Lackland AFB F-105s Revisited

[RickH]

A few more.

[TROJANII]

Wow, that is really bad knows, glad I was able to visit them last year.

Gary

I got to see them in 1984 when I "guarded" them during training to become a Security Specialist. I remember one time an instructor climbed one and hid in the engine intake in the wing!

[hercules130]

The machines look to have been dismantled and displayed in a manner reminiscent to SALT complient destruction. Thud still is just about the fastest thing around and she can kick out a nuke. Sure is sad one way or the other, such a beautiful girl with tons of history in every D/F/G model.

Gary

[Fouga23]

Just plain stupid. A Thud would be dangerous, but a Su-27 is no problem? Idiots!

[Ken]

Although the F-105 may be fast and nuclear capable, I have never heard for them being specifically cut and displayed as the B-52s have. The cutting of motor mounts and the like always sounded like garden variety demilling. In fact, there are a number of "nuclear capable" airplanes out there not demilled, such as the Skyraider.

Guys like RickH are better suited to discuss the details of mandatory demilling, but this has the overall appearance of disabling these airframes to keep them from being useful to groups such as Collings. M151 jeeps were cut and/or crushed to avoid release on the public market, so this should come as no surprise. I just wish I understood the motivations of government people who feel like they have to safeguard us from ourselves.

[RickH]

I did a little research on SALT I and SALT II this morning.

The State Dept website on the two agreements lays out what they were meant to cover.

SALT I; essentially ICBMS and heavy bombers

( Specifically excluded at the US insistence were forward deployed delivery systems as they were our reply to medium range Soviet missiles )

Salt I was only to be in place until 1985.

SALT II; ICBMs, MIRVS, the Backfire was supposed to be included but was never addressed.

SALT II was never put in place because President Reagan decided that the Soviets weren't abiding by the agreements in place at the time, and he wasn't into unilateral disarmament.

Any attempt to tie the F105s to SALT is just another red herring. Not only were they not included, they were specifically excluded as a forward deployed delivery system. The F-105 cannot be construed to be a heavy bomber.

[dc8flightdeck]

Two of the F-105s are going to Kansas, one to the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita and one to the Kansas National Guard Museum in Topeka. The one to Topeka leaves next month.

[mustangdriver]

When I talked to the NMUSAF they said that all of the airframes were bound for museums.