Good though it was, by the end of the 1950s the F-100 Super Sabre was not fulfilling all of the requirements of a fighter-bomber, and was difficult to keep serviceable. The F-100 was standard equipment for the attack units of the USAF in Europe (USAFE) based in France and West Germany. By 1958 the political situation regarding foreign nuclear weapon-equipped units in France had changed and forced the USAFE to re-locate to other bases, mostly in West Germany. In 1961 the potent Republic F-105 Thunderchief began to replace the F-100 in frontline service. First to receive the Thunderchief was the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW), comprising the 22nd, 23 rd and 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadrons (TFS) and based at Bitburg in Germany. The Paris Airshow held in June 1961 provided the venue for formal USAFE acceptance of the first F-105D; deliveries to the 36th were completed in 1963.
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