F-105G serial 62-4442 of the
561st TFS taxiing at George AFB in
July 1978 complete with an AGM-45
Shrike training round and practice bomb
carrier. Frank B. MormilloT
HE REPUBLIC F-105 Thunderchief
combined Mach 2 performance
with a prodigious weapons-carrying
capability. However, it is most
remembered for its turbulent combat
career in South-east Asia. Official
records state that 382 ‘Thuds’ were lost in
that theater.
Numbers of F-105s in service dwindled post-
Vietnam, many of them passing to Air National
Guard and Air Force Reserve units.
The 561st Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) was
one of three Thunderchief units attached to the
35th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at George AFB,
California. It operated the Thunderchief in the
‘Wild Weasel’ role, and with the arrival of the
F-4G in 1975 the wing became a center for USAF
suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) training.
The 561st flew the ‘Thud’ from July 1973 until
July 1980, when the last F-105G left George,
leaving the 35th TFW to concentrate on the F-4G
for ‘Wild Weasel’ training. The 561st subsequently
became the last active-duty F-4G unit, attached
to the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada, until its
disbandment in March 1996. The 466th TFS at Hill
AFB, Utah, was the last Thunderchief unit, retiring
its F-105Ds in February 1984.FLASHBACK // 35TH TFW
96 June 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
96-97 Flashback C.indd 96 19/04/2018 15:34