Air Power

Filed

• article16 Sept
  Thud Ridge: how a nuclear bomber became the workhorse of Rolling Thunder
  The F-105 was designed to run a single tactical nuke to a Soviet target at low level. Instead it flew three-quarters of the strike missions against North Vietnam — and lost nearly half its production run doing it.
• dossier10 Sept
  Republic F-105 Thunderchief
  Single-seat supersonic strike fighter; the USAF's primary conventional bomber over North Vietnam and the origin of the Wild Weasel SEAD mission.

Wire

1. 18 Sept 05:20ZAir-power desk: long read on the F-105 and the origins of SEAD is live; dossier updated with variant table.
2. 16 Sept 10:30ZAviation heritage: restored F-105G to be displayed at a Guard base open day; the last flying Thud retired in 1984.
3. 10 Sept 08:45ZDossier: Republic F-105 Thunderchief reference is live with spec sheet and variants.