Grampaw Willie, SASS No.26996 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 the F-105 Thunderchief -- aka "Thud" quite the gas hog with its massive J-75 engine is the F-35 our new Thud ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Why? Did one smack mother earth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grampaw Willie, SASS No.26996 Posted May 24, 2018 Author Share Posted May 24, 2018 read story about the Thud America's F-105 Thunderchief Fighter-Bomber: The F-35 of the Vietnam War? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Nice lookin' ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 There’s a reason for the nickname. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 17 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said: There’s a reason for the nickname. True? No idea. Sounds good, though. Quote The WWII P-47 had been nicknamed the Hog, and the follow-on F-84 had become the Super Hog. It was quite natural then that the F-105 would get tagged with Ultra Hog. Transition problems resulting in "controlled flight into terrain" gave rise to the name Lieutenant-eater, but that didn't stick. No one really knows what direction the nickname might have taken but for television, Buffalo Bob Smith, and the Howdy Doody show. Howdy Doody, it was alleged, was the illegitimate son of a Strategic Air Command bomber pilot, and Howdy, assisted by Mickey Mouse, was now writing standardization manuals at HQ, USAF. Buffalo Bob Smith, many others contended, was the role model for any number of Air Force Generals, while Clarabelle the Clown trained USAF stan/eval officers. On the television show, intermittently making mischief with the villainous Mr. Bluster, was a bumbling, drooling, semi-evil Indian named Chief Thunderthud. It had a nice ring to it. Thunder THUD. Thud, as in the noise made by a large heavy object hitting the ground. So, the F-105 became the Thunderthud, and finally, in life and legend, just The Thud. The above from http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/fishlm/folksongs/thud.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Carpenter Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 The F-105 was a hell of great airplane. It was developed as a super sonic Fighter. As we got into the war, it got tagged as a "Bomber" and we hung all grades of Ordanance on it. A little known fact: when the Thud was "clean" on the way home after a sortie, at low level , there was nothing faster by a long shot. Great aircraft, wrongly used. There was on old saying about Republic aircraft: If you Build a Runway that wrapped around the world, Republic would build a Fighter that would use all of it"! cheers...Hoss C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 At least F-105 jocks flying into North Viet Nam did not have to worry about smoking cigarettes harming their health. Duffield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grampaw Willie, SASS No.26996 Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 The Thud was used a lot against SAM sites too. Evidently it was * rugged like it's legendary WW II predecessor: the P-47 "Jug" it's an interesting topic though. Two very successful aircraft : the A-10 Warthog, -- and the Mig-21 Today though our F/A-18 has played well in a dual-mission mode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Letting go of the stick is known as a "JC" maneuver! Placing one's fate in the hands of a higher power than oneself! They don't say much about what to do when you are loaded down with ordnance and a MiG-21 is suddenly on your six! I somehow recall that in 1964, we lost several Thuds to MiGs (according to radio news reports). Got so bad that, against orders, Col. Robin Olds laid a trap for the MiG's. He used Thud call signs, which the NVA were monitoring, to draw them into attacking his F-4's. Very effective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 The F-105 was the wrong airplane for the wrong job. It's primary purpose was low level high speed penetration to deliver a Nuke. A "Dog Fighter" it was not. Was however, extremely rugged. Posted the highest losses of any airplane in Southeast Asia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 A 105 left Saigon airport with a full load of fuel and ordinance headed for NV. A very short time after take off the aircraft developed a situation that would prevent it's ability to not only complete it's mission but to simply survive. The decision was to drop all aux tanks and ordinance over jungle to the east of Saigon. This full load landed way too close to the headquarters of the 9th Division and it's general's hootch. The telephone wires were rather hot between Saigon and Bear Cat for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 THUD the sound made , when I hit the ground , after falling down right before a long string of BAD words CB :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 There are a lot of stories about the Thud being under-powered. This is totally false. What made them seem under-powered was that the designers made them for ordinary pilots. They neglected to factor in the huge amount of brass the pilots who flew Wild Weasel missions brought into the cockpit. Takes a special kind of brave to be that kind of flak bait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grampaw Willie, SASS No.26996 Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 more interesting compare of the F-35 to the good old Thud Superpower in the Sky: Why Israel Wants F-35s and Deadly New F-15s Excerpt Quote To the F-35’s credit, it is stealthy and can fly undetected by enemy radars. To do this, however, it can’t carry bombs outside its bay, limiting the amount of munitions it can carry. yep the F-35 is our New Thud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.