Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

[Triton]

A-10 CAPABILITIES AND SORTIE SURGE - A 10 Warthog , Thunderbolt , Air Force 23370

View: https://youtu.be/vE6uDgeXnA8

 

[sublight is back]

Sorry, not trying to derail, does anybody else find it really annoying that this Air Force film, paid for by the American public is "owned and copyrighted" by Periscope films?

 

[allysonca]

So, with an extra Precise A-10, a "borrowed" tail from a poorly injected A-10, some judicious sanding and shaping, a few extra underwing stores, and the inspiration from a picture of the 3 tail wind tunnel model I present...........

 

[kcran567]

10 sorties a day with 40 min turnaround time for next mission in austere environment, busting tanks and supporting soldiers on the ground. That is very impressive. Will always need that type of capability no matter what the anti-A-10 "experts" say.

 

[octo]

Firstly Hi to everyone on Secret Projects. Im building a scale model of HobbyBoss N/AW A-10. A decent kit, but
lacking in ordnance. Im looking for imagery on two Pods, Texas Instrument AAR-42 FLIR. Westinghouse WX-50 radar.
any help would be most appreciated.

 

[TomS]

Firstly Hi to everyone on Secret Projects. Im building a scale model of HobbyBoss N/AW A-10. A decent kit, but
lacking in ordnance. Im looking for imagery on two Pods, Texas Instrument AAR-42 FLIR. Westinghouse WX-50 radar.
any help would be most appreciated.

The A-10 thread in Postwar Projects has a bunch of N/AW pictures. This post probably has the best pics of the pods.

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/fairchild-a-10-projects.160/post-65225

 

[octo]

Thanks TomS, just what Im after. probably will have to scratch build them. Under the precis of ( if it looks right, it is right).

 

[TomcatViP]

No wheels, no canopy, no problem: A-10 pilot who pulled off daring landing receives Distinguished Flying Cross

Then-Capt. Brett DeVries had no choice but to try to land the plane on its belly without landing gear or a canopy.

www.airforcetimes.com

 

[Foo Fighter]

Big and Brass.

Is the aircraft repairable?

 

[FighterJock]

The A-10 is certainly a tough plane, you could throw anything at it and it would still fly. I once saw a documentary about the A-10 talking about Desert Storm where it showed footage of the A-10 coming back with massive holes in the wings, flaps and tail surfaces, the pilot back back then still managed to land using the back-up controls this time thankfully with landing gear down.

 

[TomcatViP]

Video compilation of that belly landing:

View: https://youtu.be/o8B4dsIhyt4

 

[apparition13]

Big and Brass.

Is the aircraft repairable?

I would assume so. The A-10 was designed to be able to do just what it did there, land without gear down, in case of battle damage. I don't recall that capability having to be put to the test before, but that looked pretty routine for an emergency landing, so it seems to me the design worked as planned.

 

[dan_inbox]

Big and Brass.

Is the aircraft repairable?

I would assume so. The A-10 was designed to be able to do just what it did there, land without gear down, in case of battle damage. I don't recall that capability having to be put to the test before, but that looked pretty routine for an emergency landing, so it seems to me the design worked as planned.

Yes it was, during ODS.

s,

 

[TomS]

Big and Brass.

Is the aircraft repairable?

I would assume so. The A-10 was designed to be able to do just what it did there, land without gear down, in case of battle damage. I don't recall that capability having to be put to the test before, but that looked pretty routine for an emergency landing, so it seems to me the design worked as planned.

As I recall, the main gear wheels don't fully retract to help in gear-up landings.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Thanks folks.

 

[Jeb]

Big and Brass.

Is the aircraft repairable?

I would assume so. The A-10 was designed to be able to do just what it did there, land without gear down, in case of battle damage. I don't recall that capability having to be put to the test before, but that looked pretty routine for an emergency landing, so it seems to me the design worked as planned.

As I recall, the main gear wheels don't fully retract to help in gear-up landings.

Correct, I think a good third of the wheel, maybe more, sits out in the airflow when "retracted".

 

[jsport]

The A-10 Warthog Is Preparing For Its Biggest Upgrade In Over A Decade

A new large-area cockpit display and additional weapons are all in the grand plans to get the A-10 ready for higher-end missions.

www.thedrive.com

 

[FighterJock]

The A-10 Warthog Is Preparing For Its Biggest Upgrade In Over A Decade

A new large-area cockpit display and additional weapons are all in the grand plans to get the A-10 ready for higher-end missions.

www.thedrive.com

I wonder what the new cockpit will look like? Hope that it is based on the F-35 cockpit, I really like that cockpit.

 

[TsrJoe]

was the A.10 Thunderbolt ever pitched to the UK. for the RAF. ?
I understand Australia and W. Germany were interested in the type for possible procurement, it would be interesting as to any other interested countries ? I understand Iran ? Israel ?

 

[Foo Fighter]

The two seater would have been more useful possibly but that bit the dust.

