Date:	Friday 10 September 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Republic F-84B Thunderjet
Owner/operator:	77th FS, 20th FG, USAF
Registration:	46-652
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Scottsville, 10 miles East of Sumter, South Carolina -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Shaw AFB, South Carolina, USA (SSC/KSSC)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Republic F-84B-36-RE Thunderjet 46-652, 77th FS, 20th FG, USAF: Written off (destroyed) September 10 1948 when crashed near Scottsville, 10 miles east of Sumter, South Carolina due to engine failure. Pilot Henry J Wilkes Jr was killed.

The 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s. The group was composed of the 55th, 77th and 79th Fighter Squadrons. The F-84s began arriving in February 1948 and ran through May when the full complement was received. Nine were lost in accidents before the remainder were returned to Republic Aviation in May 1949 in exchange for F-84D models.

1. Pilots Obituary Notice: Army, Navy, Air Force Journal & Register, Volume 86, Issues 1-26 (October 2 1948 p 146)
2. http://www.forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/F-84.html
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1946.html
4. https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/rptAF55.asp?RecID=113760
5. http://www.accident-report.com/Yearly/1948/4809.html
6. https://southcarolina.hometownlocator.com/sc/sumter/scottsville.cfm

Republic F-84B-36-RE Thunderjet 46-652, 77th FS, 20th FG, USAF over South Carolina in 1948 (with 46-653 in the background)(USAF Museum Photo/Public Domain)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-May-2021 08:49	ASN archive	Added