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Originally designed to deliver nuclear weapons at supersonic speeds, the F-105 Thundercheif, like the B-52, was pressed into service delivering iron bombs to North Viet Nam. In this role the
'105 excelled and by the end of 1970 the F-105 had flown 75% of the bombing missions to North Viet Nam.
The F-105 was a huge aircraft. It's physical size coupled with its single-engine design led
its early pilots to nickname it the "Thud", after the sound it would likely make when it crashed to earth. These same pilots, however, learned that the "Thud" could get them home even after sustaining considerable
damage while flying over the most heavily defended targets ever encountered.
My own appreciation for the Thud came while doing research for an F-105 diorama I built in 1989. One of the models in my
diorama was  aircraft 61-086 which flew as "Big Sal" in Viet Nam and was later retired from the
Virginia ANG. I had the pleasure of communicating with the aircraft's crew chief and found there was an incredible bond between him and this machine. I guess that's not unusual. It's a bond that grows between a
pilot and a plane or a mechanic and a machine. You bust your knuckles on a bolt. The airplane's grease and fluids mix with your blood, and the two of you are forever united.
I got to meet "Big Sal" in February, 1999, while visiting the Pima Air Museum in Tuscon, AZ. I wish she could talk - I'd love to hear her stories.
-Kerry Fores |
