Warbird Information Exchange

PALM SPRINGS — The Palm Springs Air Museum is trying to raise funds to rescue a Vietnam War-era fighter-bomber headed for the scrap heap.

Meanwhile, the coveted Republic F-105 Thunderchief awaits its fate at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
These supersonic speedsters conducted the majority of strike-bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War.
“They will give us the plane, we just have to pay to bring it over,” said Fred Bell, Palm Springs Air Museum managing director.
“I need to raise about $10,000.”
The U.S. government periodically auctions surplus military aircraft as scrap metal and the museum has about 30 days to get the money together.
“We’ve got to go get this airplane by August,” Bell said.
Just over 800 F-105s were manufactured and nearly half of those were lost in combat during the Vietnam War.
“A lot of guys that were captured or killed there came out of this airplane,” Bell said.
The Thunderchief was the largest single-seat, single-engine combat aircraft in history, weighing in at about 50,000 pounds. It could exceed the speed of sound at sea level and reach Mach 2 at high altitude.
The F-105 could carry up to 14,000 pounds of bombs and missiles.
Bob Andrade, Palm Springs Air Museum historian, said the addition of the F-105 fits right into the museum’s plans to expand its collection of military aircraft.
“It would be perfect,” he said. “We started out with World War II aircraft, then we started seeing the importance of including Vietnam and Korean War-era planes. The public loves it.”