From the Manual In Thud Ridge you are smack in the middle of the most hair-raising combat mission of the Vietnam War. Put your hands on the legendary F-105 Thunderchief. You are flying with the Wild Weasel, the squadron of American Aces who defied the odds--and the enemy--to run devastating air strikes into "Downtown Hanoi". Thud Ridge is a range of mountains running down the east side of the Red River, 25 or 30 miles northwest of Hanoi. The ridge was 40 miles long with 6,000 ft. high mountains, pointing directly at the heart of Hanoi. "Downtown Hanoi" was the most heavily defended target in the history of aerial warfare--three times the defenses of that protected Berlin in World War II. Defensive weapons that ranged from SAMS and MiGs to 100 mm and 85 mm guns as well as 57 and 37 batteries and automatic weapons, rifles and pistols were engaged in the Vietnam War. The F-105 or "Thud" was the ultimate American fighting machine--rugged, durable, fast and tough--the "Thud" could top 1,200 mph. Initially the Thunderchief was designed to deliver a nuclear weapon at supersonic speed--a mission it never performed. Instead, it delivered more conventional bombs to "Downtown Hanoi" than any other fighter. The Thunderchief was also used as a "Wild Weasel" aircraft to draw fire from SAM and AA sites and to attack enemy air defense missile sites. In this task it proved to be a formidable weapon.