Republic AP-63 F-105 Thunderchief

Republic AP-63 F-105 Thundercheif

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The following text from Aviation Week is not unique to the aircraft pictured:
08/21/1961. Republic F-105 carries for the seven tons of conventional bombs during tests at Elgin AFB, Florida, USA. A total of 26 bombs weighing 565 lb (256 kg) each are mounted in clusters and singly under wings and the fuselage. Republic claims that the total weight carried by the F-105 is the greatest ever carried by a single-engine fighter.
04/12/1965. Downing of two USAF Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs April 4 by four MIG-15s and 17s is... prompting some immediate changes in Vietnam bombing tactics. Defense Dept. leaders said US aircraft not longer will circle over the target during a bombing raid as MiGs could be in the area. The four MiGs flew out of the haze at near maximum speed and attacked two fully loaded F-105s, orbiting at the pre-strike rendezvous. There were 48 F-105s in flights of four... Aircraft No 3 and 4 of the flight under attack saw the MiGs and dropped their ordnance... and radioed the first and second F-105s to "break." The two lead F-105s evidently did not hear the warning and were shot down in one pass the MiGs made before disappearing back into the haze. The third and fourth F-105s fired back at the MiGs, hitting one of them.
12/06/1965. Air Force is expected to withdraw its two F-105 wings from West Germany to meet the increasing demands of the war in Vietnam. Approximately 60% of the US sorties over North Vietnam are being conducted by the Republic F-105 fighter-bomber. In one recent month, the F-105 accounted for 1,274 of the Air Force total of 1,958 strikes against North Vietnam. A squadron of 18 of the F-105s in the theater is averaging twenty flying hours per day.
05/22/1967. Bangkok- Attrition rates of the war in Southeast Asia will virtually eliminate the Republic F-105 strike fighter from the Air Force inventory if the conflict continues at its present, or an accelerated pace over the next few years. The F-105, originally designed as a nuclear-weapons-carrying tactical fighter, is bearing the brunt of the US war effort over North Vietnam, flying over 75% of the Air Force strike missions directed against that country. It is also being used extensively to punch its way into the tougher targets within the inner defensive ring surrounding Hanoi and Haiphong, including Soviet-built SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile systems, tightly-packed, radar-directed anti-aircraft weapons and Russian-supplied MiG-21 and MiG-17 jet fighters. As a result, its loss rates have been relatively high. Approximately 600 of the single-seat "D" versions were built by Republic before the production line closed in the early 1960s, as an example. About 300 of them remain, with most of the losses occurring over North Vietnam.


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The following text from Aviation Week is not unique to the aircraft pictured: 08/21/1961. Republic F-105 carries for the seven tons of conventional bombs during tests at Elgin AFB, Florida, USA. A total of 26 bombs weighing 565 lb (256 kg) each are mounted in clusters and singly under wings and the fuselage. Republic claims that the total weight carried by the F-105 is the greatest ever carried by a single-engine fighter. 04/12/1965. Downing of two USAF Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs April 4 by four MIG-15s and 17s is... prompting some immediate changes in Vietnam bombing tactics. Defense Dept. leaders said US aircraft not longer will circle over the target during a bombing raid as MiGs could be in the area. The four MiGs flew out of the haze at near maximum speed and attacked two fully loaded F-105s, orbiting at the pre-strike rendezvous. There were 48 F-105s in flights of four... Aircraft No 3 and 4 of the flight under attack saw the MiGs and dropped their ordnance... and radioed the first and second F-105s to "break." The two lead F-105s evidently did not hear the warning and were shot down in one pass the MiGs made before disappearing back into the haze. The third and fourth F-105s fired back at the MiGs, hitting one of them. 12/06/1965. Air Force is expected to withdraw its two F-105 wings from West Germany to meet the increasing demands of the war in Vietnam. Approximately 60% of the US sorties over North Vietnam are being conducted by the Republic F-105 fighter-bomber. In one recent month, the F-105 accounted for 1,274 of the Air Force total of 1,958 strikes against North Vietnam. A squadron of 18 of the F-105s in the theater is averaging twenty flying hours per day. 05/22/1967. Bangkok- Attrition rates of the war in Southeast Asia will virtually eliminate the Republic F-105 strike fighter from the Air Force inventory if the conflict continues at its present, or an accelerated pace over the next few years. The F-105, originally designed as a nuclear-weapons-carrying tactical fighter, is bearing the brunt of the US war effort over North Vietnam, flying over 75% of the Air Force strike missions directed against that country. It is also being used extensively to punch its way into the tougher targets within the inner defensive ring surrounding Hanoi and Haiphong, including Soviet-built SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile systems, tightly-packed, radar-directed anti-aircraft weapons and Russian-supplied MiG-21 and MiG-17 jet fighters. As a result, its loss rates have been relatively high. Approximately 600 of the single-seat "D" versions were built by Republic before the production line closed in the early 1960s, as an example. About 300 of them remain, with most of the losses occurring over North Vietnam.