BRRRRRRT: Amazing Facts About America’s Favorite Plane. The A-10 Warthog. [VIDEOS]. How would you like to see this coming at you firing 30mm depleted uranium rounds at a rate of 4,200 per minute?
This post was last modified on January 31, 2021
BRRRRRRT: Amazing Facts About America’s Favorite Plane. The A-10 Warthog. [VIDEOS]
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One BADASS bird. Strikes fear in those who have the misfortune of being lined up in her sights.
The A-10 pilots I've seen in interviews absolutely LOVE this aircraft. The enemies on the ground hate and fear it. I don't need to know much more than that. It was originally called the Thunderbolt II, after the WW2 P-47, another nearly indestructible aircraft.
I was a young sergeant stationed at Ft. Stewart in the mid-eighties. We hosted several combined arms exercises each year, one of which allowed the A-10's posted at Hunter Army Air Field to use our base's combat flight zones for their target practices and what not. During the exercise, we'd play a version of escape and evasion and I can honestly say I was never able to shake a determined A-10 pilot...ever! If they see you and you're on their kill list, you're dead, end of story. The only way you can even hope to evade detection is to be really good with your camouflage skills and be really fortunate that the base commander doesn't give them permission to fly night missions, because that's when they can use their FLIR! When you're caught in the sights of an A-10, there's no place to run...park on the side of the road and smoke you're last cigarette!
Been there, except for the firing. I fish on a lake near Barksdale AFB. One day going down a long channel, I looked back at the motor and about a mile behind me around 500 feet where 2 A-10s tailing me and as soon as they passed over they bank off and headed back to the base. A pilot told they do it all the time for practice
Oh what I could do to improve kalifornia with a couple of those.....
Sacramento?
And LA.
BTW., my A-10 came in the mail last week.
I like the concept of the A10 and the mission it performs. But, having read several discussions about the situation, I think its fair to point out that most of the missions the A10 flew in the last war were at higher than optimal altitude due to vulnerability to man portable AA missiles.
But the F35 isn't the answer, and the Air Force apparently doesn't have an answer for ground support.
My son was an FO in Afghanistan and told me the very best plane to have around was a B-52 popping out laser guided 500 pounders one at a time like a Pez dispenser all night long.
If it's not broke, don't fix it. Try telling that to the brass, with their RINO allies and defense contractor cronies.
But it is the job of politicians to take working things and screw them up. More money to be made from the lobbyists with some new more expensive and less effective program. At least democrats and RINOs operate under that job description...