That was back in the day when jets were being designed without a gun on it because missiles made dogfighting obsolete. . .we saw how well that worked. . .today the F-22 has a gun and it is invisible to radar.
This was back in the day when the strategic mission (SAC, nukes) was THE primary mission for the USAF and those guys ran the USAF. . .and jets had to be able to carry nukes. . .then the ‘fighter mafia’ came along. . .
It was more than a gun in the aircraft issue. I would copy the information in the book, but it is lengthy. The brass wanted huge, crazy fast, heavy, expensive, dual purpose aircraft. Boyd knew from experience that most dual purpose equipment proved to be inadequate in either intended role. Dedicated aircraft, especially for CAS was the way to go.
Notes from Coram’s book: He noted that the A-10 was modeled in part after the A-1 Sandys.
The air force tried to kill the A-10 in development. The air force did not want the CAS mission.
The designer, Sprey, wanted a smaller, more maneuverable single engine plane (Hard to imagine a more maneuverable A-10).
From the text:
“Rather than having flammable and vulnerable hydraulic controls, the A-X (A-10) would have mechanical cables and push rods- redundant dual cables- to control the flight surfaces. Sprey insisted the A-X must be able to maintain flight even with half the control surfaces shot away. As for armament, the A-X was built around a radical new cannon that fired banana sized depleted uranium bullets. (Me: It wasn’t a gun on a plane they objected to, it was a plane built around a gun) To protect the pilot, the cockpit was surrounded by a titanium tub.
“The Air Force loathed everything about the A-X....Jokes were made that it was so slow it suffered bird strikes from the rear and that instead of carrying a clock it had a calender. The aircraft was so ugly it was called the “Warthog.” Many in the Air Force said no plane could perform and survive in combat as this airplane was supposed to perform.”
Boyd piggy backed this through the development process with another plane the air force wanted and has since discontinued. They hated A-10 then, they hated how it was forced on them by a man that did not share their vision or play by their games, and the upper brass, with their long memories, still hate it now. That is what this is about. Higher up playing political games rather than giving troops what they really need. I just wish the Marine Corps would wake up and take over this plane.