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  • F-105F Thud Wild Weasels and Rolling Thunder

    The two-seat Wild Weasel III F-105F Thunderchief or "Thud" formed the backbone of USAF SAM suppression during Operation Rolling Thunder. The F-105 Wild Weasels continued to develop tactics, flying two types of missions -- strike support, by far the more common of the two, and "hunter-killer" search

  • ALQ-71 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) Pod

    Carried by fighter aircraft, ECM pods jammed enemy radars by emitting high powered radio signals. Though effective when carried in large, close formations in level flight, an ECM pod was of little value in the small, constantly maneuvering formations used by Wild Weasels. Furthermore, ECM pod

  • Radar Homing and Warning: The Key to the Wild Weasels

    On Aug. 3, 1965, a group of military and industry officials headed by USAF Brig. Gen. Kenneth Dempster met in secret to examine how to counter the SA-2. One recommendation was to equip a small number of fighter aircraft with radar homing and warning (RHAW) equipment to detect and attack SAM

  • "Weasel Sighted SAM--Killed Same": The First Kill

    Capts. Allen Lamb (pilot) and Jack Donovan (EWO) achieved the first Wild Weasel SAM kill on Dec. 22, 1965, while covering a strike force northwest of Hanoi, North Vietnam. Capt. Donovan began picking up radar signals and called out the coordinates. Capt. Lamb guided their F-100F to the site and

  • The First Loss

    Captains John Pritchford and Robert TrierThe first Wild Weasel loss occurred on Dec. 20, 1965. While on an Iron Hand mission over North Vietnam, anti-aircraft fire hit the F-100F crewed by Capts. John Pitchford and Robert Trier. Both ejected, but Capt. Trier was killed while exchanging fire with

  • The Pioneers: Wild Weasel and the F-100F

    The Air Force placed great hope on the success of the Wild Weasel concept. Project Wild Weasel used modified two-seat F-100Fs, with the pilot flying and firing weapons from the front seat, while an electronic warfare officer (EWO) tracked enemy radar systems in the back seat. These trailblazers

  • Iron Hand

    After the U.S. Navy lost its first aircraft to an SA-2 in August 1965, it began reprisal attacks called Operation Iron Hand against SAM sites. Iron Hand later became a generic term for U.S. missions to destroy enemy surface-to-air defenses.Click here to return to First In, Last Out: Wild Weasels vs.

  • What is a Wild Weasel?

    "Wild Weasel" describes the specialized USAF crews, aircraft and missions that suppress enemy air defenses with direct attacks. It originates with the name of the USAF's first anti-SAM program in 1965 -- Project Wild Weasel.Click here to return to First In, Last Out: Wild Weasels vs. SAMs.

  • First In, Last Out: Wild Weasels vs. SAMs

    The Soviet SA-2 surface to air missile (SAM) threatened to halt air operations over North Vietnam. To suppress and destroy this threat, the U.S. Air Force countered with the courage and skill of the Wild Weasels, who flew some of the most dangerous missions in Southeast Asia.First In, Last Out: Wild

  • Sawadee! The Party Suit Tradition in Southeast Asia

    Party suits were a local and unofficial creation that arose in 1967 from the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, stationed at Tahkli Royal Thai Air Base. They created "special flight suits" in response to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wings' usage of black dyed cotton