Aviation Heritage Park chosen as new home for ‘Thunderchief’

BOWLNG GREEN, Ky. – Aviation Heritage Park has recently been chosen by the National Museum of the United States Air Force to be the new home for a F-105 ‘Thunderchief.’

Also known as the “Thud” and the “Wild Weasel,” the F-105 was a fighter/bomber plane commonly used during the Vietnam War to take eliminate surface-to-air missile sites.

While the date of arrival has yet to be announced, AHP will keep to tradition and honor two South Central Kentuckians who flew the F-105.

General Joseph Ralston, from Fairview, Kentucky, and Lt. Col. Billy Sparks of Hart County, Kentucky will be honored in the museum when the plane arrives. Ralston flew 147 combat missions over Laos and North Vietnam and later became the Supreme Allied Commander for NATO in Europe and is the highest-ranking airman the state of Kentucky has ever produced.

Sparks flew 145 combat missions, and in his 20 year career earned three Silver Stars, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses and 15 Air Medals.

The museum is also offering an opportunity for the community to get involved. The plane will be partially disassembled in Texas before making its way to Bowling Green. AHP is asking for volunteers to come out and help reassemble the plane.

For more details on the arrival of the F-105, click here.