Republic F-105 Thunderchief in USAFE and ANG service

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tomdocherty72

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tomdocherty72
I am hoping to contact pilots and ground crews who flew or fixed the Thunderchief during service with USAFE and the ANG. Any help would be much appreciated.
 
tomdocherty72 said:
I am hoping to contact pilots and ground crews who flew or fixed the Thunderchief during service with USAFE and the ANG. Any help would be much appreciated.
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I "flew" an ANG F-105 simulator for about 2 minutes once over 30 years ago...

guess I wouldn't be real helpful :D
 
President Bush (43) flew 'em...
 
Bush's Unit the 147th is still around flying drones...one of their last 105 Instructor Pilots Mel Safer (Worked with Bush) just died two years ago he would be 81...have a feeling most of those guys are getting long in the tooth and you better act fast...I could tell you stories but they would not be first hand...Melvyn was the only Jewish Gay Fighter Pilot I knew...RIP Mel...
 
You are correct he flew 102's...so did Mel...I am then no help...
 
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My uncle flew the 104, in combat no less. He's 86 this year, hard of hearing, lives in a board and care in Austin. Memory fading, and he doesn't like to talk about Vietnam at all. Apparently it was - unpleasant.
 
SCCutler said:
President Bush (43) flew 'em...
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He flew Deuces, not Thuds.

I flew F-111's in the 80's with quite a few folks who flew Thuds in the 60's and 70's, but pretty much all in Southeast Asia, not USAFE (don't think there were many USAF F-105 units). The only ANG unit I know of that flew them was the NJ Guard at McGuire -- not sure what they're doing now, but the unit historian there may be able to help. If you give me some contact information for you, I'll pass it down the ratline to see who is interested in talking with you.

Interesting stat: Half the Thuds ever built were lost in SEA.
 
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Most people of the streets don't know Bush was a fighter/interceptor pilot.

130423134018-08-gwb-horizontal-gallery.jpg
 
kgruber said:
Most people of the streets don't know Bush was a fighter/interceptor pilot.

130423134018-08-gwb-horizontal-gallery.jpg
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I thought everybody knew that. I've also heard that he wasn't a very good pilot and some have said that he's lucky he didn't kill himself in that plane as the 102 is said to not be very tolerant of sloppy piloting.
 
Dav8or said:
I thought everybody knew that. I've also heard that he wasn't a very good pilot and some have said that he's lucky he didn't kill himself in that plane as the 102 is said to not be very tolerant of sloppy piloting.
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I've "heard" the same thing about Mooney pilots.:nono:
 
Dav8or said:
I thought everybody knew that. I've also heard that he wasn't a very good pilot and some have said that he's lucky he didn't kill himself in that plane as the 102 is said to not be very tolerant of sloppy piloting.
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I knew two of his IP's both Mel and another named Poncho...both reported he was a good stick...I have no reason to believe they were lying...and Mel was a Democrat and never liked his politics. Mel had a Mooney Ranger so he must have known...
 
I don't have a dog in the fight
Bad sticks, or pilots who flew by rote memorization, did not survive in the 102 very long - if at all
Ask the Germans about that
Bush the junior was, and is, an idiot for getting us into Iraq
Be that as it may - the public misinterprets his pausing to consider what comes out of his mouth, before it comes out, as a sign low intellect
While I am not a fan, I consider him to be a very smart individual
He is not slick like Hil and Willy, seems ethics can be an obstacle to that type of slickness
If I had to be stuck somewhere boring for a long time I would pick Bush over the other two as a companion
 
Dr. O said:
I don't have a dog in the fight
Bad sticks, or pilots who flew by rote memorization, did not survive in the 102 very long - if at all
Ask the Germans about that
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Perhaps you're thinking of the F-104.
 
Bush was an F-107 pilot.
 
Dr. O said:
I don't have a dog in the fight
Bad sticks, or pilots who flew by rote memorization, did not survive in the 102 very long - if at all
Ask the Germans about that
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The "Germans" never had Convair F-102 "Delta Daggers."
 
