By: Transall
- 23rd October 2004 at 15:03Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hey Juni,
You can still see a Republic aircraft in USAF service today: the Fairchild/Republic A-10A "Thunderbolt II".
These were still built in the same plant as the P-47 and the Thud.
After that, the company went broke, I believe. I heard the thing that did them in was a trainer for the USAF that would have been the T-46.
The prototype T-46 is in "Celebrity Row" at AMARC.
Best regards, Transall.
New
By: Anonymous
- 23rd October 2004 at 15:12Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
hi Itch do you have any info on the trainer that Republic made? like flight data or any pics? ive never heard of it before. so is Republic related to Fairchild? it wouldnt suprise me as the A-10 has Republic traits like ruggedness and durability. was it all a Fairchild design though? they dont build them like they used to...
By: Anonymous
- 24th October 2004 at 16:44Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
thats a nice little trainer plane, shame it wasnt built. i bet it would have done the JPATS role very well, what do you think? ive never seen that plane before so its good to see a different design. i like the twin fin layout.
By: Cajun21
- 25th October 2004 at 15:09Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
The T-46 never went into production, in fact it never left design stage so it was only on paper. Fairchild Republic is still in existence, they are not manufacturing a/c but are still in the aerospace industry.
Sauron,
Yes the Thud was a bit bigger than the F-101. The 100 missions was the majic number for a pilots' ticket home. The only "counters" toward the 100 were the missions flown into N.V.. Any mission flown to Laos or S.V. were not "counters" so a pilot could get as many as 150 missions before he rotated out of theater. On average 100 missions took about 13 months.
Nani,
I'm 5foot 10 inches tall, yes the Thud is a very big a/c. The picture I attached may have some distortion to it as it was digitized from a photo.
By: Arthur
- 25th October 2004 at 16:08Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
The T-46 never went into production, in fact it never left design stage so it was only on paper. Fairchild Republic is still in existence, they are not manufacturing a/c but are still in the aerospace industry.
A small correction there, Itch. Three T-46 prototypes and a single static test airframe were built before the project got canned. One is preserved at Edwards, and one at Celebrity Row on AMARC at Davis-Monthan.
By: Cajun21
- 25th October 2004 at 16:15Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
A small correction there, Itch. Three T-46 prototypes and a single static test airframe were built before the project got canned. One is preserved at Edwards, and one at Celebrity Row on AMARC at Davis-Monthan.
Thanks Arthur, I stand corrected. Next time I get to DM I'll make a note to look it up.
Cheers
Itch
New
By: Anonymous
- 25th October 2004 at 16:54Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
F-105
hi Itch well ive been thinking of the Thud and im very interested in it, kind of caught my imagination. not many planes done that lately. you know ive read lots on the Thud over the years and its all well interesting. ive forgotten much but remembered some of it. was the only time that the Thud was used to defend American skies in the days of the Cuban missile crisis? i read that the Cuban Ilyushin Beagle bombers would have been a low level threat so some thuds did air defence with early sidewinders as missiles and the gun. i think the airplanes was all silver, not camo like they was in Nam. do you have any info on the air defence role that Thuds did? another interesting thing but i find hard to believe, that the Thunderbirds display team used the Thud for only one show? i think this was due to the huge size of the plane. i really wonder, how would the Thud do in aerobatic manoeuvers being so large and what display routine would they do? ive had lots of beer since i studied my old plane books so things are kinda hazy... the Thud is my new fave jet though... :cool:
By: Cajun21
- 25th October 2004 at 19:33Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
To the best of my knowledge the F-105 never served in the interceptor role during the Cuban Missle Crisis, or any other time. You may be thinking of the F-104 Starfighter. The 105 was designed from it's outset as a lowlevel, high speed, tactical nuker, interdiction fighter/bomber and as such not really suited for interception work. It's main purpose was to dash into a foreign country, kick out the nuke and (hopefully) return to it's base. Basically air to mud as opposed to air to air.
The original Thud's, the B models were natural metal for a time but it was found to be overtly prone to corrosion and were then painted silver dope to lessen the corrosion. The D models were also painted silver dope when they were manufactured under project "Look Alike". This was supposedly to make it difficult to distinguise between the B and the later D model.
The Thunderbirds did in fact fly the F-105B for about half a season, approx 6 months, but after cracks began appearing in the nose gear they were pulled from service and replace by their old F-100D's for the remainder of the season and they never went back to them. It is interesting to note that the T'birds' 105 were in fact natural metal, highly polished natural metal. I think I have a photo of one of their B's and if I can find it I'll scan it and post it for you.
