This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Reid Wood-Family
to remember
Wood, Don Charles (Olds 5), Col.
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A flight of five F-105s departed TAKHLI RTAFB at 1516 hours on 16 January 1966. Their target was automated AAA gun positions in the Plain of Jars, Laos. Don C. Wood's F-105D fighter aircraft was flying as the number five aircraft, equipped with two 70mm camera pods. His mission was to photograph the damage inflicted by the strike for damage assessment. He followed every run in, not necessarily in formation to get photos.
They made one bombing run, one rocket run, and two strafing passes. During the third strafing pass #4 thought his gun blew up. At the same time #1 called and asked who headed north and did a 360 degree roll. Lead had seen an F-105 cross about 5000 feet in front of him on a northerly heading in a 20 degree climb. That was Don Wood's F-105D.
Confusion ensued as #3 checked #4 for damage. Radio contact could not be established with Olds 5 on the tactical channel or on guard channel. Olds 5 was not seen to crash, but was believed to have crashed 8 to 15 miles north of the target. Olds 1 and 2 searched the area north and east for wreckage while #3 and #4 refueled by air tanker. Then Olds 3 and 4 took up the search until dark. All four F-105s had to land at Udorn due to minimum fuel.
Captain Don Wood was declared Missing in Action as the first USAF loss of 1966. Promoted while in MIA status, Wood held O-6 (Colonel) rank when a Presumptive Finding of Death was issued on 3 March 1980 - 14 years after his last flight over Laos. His remains have not been repatriated. rom the POW Network.
This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii with another memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model Republic F-105D Thunderchief Length 64.24 ft | 19.58 m Width 34.94 ft | 10.65 m Height 19.59 ft | 5.97 m Engine(s) 1 x Pratt & Whitney J75-P-19W turbojet engine generating 24,500lbs of thrust with afterburn capability. Empty Weight 27,500 lbs | 12,474 kg MTOW 52,838 lbs | 23,967 kg Max Speed 1,390 mph | 2,237 km/h | 1,208 kts Max Range 920 miles | 1,480 km Ceiling 41,207 ft | 12,560 m | 7.8 miles Climb Rate 34,400 ft/min (10,485 m/min) Hardpoints 4 Armament 1 x 20mm cannon
Internal bomb load capacity of up to 8,000lbs (3,629 kg) with an overall capacity of 12,000lbs (5,442 kg) of munitions (with the inclusion of the external hardpoints).
Mission-specific armament can include AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, mine dispensers, air-to-surface missiles, rocket pods, fuel tanks, nuclear-tipped weapons and conventional dumb bombs. Accommodations 1
Major Variants
* YF-105A - Initial prototypes of which two produced; Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 turbojet. * YF-105B - Second prototype of which four produced; J75-P-3 powerplant. * F-105 - Base model designation * F-105B - First production rate model * F-105D - All-Weather Attack Variant * F-105F - Final production designation; Two-seat conversion trainer model. * EF-105F - Wild Weasel conversion with special radar detection equipment and anti-radar air-to-surface missiles. * F-105G - Later designation of same EF-105F Wild Weasel Variant.
