, personnel and equipment however stayed in the Netherlands, and made up the newly activated 32nd Fighter Day Squadron “Slobberin' Wolfhounds”, which was operated from Soesterberg as a detachment of the 36th Fighter Wing at Bitburg Air Base in the Federal Republic of Germany. The squadron's patch can be seen in the last picture.
In 1956, the squadron already began the transitioning to the North American F-100 Super Sabre, hence the Sabre's very short career in the Netherlands.
The kit is from Academy No. 12234. The group build contribution can be found at https://imodeler.com/groups/f-86-sabre-and-fj-fury/forum/topic/f-86f-of-32nd-usafe-day-fighter-squadron-1952/
Very well done, Alfred (@alfred). The natural metal finish looks very realistic, especially posed in a great diorama. Thanks for participating in the group.
Hi George, thanks so much. It was a pleasure to contribute to the group! @gblair
A sweet-looking Sabre! I agree with George - the NMF looks great. Well done.
Much appreciated, Greg! @gkittinger
This is as fine a metal finish as I have seen. How many colors of metal paint did you use?
Thanks. In total I used 5 colors of which “Airframe aluminum” was the main one.
@markhedrick
Excellent job and awesome result, Alfred! Great history, too!
Hi Spiros, thanks for your kind words! @fiveten
Bravo Alfred (@alfred). Truly a superb build and one to be proud of. It really came out nice and the backdrop really accentuates the model.
Thanks, Carl!
Yeah, that hangar backdrop sure brings some life in the model.
Thank you for your nice comments, Carl! @clipper
That's a fine looking Sabre!
Thank you, Chas! It was fun to build. @chasbunch
Really nice work in getting that realistic NMF.
Thanks, Tom! Much appreciated. Apparently the pre-work for the NMF paid off well. @tcinla
Nice work, Alfred. Excellent panel variations.
Thanks so much, John! @j-healy
Very nice work on your Sabre Alfred (@alfred). Well done sir 🙂
Thank you very much, Scott! @scottiya
Superb build. The finish is spectacular. Looks super realistic in the photos.
Thanks for your compliment, Matt! @coondog
Absolutely gorgeous nmf finish, lovely build Alfred. The diorama is great too, first i thought it was a photo!
Thanks, Felix!
Yes, that background sure brings some life to the model. @fxrob
This is an impressive Sabre, Alfred @alfred
As said by others, the NMF and its various shades do look very good.
Thanks for sharing the historical background of it.
Thanks for your kind words, John!
Hope to see your Sabre shining in the headlines soon. @johnb
The NMF on this one looks very good.
Thanks so much, Greg! @gwfabian