Last F-105D pilot to fly it in combat is reunited with his warbird

Retired Air Force Col. Fred Claussen was reunited with the F-105D that he flew in combat over Vietnam 46-years ago on Aug. 21 at the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale.

By Ad Meskens (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

Museum officials said that Claussen was the last fighter pilot to have flown the D-model of the plane in combat. Claussen flew more than 100 missions in South East Asia and he ferry this particular aircraft from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand back to the United States in 1970.