F-4 Rear Canopy

[Widewing]

I saw and heard a lot of F-4's in my day as well.  Serviced, launched, recovered and turned a lot of wrenches on them too, so I have a bit of a soft spot for the Phantom.  I was a jet engine mechanic and we would do ground maintenance engine runs pretty regularly.  Will never ever forget having to get up close and personal to leak check something on the engine with the afterburner engaged.  Loud is not the word and the ground literally shakes.  Was lucky enough to get to do the engine runs too.  

Never had the pleasure of seeing or hearing a 105, but I was stationed on a base that had a squadron of 106's.  Beautiful airplane.

The F-105 was and still is one of the most amazing fighter/bombers ever flown. During the Vietnam war, 75% of bombing missions over the north were flown by the F-105. The roughly 730 Thuds deployed flew over 260,000 sorties, and dropped 2.3 million tons of bombs and rockets. That's more than the entire USAAF dropped in the whole of WWII. They shot down 28 MiGs, 25 of them with guns. The Navy's claim that the F-8E was the "last of the gunfighters" was baloney. F-8s shot down just 3 MiGs with guns. One F-105 was credited with 3 kills. The one in the USAF museum today, shot down 2.

[curry1]

I do love the Thud.... I spent years flying off of carriers and land bases. No jet engine I ever heard came close to the J-75 in the F-105. Sounded much less impressive in the F-106. Beats me as to why...

Watch and listen for yourselves....

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=756207857737358&set=o.57289657667&type=2&theater

That's a great sound.  I bet that cool whistling has something to do with their unique shape of their intakes.

[Nefarious]

The Navy's claim that the F-8E was the "last of the gunfighters" was baloney. F-8s shot down just 3 MiGs with guns.

In all fairness it was the last of the Navy's gun fighters, because it's replacement, the F-4B and J had no internal gun.

[Arlo]

Would've loved to have seen the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds when they flew F-4's.

It was awesome. 

[Puma44]

Indeed!

[Puma44]

I do love the Thud.... I spent years flying off of carriers and land bases. No jet engine I ever heard came close to the J-75 in the F-105. Sounded much less impressive in the F-106. Beats me as to why...

Watch and listen for yourselves....

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=756207857737358&set=o.57289657667&type=2&theater

Ah, but a flight of four "Sixes" coming up initial at 500kts plus had a sound that made everyone on base turn and see what was coming.  

or maybe a form of visual reference for use in formation flying

The reference in the F-4 was "wingtip in the star".  In clear air the forward wing tip was the point.  In thick clouds, the rear wing tip was uses to assure additional nose tail clearance if it got bumpy, spatial D set in,  or a combination of all the above.

[danny76]

Ah, but a flight of four "Sixes" coming up initial at 500kts plus had a sound that made everyone on base turn and see what was coming.  

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

The reference in the F-4 was "wingtip in the star".  In clear air the forward wing tip was the point.  In thick clouds, the rear wing tip was uses to assure additional nose tail clearance if it got bumpy, spatial D set in,  or a combination of all the above.

Good info, Thanks

[Puma44]

Any time.  Glad to help. 

[Charge]

If anybody is interested in F-105 history I can recommend Ed Rasimus' When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot Over North Vietnam - ISBN 978-0-89141-854-2 - Presidio Press (September 28, 2004) (Hardcover edition, January 2003, Smithsonian Institution Press).

I even stumbled upon a Youtube video showing him returning from his first tour's last mission which was a huge event for him. I hope he saw it somewhere.
He passed away last year.

-C+

[Widewing]

Here's a Thunderbird F-105 performing the "dead ant maneuver".... This never made it into the show....

[Widewing]

Thud driver music....

http://www.fighterpilotuniversity.com/music-and-theater/songs/i-m-a-thud-pilot/

[DaveBB]

Didn't an F-105 break up catastrophically at an airshow, and that put an end to the F-105 being the plane of choice for the Thunderbirds?

[Widewing]

Didn't an F-105 break up catastrophically at an airshow, and that put an end to the F-105 being the plane of choice for the Thunderbirds?

"Thunderbird Two, Air Force serial number 57-5801, had been involved in an air-refueling incident.  During an aborted hook-up attempt, turbulence dragged and pounded a drogue basket into the fuselage, damaging the aircraft's spine. The damage to the spine was repaired, but no direct evidence was uncovered that this incident caused a defect or weakness in the fuselage.  But the suspicion remains that there may have been some connection between this, and the untimely destruction of Thunderbird Two."

No other Thud suffered a similar failure, even after being severely damaged in combat....

[Widewing]

[FTJR]

(Image removed from quote.)

Great photo,
but I must be getting old. All I can think of is how did he take that at the most critical point of a planes takeoff. The preceived immortality of youth I guess
or was it a twin seat plane?