I'd rather see them bring back the A-10 project, at least it can get out of its own way...
Posted on 02/02/2009 4:26:29 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
A great aircraft. Used to service them at NAS Alameda back in 68’.
I'd rather see them bring back the A-10 project, at least it can get out of its own way...
23 years ago would have been 1986, not 1976.
Who proof reads this stuff?
1976 was 33 years ago, not 23.
I’m guessing the reason is the low cost per hour flown compared to jet aircraft.
Ooh, poor choice of words there.
They were a death trap in Vietnam and probably still are. No front-seater ever survived a crash landing or water ditching.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Boeing knowing full and well that Obama plans to gut the US military like Clinton did. I fully expect many current defense projects to be cancelled.
“They were a death trap in Vietnam and probably still are.”
No, actually the OV-10 had a pretty good safety record. Why would the two crewmen stay in a crippled OV-10? They had pretty good ejection seats. I can personally attest to their effectiveness.
TC
“....23 years ago would have been 1986, not 1976.
Who proof reads this stuff?....”
Dr. James Hansen of NASA, of course.
Captain Steven L. Bennett
On June 29, 1972, Captain Bennett, a forward air controller, was flying an OV-10 Bronco on an artillery adjustment mission near Quang Tri City, South Vietnam. A Marine gunfire spotter occupied the rear seat of the lightly armed reconnaissance aircraft.
After controlling gunfire from U.S. naval vessels off shore and directing air strikes against enemy positions for approximately three hours, Captain Bennett received an urgent call for assistance. A small South Vietnamese unit was about to be attacked by a much larger enemy force. Without immediate help, the unit was certain to be overrun. Unfortunately, there were no friendly fighters left in the area, and supporting naval gunfire would have endangered the South Vietnamese. They were between the coast and the enemy.
Captain Bennett decided to strafe the advancing soldiers. Since they were North Vietnamese regulars, equipped with heat-seeking SAM 7 missiles, the risks in making a low-level attack were great. Captain Bennett nonetheless zoomed down and opened fire with his four small machine guns. The troops scattered and began to fall back under repeated strafing.
As the twin-boomed Bronco pulled up from its fifth attack, a missile rose up from behind and struck the plane's left engine. The explosion set the engine on fire and knocked the left landing gear from its stowed position, leaving it hanging down. The canopies over the two airmen were pierced by fragments.
Captain Bennett veered southward to find a field for an emergency landing. As the fire in the engine continued to spread, he was urged by the pilot of an escorting OV-10 to eject. The wing was in danger of exploding. He then learned that his observer's parachute had been shredded by fragments in the explosion.
Captain Bennett elected to ditch in the Gulf of Tonkin, although he knew that his cockpit area would very likely break up on impact. No pilot had ever survived an OV-10 ditching. As he touched down, the extended landing gear dug into the water. The Bronco spun to the left and flipped over nose down into the sea. His Marine companion managed to escape, but Captain Bennett, trapped in his smashed cockpit, sank with the plane. His body was recovered the next day.
For sacrificing his life, Captain Bennett was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The decoration was presented to his widow by Vice President Gerald R. Ford Aug. 8, 1974.
Why would the DOD allow it in an MOH citation if it wasn't true?
It’s great to hear from a man who actually knows the subject under discussion.
We used to enjoy watching OV-10’s doing acro on slow days while loitering, looking for targets. Great bird!
Thanks for all of the (really) close air support you Scooter drivers gave us Grunts. We had an A-4 working for us against the NVA on a hill in Arizona Territory in early 1969. He was so low that if I had known the pilot, I could have recognized him! Now that’s “close air support”! After we took that hill, I spent the night sleeping in one of the Zuni craters he left.
Semper Fi from an old 81’s FO, field radio operator, tunnel rat and (years later) CH-53 driver.
Keep the faith in your current combat position ;-)
The titanium bathtub in the A-10 makes it pricey.
besides, I’d MUCH rather keep the Warthog to ourselves, if we can. I worked on the A-10 LASTE program.
0 is going to need these for use by his Civilian Defense Force to keep us all in line (for bread and soup most likely).
demonstrate its flight capabilities. Impressive aircraft!
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