The FReeper Foxhole Profiles the A-10 Warthog - April 30th, 2004

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

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Grant them a safe and swift return...

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.

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Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but fear is in the eye of enemy ground forces when the Warthog appears over a burm.



The A-10A first flew on May 10, 1972. Best described as a flying gatling gun. The airframe is such that it is essentially designed around the gun itself. High battlefield survivability is built into the A-10 with heavy titanium platen around the pilot and vital control components. Landing gear is spaced to provide optimum placement of ordinance. The large General Electric turbofans are placed high on the rear fuselage exhausting above the tailplanes to partially mask the infra red signature to ground based missiles.



The General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger seven barreled 30 mm Gatling rotary cannon is 6.71 m (22') long and weighs 1,858 kg. (4,091 lbs.) The shells each weigh 0.91 kg. (2 lbs.) The ammunition drum can accommodate 1,174 rounds (high explosive or armour piercing.) There are two rates of fire, either 2,100 rpm. or 4,200 rpm. Two hydraulic motors are used to feed the ammunition belt at the higher rate of fire, one at the lower rpm. The design fire duration is ten two second bursts with a sixty second cooling off period between each burst.

There are eight underwing and three under fuselage hard points for a variety of ordinance/fuel configurations.

Specifications:

Engines; (two) General Electric TF-34-GE-100 high bypass ratio turbofans 40.3 kN. (9,065 lbs. st.),
Wing span; 17.53 m. (56' 7")
Length; 16.26 m. (53' 4")
Maximum take-off weight; 21,500 kg. (47,400 lbs.)
Maximum speed; 722 km/h. (449 mph.)
Combat radius; 1,000 km. (620 miles.)

It just proves you don't have to be beautiful to pack a punch!



Aircraft A10 Warthog Thunderbolt 2

Armament: One 30 mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun; up to 16,000 pounds (7,200 kilograms) of mixed ordnance on eight under-wing and three under-fuselage pylon stations, including 500 pounds (225 kilograms) of Mk-82 and 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) of Mk-84 series

Notes: The A10 Warthog is the first Air Force aircraft specially designed for close air support of ground forces. They are simple, effective and survivable twin-engine jet aircraft that can be used against all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles.



The A10 Warthog has excellent maneuverability at low air speeds and altitude, and are highly accurate weapons-delivery platforms. They can loiter near battle areas for extended periods of time and operate under 1,000-foot ceilings (303.3 meters) with 1.5-mile (2.4 kilometers) visibility. Their wide combat radius and short takeoff and landing capability permit operations in and out of locations near front lines. Using night vision goggles, A10 Warthog pilots can conduct their missions during darkness.

The A10 Warthog has Night Vision Imaging Systems (NVIS), goggle compatible single-seat cockpits forward of their wings and a large bubble canopy which provides pilots all-around vision. The pilots are protected by titanium armor that also protects parts of the flight-control system. The redundant primary structural sections allow the aircraft to enjoy better survivability during close air support than did previous aircraft.



The A10 Warthog can survive direct hits from armor-piercing and high explosive projectiles up to 23mm. Their self-sealing fuel cells are protected by internal and external foam. Manual systems back up their redundant hydraulic flight-control systems. This permits pilots to fly and land when hydraulic power is lost.

The A10 Warthog can be serviced and operated from bases with limited facilities near battle areas. Many of the aircraft's parts are interchangeable left and right, including the engines, main landing gear and vertical stabilizers.



Avionics equipment includes communications, inertial navigation systems, fire control and weapons delivery systems, target penetration aids and night vision goggles. Their weapons delivery systems include heads-up displays that indicate airspeed, altitude, dive angle, navigation information and weapons aiming references; a low altitude safety and targeting enhancement system (LASTE) which provides constantly computing impact point freefall ordnance delivery; and Pave Penny laser-tracking pods under the fuselage. The aircraft also have armament control panels, and infrared and electronic countermeasures to handle surface-to-air-missile threats. Installation of the Global Positioning System is currently underway for all aircraft.



The A10 Warthog's 30mm GAU-8/A Gatling gun can fire 3,900 rounds a minute and can defeat an array of ground targets to include tanks. Some of their other equipment includes an inertial navigation system, electronic countermeasures, target penetration aids, self-protection systems, and AGM-65 Maverick and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

The first production A10 Warthog was delivered to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., in October 1975. It was designed specially for the close air support mission and had the ability to combine large military loads, long loiter and wide combat radius, which proved to be vital assets to the United States and its allies during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Noble Anvil. In the Gulf War, A10 Warthogs had a mission capable rate of 95.7 percent, flew 8,100 sorties and launched 90 percent of the AGM-65 Maverick missiles.

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[snippy_about_it]

A-10 Warthog



Designed in the late 1970's by Fairchild Republic as the Thunderbolt II, the A-10 is basically a gigantic Gatling gun, occupying most of the fuselage, with seven rotating barrels that shoot bursts of high velocity 30 mm shells - only it can also fly. Powered by twin General Electric engines that deliver up to 9000 pounds of thrust each, the A-10 , although highly maneuverable, is not a fast jet like the more sophisticated, modern fighters and interceptors.

