Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-105>HA2550

General Background

The F-105 earned the nickname Thud after the character Chief Thunderthud on the Howdy Doody TV show. The main mission of the F-105G was the detection and destruction of North Vietnamese SAMs that would then allow other aircraft to safely carry out their assignments. In order for the F-105Gs to do this they were always “First In Last Out” and piloted by volunteers. The F-105 was the only U.S. aircraft withdrawn from combat due to high losses. Having flown 20,000 sorties over Vietnam 382 of the 833 F-105s produced were lost.

The Aircraft

Republic Aviation built 833 F-105 Thunderchiefs of which 143 were “F”s and the USAF converted 65 of them into F-105G Wild Weasel III. The F-105G was the first aircraft dedicated to Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions. The 561st TFS was equipped with 12 F-105Gs and lost 4 to enemy fire and 1 to an accident. The surviving F-105Gs S/N 63-8320 that was converted to a G is credited with shooting down 3 MiGs and is on display at the National Museum of the USAF at Wright Patterson AFB.

Specifications :

Manufacturer:	Republic Aviation
Number Produced:	65
Year Of Conversion From F-105F:	1970
Year Of Last Flight	1983
Crew:	2 X (1 Pilot / 1X Navigator - Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO)
Role:	Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions
Powerplant:	1 X P7W J75-P-19W After-Burning Turbojet With Water Injection Producing 26,500
Pounds Of Thrust
Maximum Speed:	1,372 mph (2,208 km/h) @36,090 ft (11,000 m)
Service Ceiling:	48,500 ft (14,782.8 m)
Maximum Range:	1,493 miles (2,403 km)
Fuel:	450 US Gallon Tank Under Starboard Wing
	650 US Gallon Tank On Center-Line
Dimensions
Length:	67 ft (20.4 m)
Wing Span:	34 ft 11 in (10.6 m).
Height:	20 ft 1 in (6.1 m)
Gun:	Nose Mounted 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan Cannon
Missiles:	AGM-78A Standard Anti-Radiation Missile - Range 75 miles
	AGM-45A Shrike Anti-Radiation Missile - Range 10 miles
Pods	AN/ALQ-5 – Automatic Jamming System