Originally designed as a nuclear response aircraft, the F-105 Thunderchief was always one of my favorite jet propelled fighter/bomber aircraft from the Vietnam war. Its sleek and aggressive lines and large presence were quite intimidating and left no doubt as to its mission in life. The Thud compiled a distinguished service record, flying over 20,000 combat missions by the end of the war and proving to be a rugged and capable aircraft in the Republic tradition. However, despite its durability, losses were heavy, with over 330 F-105s lost in the skies of Southeast Asia.

Osprey’s latest title in their Air Vanguard series is Republic F-105 Thunderchief. Although I refer to the Vietnam war above, it is just one of six sections of this interesting and insightful read:

1. Introduction
2. Design and Development
3. Technical Specifications
4. F-105 Conversions, Modifications and Projects
5. Operational History
6. Conclusion

The book finishes up with a section on Further Reading and an Index. The book is presented in a chronological format and is easy to follow due to its logical sections. The text is accompanied by many photos, both black and white and color, as well as five beautifully rendered color plates – three with aircraft side profiles and two absolutely masterful works of aviation art, one of which I had mistaken for a photograph on first look. There is also a nice fold-out comprising the back cover of the book that has an exploded view of an F-105D. I also liked the color illustration on page 25 that has a display of the various munitions carried by the F-105, quite useful in identifying the various items and their proper colors in and of themselves, regardless of the specific use on the F-105 (a color copy will soon adorn a space above my work desk).

Of course, my favorite section was the one on Operational History. What I especially liked about this section was the use of narratives from actual F-105 air crew recounting their experiences in the Thud. I also enjoyed the section on Design and Development which digs deep into the birth and maturing of the F-105 design (and brought back early memories of when my father was an aircraft design engineer at Grumman). My least favorite was the section titled Technical Specifications – I’m just not into that deep a look, although I know many of my fellow aircraft modeling enthusiast are, and they will not be disappointed at the details presented.

While not a reference volume of sorts, there are still some good modeling reference items to know in this book. A nice color photo of an F-105D instrument panel appears on page 21. Also, you may want to be careful on how you paint your F-105 models: I was not aware that the US Air Force painted their F-105’s with a silver dope lacquer in 1962 & 63 in an effort to help water-seal the aircraft and fight a corrosion problem. I was confused by some of the monochromatic looking Thuds in some of the photos until I had read that little factoid. The book is quite useful in that respect.

I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to referring to it in the future. It’s chock full of interesting facts and anecdotes and makes a nice addition to any aircraft book collection. A definite thumbs-up.

Many thanks to Osprey Publishing for supplying this review title and to IPMS USA for allowing me the opportunity to review it.