Republic F-105G Wild Weasel by Monogram

1/72 scale
Kit No. 5431
Cost: $30.00 (aftermarket)
Decals: Two versions – both United States Air Force
Comments: Detailed cockpit and aircrew figures, optional position three-part canopy, one 650-gallon centerline drop tank, one 450-gallon wing-mounted drop tank, one AGM-88 air-to-ground missile, two AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles, separately mounted air brakes

History

The Republic F-105 was, according to the late Pierre Sprey, former defense analyst at the Pentagon who was instrumental in the development of the F-16 Falcon and the A-10 Warthog, “an attempt by Tactical Air Command to grab a little of the nuclear money.” In the decade following World War II, the lion’s share of funding for nuclear weapons delivery systems had been claimed by the bomber crowd of the Air Force’s Strategic Air Command, during the years it was led by General Curtis LeMay.

The Mach 2-capable F-105 was conceived as a high-speed, low altitude strike aircraft that would deliver tactical nuclear weapons on European battlefields. While such nuclear strikes could theoretically be made in level flight, at the low altitudes the F-105 was expected to operate at, such a mission profile would have been suicidal. The war fighting doctrine of the F-105 was therefore to make its strikes via the bomb-tossing method. This involved rapid acceleration as the pilot neared the target, a steep climb of up to 45 degrees to around 5,000 feet, followed by immediate release of the weapon, which would detonate anywhere from five to seven miles away — meanwhile the F-105 pilot was pulling a high-G turn to get the hell out of there and hopefully survive. With the advent of the F-105 weapons system, the fighter arm of the U.S. Air Force was suddenly in the business of delivering nuclear weapons, too.

After being properly tested, the F-105B variant began to enter service with the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron in August 1958, but its debut was short-lived, in part because of the bugs that had yet to be worked out of its sophisticated fire control system. The number of F-105B’s manufactured did not exceed 75. In 1958, the most advanced model was rolled out, the F-105D, and it became the definitive variant, reaching 610 units manufactured by January 1964, just a few months before it was deployed to Vietnam.

Ironically, the “Thunderchief” would receive its baptism of fire and the bulk of its combat experience not in Europe, but in the skies over Vietnam. When Operation Rolling Thunder initiated a dramatic escalation of the air war in early 1965, the F-105, at that time the Air Force’s standard fighter bomber, was tasked with the bombing offensive in North Vietnam. This involved bombing from altitude, a task for which the F-105 had never been designed.

Designed to make high-speed, low altitude bombing runs on European battlefields using tactical nuclear weapons, the F-105 instead spent its career dropping conventional weapons in Southeast Asia. Its losses were appalling.

Military planners were convinced that the F-105’s great speed would render it invulnerable to North Vietnamese fighters. They were duly shocked when VNAF (Vietnamese Air Force) MiG-15’s and MiG-17’s, representing technology over a decade old, were scrambled to intercept the F-105 bombing missions and began to bring some of them down. Starting in July 1965, North Vietnam’s air defenses also included Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), which also began to claim F-105’s. All told, at least 350 F-105’s were shot down during the course of the war by enemy action or destroyed in combat-related accidents; some sources put the figure closer to 400. 272 of these losses were during Rolling Thunder alone.

F-105 losses speak to how heavily the Air Force relied on the type (they flew 75% of the Air Force’s Rolling Thunder missions) as well as the intensity of the air war. Over a period of 52 days during July-August 1966, 25 Thuds were lost, 22 of them (88%) to anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), two to SAMs (8%) and one to a MiG (4%). This amounted to an average of one Thud being downed every two days. An estimated 60% of the Thud pilots who set out to complete a 100-mission tour of duty failed to do so. It was a grisly jest, but to many pilots the F-105’s “Thud” nickname originated from the sound the aircraft made when it hit the ground in Vietnam.

