Now preserved in Alabama, 54-0102, a B model, was the fifth F-105 built.

Original and superlative-packed caption for the previous photo.

Two B models flying by “robot control” (See the following caption)

“Jetbuilders” at work. F-105D assembly line,1960.

F-105s on the ramp at Seymour Johnson AFB. The base also hosted B-52s, as seen in the background.

Outnumbered by a host of F-4E Phantoms, this F-105G visiting Seymour Johnson in the late 1970s is nearing the end of its days.

With the noteworthy exception of not dropping a thermonuclear bomb on invading armies (as was its original purpose), the F-105 Thunderchief, AKA the “Thud” (of course), pretty much performed every role one could think of and a few more as well. However, such achievements came with a price, especially in the skies over Vietnam during the first few years of the war. During that period, the 105 was the primary strike aircraft and had a loss rate to prove it: More than half of the F-105s that saw combat in Vietnam were shot down or otherwise crashed in-country. A poignant example of that loss rate is found in the attached photo, which shows the Thunderchief assembly line in 1960. In that picture, 17 Thuds can be identified by serial number; all would serve in Vietnam. Of those 17 aircraft captured in this random photo, 15 would be shot down. Very grim math, indeed.

Nevertheless, most F-105 guys thought they had the best plane in the world, a bird far superior to anything else that came to replace it (See: F-4 Phantom). These Thud drivers haughtily looked down their noses at any mere mortal who even remotely impugned the legend that was their F-105 Thunderchief.

I will leave you with a joke I heard decades ago from an F-4 pilot.

Q: “How many F-105 pilots does it take to screw in a light bulb?”

A: “Two. One guy to screw in the bulb, the other to talk about how great it was.”

Found the photo in a USAF flying magazine from the late 50s.

Underwater Miss Target (R) takes aim at an overhead apple.

This charming young lady, Patricia, wore several hats (including a helmet) back in her modeling days. When not sitting on the wing of a B-47 Stratojet while attending to her responsibilities as “Miss Target” for the 321st Bomb Wing at McCoy AFB, she was busy trying to bite apples from beneath the waves at a local theme park. These vastly different career choices may seem at complete odds, but there was one overriding commonality: both jobs were best performed while wearing a swimsuit.

Note:

“Miss Target”…

Seems a rather ambiguous title, a double entendre, for a USAF organization whose primary mission was to not miss the target.

A pair of deuces from the 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Elmendorf AFB Alaska, cruise past the summit of Mt. McKinley in the late 1960s. These F-102s would soon leave Alaskan Air Command and head to the Air National Guard. 56-1257 (foreground) made it as far south as the Wisconsin Air Guard, where, after a few more years of service, the aircraft, like many an F-102, was converted to a drone and blown to smithereens over the Gulf of Mexico.

1257’s wingman, 56-1252, was luckier. It ended up with the 111th FIS, Texas Air Guard, but was spared the drone treatment and was instead put on display at Ellington Field. Notably, this particular aircraft was one of those flown by President George W. Bush when he was a fighter pilot in the 111th.

The first A model was also the first B-52 to feature a redesigned cockpit (side-by-side seating).

Serial numbered (appropriately enough) 52-001…

…the A model took flight in 1954.

A weight and balance sheet from one of 52-001’s test flights.

Last of the three A’s was 52-003 later used by NASA.

A few years earlier, 52-003 is seen screeching over a Seattle neighborhood in late 1954.

Looking out the right side…

…and the left. Mt. Rainier is seen thousands of feet below.

Inflight photo of 52-001.

This time it’s 52-002. There are one or two differences in the cockpit configuration between 001 and 002.

Judging by the clean slate, this has been a successful flight.

A grand total of three B-52A’s were built. Here, according to the accompanying citations, are all three of them.

