Thud Ridge

Thud Ridge
Thud Ridge
	Location of Thud Ridge
Elevation	5000
Location	Vietnam
Range	Tam Dao range
Coordinates	21°30′22.2″N105°36′31.02″E / 21.506167°N 105.6086167°E Coordinates: 21°30′22.2″N105°36′31.02″E / 21.506167°N 105.6086167°E

Last updated March 07, 2019

Thud Ridge was the nickname given by United States Air Force F-105 Thunderchief pilots (the aircraft being nicknamed "Thud") during the Vietnam War to the Tam Dao range a 24 km, 5000 ft high ridge that ran parallel to the Red River approximately 32 km northwest of Hanoi, which was both a waypoint during air attacks and a terrain masking feature for ingressing fighters in the vicinity of Hanoi, North Vietnam.^[1]^[2]

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

Vietnam War 1955–1975 conflict in Vietnam

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was an undeclared war in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies; South Vietnam was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war from some US perspectives. It lasted some 19 years with direct U.S. involvement ending in 1973 following the Paris Peace Accords, and included the Laotian Civil War and the Cambodian Civil War, resulting in all three countries becoming communist states in 1975.

Tam Đảo is a rural district (huyện) of Vĩnh Phúc Province in the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 65,812. The district covers an area of 236 km². The district capital lies at Tam Đảo.

The North Vietnamese eventually installed anti-aircraft artillery on the ridge using heavy-lift helicopters.^[3]

Phúc Yên Air Base is located at the base of the ridge, while Kép Air Base is located east of the ridge.

Phúc Yên Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) (Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam) military airfield located immediately north of Noi Bai International Airport and approximately 30 km (19 mi) north of Hanoi.

Kép Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) (Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam) military airfield located near the town of Kép, Bắc Giang Province approximately 60 km (37 mi) northeast of Hanoi.

The ridge features heavily in the book Thud Ridge .

<i>Thud Ridge</i> (book) book by Jack Broughton

Thud Ridge is a 1969 memoir by Jack Broughton about flying the F-105 "Thud" for the United States Air Force in the Vietnam War during Operation Rolling Thunder. The title Thud Ridge derives from the nickname given by F-105 pilots to the Tam Dao range, which was both a waypoint during air attacks in the vicinity of Hanoi, North Vietnam, and a terrain masking feature for ingressing fighters.

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This is a list of aviation-related events from 1964:

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References

↑ Broughton, Jack (1969). Thud Ridge . J. B. Lippincott Company. ISBN 978-0-85979-116-8.
↑ Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. pp. 5–508. ISBN 978-1555716257.
↑ "Thuds, the Ridge, and 100 Missions North". Air & Space Magazine. February 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2015.

External links

Map of Thud Ridge

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[Broughton-1] Broughton, Jack (1969). Thud Ridge . J. B. Lippincott Company. ISBN 978-0-85979-116-8.

[2] Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. pp. 5–508. ISBN 978-1555716257.

[3] "Thuds, the Ridge, and 100 Missions North". Air & Space Magazine. February 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2015.