There were two reasons for the alarming attrition rate. First, despite the F-105’s ability to move at Mach 2, it rarely did so over North Vietnam. Traveling for more than a few seconds at Mach speed would rapidly consume every drop of fuel and lead to a pilot’s nightmare: a flame-out over North Vietnam, followed by either sudden death or a stay at the “Hanoi Hilton” as a prisoner of war. Second, F-105’s were heavily laden with, on average, over 5,000 lbs. of externally carried bombs (six M-117 750-pound bombs and two Mk 82 500-pound bombs), which slowed them down considerably and generally hampered their performance. Finally, the Thud had a hydraulically boosted flight control system that was notoriously vulnerable to ground fire or shrapnel from surface to air missiles. Even a minor hit could spell disaster.

By the end of 1965, North Vietnam had an integrated air defense network, consisting of radar, fighters, and surface-to-air missiles. Causing significant damage to this network would prove a formidable task. In time, the Air Force realized there was a need for support for the bombing missions above and beyond simply providing them fighter cover with F-4 Phantoms. There was a need for a new, specialized type of mission that as a matter of survival, had to accompany the bombing raids up North: SAM suppression, the hunting and destruction of North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile sites. The aircraft assigned this mission — equipped with rockets, cluster bombs, and anti-radiation missiles — were given the informal code name “Wild Weasel,” and consisted of a mix of F-105G’s and specially modified F-4G Phantoms.

F-105’s were ideal for the Wild Weasel role because they were the same type of aircraft that had been bombing the North and would have an identical radar signature and visual profile. Their primary mission was to destroy radar rather than SAM sites, for with the radar network blinded or partially blinded, both the SAMs and the AAA would be less effective. But SAM and AAA sites were targeted as well, at great risk to the attacking aircraft since radar and SAM sites were heavily defended.

The Kit

Monogram’s F-105G is injection molded in dark olive drab plastic and consists of 74 parts, including four clear plastic parts for the windscreen, aircrew canopies and gun sight. The airframe features raised panel lines and rivet detail as well as recessed detail for various small apertures. The cockpit is highly detailed with main instrument panels bearing raised relief and two life-like pilot figures, as well as separate control yokes. The cockpit tub likewise bears raised details on the side instrument panels. Although the instructions do not mention the need for a nose weight before closing up the fuselage, it may be best to add one as a fail-safe.

The kit is unusual in that it has a central wing spar that must fit through both fuselage halves as they are cemented together. There are separately mounted intake fences that must be secured to the fuselage before the wings are cemented on. The F-105G features a fuselage mounted ECM pod, together with a single wing-mounted AGM-78 anti-radiation missile, and two AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles, also mounted on wing pylons. It may not look symmetrical once mounted, but there is also a single 450-gallon fuel tank to be mounted beneath the right wing. A single belly mounted 650-gallon fuel tank rounds out the kit’s external stores. Finally there are detailed landing gear and separately mounted dive brakes to be cemented to the burner can section.

Markings

The kit decals include markings for two different U.S. Air Force aircraft, although the respective units are not identified. Modelers may wish to seriously consider aftermarket decals, since Monogram’s markings, while they have a nice gloss finish and realistic color, upon casual examination are not fully in register and have visible color bleed.

Conclusion

This is a remarkably well detailed example of the Wild Weasel version of the F-105, despite its raised panel lines. It accurately captures the sheer size of the Thud, and provides modelers with a reasonable amount of ordnance consistent with the Wild Weasel role. Highly recommended.

References

• History Channel broadcast (Initially aired 2005): “Secret Superpower Aircraft: Fighters”
• www.cavok.com.br
• Rolling Thunder 1965-68: Johnson’s Air War Over Vietnam by Dr. Richard P. Hallion: Copyright 2018 Osprey Publishing Limited, Oxford, United Kingdom

This artist’s rendition of F-105’s dodging AAA (anti-aircraft artillery) during a bombing mission over North Vietnam brings vivid perspective to the hazards faced by Thud pilots in Southeast Asia.