Difference between revisions of "F-105 Thunderchief"
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| − | A heavy fighter-bomber, sometimes referred to as the “Thud”, built by the Republic aircraft company and designed for tactical bombing. It was the mainstay of the U.S. bombing force in the early part of the [[Vietnam War]]. The F-105 could carry up to 12,000 lb of bombs or a nuclear payload, and carried an internal Vulcan 20 mm cannon that fired at a rate of 6000 rounds/minute. The internal gun set it apart from most other American fighters of the era, such as the Phantom, which carried only missiles. It was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney turbojet engine that allowed it a top speed of over Mach 2 in level flight.<ref>Fast Movers, by John Darrell Sherwood, St. Martin’s Press, 1999</ref> | + | A heavy fighter-bomber, sometimes referred to as the “Thud”, built by the Republic aircraft company and designed for tactical bombing. It was the mainstay of the U.S. bombing force in the early part of the [[Vietnam War]]. The F-105 could carry up to 12,000 lb of bombs or a nuclear payload, and carried an internal Vulcan 20 mm cannon that fired at a rate of 6000 rounds/minute. The internal gun set it apart from most other American fighters of the era, such as the Phantom, which carried only missiles. It was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney turbojet engine that allowed it a top speed of over Mach 2 in level flight.<ref>Fast Movers, by John Darrell Sherwood, St. Martin’s Press, 1999</ref> |
==Operational History== | ==Operational History== | ||
Revision as of 00:33, February 23, 2008
A heavy fighter-bomber, sometimes referred to as the “Thud”, built by the Republic aircraft company and designed for tactical bombing. It was the mainstay of the U.S. bombing force in the early part of the Vietnam War. The F-105 could carry up to 12,000 lb of bombs or a nuclear payload, and carried an internal Vulcan 20 mm cannon that fired at a rate of 6000 rounds/minute. The internal gun set it apart from most other American fighters of the era, such as the Phantom, which carried only missiles. It was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney turbojet engine that allowed it a top speed of over Mach 2 in level flight.[1]
Operational History
The F-105 was the main USAF bomber in Operation Rolling Thunder. It first went into action on March 2, 1965. That attack resulted in severe damage to the target, but 3 F-105s were shot down. As the operation continued, the Thunderchiefs took on the duty of flak and SAM suppression as well. After Rolling Thunder, the Thud’s role was reduced, with more of the bombing duties being taken over by F-4 Phantoms and B-52s. Almost 400 Thunderchiefs were lost in the Vietnam War, over a third of the total produced.<ref>Rolling Thunder, by Ivan Rendall, Dell Publishing, 1997Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
In air-to-air combat, North Vietnamese Migs shot down 27 Thuds, while Thunderchiefs shot down 27 Migs, making a one-to-one kill ratio. Most of the enemy planes were destroyed by the F-105’s 20 mm gun.
References
- ↑ Fast Movers, by John Darrell Sherwood, St. Martin’s Press, 1999