''Thud Ridge'' was the nickname given by

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

F-105 Thunderchief The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War. It ...

pilots (the aircraft being nicknamed "Thud") during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

to the Tam Dao range a 24 km, high ridge that ran parallel to the Red River approximately 32 km northwest of

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, which was both a waypoint during air attacks and a terrain masking feature for ingressing fighters in the vicinity of Hanoi,

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

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

Phúc Yên Air Base Phúc Yên Air Base (also known as Noi Bai 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 north of Hanoi ...

is located at the base of the ridge, while

Kép Air Base 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 northeast of Hanoi. History Vietnam War A September 1965 CIA inte ...

is located east of the ridge. The ridge features heavily in the book '' Thud Ridge''.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Map of Thud Ridge
Vietnam War sites