 

[TomcatViP]

AdlAE in Africa would love that.

 

[cluttonfred]

I wonder if the upgrades will also include an armor-piercing round *without* depleted uranium?

 

[TomS]

I wonder if the upgrades will also include an armor-piercing round *without* depleted uranium?

It's certainly been discussed since at least 2018. In 2019, a huge amount of PGU-14 DU rounds showed up in a list of projectiles the Air Force wanted to dispose of.

The could field a tungsten API or Frangible AP round. Or for less money, they could just soldier on with the PGU-13 HEI round and drop the API entirely. For actual tank-killing, some form of PGM is clearly preferred, and for general suppressive strafing, HEI would seem to be superior.

 

[marauder2048]

I understand Israel

Given that CAS was not a prominent feature of Israeli air doctrine this strikes me as odd.

 

[isayyo2]

I think here is a good spot to despot this, more can be found here: The Drive - A-10 Heritage Flight Conference

 

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRYkLq5MupM

 

[uk 75]

The US based its European A10s in the UK with forward operating bases in Germany closer to US units.
The A10s trained with Army helicopter units and were closely tied to the defence of the Fulda and Hof Gaps.
In contrast BAOR in North Germany relied on a mixture of Harriers and Tornados but its main anti tank force was ground based Chieftains and Swingfire ATGW. It had small numbers of TOW equipped Lynx.
The Bundeswehr liked its little nimble Alpha Jets and Bo105 PAH helos with HOT ATGW.
A10s were pretty expensive and needed Maverick ASMs as well as their powerful and expensive main gun ammo.
Definitely out for the RAF but the Germans might have swapped their Alphas for A10s if the Cold War had gone on into the 90s and PAH2 had replaced the Bo105s.

 

[shin_getter]

Given that CAS was not a prominent feature of Israeli air doctrine this strikes me as odd.

Israeli air force probably points to Iran as the primary mission, with Osiris reactor strike being the defining historical strategic contribution.

Otherwise you can park a HIMARs in the middle of the country and provide fire support to every front in record time. Army apaches can also deal with Palestinian non-peer conflict better than AF as well.

 

[TomcatViP]

Above, Phillis switched into Sandy, or the A-10 search and rescue (SAR) mode. He radioed that he saw a good chute and marked the ejection site coordinates. He radioed the nearby E-3 Sentry AWACS that his wingman was down and asked for more aircraft to come and help the SAR effort.

These steps are the typical duty of a wingman in a downed aircraft situation—but Phillis stayed. Radio traffic showed confusion as incoming aircraft were not clear where to head.

Phillis flew an orbit over the armored division to draw fire away from Sweet as he parachuted down. He radioed incoming A-10s, trying to direct them to his position since the aircraft did not have radar.

The incoming A-10s could not spot him, so Phillis fired flares from his A-10—drawing the attention of both the Iraqis and the incoming help.

After repeated attempts to help the incoming aircraft locate him, Phillis realized the increased danger of the situation. An Iraqi SA-13 hit Phillis’s A-10, lighting it on fire. He radioed to the incoming A-10s to leave, then radioed his own fate.

“Enfield 3-7 is bag as well,” Phillis radioed to the AWACS with a calm tone.

With the aircraft on fire and disintegrating, Phillis turns south in an attempt to get away from the Iraqis and Sweet’s ejection site. His A-10 ultimately crashed, cartwheeling through the Kuwaiti sand, and was totally destroyed.

Above and Beyond: The Fight to Upgrade One Airman's Silver Star - Air Force Magazine

Three minutes and 45 seconds is an eternity when hundreds of angry people are trying to kill you.

www.airforcemag.com

 

[Fluff]

was the A.10 Thunderbolt ever pitched to the UK. for the RAF. ?
I understand Australia and W. Germany were interested in the type for possible procurement, it would be interesting as to any other interested countries ? I understand Iran ? Israel ?

Even today, if usaf retires them, I’d think Poland would have a look, everything they do is around anti-tank.

 

[GTX]

was the A.10 Thunderbolt ever pitched to the UK. for the RAF. ?
I understand Australia and W. Germany were interested in the type for possible procurement, it would be interesting as to any other interested countries ? I understand Iran ? Israel ?

I think the A-10 was offered to Australia but I don't think there was ever any real interest.

 

[Archibald]

Osiris reactor

Don't know for Egypt, but that Iraqi reactor was called Osirak (and at times: O-Chirac, because the late French PM and President was once a very good friend of Saddam Hussein, and France helped Osirak buildup a lot).

France helped Israel over Dimona in the 50's
France helped Saddam with Osirak
France helped Iran with EURODIF - before the revolution, and afterwards the Mullah deprived of money and technology sought vengeance - 1986 Paris terror attacks, former EURODIF boss, went to Renault - George Besse murder...)
France also helped Pakistan going nuclear.

