F-105 Walkaround

Restoration Specialist John Shatz describes how squadron maintenance crews in the Vietnam War came to love a beast like the F-105 Thunderchief. Twice a day, almost every day, the aircraft had to be ready for strike missions into North Vietnam, where anti-aircraft defenses and MiGs awaited them. More than half of the 610 Thunderchiefs built were lost on those missions; a surviving example is on display at the National Air and Space Museums Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Video: airspacemag.com (05:30)