Later -D models and subsequent variants had the full bubbletop canopy.:
A-10s are called "Hawgs" simply because they're ugly and like to get down in the dirt:
Posted on 09/09/2015 5:16:15 PM PDT by WilliamofCarmichael
The A-10 Warthog is the only aircraft built for a close-air-support (CAS) mission.
It was literally designed around its distinctive 30mm Gatling gun. The gun is more than 19 feet long and weighs more than 4,000 pounds.
The distinctive sound made by the weapon (aka the BRRRRRRRRRT – . . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Later -D models and subsequent variants had the full bubbletop canopy.:
A-10s are called "Hawgs" simply because they're ugly and like to get down in the dirt:
Sounds like *FREEDOM* to me! [sic]
Awesome, wonderful video. We have the BEST men and BEST military! God Bless and keep them from harm.
Maybe FReeper and ‘Warthog Driver’ Hulka would weigh in on this thread? BBBBZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!
Yes it was and I shared on FB as well.
This former Army guy thinks the A-10 is the prettiest plane we have and I hope they keep it. I really believe it is a mistake to get rid of it because nothing else we have can do what it does so well.
The Ju-87G Model was a functional predecessor (tank killer and CAS) of the A-10. IIRC the guys on the A-10 design team were required to read Oberst Rudel's book "Stuka Pilot." Above is one of his aircraft.
Your #36 graphic is great!
Most jet pilots are small in stature because the cockpits are compact. The A-10 can accommodate larger pilots.
(My ‘small in stature’ comment derives from when I was a skinny 18y/o on the flight deck of a carrier and found myself to be bigger than most pilots.)
Chad Hennings was 6’6” and about 290#! Hall of Fame football player in NCAA and Air Force Academy Atheletes. Won three Super Bowl rings as a DT for the Dallas Cowboys in the ‘90s.
Oh yeah.... He was a Warthog pilot in Iraq before joining the Cowboys, even though he was drafted by them in ‘88 while still at the AFA in Colorado. ....Fantastic guy and aircraft.
Love me some A-10! Hope there’s a couple at the Reno Air Races/show next week. Anybody?
Most fun you can have is to fly that jet and shoot that gun. . .most fun you can have with your trousers on, basically.
Worst nightmare is blue-on-blue. It happens and something we KNOW happens, but a nightmare scenario that Hog Drivers wake up in a sweat over. When I was a FAC on the ground calling in A-10’s. I was never concerned about frat from CAS aircraft as I knew the guys would do anything to get me and my Army troop brothers out of a jam, too include giving their own life. . .and CAS pilots have been doing that since the first CAS mission.
Hog Drivers are proud of their jet and their mission. Deeply proud.
Before Gulf War I, the A-10 was the red-headed step-child of the Air Force. Never really respected. . .but then GWI came along and even Gen Horner, the biggest anti-A-10 ass around, praised the A-10.
The jet is irreplaceable. Its ability to do the CAS mission is unmatched. Sadly, the Air Force and DoD are making the same mistake it did back during Vietnam—buying a jet that is supposed to do all missions, be everything to everyone. . . the JSF is the F-111 of our time.
Rationale? Why pay for a single-mission jet when we can buy a multi-mission jet? Stupid question that gets a stupid answer. . the JSF.
Would practice strafe runs out to 12,000 feet. Fun stuff. . .very accurate even without radar-ranging, stabilization software and all that gizmo stuff. Could punch through an inch and a half of armor at 8,000’ whereas the JSF needs to close to 2,000’ to get that penetrating power.
Pfffttt. . .
We also had annual air shows at RG-AFB, and getting to see the A-10s maneuver was really incredible. It was amazing how quiet those planes are when they're coming at you,but holy crap, they're LOUD when they overfly you! Of course, there were no live fire exercises at the airshow, which was something of a let-down.
While I've never experienced the 30mm cannon, I used to do a lot of work out at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, and I used to hear test fire of the 20mm Gatling cannons, and that was incredible. I can only imagine what the 30mm sounds like.
Mark
The AF has been trying to kill the A-10 since before the first Gulf War. The A-10's incredible success there really pissed off a lot of AF brass.
Mark
Mark
IIRC, weren’t P-47s “retasked” during the Korean and early Viet Nam wars to act as CAS, loaded up with rockets under the wings, as well as the internal M2 .50 machine guns?
Mark
You may be confusing P-47s with the lookalike AD-1 Skyraider.
low Tech is part of the answer.
A combination of high tech F-22s, and low tech A-10s and men on the ground is how we can beat our enemies.
Apache helicopters aren’t bad, either.
You’re right, the Skyraider.
Sorry!
Interesting. . .thought you’d like to know I was just called a liar for “claiming” to be a fighter pilot and stealing glory and all that. . . http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3344111/posts?page=139#139
Give them to the Marine Corps, we love CAS.
Great video.
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