The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. First flown in 1955, the Thunderchief entered service in 1958. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been removed from combat due to high loss rates. It was originally designed as a single-seat, nuclear-attack aircraft. The F-105 was commonly known as the "Thud" by its crews.

As a follow-on to the Mach 1 capable F-100, the F-105 was also armed with missiles and a cannon; however, its design was tailored to high-speed low-altitude penetration carrying a single nuclear weapon internally. Following adoption, the F-105 could deliver a greater bomb load than the large strategic bombers of World War II like the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator. The F-105 was one of the primary strike bombers of the Vietnam War. Other versions were the two-seat F-105F and F-105G Wild Weasel . Thuds were also flown in Europe by the USAF.

F-105D Thunderchief

This particular Thunderchief F-105D 58-1155 (USAF\"59-1771") is at the AIR FORCE ARMAMENT MUSEUM , ELGIN AFB and named Ohio Express and Foley's Folley.

Photographed Januari 2012 by Cees Hendriks (c) Copyright IPMS Nederland

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Many scale models exist of the F-105, with older Revell and Monogram kit now being superceeded by much better kits. In 1/32 scale Trumpeter has a large kit available.