F-105 Combat Operations
The 561st, Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed to SEA in 1965, the 561st being assigned to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand and Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam. “Wild Weasel” operations became the squadron’s primary mission in mid-1970, when the squadron exchanged its F-105B/D models for Republic F-105G Thunderchief. On 4 April 1972 General Giap launched a three-pronged attack into South Vietnam with 200,000 troops and in April 1972, the 561st was deployed to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas immediately following a mobility alert.
With only 69,000 American troops left on the ground in Vietnam, the US turned heavily towards air power. In his novel “Lawrence of Vietnam” Michael M. Peters, who served with the 561st, wrote “That’s what war is like, you’re heading towards hell, death and damnation and you’re in a hurry to get there.” Throughout Linebacker I and Linebacker II, the 561st flew over 1,900 combat sorties accumulating nearly 6,000 combat hours, and was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat “V” for valor, a very rare award. The 561st also received the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation. Of the 200,000 invading North Vietnamese troops, 40,000 were killed, the North Vietnamese retreated back across the border and General Giap (who had defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu) was defeated by the US Air Force and was relieved of command. From 18 Dec. to 29 Dec. of 1972 the Christmas bombing (called by the Americans the “Twelve Days of Christmas”) forced the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table where they were made to sign the Paris Peace Accords, thus ending the war. A plane from the 561st was the last F-105 shot down in the Vietnam War (F-105G, 63-8359); it was hit by a surface-to-air-missile on 16 November 1972; the crew was rescued. The casualty rate for all Wild Weasel aircraft over the course of the Vietnam War was 63%. Of the 12 F-105G’s assigned to the 561st during this time, four were shot down and one was lost to operational accident. One of the surviving aircraft from the original 12 airplanes of the squadron, S/N 63-8320, is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force; this plane is credited with three MiG kills in the Vietnam War. Wild Weasels became so effective in the Vietnam War that 90% of North Vietnamese radar sites would turn off if Wild Weasels were in the vicinity.
On 1 July 1973, the 561st moved to George Air Force Base and joined the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing. The 561st transitioned from the F-105/G when the base received its first shipment of the McDonnell F-4G Phantom II Advanced Wild Weasel in 1978.
