F-15 Reporter

The photo-snapping derivative of Northrop’s much-vaunted P-61 Blackwidow, the F-15A Reporter was dealt by fate an unfavorable hand and did not enjoy the fame of its darker-skinned older relation. First flown in late 1945, with deliveries commencing the following year, the F-15 looked promising, but with the war over and defense spending curtailed, the contract was sharply slashed. Only 36 planes were built. Some were allocated for test purposes, and of the remainder, there was scarcely enough to equip one squadron – the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (PRS) of Johnson Air Base, Japan – seen here in the featured photos. The squadron received their F-15s in 1947 and flew them for two years before transferring the surviving aircraft to the 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (also at Johnson Air Base), whereupon they were quickly retired.

When, in 1948, the USAF redesignated reconnaissance planes from “F” to “R” (the “F” was needed, of course, to replace the “P” in the fighter world), the F-15 was renamed the RF-61C, thus linking it closer to its forebear, the P-61 (now F-61) Blackwidow. That being said, the designation on the data block below the cockpit in these photos identifies the planes as the “F-15A”. Either the images were taken before the name change, or – this is quite possible given the narrow timeline of service for the aircraft in question – the designation painted on the planes was never changed before they were retired.