The Wild Weasels
November 6th, 2022
The Wild Weasels is a group of elite airmen who mission requirements are to be the first aircraft in on a bombing mission and the last ones out of the mission area. They also are tasked to destroy any SAM (Surface to Air Missile) launching sites before any aircraft get shot down. The Wild Weasels were founded in 1965 after a F-4 Phantom pilot on his 75th and last combat mission over Vietnam was shot down (the pilot was killed just hours before his plane was scheduled to fly back to the U.S.).
The next day, over 75 F-105 Thunderchiefs were launched to avenge the F-4 and destroy the SAM site. They did manage to destroy it, but several F-105s were shot down. After loosing over 25 airmen and aircraft, the Pentagon ordered a top secret program to start called the Wild Mongoose to start using F-100 pilots and B-52 Stratofortress EWO (Electronic Warfare Officer) at Eglin AFB, in Destin, FL for training. After several weeks of training, they were sent to Thailand to fight the North Vietmanese SAM threat.
Above are the two main Wild Weasel patches. the one on the right was the first one (and the original). The second one is the most famous one and has been around since 1966 and is still worn by Wild Weasel pilots.
Here is a list of aircraft the Wild Weasels have flown to date:
- North American F-100F Super Sabre
- Republic F-105F Thunderchief "Thud"
- McDonnell Douglas F-4G Phantom
- General Dramatics F-16CJ (CeeJay) Falcon
