P-47... Origins of the nickname "The Jug" (1 Viewer)

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I'd like to see a model of that F-105 in Thunderbird livery. BTW I heard an ex-Air Force co-worker refer to the F-105 as the "Lead Sled".
 
Here are some photos taken during their Apr 26 1964 to May 9 1964 show career:

16195891_1436766536368633_3066659649065213317_n.jpg
16265374_1436766696368617_1897876164909674521_n.jpg
16265588_1436766136368673_4735220995137665724_n.jpg
16386939_1436766589701961_7053723710643085260_n.jpg
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F-105 Thunderbird 39qg.jpg
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F-105 Thunderbird 18hw.jpg
F-105 Thunderbird 25so.jpg
 
Remember, the Thud was the only aircraft in Air Force history that had to be withdrawn from combat because nearly half the fleet had been shot down or crashed*, leaving too few to be tactically useful. It also quickly failed as a Thunderbird team aircraft, when one broke in half during practice for only its seventh show.
Reminds me of the Supermarine Scimitar.
 
From here....

http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/fishlm/folksongs/thud.htm

The WWII P-47 had been nicknamed the Hog, and the follow-on F-84 had become the Super Hog. It was quite natural then that the F-105 would get tagged with Ultra Hog. Transition problems resulting in "controlled flight into terrain" gave rise to the name Lieutenant-eater, but that didn't stick. No one really knows what direction the nickname might have taken but for television, Buffalo Bob Smith, and the Howdy Doody show. Howdy Doody, it was alleged, was the illegitimate son of a Strategic Air Command bomber pilot, and Howdy, assisted by Mickey Mouse, was now writing standardization manuals at HQ, USAF. Buffalo Bob Smith, many others contended, was the role model for any number of Air Force Generals, while Clarabelle the Clown trained USAF stan/eval officers. On the television show, intermittently making mischief with the villainous Mr. Bluster, was a bumbling, drooling, semi-evil Indian named Chief Thunderthud. It had a nice ring to it. Thunder THUD. Thud, as in the noise made by a large heavy object hitting the ground. So, the F-105 became the Thunderthud, and finally, in life and legend, just The Thud.

Whatever the nickname - an amazing machine! :thumbleft:


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From here....

http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/fishlm/folksongs/thud.htm

The WWII P-47 had been nicknamed the Hog, and the follow-on F-84 had become the Super Hog. It was quite natural then that the F-105 would get tagged with Ultra Hog. Transition problems resulting in "controlled flight into terrain" gave rise to the name Lieutenant-eater, but that didn't stick. No one really knows what direction the nickname might have taken but for television, Buffalo Bob Smith, and the Howdy Doody show. Howdy Doody, it was alleged, was the illegitimate son of a Strategic Air Command bomber pilot, and Howdy, assisted by Mickey Mouse, was now writing standardization manuals at HQ, USAF. Buffalo Bob Smith, many others contended, was the role model for any number of Air Force Generals, while Clarabelle the Clown trained USAF stan/eval officers. On the television show, intermittently making mischief with the villainous Mr. Bluster, was a bumbling, drooling, semi-evil Indian named Chief Thunderthud. It had a nice ring to it. Thunder THUD. Thud, as in the noise made by a large heavy object hitting the ground. So, the F-105 became the Thunderthud, and finally, in life and legend, just The Thud.

Whatever the nickname - an amazing machine! :thumbleft:


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I like this story and it's the one I'm sticking with.
 
Did the Germans or Japanese invent nicknames for their planes? I know about Emil, Fritz and Gustav for the Bf-109 E, F and G; IJN cadets named their trainer the "Red Dragonfly," but other than that I haven't found any examples..
 
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