An SH-19A Chickasaw displays its abilities before an appreciative B-36 of the 6th Bomb Wing while the latter is on a deployment to Andersen AFB, Guam. The bomber was far from its home at Walker AFB in New Mexico – about 7,000 miles – but that really wasn’t a very big deal for a B-36.

Baseball history fans will undoubtedly know what occasion caused these men in the autumn of 1957 to decorate one of their planes and then throw their hats in the air. For those who don’t know the significance of the situation, here’s a hint: the Milwaukee Braves had just won the World Series. The photo was taken at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, where, as seen in the picture, the men of the 303rd Bomb Wing’s 358th Bomb Squadron included more than a few Milwaukee fans.

In the late 1940s, the USAF made a wise purchase when they ordered a militarized version of the Cessna Model 195 – the LC-126A. Outfitted with floats for service as a rescue bird in Alaska, the USAF never bought the plane in great numbers (only a dozen or so). Still, what it lacked in numbers, it made up for in style because the Cessna 195/LC-126, in this man’s opinion, is one of the most handsome aircraft ever built.

In the photo, 49-1949 of the 10th Rescue Squadron, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, undergoes riverside maintenance out in the bush. It’s summer, but that only means hordes of mosquitoes – all of whom have a million children – are swarming unseen in the picture. This particular plane was saved for posterity by the Air Force and now resides in the USAF Museum, painted as seen here 75 years ago.

A cheerful pilot of Air Defense Command’s 63rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron proudly poses with his F-86D at Oscoda AFB, Michigan, in the early 1950s.  Nice looking airplane, but it was fated to crash in 1955 while serving with the 85th FIS. 

51-5296 of the Maryland Air National Guard sits quietly as its black paint acts as a giant solar collector. 

George AFB, California. One of the early “short tail” F-102’s, 54-1396, also had a short life: after serving with several interceptor squadrons, she crashed while assigned to the 68th FIS in 1960.  Looks to be an open house: there’s an F-101A (53-2441) right behind the Deuce.

According to this photo’s caption, actress Debra Paget was in Las Vegas, and when asked if she would like a tour of nearby Nellis AFB  she simply could not resist. (Obviously, she would only take part in the tour if she could wear a bathing suit and high heels.) Upon her arrival, the Nellis pilots were so impressed with their visitor that they immediately named her “Miss Sonic Boom.” Miss Paget/Sonic Boom was quite the starlet back in the day featuring in films like The Ten Commandments and a movie opposite Elvis. She is now 90 years old.

Yes, it was the biggest.

Skimming the rooftops, a 7th Bomb Wing bird arrives at the Consolidated plant in San Diego.

RB-36E (44-92023) of the 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron.

Another RB-36E (44-92020) of the 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron.

B-36J (52-2820) of the 95th Bomb Wing.

B-36H (51-5718) of the 11th Bomb Wing.

An aluminum suppliers dream, a single B-36 rolled and flattened to the thickness of household aluminum foil, would cover over 20 million square feet of property. Many thanks to Mr. Del Chasteen, a good ol’ Texas boy, who supplied most of the photos.

Taken at Ladd AFB, Alaska, on Monday, September 17, 1956, the men of the 18th pose with one of their F-89s on one of the few remaining days before the base is buried in snow. 

Men of the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW) on deployment to Albrook AFB, Panama Canal Zone, pose for a group photo before heading home. The reason for their trip to Albrook was classified: they were monitoring French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. When this photo was taken in ’66, the 100th SRW was new to the “spy plane” world – they had just gained the mission, personnel, and aircraft of the deactivated 4080th SRW (the men are wearing that patch, not the 100th).

The lucky dogs of the 65th Bomb Squadron pose with the individual they have ascertained to best represent the unit’s interests, Miss Myrna Dell. The date is July 21, 1950, the place, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, the aircraft, a Boeing B-50. When not fulfilling her role as “Miss Bombshell”, Myrna Dell was a regular in Hollywood films of the era (she once co-starred with Ronald Reagan).