Cheers
Itch
New
By: Anonymous
- 26th October 2004 at 09:52Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
well cheers Itch, ill find out the info i read on the Thud doing interceptor work, read it ages ago though. i think the use of the term fighter bomber is a bit strange on a jet more orientated to attack/interediction but planes today are like that. did it only use radar to navigate, any infra red or inertial nav gear on the plane? cheers, juni.
By: Cajun21
- 27th October 2004 at 00:24Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
The radar was a simple ranging radar,WD-5, if memory serves, They were no IR capabilities except for what was carried in the AIM 9's. The term fighter bomber does sound strange now but back then it was one of the few a/c designed with a gun in the true sense of fighter/bomber. Other a/c being designed during the time period were depending on missiles for the primary and only weapon. The 105 also had a probe & droug refueling system (ala Navy type) along with the refueling receptical system. When the 105 was being designed and built the Air Force hadn't determined which system it was going to use so Republic put in both systems. It came in handy a few times when you were away fom your primary tanker and found a Navy tanker to beg some gas off of.
I found this one small pic in my files of a 105 in T'bird markings, I'll search for more and better ones later.
Cheers
Itch
By: Rocky
- 23rd April 2007 at 16:37Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thunderbirds F-105B
The 105 was designed from it's outset as a lowlevel, high speed, tactical nuker, interdiction fighter/bomber and as such not really suited for interception work. It's main purpose was to dash into a foreign country, kick out the nuke and (hopefully) return to it's base. Basically air to mud as opposed to air to air.
Yes, but it did shoot down 27.5 MiG-17s. Three were by AIM-9, and the rest were gun kills. 12 F-105s were lost to MiG-21s, and only five were shot down by MiG-17s, out of a total of 321 F-105s lost in combat. :eek:
The Thunderbirds did in fact fly the F-105B for about half a season, approx 6 months, but after cracks began appearing in the nose gear they were pulled from service and replace by their old F-100D's for the remainder of the season and they never went back to them.
According to F-105 Thunderchief in action, by Ken Neubeck, the Thunderbirds grounded the F-105B after just six shows. They started flying displays in April 1964, but on 9 May "An F-105B flown by Capt. Gene Devlin broke apart in front of the weapons bay during a display and crashed, killing the pilot." That was at Hamilton AFB, in California. An "inquest revealed that a structural splice plate in the upper part of the fuselage failed due to fatigue." After that, the Air Force retrofitted a redesigned splice plate to the F-105B fleet.
Posts: 443
By: Transall - 23rd October 2004 at 15:03 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hey Juni,
You can still see a Republic aircraft in USAF service today: the Fairchild/Republic A-10A "Thunderbolt II".
These were still built in the same plant as the P-47 and the Thud.
After that, the company went broke, I believe. I heard the thing that did them in was a trainer for the USAF that would have been the T-46.
The prototype T-46 is in "Celebrity Row" at AMARC.
Best regards, Transall.
By: Anonymous - 23rd October 2004 at 15:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
hi Itch do you have any info on the trainer that Republic made? like flight data or any pics? ive never heard of it before. so is Republic related to Fairchild? it wouldnt suprise me as the A-10 has Republic traits like ruggedness and durability. was it all a Fairchild design though? they dont build them like they used to...
Posts: 443
By: Transall - 24th October 2004 at 15:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
Check out www.kitparade.com/gallery01/t46tc_1.htm
Cheers, Transall.
By: Anonymous - 24th October 2004 at 16:44 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
thats a nice little trainer plane, shame it wasnt built. i bet it would have done the JPATS role very well, what do you think? ive never seen that plane before so its good to see a different design. i like the twin fin layout.
Posts: 47
By: Cajun21 - 25th October 2004 at 15:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
The T-46 never went into production, in fact it never left design stage so it was only on paper. Fairchild Republic is still in existence, they are not manufacturing a/c but are still in the aerospace industry.
Sauron,
Yes the Thud was a bit bigger than the F-101. The 100 missions was the majic number for a pilots' ticket home. The only "counters" toward the 100 were the missions flown into N.V.. Any mission flown to Laos or S.V. were not "counters" so a pilot could get as many as 150 missions before he rotated out of theater. On average 100 missions took about 13 months.
Nani,
I'm 5foot 10 inches tall, yes the Thud is a very big a/c. The picture I attached may have some distortion to it as it was digitized from a photo.
Cheers
Itch
Posts: 7,877
By: Arthur - 25th October 2004 at 16:08 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
A small correction there, Itch. Three T-46 prototypes and a single static test airframe were built before the project got canned. One is preserved at Edwards, and one at Celebrity Row on AMARC at Davis-Monthan.
