Customer Reviews

F-105 Thunderchief: Workhorse of the Vietnam War

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As a long time F-105 historian I have read virtually everything ever published on the mighty Thud. I was stunned at how much background information I was previously unaware of that Mr. Jenkins has unearthed. Although I have always been especially fond of the classic Anderton book on the 105, I think for depth of information this book is the one to beat. The chapters relating to unique configurations and missions (Ryan's Raiders, etc.) were particularly interesting. I also found the history of the Weasel program and the chronology of how the F transformed into the G to be especially revealing. This is a book that any serious student of the F-105 simply must have.

The F-105 has long been a favorite of mine, but there have been very few books written on the airplane. This is easily the best and most comprehensive of those few. McGraw Hill dropped the ball with the quality of the paper and printing, but the text and selection of photographs is wonderful. This book covers all variants (including several that were not built), has a an excellant section detailing the history of the Wild Weasel concept (this alone is worth the price of the book), and provides sufficient technical details to restore a Thud to flyable condition (well, almost). Highly recommended.

For some time now I've been fascinated with the F-105 Thunderchief. This is an aircraft that was designed for the nuclear strike mission and did conventional strikes in Vietnam. This book goes from the concept of the aircraft thru it's operational usage in Vietnam. Mr. Boyne provides us with descriptions of the B, D, and F (and the G) versions (he also mentions the C, E, and H variants and how they weren't built) .
In addition to providing us with descriptions of the different variants of the F-105 Mr. Boyne gives us a quick overview of the use of the Thunderchief; as a strike aircraft over North Vietnam and special missions (Commando Nail and Combat Martin). In addition, a full chapter is dedicated to F-105's doing the Wild Weasel mission.

Rating wise this ones a must have for the Thunderchief fan; therefore a 5 star book! The writing is simple and direct and covers all aspects of the Thud. The appendices are excellent, including one appendix telling about every aircraft lost on South East Asia. The only thing really lacking would be additional color photos (btw, there are some excellent ones in here) and an appendix telling us where Thuds are on static display.

Republic, same folks that built the P-47 Thunderbolt designed & built this plane. Originally created to carry nuclear bomb fast & get out of there, it became instead most famous for dropping lots of iron bombs in Vietnam. It was nicknamed the thud because of the sound the plane made when hitting the ground.

A lot of them were shot down - about 50% of the 753 made. That's not a fault of the plane, but tactics and struggling with new technology of the 50's. Many pilots took severely damaged planes home & praised Republic for the ruggedness of the F-105.

This is an excellent book - as are all of the Aircraft Series of books. Lots of detailed text covering the development, prototypes and production of each variant of this plane. The black and white photos are clear, crisp with helpful captions. Stories of pilots who flew the plane & saw action are included, as are statistics, data of the plane and weapons that it used. Not perfect for modelers, 8 pages of color photos, but a must for aviation buffs of the 50's and 60's. The Thud made an important contribution to the Air Force and this is a fitting book on the plane & those who flew it.