In fact, the A-10 was not designed for either speed or air-to-air conflict. It's total purpose was initially to fly low, to surprise ground troops and tanks, and to deliver its' devastating blasts quickly, to loiter around the battlefield, and then, just as quickly, return to be refitted for another sortie. Super-hard, depleted uranium bullets are used to penetrate tank armor. The gun is fixed and shoots straight ahead. Pilots fly directly towards their targets, often facing flack and other defensive obstacles.



The empty shell casings are collected and recycled in a large tank in the belly of the plane, lest they fly out and get in to the fans of the twin jet engines. Wide open, these guns could expend their total load in just about 20 seconds, but short bursts are usually all that is needed to do the job. Sustained firing would melt the barrels.



The A-10 is not a "fly by wire plane" - it really wants to fly. Modern fighters are so unstable by design that a mere human could not manipulate the controls quickly enough to stay in flight. Computers must monitor and adjust the controls constantly at rates of sometimes thousands of corrections a second. But the long wing span of the A-10 gives it excellent lift and stability. The redundancy of hydraulic and electrical systems keep this bird flying while more sophisticated jets are especially vulnerable to electrical and hydraulic damage in combat. If all the control hydraulic systems fail the A-10 is still able to fly by cables. A-10s have also been known to keep flying and land safely with huge chunks of wing blown away in combat. It's one tough bird.



Back when the Soviet threat was overt, NATO strategists envisioned an invading force from Eastern Europe. NATO went as far as positioning A-10s adjacent to long straight sections of the famous German Autobahn, whose middle dividers can readily be removed to transform the superhighway into an excellent launch pad. Another area where land based invasions were feared was in North Korea, and a plan to utilize these unique aircraft in this theater has also kept the A-10 out of mothballs and integrated into part of our country's vital national military assets.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
http://cmac.smugmug.com/gallery/3914/1/122787
www.viewzone.com/a102.html
www.aircraftplanesandjets.com/fighters/a10_warthog.htm
www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/a10_warthog.asp

[snippy_about_it]

One tough Warthog

These are photos of an A-10 Warthog (from Pope AFB, NC) that took fire in Iraq. This plane was flown by 27-year-old Captain Kim Campbell from San Jose, CA. Her father is a San Jose City Councilman. The A-10's hydraulic systems were damaged,disabling the flight controls, landing gear and brakes, among other critical systems, including the plane's stabilizer. After a one-hour flight home, she was able to land the plane safely.

Large chunks of her plane shot away, the hydraulic control system dead, Air Force Capt. Kim Campbell pushed and pulled at a backup set of manual controls, struggling to keep the anti-tank aircraft from crashing as it limped away from an ambush over Baghdad.



Landing finally in the safety of a coalition air base in southern Iraq on Monday, Campbell was greeted with applause, relief and awe. Maintenance personnel gawked, took photos, and clapped ``Capt. K.C.'' on the shoulder.

But stateside, her father, San Jose Councilman Chuck Reed, was moved to tears.

``I cried,'' Reed said Tuesday. ``It's been a roller-coaster day. Most days, pride wins; some of the time, fear wins. Today, the pride is still winning.''



Campbell, who called her father shortly after her return to the air base, also told him in a later e-mail that ``It's been a rough few days for the A-10,'' and referred him to a Web site with photos of the damaged jet.

``I had no idea that her aircraft was shot at so badly,'' Reed said. ``There are hundreds of bullet holes.''

Campbell, who is assigned to the 23rd Fighter Group from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, was flying over Baghdad in her A-10 ``Warthog'' on Monday when she received a call for assistance from troops on the ground. On her way back after the mission, Campbell told an Air Force reporter, she felt an abrupt jolt as something struck her aircraft. Warning lights started to flash on her cockpit panels.



``The plane rolled left and pointed at the ground, which is not a comforting feeling over Baghdad,'' Campbell told the Air Force Times. ``The jet wasn't responding to any of my control inputs.''

The A-10's hydraulic systems were damaged, disabling the flight controls, landing gear and brakes among other critical systems, including part of the plane's stabilizer.

But the manual flight controls continued to work.

For one tense hour, crew members at the air base and other A-10 pilots anxiously awaited Campbell's return. Emerging from the murky morning skies, Campbell landed her battle-scarred A-10 nearly perfectly, the Air Force Times reported.



The A-10, which flies lower than other warplanes to support ground troops, is armed with a seven-barrel Gatling gun and Maverick anti-tank missiles. Campbell had assured her father in a recent e-mail that her Warthog is ``a durable and reliable plane.''

``That is a classic understatement,'' Reed said, noting the damage to her plane seen in a photo on a Web site for A-10 pilots.

