Wild Weasel over Vietnam - Flying the F-105 in SEA

Wild Weasel over Vietnam - Flying the F-105 in SEA - Ben Fuller (Part 1)

Рет қаралды 13,843

10 Percent True - Tales from the Cockpit

Күн бұрын

Pre-Order Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs: www.10percenttrue.com/shop
Support me with a coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/10percen...
Discussion on Discord: / discord
10 Percent True #23. Ben Fuller (Part 1).
Ben Fuller recalls his experiences as one of the early F-105F Wild Weasel pilots, and recounts the tactics, weapons, sensors, threats and missions that he flew, including the mission on which he led four F-105s against an SA-2 site and lost two wingmen (including Medal of Honor recipient, Leo Thorsness) to a MiG ambush.
Chapters:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:43 Getting into the Wild Weasel Business
00:11:40 WW Beginnings
00:16:47 Build Up to Vietnam
00:18:34 Flying the F-105D in Europe / Preparing for SEA
00:24:08 F-105F Training
00:26:40 F-105F WW Technical Description
00:36:41 Anti Radiation Missiles
00:42:14 Finding SAM Sites - WW Tactics
00:44:04 AGM-45 Employment
00:48:26 SAM Site Tactics
00:52:49 Visual Detection of SAM Sites
00:57:50 Trolling for SAMs
00:59:18 Visually Acquiring SA-2 In Flight
01:01:50 First Combat Mission
01:08:11 Surviving 100 Missions
01:10:20 High Calibre AAA
01:12:33 From Hunter-Killer to SAM Suppression
01:19:22 Ben's Wife Prompts a Short Interlude
01:19:42 Back to Talking About Getting Gas
01:20:57 April 30 1967 - Double Shootdown
01:36:10 Treachery and Political Interference

Пікірлер: 55

@jimlobdell5251 2 жыл бұрын

I was Ben and Norms Crew Chief. Two great men. It was my plane and I let them use it.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome, Jim! What tail number?

@jimlobdell5251 2 жыл бұрын

@@10percenttrue 63-8329 3 SAM sites. Both Ben and Norm received the Silver Star

@nichille 2 жыл бұрын

@@jimlobdell5251 Thank you for your service, Jim. Curious, did you ever run into a Thud Driver named Bob Lodge during your time at Takhli?

@user-sq8hj4kp4q 19 күн бұрын

Such an honest humble man….. no swagger….. no puffed up chest….. a common man who did his job….. excellent person….excellent interview….

@julianbrattoni 2 жыл бұрын

Your interview style is fantastic and more to the point, because you have some flying experience and aren’t just a fan boy, your questions are well constructed and directed from the perspective of someone who understands it from actually sitting in the seat and trying to put the machine where you want it. Thank you.

@jasoncollier4961 2 жыл бұрын

Appreciate how you allow Ben to tell his story without interrupting, will be back and subbed👍

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Jason!

@williger1 2 жыл бұрын

This is fascinating as well as nostalgic as I was at Takhli at the same time as Ben and was a maintainer of the F-105 weapons control systems working the flight line (fire control guy).

@tbuc76 2 жыл бұрын

Hey mate, just to let you know that your channel is by far, and I really mean it, by far the best channel on military aviation history etc. I am particularly interested on Cold War, SEA, and this one on the Weasels is probably one of the best. Cheers!

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers, mate!

@JoJo-vm8vk 10 ай бұрын

1:24:56 Doppler: - basic instruments give airspeed and magnetic heading. So it doesn’t take into account wind drift. - navigation Doppler sends waves toward the ground and uses Doppler effect to measure ground speed and drift, so it’s helping to solve the “navigation triangle problem”. By knowing the drift and ground speed you can guess the wind vector. And (air vector + speed vector) = ground vector.

@josephgoss1013 5 ай бұрын

This is without a doubt some of the best interview I’ve ever heard.

@boggy8557 2 жыл бұрын

That was a magnificent interview. I watch the documentary Thud Pilots last night and Ben was in that too. Really enjoyed this interview and would love to hear more from Ben and what it was like finishing up in Vietnam and going home, life after the war and further career development. Also, I would love to hear what a typical mission was like and tactics and procedures of the F105. Either way , anything from this era is brilliant. Thanks Steve and Ben!

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Bogdan! Am doing my darndest to get a Part 2 booked with Ben...

@eicjc 2 жыл бұрын

(Uncharacteristically) late listening/watching this episode. I had (futile) aspirations of listening while driving back home on holiday while the kids slept soundly in the back. Yeah right. I kept this one back because I knew it would be a good one and I wasn’t disappointed. Having read most if not all of Col Broughton’s books over the years, it was both fantastic and touching to get Ben’s perspective on the mission where his friends were shot down. Not an easy thing to do to relive that for KZfaq but God Bless him for doing so and for giving his time for another brilliant interview. As always, thanks Steve.

@dutchbrotherfan1284 2 жыл бұрын

As a kid we lived on acres and I built models in early 70s I built a airbase from model rail road items played Vietnam with models these guys were my hero’s.

