Spacebar: M61A1 20mm Rotary Cannon
AG1 Bombs
AG2 Sidewinder AAM
AG3 Jettison External Fuel
AG4 Jettison ALQ-71 ECM pod
AG6 Deploy Brake Parachute
AG7 External Lights
AG8 Disable Vertical Air Brakes For Landing Configuration
Designed for a nuclear war that never happened, the F-105 Thunderchief was the primary USAF bomber for the first half of the Vietnam War. Often overshadowed by the F-4 Phantom II, it was the Thunderchief and her supporting crews that carried the burden of Operation Rolling Thunder over North Vietnam.
This is an example of the "D' model, the definitive single-seat bomber version of the aircraft. The loadout is a standard one, 6 750Lb bombs stored ventrally, two massive fuel tanks on the inner wing pylons and a Sidewinder IR missile for self defense. The ECM pod creates some adverse yaw, which you can counteract with the right hand trim slider or simply jettison, during the war all USAF aircraft flying into North Vietnam airspace had standing orders to carry these pods at all times. Unlike many aircraft of the era, the F-105 came equipped with an internal gun, the famed "Vulcan Rotary" which earned the plane a positive victory ratio against defending Migs.
You may notice the aircraft is somewhat faster at high altitudes than it would have been in real life. I have done my best to make this jet as fast and deadly "down on the deck" as possible, rather than focus on high altitude max-speed accuracy. Pilots returning from sorties near Hanoi describe exceeding the sound barrier merely a few hundred feet off the ground, sometimes melting parts of the canopy from the intense speed-heat.
I present this as part of @Kevinairlines Vietnam Challenge, I hope you all participate and enjoy!
Specifications
Spotlights
- Cjredwards 6.8 years ago
- DeezDucks 6.8 years ago
- Rodrigo110 6.4 years ago
- Ian1231100 6.8 years ago
- EternalDarkness 6.8 years ago
- Sgtk 6.8 years ago
- TAplanes 6.8 years ago
- Insertname 6.8 years ago
- Kevinairlines 6.8 years ago
- CRJ900Pilot 6.8 years ago
- Franticmatty 6.8 years ago
- RamboJutter 6.3 years ago
- Tang0five 6.3 years ago
- F4f879 6.4 years ago
- Inuyasha8215 3.5 years ago
- Ren 3.5 years ago
General Characteristics
- Predecessor vietnam war Challenge! [read-description-and forum] closed
- Successors 2 airplane(s)
- Created On Windows
- Wingspan 33.9ft (10.3m)
- Length 65.5ft (20.0m)
- Height 22.0ft (6.7m)
- Empty Weight 38,275lbs (17,361kg)
- Loaded Weight 50,743lbs (23,016kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 0.664
- Wing Loading 77.4lbs/ft2 (378.1kg/m2)
- Wing Area 655.3ft2 (60.9m2)
- Drag Points 11727
Parts
- Number of Parts 431
- Control Surfaces 10
- Performance Cost 1,590
@Inuyasha8215 Thanks for the spotlight man
perfect this is a flying pencil stick ahahahahahha
The plane is perfect, but the Vulcan Autocannon isn’t very good, it’s 20 millimeter AP not toothpicks, it sucks against large ground targets like ships. Still, it’s a very good plane.
@RedRoosterII Yes, you can hear his affection for her. "You can't hurt this plane," he says at one point.
The 105 was unique for her generation. The largest single engine, single seater. Among the other Century Series fighters (F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, F-106) the Thunderchief was the only one to prove itself in combat, none of the others had a single confirmed air to air victory. Not bad, considering all the others were designed primarily as interceptors and the Thud was a bomber. Her pilots loved her.
@RedRoosterII The WINGS doc mostly covers the F-105 model G , the two-seater SAM suppressing "Wild Weasel" variant.
This version is the D variant, it made up the bulk of the production run and also handled the majority of Airforce strike sorties during Operation Rolling Thunder. They also talk about it on WINGS but for more specific info, I reccomend this guy.
@RedRoosterII You're welcome to try. This is probably my least popular build. If you do, I recommend you use the same weapons loadout as this is the exact same one used to strike North Vietnamese ground targets. The high speed makes it remarkably accurate for dive bombing and the Vulcan/Sidewinder combo make an effective defense.
I did a ton of research on the 105-D and I can answer any questions you might have, or at least point you in the right direction.
@LuciferOfPoland lol Take it apart, see for yourself. The tailpipe alone has almost 50.
How the hell does this have 431 parts?
@Sinacraft Thanks!
Good job.
@THEPOTATO27 Thanks!
Nice plane, I really like the detail of the plane.
@Phantom1 Thanks
Nice
@ProcessedPlAnEs Thanks for the spotlight!
@Rodrigo110 Thanks for the enthusiastic support. I'm glad you like my planes!
@GermanWarMachine Sorry, this model is based on its 1960s configuration during the Vietnam war. The bomb bay was locked, and instead held a fuel tank. The original nuclear role of the plane was very brief, only a few years toward the end of the 1950s, and was mostly F-105 B models in natural aluminum finish.
@TexJohnston I'm glad you noticed! I try to choose under-appreciated planes that were important for their time. Welcome to S-P!
Prettiest Thud I've seen. Actually, probably the only one on here. Great to see an under-appreciated Vietnam legend get some appreciation!
Ok. Thanks! @F104Deathtrap
@F104Deathtrap your welcome
@F104Deathtrap The brakes looked really cool! My landings are always good >.> HAHA
@Franticmatty Thanks! You got a YT channel?
-EDIT- GREAT VIDEO! That landing was hilarious, but you pulled it off. The pod is a radar jammer, and I am so glad you like the air brakes, they're my favorite part. THANK YOU for featuring my plane.
Made a quick video on this! Awesome plane!
@CRJ900Pilot https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/9njshN/F-105D-Thunderchief-fix There it is. Good catch!