Air Power
FAIRCHILD REPUBLIC A-10A "THUNDERBOLT II"
The A-10 is the first USAF aircraft designed specifically for close air support of ground forces. It is named for the famous P-47 Thunderbolt, a fighter often used in a close air support role during the latter part of WW II. The A-10 is designed for maneuverability at low speeds and low altitudes for accurate weapons delivery, and carries systems and armor to permit it to survive in this environment. It is intended for use against all ground targets, but specifically tanks and other armored vehicles. The Thunderbolt II's great endurance gives it a large combat radius and/or long loiter time in a battle area. Its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines. Service at forward area bases with limited facilities is possible because of the A-10's simplicity of design.
The first prototype Thunderbolt II made its initial flight on May 10, 1972. A-10A production commenced in 1975. Delivery of aircraft to USAF units began in 1976 and ended in 1984.
Emerging in the wake of the Vietnam War, the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II symbolizes the U.S. Air Force close air support mission like no other plane in the inventory. Known popularly as the 'Warthog', what became the A-10 began as a proposal to fill the USAF's call for a new close air support aircraft under the 1967 A-X program.
Combat experience over Southeast Asia revealed deficiencies in the Air Force's ability to support ground troops, leading to the call for a purpose-built attack plane. Additionally, a new, heavy-hitting subsonic jet was required to counter the Soviet threat in western Europe, a force characterized by tanks, armored personnel carriers and large-scale mobile artillery. Chosen for prototype development along with the Northrop proposal in December 1970, the Fairchild design was built at Farmingdale, New York and first flown on 10 May 1972.
Christened as the A-10 by the Air Force, the plane was literally designed around a General Electric GAU-8A 30mm cannon capable of firing foot-long shells at the incredible rate of 4,200 rounds per minute. The design represented a radical departure from contemporary USAF combat aircraft, featuring a large straight wing with eleven underwing and underfuselage stores stations capable of carrying 16,000 pounds of ordnance. Placing its twin TF34 turbofan engines on the upper aft fuselage sides protected them from ground fire, foreign object damage and also minimized their infrared signature. A great number of parts were interchangeable between the left and right sides, and the pilot sat in an armored titanium tub capable of withstanding hits as large as 23mm cannon shells.
Chosen over Northrop's A-9 design in January 1973, Congressional pressure forced the A-10 into a second fly-off against the proven A-7D Corsair II in April 1974. (One of the A-7D's used in the 1974 A-10 fly-off, USAF #69-6200, can be seen here at the National Warplane Museum in Horseheads, NY.) Winning handily, the Thunderbolt II entered full production with all subsequent final assembly and flight testing taking place at the Fairchild plant in Hagerstown, Maryland. The plane entered the operational inventory in March 1977 with the 354th TFW, while the first new planes delivered to the Air National Guard and Reserves arrived in 1982.
Scheduled for retirement in the 1990s, the A-10's future looked bleak until Operation Desert Storm thrust the plane into active combat for the first time in its history. The aircraft amassed an admirable record in its few weeks over Iraq and Kuwait, destroying thousands of tanks, artillery pieces, armored personnel carriers, missile sites and other vehicles, while ensuring its future in the process. Two A-10 pilots even scored aerial victories, both downing Iraqi helicopters with 30mm cannon fire. Although not designed as a fighter, the A-10 generally carried a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles on its outer pylons for defense.
SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 57 ft. 6 in.
Length: 53 ft. 4 in.
Height: 14 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 47,000 lbs.
Armament: One GAU-8/A 30mm Gatling Gun and 16,000 lbs. of mixed ordnance
Engines: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans of 9,000 lbs. thrust each
Crew: One
Cost: $2,400,000
PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 450 mph.
Cruising speed: 335 mph.
Range: 800 miles
Service Ceiling: 44,200 ft.
Photos/Information courtesy of the US Air Force Museum