F-105 Thunderchief vs F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

F-105 Thunderchief vs F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

The original YF-17 was a lightweight fighter to counter the poor performance of the massive F-105 Thunderchief in dogfights. Irony:  The Super Hornet is even heavier, similar wing loading. The main difference is nearly twice as much thrust.  If F-105 had a tiny wing unsuited for maneuvering, the Super Hornet wing is just as heavily loaded.

Payload: 14,000 lb     vs 17,750 lb

Super Hornet has wider wings, slightly shorter and less tall.
Length: 64 ft 4.75 in           60 ft 1¼ in
Wingspan: 34 ft 11.25 in     44 ft 8½ in
Height: 19 ft 8 in                16 ft

Wing Loading:    93 lb/ft2    /   : 93 lb/ft²     same

Super Hornet has about same dry thrust with one engine as F-105

Thrust dry             14,300  / 13,000 lbf
Thrust afterburner: 24,500 lb /   44,000 lb
Thrust/Weight:  0.74         /  0.93

Super Hornet is heavier
weights                          
empty            27,500 lb   /  32,081 lb
combat          35,637     /  47,000 lb
max takeoff   52,546 l   / 65,180 lbs

Range

Super Hornet
Range: 1,275 nmi (2,346 km) clean plus two AIM-9s[21]
Combat radius: 390 nmi (449 mi, 722 km) for interdiction mission[162]

Ferry range    2,210 mi / 2,070 mi    ~same
Max mach  Mach 2.08    Mach 1.8   F-105 over M2, F-18 slightly under M2
Max speed  1,372 mph,   1,190 mph