the early days
Posted by Jim Baird on 2/16/2011, 0:13:34
Hello! Just found this site; thank you Mr. Williams for the referral to the great F-105 SITE, in my mind the major workhorse but red-headed stepchild of fighter-bombers; it's even hard to find a model at trade shows-laughing! Still not sure if we got an AFOUA on my short TDY and depending on the article a few minor discrepancies in who did what when e.g.I was with the first F-105Ds on a rotational basis at T, Mar-Apr 1965; and it was the 36th TFS, not the 35th; they and the 80th from our Wing followed; believe the permanent F-105 units were later in 65/66 at Takhli, Korat and Nakon Phanom. Plus, some have been misguided the 105s moved from Itazuke to Yokota in 1964; they left from Yokota in Mar 65. Our first group was 18 105s and 1 U-2; a B-57 would roll down the runway in late afternoon and toss the next days orders out which might change 4 times overnight! Bless the poor boys in MMS who had to scramble out there and change from 550lb centerline/CBUs/napalm/other;we developed gun camera film in a corrugated box; when I got the sand outta my typewriter we would send the parts messages out; but two weeks to get it from Tachikwawa didn't work of course; so they creatively cannibalized the first 105 that was major damage to keep the other 17 on 1 or 2 sorties daily. Are we having fun yet? The first few nights we had to wait who was sleeping in town as the prior unit (F-100s from Cannon AFB,NM)had not fully transferred to DaNang I believe. Is anyone on here from that time period maybe? It was a memorable time.
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