Ron Levy said:
I often wondered if the person who designed the BAC Lightning also designed Browning's over/under shotguns -- I believe that configuration is unique.
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It makes a lot of sense though. While I know that the design of side by side engine (like an F-14/F-15/F-18) doesn't have a true VMC problem, I would imagine that the over/under design of the Lightning is slightly better in that regard.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
It makes a lot of sense though. While I know that the design of side by side engine (like an F-14/F-15/F-18) doesn't have a true VMC problem, I would imagine that the over/under design of the Lightning is slightly better in that regard.
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I imagine the Lightning was considerably worse in regard to maintenance.
 
JimNtexas said:
Do you think an idiot could survive for long flying at night in this cockpit?
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Not only fly, but radar/infrared intercept and shoot down a fleet of Russian bombers with nuclear missiles!


All single pilot!!:yes:
 
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My dad said it was indeed a maintenance nightmare because of the way the engines were run (hard) and how compact everything fit together. They had fuel in every spot they could possibly fit it into. He said initial climb rates of 50k/min were possible. Said the performance of the red top missiles were terrible and if they could actually hit anything, they would call them "hittiles" instead of "missiles".

Also said that in the event of an engine fire, in most cases, that procedure was to eject because the fuel and the engines were so close together that it wasn't possible to fight effectively.

"It's a plane you wear" :D
 
Velocity173 said:
Bush was an F-107 pilot.
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The F-107 never other than as a prototype, and was never produced and delivered to the USAF other than as a test article. In fact, it was to the originally mentioned F-105 that the F-107 lost in the strike fighter contract competition. As noted above, the only thing GWB flew operationally was the Deuce.
 
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Ron Levy said:
The F-107 never other than as a prototype, and was never produced and delivered to the USAF other than as a test article. In fact, it was to the originally mentioned F-105 that the F-107 lost in the strike fighter contract competition. As noted above, the only thing GWB flew operationally was the Deuce.
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I figured since we have him flying the 104 and the 105, why leave out the 107? Plus, since "43" gets blamed for everything, I thought to include the demise of the 107 to his piloting.
 
Take the politics out of the equation ,he's still with us,he didn't destroy any aircraft. Not an easy plane to fly,so his pilot skills must be OK.
 
Dav8or said:
I thought everybody knew that. I've also heard that he wasn't a very good pilot and some have said that he's lucky he didn't kill himself in that plane as the 102 is said to not be very tolerant of sloppy piloting.
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Yet he still willingly flew it. He's got bigger balls than most.
 
Total (potentially mythical) legend, oldie but goodie and relevant....

FNG gets separated from his lead in the heat of whatever (presumably getting really really shot at), both in Thuds, both "downtown" in NVN. Lead can't find him, so eventually comes over the radio....."say posit"....wingman responds with where he is, lead comes back "WHAT are you doing there?"......wingman responds "about 1000 knots" :)

Seriously, that thing was bad as hell, and had probably the best top end speed down low apparently of just about anything prior/present/since (maybe save the -111). Real cool jet. This post is no value added to the original request, but I thought we could get off politics and start talking -105's
 
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Thud Ridge. Good book.:yes:

Still keeping my fingers crossed for the Collings Foundation getting one flying.

Edit: Crap, just read Jack Broughton passed away last October. Great pilot, great leader and great writer. Read two of his books and they were both outstanding.
 
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35 AoA said:
Total (potentially mythical) legend, oldie but goodie and relevant....

FNG gets separated from his lead in the heat of whatever (presumably getting really really shot at), both in Thuds, both "downtown" in NVN. Lead can't find him, so eventually comes over the radio....."say posit"....wingman responds with where he is, lead comes back "WHAT are you doing there?"......wingman responds "about 1000 knots" :)

Seriously, that thing was bad as hell, and had probably the best top end speed down low apparently of just about anything prior/present/since (maybe save the -111). Real cool jet. This post is no value added to the original request, but I thought we could get off politics and start talking -105's
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The Thud was fast on the deck (close to 800 knots, but not 1000), and yes, the F-111 was faster.

