Posted on 12/17/2014 8:16:56 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT
No, the Air Force doesn’t hate the A-10. The Air Force just needs someone to stand up and pay for it, so the air tankers, air superiority fighters, and all of the other missions get funded too.
It might not mean much; the F-22 got iced [arguably because it was too good at its purpose of Air Superiority] and the A-10 is good at its job [Close Air Support] too.
As a fighter, the P-51 Mustang was a classic; as a ground support weapon, not so much. The under fuselage oil cooler was its most vulnerable point — one hit there and the engine would seize solid in 10 minutes when it ran out of oil. The radial engined P-47 Thunderbolt was the toughest fighter-bomber when it came to ground support. Well armed and armored, the P-47s air-cooled radial engine kept running when it took battle damage and brought its pilot home. A Mustang pilot would have had to walk home through occupied territory. The Thunderbolt's eight .50 calibers, two 500 lb. bombs and ten 5-inch rockets could really ruin an enemy's day.
Today's A-10 is the USAF equivalent to the WW2 P-47. The official name for the A-10 is Thunderbolt II. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is equivalent to the P-51 Mustang — and just as vulnerable doing the job of close air support (CAS). If the USAF is successful at retiring the A-10, the US Army or other ground forces will loose their best and most effective CAS weapon. And, NO, the F-15E or F-35A or F-16C...none can assume the role of the A-10 and survive.
The Hawg is a terrific airplane for CAS and SAR. Enjoyed my time in it.
!Sarge! are You pickin’ off Gators again?
We done told Ya them DU Rounds tear the carp outta them Hides!!!
The Mustang was highly vulnerable to ground fire because of its radiator location. The P-47 had an air-cooled radial, was much more heavily armored, and carried a larger load of ordnance. The best work in Korean CAS was done by Marine F-4U Corsairs, AD Skyraiders, and a really great unsung British carrier-based plane, the Hawker Sea Fury FB11 in fighter-bomber trim.
The Turbo-Prop P-48 was a marvelous concept in many ways, but no match for the capability of the A-10 and was a bit of a commercial failure. The concept lives on in the Embraer Super-Tucano and sells successfully for use in counter-insurgency conflicts, especially when the enemy has no air power to oppose it. My personal fave for this role: The Rockwell OV-10. Never understood why it wasn't more popular. Too practical for military procurement, I guess.
I’ve always felt the A-10 was ugly the way a junk yard dog is ugly. It’s not going to win any pageants, but boy howdy, when it bares its fangs, you’d BETTER show it some respect!
If they were to use aircraft from WWII to replace the A10 there are only two that come to mind. That would be the P38 or the B25 gunship. Both were/are great close air support crafts. Just think about placing two 30mm in the nose of the B25 now that would be a show!
Darn it! Now where did the plane go I built for my auto cannon?
Not always! ;)
Many years ago in upstate NY near Fort Drum, my uncle and I had an A10 ‘target’ us in a log truck. We were on a semi stretch of open road and saw it line up/coming.
It flew over us maybe 200 feet up at most. It’s erie how quiet it was...UNTIL it’s right on top of you. Then not so much.
My uncle, an old F105 crew chief looked over, smiled and said ‘Yea, they do that...”
P-51 with it’s water cooled engine was always a poor choice for ground attack. A-1 was excellent until heat seeking MANPADS got good enough that they could engage it from head on. I’d be inclined to think that a radial mounted in a pusher configuration would be hard to beat in terms of loiter time and ability to go low and slow.
I heard in high school that the Mustang’s Merlin engine had so much torque that the plane would flip over sideways if the throttle were not carefully eased open during takeoff.
Anyway, we need the A-10. For decades to come.
“PIGS IN SPAAAAACE!!!”
Like the A1 Skyraider was for me.
Like they say, beauty is only skin deep. The Warthog is all business through and through. Watching it perform turns it into a thing of beauty and those who have come back in what looked like total wrecks must truly love the beast.
You mean the A-36 Apache?
The first P-51s fielded were actually the A-36 dive bomber.
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