That photo has to have been taken in the Far East, either between Okinawa & Thailand or between Thailand and Vietnam. i would say the latter is more likely.

The first deployment of F-105s to Vietnam was the May-June 1964 deployment of the 36th TFS (F-105Ds) from Itazuki AFB (Japan) to RTAFB Takhli (Thailand). For the next year-plus, all F-105s in Vietnam were on rotation from various USAF bases in Japan or Okinawa*. Permanent assignments of F-105 squadrons from the US to Thailand only began in August 1965.

Being based in Thailand, they often needed refueling when flying to/from their targets, even when operating over South Vietnam.

Due to the distance, after Rolling Thunder (strikes against North Vietnam) began in March 1965 they were normally refueled over Laos by KC-135s on both the inbound and return legs.

* The 44th TFS, to which that particular F-105D belonged, was deployed from Kadena AB, Okinawa to RTAFB Korat, Thailand when 62-4217 was shot down in April 1965.

Whatever the markings are or whyever they “made the news”.

Could you perhaps give a hint rather than just post blind unexplained links?

No, the only thing the MOD is promising is to “try” to preserve her.

with Putin coming into power, he is Japan’s best hope in resolving border disputes and normalizing relations because of his japanophile tendencies.

Putin has been in power since 31 December 1999 (when he became Prime Minister with Yeltsin’s resignation)!

As President of Russia from 2000-2008 he wielded not only the powers of that office but also many of those originally placed in the office of Prime Minister.

When he became PM in 2008 all those powers plus many of the President’s powers were transferred to the PM’s office.

When he became President again in 2012 everything again was shifted back to the Presidency.

He has been in control of Russia for over 12 years now… what makes you think he will suddenly be nicer to Japan than previously?

Russia will get access to Japanese investment and Japan will buy Pak-fa to replace their F-15 and F-35 to replace their F-4s.

A purely delusional fantasy… Japan still considers Russia to be a major potential threat. They won’t place their security in jeopardy by replacing their top air-superiority aircraft with a Russian aircraft.

2 U.S. Troops Die in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

You linked to the Iraq Super Hercules story.

Correct link: 2 U.S. Troops Die in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

Re the earlier comment about F86 Sabre canopies.

I photographed this rather battered (look at the wrinkling of the fuselage and the iffy paint job) USAF Manston-Based F86F of USAF 406th FIW at Biggin Hill during the 1955 Royal Observer Corps “Recognition Day”. The canopy looks fairly conventional and if opened at speed during the ejection sequence I would assume the slip-stream would lift it well clear of the pilot’s head.

Rather puzzling is the absence of the red “Ejection Seat” triangle alongside the cockpit. Did perhaps the USAF adopt the red warning triangle later? R.A.F. Meteors I photographed at the same time (1955) quite clearly display the red triangle.

The F-86 canopy was basically a WW2 design… it wasn’t rear-hinged like modern bubbles, it slid directly aft like the canopy on a P-51 or Sea Fury.

Therefore, the wind did not catch hold and help it clear away, as the leading edge was inside the “wind shadow” of the front windscreen. If it wasn’t slid back far enough the pilot hit it. To make matters worse, the pilot had to manually eject the canopy before activating the ejection seat. Having two perform separate actions slowed the ejection process, further increasing the likelihood of incorrect ejection.

There is a really good pic here that illustrates this: http://acepilots.com/planes/f86_sabre.html but it won’t allow direct linking, so here is another:

http://www.airplane-pictures.net/images/uploaded-images/2008-2/29/11299.jpg

The downward ejecting seat on the early F104s – a really bright idea that enabled the pilot to be quickly reunited with terra firma.

Not just the F-104…

Here is a list of ejection seats supplied to the USAF by Stanley Aviation:

Downward ejection seats

B-47 Stratojet and RB-47
XB-52 Stratofortress
RB-66 Destroyer
F-104 Starfighter and Lockheed XF-104

Upward ejection seats

YB-47 Stratojet
FJ Fury, specifically, FJ-2
F-106 Delta Dart, specifically F-106A
F4H(F-4) Phantom II
P6M SeaMaster

Ejection capsules

B-58 Hustler

Note that the B-52 had upward-firing seats for the pilot/co-pilot, EW officer, and (in the B-52H) the gunner (all of whom were on the upper deck)… but downward-firing seats for the navigator & radar navigator (on the lower deck).

The F3D Skyknight (all-weather/night 2-seast fighter of the late Korean-war era) didn’t have ejection seats…

The pilot and radar operator sat in a side-by-side configuration. The ejection seats available at the time could not work safely with such a seating arrangement, and an unusual escape mechanism was designed involving a chute in the floor behind the flight crew. Pulling a lever would blow off the rear half of the chute exit hatch in the belly between the engines, with the front half serving as a windbreak. Each crew member would then pivot around in his seat, grab a vaulting bar behind the seat, kick open a cockpit exit door, and slide out the chute feet-first, one crew member at a time. It wasn’t a real ejection system, but it was better than nothing.