Description:
?Thud Ridge? was created by Keith Ferris as an advertising illustration for the Chandler Evans Division of Colt Industries and presented to the Air Force Art Collection by the company. Thud Ridge Is a range of mountains running down the east side of the Red River, 25 or 30 miles northwest of Hanoi, North Vietnam. 40 mile Thud Ridge, with peaks as high as 6,000 Feet, pointed directly at the heart of Hanoi. During the Vietnam War, Republic F-105 aircraft, nicknamed the ?Thud?, flew the majority of strike missions in this most dangerous of target areas, known as Route Pack 6. The F-105s used Thud Ridge to mask them from SAMs (Surface-To-Air Missiles) and AAA (Anti-Aircraft-Artillery) radars while inbound and outbound from their targets. F-105 JV 093 was flown by 100 mission veteran Thud pilot Major George Avila, the last Thud pilot assigned to the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. This pioneer squadron had amassed 40,000 hours of combat over North Vietnam by the time its F-105s were replaced by brand new gun-equipped McDonnell F-4E Phantom IIs, accompanied by this artist In November 1968.
|