Posts: 47
By: Cajun21 - 25th October 2004 at 16:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks Arthur, I stand corrected. Next time I get to DM I'll make a note to look it up.
Cheers
Itch
By: Anonymous - 25th October 2004 at 16:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
F-105
hi Itch well ive been thinking of the Thud and im very interested in it, kind of caught my imagination. not many planes done that lately. you know ive read lots on the Thud over the years and its all well interesting. ive forgotten much but remembered some of it. was the only time that the Thud was used to defend American skies in the days of the Cuban missile crisis? i read that the Cuban Ilyushin Beagle bombers would have been a low level threat so some thuds did air defence with early sidewinders as missiles and the gun. i think the airplanes was all silver, not camo like they was in Nam. do you have any info on the air defence role that Thuds did? another interesting thing but i find hard to believe, that the Thunderbirds display team used the Thud for only one show? i think this was due to the huge size of the plane. i really wonder, how would the Thud do in aerobatic manoeuvers being so large and what display routine would they do? ive had lots of beer since i studied my old plane books so things are kinda hazy... the Thud is my new fave jet though... :cool:
Posts: 47
By: Cajun21 - 25th October 2004 at 19:33 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
To the best of my knowledge the F-105 never served in the interceptor role during the Cuban Missle Crisis, or any other time. You may be thinking of the F-104 Starfighter. The 105 was designed from it's outset as a lowlevel, high speed, tactical nuker, interdiction fighter/bomber and as such not really suited for interception work. It's main purpose was to dash into a foreign country, kick out the nuke and (hopefully) return to it's base. Basically air to mud as opposed to air to air.
The original Thud's, the B models were natural metal for a time but it was found to be overtly prone to corrosion and were then painted silver dope to lessen the corrosion. The D models were also painted silver dope when they were manufactured under project "Look Alike". This was supposedly to make it difficult to distinguise between the B and the later D model.
The Thunderbirds did in fact fly the F-105B for about half a season, approx 6 months, but after cracks began appearing in the nose gear they were pulled from service and replace by their old F-100D's for the remainder of the season and they never went back to them. It is interesting to note that the T'birds' 105 were in fact natural metal, highly polished natural metal. I think I have a photo of one of their B's and if I can find it I'll scan it and post it for you.
Cheers
Itch
By: Anonymous - 26th October 2004 at 09:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
well cheers Itch, ill find out the info i read on the Thud doing interceptor work, read it ages ago though. i think the use of the term fighter bomber is a bit strange on a jet more orientated to attack/interediction but planes today are like that. did it only use radar to navigate, any infra red or inertial nav gear on the plane? cheers, juni.
Posts: 47
By: Cajun21 - 27th October 2004 at 00:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Juni,
The radar was a simple ranging radar,WD-5, if memory serves, They were no IR capabilities except for what was carried in the AIM 9's. The term fighter bomber does sound strange now but back then it was one of the few a/c designed with a gun in the true sense of fighter/bomber. Other a/c being designed during the time period were depending on missiles for the primary and only weapon. The 105 also had a probe & droug refueling system (ala Navy type) along with the refueling receptical system. When the 105 was being designed and built the Air Force hadn't determined which system it was going to use so Republic put in both systems. It came in handy a few times when you were away fom your primary tanker and found a Navy tanker to beg some gas off of.
I found this one small pic in my files of a 105 in T'bird markings, I'll search for more and better ones later.
Cheers
Itch
Posts: 620
By: franc - 22nd April 2007 at 02:40 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Rare thunderbird indeed!
Who can post a pic of F-105 drop bomb from weapon bay?
Posts: 483
By: Rocky - 23rd April 2007 at 16:37 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thunderbirds F-105B
Yes, but it did shoot down 27.5 MiG-17s. Three were by AIM-9, and the rest were gun kills. 12 F-105s were lost to MiG-21s, and only five were shot down by MiG-17s, out of a total of 321 F-105s lost in combat. :eek:
According to F-105 Thunderchief in action, by Ken Neubeck, the Thunderbirds grounded the F-105B after just six shows. They started flying displays in April 1964, but on 9 May "An F-105B flown by Capt. Gene Devlin broke apart in front of the weapons bay during a display and crashed, killing the pilot." That was at Hamilton AFB, in California. An "inquest revealed that a structural splice plate in the upper part of the fuselage failed due to fatigue." After that, the Air Force retrofitted a redesigned splice plate to the F-105B fleet.