F-105 Thunderchief
The F-105 Thunderchief was an American aircraft built by the Republic Aviation Company. It was a single-engined fighter-bomber. The Thunderchief replaced Republic's earlier F-84 Thunderjet.
The F-105 was heavily used during the Vietnam War and while used primarily in the bomber role, it was credited with numerous kills of North Vietnamese MiG-17s. It was often called the "Thud" by it's pilots.
The first flight was on October 22, 1955. The first aircraft was delivered to the United States Air Force in 1958. Over 800 were produced until production ended in 1964. During the first four years of the Vietnam War, F-105's were responsible for over 75% of air strikes against North Vietnam. Later in the conflict, some F-105s were fitted with radar-jamming equipment and used on wild-weasel missions against enemy surface to air missiles. It would be retired from the USAF in 1980.
The F-105 could reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.24 (1,480 miles per hour) and had a range of 2,390 miles. It's service ceiling was 50,000 feet. Thunderjets were armed with one 20mm Vulcan Cannon and could carry over 20,000 lbs. of ordinance (internally and externally).
