F-105 Thunderchief
The F-105 Thunderchief is a supersonic fighter-bomber aircraft manufactured by Republic Aviation Company and was primarily used by the United States Air Force. It was tagged as “Thud” by its crews.
The F-105 Thunderchief was built primarily for low-level interdiction. It was greatly effective against Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 and Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21 fighters. The F-105’s highly loaded wing was beneficial for speedy and smooth ride but not merely effective for sustained turns in dogfight. It should be noted though that the F-105 managed 27.5 officially credited air-to-air victories against North Vietnamese aircraft, costing 17 F-105s lost to enemy fighters.
Early service life of the F-105 Thunderchief was afflicted by problems with avionics and the MA_8 fire-control system. Under Project Optimize, problem issues were addressed. Nevertheless, based from USAF history, the Thunderchief became the first aircraft to complete its first operational year without a single major accident. The F-105, despite a troubled early service life, it became a dominant attack aircraft during the Vietnam War.
After the Vietnam War, the F-105 Thunderchief was withdrawn from service with the USAF. The F-105 according to military standard was almost no longer effective in combat, having lost nearly 50% of its production after the Vietnam War. In the 1970s and 80s, some F-105s remained in service with Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units. On February 25, 1984, The F-105 officially retired and was replaced by the F-4 Phantom II. In 1964, before production ended, there’s a total of 833 F-105s built.
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