A 10 - Interesting article

www.rense.com...


What a machine

reply to post by getso


getso,

I spent three years in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. What we were most vulnerable to was a tank attack.

The A-10 (in conjunction in my time with the Cobra Attack Helicopter) was an absolute nightmare to enemy tank commanders.

Truly, one seriously b*d-*ss plane.

Can you believe they were going to decommission these?

Cheers!

The A-10 is definitely a capable aircraft despite its slow speed. I too was amazed when I heard they were gona scrap it. Like the post said, those engines sitting on top is what keeps the sand out. They sound awesome too going overhead, very distinct sound.


Deebo

reply to post by Hessling


Those airframes get a lot of punishment, and I don't think they have produced any new ones in years. Once the useful flight hours are used up there is very little they can do to prolong the life - that wing spar, as monstrously strong as they are will fail one day.

I think what they are doing now is playing wisely with they current aircraft, holding some in reserve and as the front of the line get decommissioned they get scrapped and the kit gets transplanted to another airframe.

Will will likely see at least one more tank killer plane after the A10, I don't think the helicopters can take over that job all by them selves, but who knows what war will be like in say 15 years? I think the tanks days are numbered actually - but there will still be armoured vehicles that need to be hit.

Great article and one of my favorite planes ever.

Basically a plane built around an enormous gun! Got to see some practice runs in NJ with my Uncle many, many moons ago.

My absolute favorite plane of all time. S&F . Heres a video clip of the gun during a test, turn down speakers!!

Originally posted by jaynkeel
My absolute favorite plane of all time. S&F . Heres a video clip of the gun during a test, turn down speakers!!

looks amazing.

The A-10 is one of my favorite planes. It can take alot of damage and deal out even more and a very high rate. I was sad to hear of planes to scrap the planes.

I would defiantly like to see a new generation of these beasts with 2 Gatling cannons

A-10 is definitely a scary-ass plane if you're on the wrong end of it, but when it's on your side you're likely more than glad to see it coming. Also those high-bypass turbofans can be surprisingly quiet (unlike most jets) so even though it's relatively slow, you still don't hear it until it's almost right over you. It can do a hammerhead style turn rather well to come back at a target from another direction. Anybody who has seen them at an airshow can likely attest to that.

I'd also think that the real progenitor of the A-10 isn't it's namesake P-47 Thunderbolt (although it's great at ground attack too), but rather a gunship variant of the B-25 Mitchell. (The B-25G and B-25H, to be specific.) The prototypes of these were based on a somewhat successful Australian kludged-together invention that were used in the Pacific during WWII. If you look it up and see how the gun is built into it and other similarities in the design principles used you'll see why.

Great post. The A-10 Thunderbolt II is an aeroplane I will never, ever tire of reading about or watching film clips about.

This aircraft is what 'sky to mud' is all about and the guys who fly them have a pair of very big ones. THEY don't have to fly above 5000 feet, they get down and get dirty!

When a 'friend of a friend' was at the original battle of Sangin and bringing in CAS, the boots on the ground preferred the A-10 and GR9 Harrier.

The reason being was that both a/c could loiter with intent and could react with secoinds, something a fast jet cannot readily do.

Another reason we Brits preferred the A-10 was that it delivered one 30 mm round every half an inch which when you think about it, is pretty damned effective.

reply to post by getso


ACTUALLY MOST RETIRED A-10'S ARE RESTORED TO FLIGHT STATUS AND GIVEN TO
FIRE FIGHTING TEAMS IN CALIFORNIA AND THE WESTERN USA...

JUST GOOGLE FIREFIGHTING A-10'S YOU SEE IT..

reply to post by FRANKBLACK
Where on earth did you get this rubbish from? I ran a number of queries and have turned up nothing other than discussion of this idea on a bulletin board over ten years ago.

Retired A-10's either go into storage at DM or are parted out. A handful have also been turned into gate guardians. The USAF and the US Army are simply not going to let "most retired A-10's being pressed into firefighting bomber service" as you put it. For one thing there would be the tricky problem of whether a civilian organisation or individual could own and operate a modern combat aircraft. Generally only a handful have been able to slip through the net and usually because of some screw up with disposal, hence the "ebay F/A-18" and a couple of others. For another the US needs all the precious A-10 airframes it can get it's hands on to continue keeping frontline squadrons at strength now and for forward planning for the next 15-20 years the aircraft is either projected to remain in service for, or will be forced to by the JSF debacle.

To the best of my knowledge this story was the fantasy of one guy with little more than a cool website and a dream over a decade ago. Unless you have links to prove otherwise can we put this pipedream to rest?

LEE.

The JSF is not a suitable replacement for the A10 though. If the Us wants to replace the A10 they should design a new aircraft which does everything the A10 does right now but with a faster top speed and maybe some stealth. There always will be a place for a flying tank.

The last time the USAF wanted to retire them the Marines put in a claim for them.

Now there is no way the Airforce would ever give them to the Marines so they have to keep them.

www.combatreform.org...

Agreed: Awesome. Also, if you have never seen one up close and you get the opportunity, they are really a LOT BIGGER than they look in a picture. Their wingspan is 57 feet compared to an F-18 at 40 feet. There is a vid somewhere on the net of the plane flown by "Killer Chick" who got hers beat up pretty bad in Iraq. The pics of the jet were amazing. It was shot up pretty bad, but it's a simple and redundant aircraft that can take a beating.

People who compare the reaktively cheap A-10 to the several billions of dollar JSF or whatever are, IMO, not thinking straight. A=Attack. F=Fighter. The A-10 is strictly for engaging targets on the ground. It is true that something like the F/A-18 has both designations, but the strategy for their use is completely different. Basically an F/A-18 can let loose a very few missiles at a ground attack. Compare that to a gatling gun.

Wow, those bullets are HUGE

reply to post by getso

WOW!!! I had assumed that it shot 20mm rounds until I read the article! That gun is a tour de force. They should build a ground, tank based weapon around it as well. DU is bad for your health but heavier than lead. Kill those alien EBE Decepticons and "Bring the rain!"

Originally posted by FRANKBLACK
reply to post by getso

 

ACTUALLY MOST RETIRED A-10'S ARE RESTORED TO FLIGHT STATUS AND GIVEN TO
FIRE FIGHTING TEAMS IN CALIFORNIA AND THE WESTERN USA...

JUST GOOGLE FIREFIGHTING A-10'S YOU SEE IT..

None have ever been used for firefighting it was only a concept as you can not remove the armor and that leaves the aircraft overweight for firefighting.

We do have 14 OV-10A Bronco air tactical aircraft. that were used for the close air support role in vietnam.
In vietnam the OV-10s were armed with rockets and pod mounted guns.

The OV-10 are great all weather spotter aircraft and i have worked with them a number of times as a volunteer firefighter in northern Calif