The images show dramatic damage to the jet's rear, which was bullet-riddled and pocked by Iraqi fire.



Reed received a phone call from his daughter at 1:30 a.m. Monday, shortly after she had returned from her mission.

``She was OK and wanted to let us know that before we started to see stuff on the news,'' Reed said. ``She couldn't tell us what had happened or where she had been. But she said she was ready to go back.''



Tuesday evening, Reed checked his home e-mail to see if there were any messages from his 27-year-old daughter. He checks for her messages every day. In her message Tuesday, Campbell wrote: ``It's been a rough few days for the A-10, but we're here doing our job of helping our guys on the ground when they need it most. . . . I have to say that I'm very thankful to be flying the `Hawg.' ''

Campbell, a 1993 graduate of Piedmont Hills High School in East San Jose, was deployed to Kuwait about a month ago, her father said. At the start of the war, she flew at least two missions a day over Iraq.



According to the Pentagon, there were 114 active-duty female fighter and bomber pilots in the U.S. military in 2001, and 7,735 male fighter and bomber pilots. Women have been permitted to fly combat aircraft in the U.S. military since 1993.

Last year, Campbell flew 20 combat missions in Afghanistan and had experienced enemy fire while patrolling Iraq's ``no-fly zone.''

``I think the A-10s are getting shot at on every mission,'' Reed said. ``I hope she's not in Baghdad every day.



``But that's her job, and she'll do it. As long as those guys are on the ground, she'll go.''

[snippy_about_it]

FYI

Open House at Alexandria International Airport

BARKSDALE AFB, LA— In conjunction with Hawgsmoke 2004, an A-10 biennial bombing and tactical gunnery competition, an Open House is scheduled for May 1 at Alexandria International Airport located on the grounds of England Air Park. The open house is sponsored by the England Air Park and the 917th Wing, Barksdale AFB, La. Gates will open to the public at 8 a.m., close at 1 p.m. and is free to the public.

LINK

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[SAMWolf]

My favorite jet aircraft.

[snippy_about_it]

Good night Sam.

[Iris7]

Howdy, Snippy and SAM,

I take issue with those who would call the A-10 other than beautiful. That machine is properly designed, built, and flown to destroy those attempting to kill our people. A beautiful aircraft, yes, sir. My favorite warplane also, SAM.

Now, if that had been my project I probably would have put in more armor, more redundancy, more manual control backups, bigger engines, then more armor - I believe armor is a Good Thing, and only More Armor is a better thing - and the whole shebang would not have been so well balanced and effective. Well, certainly more expensive!

Dick Rutan built an interesting aircraft for this mission. Used the same GAU-8, all composite. No real details were ever released. Quite small and inexpensive. I suspect Rutan's machine would not meet my More Armor specification!

Rutan is a man I greatly respect, by the way. If the President called and asked me to take over NASA, with a free hand, and after I said yes, and got to work, Mr. Rutan would be the second guy I would call. The first would be Jerry Pournelle. Then my brother in law, a fine engineer. When he is right he will NOT back down! Then SAM and Snippy. Build an organization right!

[GATOR NAVY]

One of my second cousins flew A-10s. He switched to F-15s when the AF was talking about getting rid of them after GW I. I know there was a lot of talk about the A-10's mission being unpopular with the AF. I should ask him about that.

[GATOR NAVY]

Beat me by 30 seconds. Good thing I didn't gloat about being first!

[Iris7]

Actually, a bunch of Foxhole people look awfully good. Be fun, twenty hour days eight days a week, fun, so fun. With eighteen billion dollars a year, I could build a real space program, you betcha.


Bed time here, good night, all.

[Iris7]

Howdy, Gator,

Old Nav boy myself. Did some brown water.

Ask your brother about A-10s. I have also heard that the Air Force was thinking about getting rid of them in the '93 - '95 era. The old "air to mud" business. Thank goodness not.

If I had crowed about being first, you would have beat me sure!

[Iris7]

Please insert "secon cousin" for "brother". I am up too late!!

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[ken5050]

One of the best threads, ever....congrats..troops..

Remember the classic line from the old VW ads,"It's ugly but it gets you there.."

[The Mayor]

"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord of hosts. -Zechariah 4:6

Let your light shine-whether you're a candle in a corner or a lighthouse on a hill.

[The Mayor]

Great thread ! there is nothing quite like the A-10 .......


Awesome, awesome aircraft ! Thanks for a beautiful job!

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

Completion of the world's first transcontinental railroad was celebrated here where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met on May 10, 1869. Golden Spike was designated as a national historic site in nonfederal ownership on April 2, 1957, and authorized for federal ownership and administration by an act of Congress on July 30, 1965.

http://www.nps.gov/gosp/

Thanks miss Feather for the inspiration.

[WaterDragon]

This is a "wow!" thread today, snippy! The 'Hawg' has always been my favorite airplane because no other plane's design so utterly fills it's utility as does the A-10.

[CholeraJoe]

Go Ugly Early, BUMP!