republicf105

The first of two prototypes of Republic's next-gen to the F-84F, this is Republic YF-105A-1-RE Thunderchief 54-098 (there was no XF-105) "FH-098" coming in for a landing ca. Oct '55, later becoming the largest US single-seat, single-engined fighter ever fielded. Originally powered by a P&W J57 engine while the P&W J75 was still under development, the YF-105s were made w/o Richard Whitcomb's area-ruled fuselage that was incorporated into all models from the F-105B on, but was still able to achieve Mach 1.2 during testing. This a/c flew until 16 Dec 55 after which it was written off due a landing gear-related mishap.

Republic F-105D Thunderchief, USAF Ser. No. 62-4343, refueling from Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker, USAF Ser. No. 62-3532. This F-105D would be lost to 37mm ground fire near Yen Bai, North Vietnam on August 8, 1966. The pilot, Korean War ace (6 aerial victories), Maj. James H. Kasler (1926-2014) safely ejected and was captured by the North Vietnamese. He was subsequently held and tortured until his release on March 4, 1973. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Kasler aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=151772 The KC-135A would be retired to the Davis-Monthan AMARG (AMARC) boneyard on August 5, 1993, where it still sits today (February 2016), used as a source for spare parts for other KC-135s still in operation. Here are two more recent photos of 62-3532 at AMARG by Flickr users Alan Wilson (photo taken on February 9, 2014), and Jason Grant (photo taken January 27, 2013):

Wild Weasel aircraft used for Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission. It carries HARM (Homing Anti Radiation Missile) designed to lock on to enemy air defense radar emissions and destroy the radar units used to direct Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) at US aircraft.

Republic F-105G-1-RE Thunderchief 63-8266 in the 561st TFS 388th TFW out of Korat RTAFB carrying a couple of AGM-45 Shrikes over RVN in Oct '72. Later to AMARG as FK0014 on 1 Jul 80. Now on display at Mid-America Air Museum in Liberal, Kansas. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-America_Air_Museum#/media/File:...