This rare film shows tests of the F-105 Thunderchief’s escape system while under development. A rocket sled was used to simulate high speed ejection, with a test dummy as passenger. The entire test was captured with high speed cameras.
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it was the only U.S. aircraft to have been removed from combat due to high loss rates. Originally designed as a single-seat, nuclear-attack aircraft, a two-seat Wild Weasel version was later developed for the specialized Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missile sites. The F-105 was commonly known as the “Thud” by its crews.
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief was equipped with an ejection seat that used a set of rollers. These were arranged to fit over a set of channel rails mounted on the cockpit bulkhead. This rail unit covered the ROCAT except for the attachment point at the top, and the seat height actuator at the base. The seat used a gun-deployed, backpack-style parachute with a seat-mounted set of shoulder harnesses and associated lap belt to restrain the occupant. The seat was fired by a set of armrest mounted handles. They worked in a two stage manner. The first stage raised the armrests and jettisoned the canopy. The second was by squeezing the trigger grips fired the Rocket-Catapult (ROCAT). It was fitted with a leg restraint system. Late versions of the seat were fitted with a drogue parachute for stability.
The ROCAT used in the F-105 was a typical type with the catapult cartridge and initiator at the base of the unit. The ROCAT was mounted to the cockpit via a linear motor seat height actuator at the base. This installation was partially hidden by the rails for the F-105 seat which were a unit that wrapped around the ROCAT and interfaced with rollers on the inner side of the seat back. The ROCAT itself, the Talley Industries 10100, used an extension tube from the top of the unit to the base for the initiator to be hooked up while the seat was installed. The unfired ROCAT is about 3.25 inches diameter, and 45 inches long. Weighing 32lbs, it provides a total impulse of about 2700 pound-seconds. The Rocket portion of the unit burns for approximately .5 second. (Thanks to The Ejection Site for this information).
