Republic F-105 Thunderchief
By Peter Davies
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
When direct American involvement in Vietnam began in 1964 F-105s were deployed to the area, initially as a deterrent but increasingly as conventional attack fighters against insurgency in Laos and Vietnam. As the pace of war increased and bombing of North Vietnam began in 1965 the Thunderchief was the most important weapon in attacks against the most heavily defended territory in modern history. Two wings of F-105s, manned by pilots whose experience often included combat in WWII and Korea, performed truly heroic deeds in an environment where the political and tactical odds were usually stacked against them. Flying long distances from their bases in Thailand the fighters maintained daily attacks on military, transport and industrial targets, braving deadly Soviet anti-aircraft missiles and flak 'thick enough to walk on' (in the words of one pilot). Additionally, they shot down at least 27 North Vietnamese MiG fighters in eighteen months, more than half the total scored by the official F-4 Phantom II anti-MiG escorts in that period. However, the cost was unacceptably high: 330 out of a total production of 753 F-105Ds and two-seat F-105Fs were lost in combat, curtailing the type's front-line service. The two-seat F-105F, initially produced as a trainer, became a vital pioneer in the field of electronic warfare. Specially-equipped examples used new technology to detect and defeat Soviet radar guided missiles and anti-aircraft guns introducing revolutionary tactics in SEAD (suppression of enemy air defences) which are still in use today. They provided essential support to the Linebacker operations that ended the war in 1972 and continued in service after the surviving single-seat F-105s had been relegated to reserve duties.
Historically and technically the F-105 epitomises the 'faster and higher' design philosophy of 1950s aircraft technology. Its designer, Alexander Kartveli, was responsible for the WW II P-47 Thunderbolt and a series of F-84 fighter designs that gave the USAF its first credible jet striker for the Korean War and the basis of its tactical nuclear strike capability in the 1950s. The F-105 marked the climax of this design process, creating a fighter which could out-run any MiG at low altitude and project US air power at long range in ways that defeated the most sophisticated air defences.
Visually, the F-105 was an impressively large and dramatic-looking fighter. In combat service it acquired a wide range of colour schemes (including that of the Thunderbirds aerobatic team) and wartime artwork that lead to attractive illustrative material. Despite its undoubted importance, popularity and its legendary combat record the type has attracted comparatively slight attention from publishers and nothing (at least, since the 1960s Profile Publications) that presents its full story in the compact but thorough form that an Air Vanguard could offer to a wide range of enthusiasts and students.
Peter Davies
The author, Peter (Pete) Davies has lived and worked mostly in the UK. After taking on an apprenticeship and becoming a plumber, he tried other types of employment and enjoyed all of them. Having become tired of the hum-drum of the everyday sameness, he emigrated to, and spent Many years in Australia where he studied at various institutions. After years of hard work and study he gained his full qualifications and became a horticulturist and Botanist. He has worked voluntarily in Australia within the boundaries of the National Parks and Wildlife service whilst studying. He has a great interest in nature and natural life systems and now retired, continues to observe and photograph plants and wildlife. Hobbies include Cactus culture, gardening, model engineering, crown green bowling just to mention a few. He values his true friends very highly but does not easily suffer false ‘friends’. If you are a true friend of Pete, you will quickly find him to be generous and caring.
Read more from Peter Davies
The French Revolution: A Beginner's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCricket and community in England: 1800 to the present day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSludge: Disaster on Victoria's Goldfields Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJesus: His Earthly Life in Chronological Order Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Republic F-105 Thunderchief
Related ebooks
Republic F-105 Thunderchief Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLockheed F-104 Starfighter: Interceptor, Strike, Reconnaissance Fighter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld's Greatest Warplanes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Spotter's Guide to Selected Aircraft of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5MIG Alley: The Fight For Air Superiority [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World's Greatest Military Aircraft: An Illustrated History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hog Driver: A-10 Thunderbolt II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Soviet Air Power of the Cold War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsF6F Hellcat vs A6M Zero-sen: Pacific Theater 1943–44 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Down In The Weeds - Close Air Support In Korea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTotally Amazing Facts About Military Sea and Air Vehicles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe C-5 Galaxy History: Crushing Setbacks, Decisive Achievements Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flying American Combat Aircraft: The Cold War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld War 2 In Review No. 72: Grumman TBF Avenger Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlying Warbirds: An Illustrated Profile of the Flying Heritage Collection's Rare WWII-Era Aircraft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5P-51 Mustang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlying to the Limit: Testing World War II Single-engined Fighter Aircraft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5P-51 Mustang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJets at Sea: Naval Aviation in Transition, 1945–55 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5North American Mustang P-51: Long Range Fighter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInside Fighter Planes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5F-4 Phantom II Society Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fighting Cockpits: In the Pilot's Seat of Great Military Aircraft from World War I to Today Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwin Mustang: The North American F-82 at War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsU.S. Air Force: Absolute Air Power Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGeneral Electric Air Research Demonstration, June 22, 1946 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHercules Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld War 2 In Review No. 61: North American P-51 Mustang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBalls Eight: History of the Boeing Nb-52b Stratofortress Mothership Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wars & Military For You
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Resistance: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Making of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Daily Creativity Journal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Art of War & Other Classics of Eastern Philosophy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unit 731: Testimony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unacknowledged: An Expose of the World's Greatest Secret Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Washington: The Indispensable Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wager Disaster: Mayem, Mutiny and Murder in the South Seas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Republic F-105 Thunderchief
0 ratings0 reviews