REPUBLIC F-105 “THUD” | Story And Vietnam War Stories

REPUBLIC F-105 “THUD” | Story And Vietnam War Stories

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief story.
The F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it was the only American aircraft to have been removed from combat due to high loss rates. It was originally designed as a single-seat, nuclear-attack aircraft; a two-seat Wild Weasel version was later developed for the specialized Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missile sites. The F-105 was commonly known as the “Thud” by its crews.

Interviews with Veteran Pilots and Republic F105 Thunderchief War Stories, such as fighting the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 In Vietnam.

Dave Waldrop grew up in Nashville, TN and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1964 with a BS degree. From there he attended Air Force flight training at Laughlin AFB, TX. Upon graduation from flight training, Dave went to Nellis AFB Las Vegas Nevada where he checked out in the F-105 Thunderchief. On completion of his training, he was assigned to Yokota AFB, Japan. In May 1967 Dave volunteered for temporary duty in SE Asia and was sent to Takhli Air Base, Thailand. After flying 45 missions, Dave was released and was to return to Yokota, but instead, requested to be reassigned to Korat AFB, Thailand which needed experienced F-105 drivers due to having experienced some heavy losses. In December 1967, Dave completed his combat tour and returned to Yokota AFB, Japan with 105 combat missions in the F-105 including 49 over Hanoi.

Prisoner in Vietnam. The Dewey Wayne Waddell story of how he ended up being a prisoner at the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Dewey Wayne Waddell was taken captive after his F-105 Thunderchief was shot down by Vietnamese communist fighters in 1967, and he was released many years later, in 1973.
North Vietnam’s treatment of American airmen shot down and captured over North Vietnam was a subject of controversy and concern throughout the Vietnam War.

General characteristics

Crew: 1 (F-105F: 2)
Length: 64 ft 4+3⁄4 in (19.628 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 11+1⁄4 in (10.649 m)
Height: 19 ft 8 in (5.99 m)
Wing area: 385 sq ft (35.8 m2)
Aspect ratio: 3.18
Airfoil: root: NACA 65A005.5; tip: NACA 65A003.7
Empty weight: 26,855 lb (12,181 kg)
Gross weight: 35,637 lb (16,165 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 52,838 lb (23,967 kg)
Fuel capacity: 770 US gal (640 imp gal; 2,900 l) in three flexible fuselage tanks + 390 US gal (320 imp gal; 1,500 l) weapon-bay tank, with provision for 1x 650 US gal (540 imp gal; 2,500 l) or 750 US gal (620 imp gal; 2,800 l) centerline drop tank and 2x 450 US gal (370 imp gal; 1,700 l) underwing drop tanks; Total maximum fuel 2,810 US gal (2,340 imp gal; 10,600 l)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: CD 0.0173
Drag area: 6.65 sq ft (0.6 m2)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J75-P-19W afterburning turbojet engine, 14,300 lbf (64 kN) thrust 26,500 lbf (117.88 kN) with afterburning and water injection
Performance

Maximum speed: 1,210 kn (1,390 mph, 2,240 km/h) / Mach 2.1 at 35,000 ft (10,668 m)
Combat range: 676 nmi (778 mi, 1,252 km)
Ferry range: 1,917 nmi (2,206 mi, 3,550 km)
Service ceiling: 48,500 ft (14,800 m)
Rate of climb: 38,500 ft/min (196 m/s)
Time to altitude: 35,000 ft (10,668 m) in 1 minute 42 seconds
Lift-to-drag: 10.4
Wing loading: 93 lb/sq ft (450 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.74
Armament
Guns: 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling cannon, 1,028 rounds
Hardpoints: 5 total: 4 × under-wing, 1 × centerline pylon stations plus an internal bomb bay with a capacity of up to 14,000 lb (6,400 kg) of ordnance, with provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets:
LAU-32/LAU-59 rocket pods with 7 x FFARs each
Missiles:
AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-surface missiles
AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles
Bombs:
M117 and Mark 80 series of general-purpose bombs
M118 demolition bombs
Nuclear weapons B28, B43 stored internally and B57, B61
Cluster munitions of various types, including CBU-24
Avionics
NASARR R-14A radar
AN/ASG-19 Thunderstick fire control system
AN/ARN-85 LORAN (AN/ARN-92 in Thunderstick II-modified aircraft)

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