Damn. Nothing glorious to brag about, really.

 

[Archibald]

It just dawned on me that, from 1966 to our days, USAF relationship with the A-10 has been one of the most dishonest ever.

In 1966 they started it
- a) to screw the Army and its attack helicopters for CAS
- b) and only because the A-7D supposedly couldn't do the job, too expensive.

And from there, it has become more and more insanity.

In the early 70's a second atempt was made to screw the A-10 through the A-7D, but a 1974 fly-off silenced the Air Force - and the A-10 survived.

Then the Air force started complaining the A-10 was single-seat and day only. Republic created the A-10B to no avail, and the basic A-10 survived.

Soon thereafter, the Air Force started complaining the A-10 was too slow and vulnerable. This started the YA-7F program, a THIRD atempt to screw the A-10 with the A-7 (LMAO). The end of Cold War plus the A-16 (sic) and its gun pod screwed the A-7D, and thus the basic A-10 survived.

In Gulf war War One a F-16 with a podded Gatling gun was tested, once again in an atempt to screw the A-10. The pod vibrated terribly, and thus the A-10 survived.

In the 2010's the F-35 was to replace the A-10 (here we go again) and even if it couldn't, the A-10 fleet had to go to provide fresh money to the F-35.
This didn't worked as planned, and thus the A-10 survived to the present day.

Un-be-lie-va-ble, such dishonesty only matched by such a stuborness in killing that poor airplane across FIVE DECADES.

When you think about it this way, it sounds like a bad joke... "et le canard était toujours vivant !"

 

[dannydale]

Warthog is apparently as highly survivable politically as it is physically. That's one rare bird to do that!

 

[Archibald]

It certainly validated Sidney Camm statement on the TSR-2 "three dimensions but missing the fourth one: politics" - except the other way around !

 

[dannydale]

Exactly!

 

[eagle]

In the early 70's a second atempt was made to screw the A-10 through the A-7D, but a 1974 fly-off silenced the Air Force - and the A-10 survived.

Actually it was the A-7 that was screwed. It being a Navy plane, the USAF wanted to get rid off it. Never mind that the A-7D was almost brand new at the time and arguably USAF's best strike fighter. In the fly-off, the A-7 beat the A-10 in most missions, but USAF decided only those missions the A-10 won were relevant. Hence the A-7 fleet was quickly relegated to ANG units.

Soon thereafter, the Air Force started complaining the A-10 was too slow and vulnerable. This started the YA-7F program, a THIRD atempt to screw the A-10 with the A-7 (LMAO). The end of Cold War plus the A-16 (sic) and its gun pod screwed the A-7D, and thus the basic A-10 survived.

Well the A-10 was too slow and vulnerable in the interdiction role. Never mind the complete lack of avionics. No surprise though as that's what the '74 fly-off already demonstrated.
In the end, it wasn't a decision between A-10 and A-7 though, as the USAF announced any aircraft would be considered for the role, as long as it was an F-16.

In Gulf war War One a F-16 with a podded Gatling gun was tested, once again in an atempt to screw the A-10. The pod vibrated terribly, and thus the A-10 survived.

Well in Desert Storm the A-10 suffered high losses and was pulled from fighting the republican guard units. F-16s took over that role.
So in the end the assumption that the A-10 wasn't survivable in a high threat environment proved to be correct. It's just that an F-16 with a GPU-5 gun pod didn't work as a possible alternative/replacement.
What worked though were F-16s with Mavericks, cluster bombs and GP bombs.

In the 2010's the F-35 was to replace the A-10 (here we go again) and even if it couldn't, the A-10 fleet had to go to provide fresh money to the F-35.
This didn't worked as planned, and thus the A-10 survived to the present day.

The way I see it is the A-10 is mostly still around because fighting defenceless opponents has been going on basically permanently since 1991.

That is not to say the USAF doesn't hate the A-10. Anything that is not an F-15/F-16 back in the day, an F-22/F-35 later on or NGAD/MR-X even later must die.

 

[TomcatViP]

Just a nice thing to see (tight fit by the way) :

Four A-10 Thunderbolts and two C-146 transport aircraft commanded by three separate units, including the Michigan Air National Guard, completed their operation by putting the planes down on State Highway M-32 in northeastern Michigan's Alpena County.

View: https://youtu.be/RI3cy84b81w

Air Force aircraft land on Michigan highway

The Michigan Air National Guard completed a historic training exercise on Thursday by landing and "generating," or taking off, six Air Force aircraft on a partially closed Michigan state highway.

www.washingtonexaminer.com

 

[Richard N]

Wonder if they'll look at road bases like the Swedes (Too bad they didn't have HD video back then.):

View: https://youtu.be/HMKoP2B2d9M?t=22


2017 A-10s in Estonia:

View: https://youtu.be/Dltkggh1hJ4?t=102

 

[isayyo2]

Hot off the presses!

Notice the canopy marking for the Scorpion HMS