F-105 ThunderChief Airplane Topping Model USAF Jet Aluminum 1950s NP For Sale

thissale is for a 1950s vintage factory desk model of the Republic F-105 Thunderchief Jet airplane made by Topping - this is the only all-metal model Topping ever produced. This solid aluminum model pivots on a metal base with embossed name plaque and has excellent decals, original plastic canopy (most examples are missing the canopy) and no apparent damage.This model was made for only a few years in the mid-1950s and discontinued due to production problems. size:16 inches long.

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief was a supersonicfighter-bomberused by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during theearly years of the Vietnam War; it was the only U.S. aircraft tohave been removed from combat due to high loss rates.[2]Originally designed as a single-seat, nuclear-attack aircraft, a two-seat Wild Weaselversion was later developed for the specialized Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses(SEAD) role against surface-to-air missile sites. The F-105 was commonly knownas the \"Thud\" by its crews.

As afollow-on to the Mach 1 capable North American F-100 Super Sabre,the F-105 was also armed with missiles and a cannon; however, its design wastailored to high-speed low-altitude penetration carrying a single nuclearweapon internally. First flown in 1955, the Thunderchief enteredservice in 1958. The F-105 could deliver a greater bomb load than some Americanheavy bombers of World War II such as the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The F-105 wasone of the primary attack aircraft of the Vietnam War;over 20,000 Thunderchief sorties were flown, with 382 aircraft lost including62 operational (non-combat) losses (out of the 833 produced). Although lessagile than smaller MiG fighters, USAF F-105s were credited with 27.5 kills.

During thewar, the single-seat F-105D was the primary aircraft delivering the heavy bombloads against the various military targets. Meanwhile, the two-seat F-105F andF-105G Wild Weasel variants became the first dedicated Suppression of Enemy AirDefenses (SEAD) platforms, fighting against the Soviet-builtS-75 Dvina(NATO reporting name: SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missiles. Two Wild Weaselpilots were awarded the Medal of Honor for attacking North Vietnamesesurface-to-air missile sites, with one shooting down two MiG-17s the same day.The dangerous missions often required them to be the \"first in, lastout\", suppressing enemy air defenses while strike aircraft accomplishedtheir missions and then left the area.

TheThunderchief was the largest single-seat, single-engine combat aircraft inhistory, weighing approximately 50,000 pounds(23,000kg).[3]It could exceed the speed of sound at sea level and reach Mach 2at high altitude;[4]The F-105 could carry up to 14,000lb (6,400kg) of bombs andmissiles. The Thunderchief was later replaced as a strike aircraft over NorthVietnam by both the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIand the swing-wing General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark.However, the \"Wild Weasel\" variants of the F-105 remained in serviceuntil 1984 after being replaced by the specialized F-4G \"Wild Weasel V\".

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