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Republic F-105 Thunderchief
Development (Continued)
On 11 December 1959, an F-105B piloted by Brig. Gen. Joseph Moore (commander of the 4th TFW) set a world record of 1,216.48 mph (1,958.53 km/h) over a 100 kilometer (62 mi) circuit. Moore received the Bendix Trophy in 1959 for this feat.
Plans to build over 1,500 F-105Ds were cut short when the Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided to equip no more than seven combat wings with the type. Production was cut in favor of the Air Force adopting the Navy's F-4 Phantom II. A total of 833 F-105s were produced before production ended in 1964.
Design
The F-105 was designed primarily for low-level interdiction and its low-altitude speed was its greatest asset when dealing with Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighters. The Thunderchief's highly loaded wing was excellent for speed and smooth ride but not for sustained turns in a dogfight. Nevertheless, the F-105 managed 27.5 officially credited air-to-air victories against North Vietnamese aircraft at the cost of 17 aircraft lost to enemy fighters (North Vietnamese pilots claimed to have shot down an additional 23 F-105s but none have been confirmed by USAF). All victories were against MiG-17s -- 24.5 were shot down with cannon fire (one victory was shared with an F-4), and three with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. F-4 Phantoms were tasked to protect the Thuds from MiG fighters, but they lacked the internal gun and ranging gunsight of the Thunderchief until late in the war.
On the basis of combat experience, the F-105D was updated with a better ejection seat, radar homing and warning (RHAW) antenna on the tail fin, additional armor, and protection to the hydraulic system which proved to be very vulnerable to combat damage. The hot and humid climate of Southeast Asia created problems for the capricious electronics, a problem encountered by virtually all advanced US aircraft of the war. High ambient temperatures also exacerbated the F-105's propensity for engine fires due to inadequate cooling of the afterburner. Most of the Vietnam aircraft were eventually fitted with ram-air scoops to ameliorate this problem.
Republic F-105D-30-RE (S/N 62-4234) in flight with full bomb load.
(U.S. Air Force photo)
Unfortunately, the low-altitude attacks and dive bombing brought the F-105s into the range of North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire; the loss rates were so high that the USAF began experiencing shortages of combat-ready aircraft. A total of 382 aircraft were lost in Southeast Asia, 320 of those in combat. The vast majority of losses were the result of enemy ground fire. Of the 610 single-seat F-105Ds built, 283 were shot down and 52 lost operationally. Of the 143 F-105F/G two-seaters, 37 were shot down and ten lost operationally (one "Ryan's Raiders" night interdiction aircraft and one Combat Martin jammer without a back-seat WSO were lost in combat, the other 45 losses were Wild Weasel aircraft).
Continued on next page....
Sources:
Wikipedia: F-105 Thunderchief
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