On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 10:14:48 GMT, "ikke" wrote:

Ed,

As I'm planning to build a model of a Combat Martin F-105F, I was wondering
if you could shed some light on a question I cannot seem to find an answer
to, inspite of the dozen books on the F-105 in my library and the mass of
information on the Internet.
Here is what I already know: the F-105F's that were modified for the Combat
Martin programme received a large blade areal behind the rear cockpit and
also had the rear ejection seat removed to make room for the electronics
associated with the programme.
What I don't know: was the rear cockpit also stripped of side consoles,
stick and instrument panel? What shape and size were the block boxes that
replaced the bang seat? Pictures availlable show nothing above the canopy
sills. Would the entire back tub been covered with a tarp, like the "hell
hole" behind the F-18 pilot?
Perhaps you can point met to some pictures that show the interior of the
rear cockpit?

You've probably already checked Dennis Jenkin's "F-105 Thunderchief",
pp 103-104 which offers a short description of the Combat Martin
program and a pair of pix of the airplane with the blade antenna.
That's all I know about the program as it was after my tenure in the
F-105 and by the time I returned to Korat in the F-4 all of the CM
aircraft had been modded to F-105G status.

The text from Jenkin's says only that the seat and instrument panel
were removed for the ALQ-59 comm jammer system. Certainly if the seat
had to be removed, it can be assumed that the stick would come out as
well--but, that's not a great mod. It's unlikely that the side
consoles would be removed, because the constraint of the fuselage
canopy rails would limit the size of the package that could be
inserted (unless the CM system was multiple boxes rather than a single
unit. I honestly don't know.

Jenkin's reports further that the CM system was never employed over
NVN and the airplanes were used as basic bomb-droppers, flown solo
from the front seat (no real problem here, since the F-model was
regularly flown that way in RTU by students). Because of the
sensitivity of the equipment, the airplane was restricted in bombing
parameters and target areas. (During the period in question, bombing
of NVN was halted.)

Why model a very minimal and apparently unsuccessful program? Why not
a T-stick II or Ryan's Raider F-model?


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
"Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights"
Both from Smithsonian Books
***www.thunderchief.org