@-theflea-4561 2 жыл бұрын

Great insight into the Wild Weasels! I hope you get a chance to talk more about Ben and his life before and after Vietnam. Keep up the good work.👍

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I may well get to speak to Ben again later this year. Here’s hoping 🤞🏼

@terrancemccaffrey9954 2 жыл бұрын

This is a fantastic interview. Thanks for doing it. We need to get as many of these brave men as possible to share their story. Without you Steve, these stories would not get out there! Thanks!!

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers, Marco! That means a great deal.

@old_guard2431 11 ай бұрын

Wouldn’t hurt to have a one-paragraph background/ history of the pilot in the description. (No big deal - great series)

@fredkitmakerb9479 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this interview. I look forward to the second part. The F-105 war in Vietnam is a focus of mine.

@therocinante3443 Жыл бұрын

An OG Thunderchief man... What a wonderful interview!

@rtd12 Жыл бұрын

Always enjoy the interviews!

@hinglemccringle5939 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview and amazing stories. Those Thud drivers did some great work

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Hingle

@bt7112 2 жыл бұрын

First, really enjoy your interview style. And I so enjoyed this particular interview with Col Fuller, a true patriot. My father and Ben flew together at Spang and this is the first time I'm hearing what a "day at the office" must have been like. Thank you for putting these together, a part of history, but also a part of growing up for me that I wasn't even aware of.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, Bill.

@tonyaughney8945 2 жыл бұрын

The down vote is from Jane Fonda.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

This made my day.

@pugloverg6671 Жыл бұрын

Real talk about the mechanics and their planes

@jasontennant8994 2 жыл бұрын

Another typically brilliant interview. Steve, what you are doing here with your guests is documenting history with the people who made it. I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to those you’ve interviewed at all, but have you searched out people from the other side of these conflicts? I know there’s always language barriers and other challenges but your interview style would work well with those that might not feel that they’ve had a chance to relate their own perhaps relatively unknown but nonetheless equally important experiences. Former Yugoslav Fulcrum pilots are just one example I can think of.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Jason :) I would love to capture the view from the other side of the fence. The question is simply one of connections - I don't know anyone! If anyone can make an introduction, I would be glad to make it happen...

@jasontennant8994 2 жыл бұрын

@@10percenttrue First one... Ahmed Salem ex IrAF

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

@@jasontennant8994 Jason, do you have contact details for him? Can you share to editor@10percenttrue.com

@jaynuck 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always.

@ryans.6889 2 жыл бұрын

Dude you have probably one of the best KZfaq Channels period, amazing interview and amazing stories.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, thank you!

@livelurked4103 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this.

@nobodybusiness4739 Жыл бұрын

love the content

@yungcaco1443 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant interview and channel. Glad I’ve found it. Thank you. 🇬🇧

@lubtp7133 2 жыл бұрын

Another great interview. My only complaint about your channel is how hard it is picking what to watch next. I hope these interviews get more exposure soon, they're amongst the best I've seen.

@wiesenbefeuchter 2 жыл бұрын

100% true

@colderwar 2 жыл бұрын

You'd really improve the listening experience by including adverts for NordVPN and RAID:Shadow legends. I love those :)))) You reached out to Casmo yet ? he's a KZfaqr who flew the OH-58 in recent conflicts and an interesting and engaging guy with good insight and very good stories.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

I think that adverts ruin the viewing experience and they won't be appearing on my channel unless I decide to give up my real job and become a KZfaqr! I don't have a problem with brand sponsorship, though.

@colderwar 2 жыл бұрын

@@10percenttrue I only ever see adverts that are placed in videos by the creator, Adblock removes everything else. The two companies I mentioned are the only ones that actually annoy me because they are everywhere, not completely open about their products and irrelevant. You should think about doing some merch, I'm sure it could sell well.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Ahhh. The penny drops! Need to get my sarcasm detector fixed. Looking into the merch angle... thank you!

@SpawnofChaos2010 Жыл бұрын

Wonderful interview, really hope you get Ben back on so we can hear of his exploits prior to and post Vietnam. Side note... much prefer interviews like this over anything related to the disinformation minefield that is Ukraine. EDIT: Was hard not to get choked up when Ben recollected the story of his wingmen being shot down. Glad they survived.

@lrw3984 2 жыл бұрын

what was the book written by the F105 maintainer Ben mentioned?

@wiesenbefeuchter 2 жыл бұрын

When the second part ?

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

When I get to see him in person. Sadly, we couldn’t get the recording to work on the three occasions we tried to do Part 2.

@0MoTheG 2 жыл бұрын

They had dumb bombs to bomb sam sites?! ZSU-23 ? Now I get the 'basket', the Shrike did not have guidance during the ballistic phase! It must have a timer that delays the guidance.

@10percenttrue 2 жыл бұрын

Or an accelerometer?

@0MoTheG 2 жыл бұрын

@@10percenttrue Equally possible but more expensive and heavy. Likely the terminal radar guidance had already taken all the space.