F-105 Thunderchief Pilot Manual

Known as the "Thud", Republic's F-105 Thunderchief entered service in 1958, and flew in a variety of roles through 1984.

The largest single-engine fighter in the USAF, the F-105 could exceed Mach 1.0 at sea level, and achieve Mach 2.0 at altitude. It could carry 14,000 pounds of ordnance, or about as much as most WWII heavy bombers.

The F-105 served as the primary strike aircraft in the early years of the Vietnam conflict, and its pilots flew over 20,000 missions. These included "wild weasel" flights to suppress North Vietnamese air defenses. The dangerous aspects of these missions help account for the aircraft's high loss rate -- out of 833 F-105s produced, 320 were lost in combat in S.E. Asia.

Originally printed by the USAF, this handbook provides a fascinating glimpse inside the cockpit of one of history's great planes. The manual was declassified and is here reprinted in book form.

181 pages, softbound, color covers with b&w text, 8.5x11"