I've personally seen 770 knots on the deck in an F-111D with some throttle still to spare, and an F-111D was clocked at 821 knots on the deck one night at Red Flag. The WSO on that one was Walt Watson, who later achieved some fame as an SR-71 RSO. On that particular night, an F-15 pilot was ragging him in the back bar after landing about how he could see their burners blazing from 100 miles away. Walt retorted, "You can see the sun from 93 million miles away, but just try to hit it." :yes:

The fastest 'Vark was the F-111F, which could do 900 knots on the deck, and on a cold day could even break Mach on the deck without cracking the afterburners. An inattentive crew from the 48th at Lakenheath "accidentally" did just that one winter day on the RAF's RBS range up at Benbecula in Scotland, and the shock wave knocked the scoring shack off its foundations -- much to the crew's chagrin and the USAF's expense. :no:
 
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haha nice, that (-111) would have been a hell of a jet I bet. I did 600+ knots on the deck this week in an F-16A.........that was pretty fun
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
It makes a lot of sense though. While I know that the design of side by side engine (like an F-14/F-15/F-18) doesn't have a true VMC problem, I would imagine that the over/under design of the Lightning is slightly better in that regard.
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No VMC problem?!? Ask a Tomcat driver about TF-30 induced flat spins sometime. Or just rent the movie.
 
tomdocherty72 said:
I am hoping to contact pilots and ground crews who flew or fixed the Thunderchief during service with USAFE and the ANG. Any help would be much appreciated.
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Air Force Reserve also flew them - mid 70s to about 81.

301st Tactical Fighter Wing was based at Carswell AFB, TX with F-105 squadrons at Carswell, Tinker AFB, OK, and (IIRC) Hill AFB, UT. 507th Tactical Fighter Group and 465th Tactical Fighter Squadron were the units at Tinker. They all transitioned to F-4s in the early 80s.

They may have a reunion now and then - you might find some info in internet searches.
 
Thanks to the few guys who actually had something useful to contribute to my original request for help. For the rest who hijacked the thread to hold an argument as to whether Bush flew the 104/105/107/111, please take your discussion to another thread!

To get back to my original request. I wish to contact Thunderchief (That is the F-105) aircrew and groundcrews who served in USAFE with the 36th and 49th TFW and in the ANG with the 108th, 113th, 116th, 177th, 184th and 192nd TFW. Any help in contacting these gentlemen would be much appreciated.
 
tomdocherty72 said:
Thanks to the few guys who actually had something useful to contribute to my original request for help. For the rest who hijacked the thread to hold an argument as to whether Bush flew the 104/105/107/111, please take your discussion to another thread!



To get back to my original request. I wish to contact Thunderchief (That is the F-105) aircrew and groundcrews who served in USAFE with the 36th and 49th TFW and in the ANG with the 108th, 113th, 116th, 177th, 184th and 192nd TFW. Any help in contacting these gentlemen would be much appreciated.
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Lighten up, Francis.
::rolleyes:
 
nddons said:
Lighten up, Francis.
::rolleyes:
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Lol! I was actually getting ready to write that. Just watched Stripes the other day.

Seriously though Tom, all your threads are about gathering information on military crews for your next article or book. In the future I think you'll find that a Google search will yeild far better results. I searched "F-105 pilot reunion" and found several sites.

Also, POA is a predominantly civilian pilot forum so odds of getting what you want is slim. That's why you got the thread drift.
 
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Velocity173 said:
Thud Ridge. Good book.:yes:

Still keeping my fingers crossed for the Collings Foundation getting one flying.

Edit: Crap, just read Jack Broughton passed away last October. Great pilot, great leader and great writer. Read two of his books and they were both outstanding.
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I think Rupert Red Two was the third in the series, also a very good read. Another great read is American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day. Colonel Day was a MOH recipient.
 
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