A-10 Tank Killers
- Thread starter BeerMat
- Start date
ris
New Member
beermat, nice bit of wales that. really nice. i forgot that there were a couple of bases still running up there, i heard that before the gulf war they used to use one of the fishing towns for target practice - apparently it was close to the shape of a kuwaiti or iraqi port. wave of upon wave of bombing runs on a sleepy inlet 
karlwb
New Member
The fighter that looked like the SR-71 was the A-12, this had a slightly different nose shape and better performance ( !!! ), I don't recall it being armed with a gun, only missiles. A-12 flew before the SR-71 and was only de-classified arround 1980's ( I think )
I always liked the English Electric Lightning, blistering performance and had 'supercruse' before the latest F-22 Raptor, shame it was a bit limited in range because of thirsty engins.
I always liked the English Electric Lightning, blistering performance and had 'supercruse' before the latest F-22 Raptor, shame it was a bit limited in range because of thirsty engins.
BeerMat
New Member
ris...
...my house is used as target practice as its on the main training flight-path for fighters etc, how do I know ? well I got in touch with the R.A.F flight control about whether or not the fighters and bombers could take another route instead of flying over my house at all hours 150 feet above and the response was 'Sorry sir, your house is used for target practice'...fair enough just as long as no one pushes the 'fire' button
...my house is used as target practice as its on the main training flight-path for fighters etc, how do I know ? well I got in touch with the R.A.F flight control about whether or not the fighters and bombers could take another route instead of flying over my house at all hours 150 feet above and the response was 'Sorry sir, your house is used for target practice'...fair enough just as long as no one pushes the 'fire' button
Re: ris...
Now that's a comforting answer.
BeerMat said:...my house is used as target practice as its on the main training flight-path for fighters etc, how do I know ? well I got in touch with the R.A.F flight control about whether or not the fighters and bombers could take another route instead of flying over my house at all hours 150 feet above and the response was 'Sorry sir, your house is used for target practice'...fair enough just as long as no one pushes the 'fire' button
Now that's a comforting answer.
PostCode
Major contributor!
unclehobart said:
Wrong Winks.
Let me, being a formar tanker, tell you about what it's really like aye?
Do this. Tell me what it feels like to have a Warthog screaming in on your tank column at antenna level while your trying to pull the hatches closed on your tank before the guy screams over the top of your tank. When you experience this, then we'll talk. Until then, your just a puss in the forest amigo and nothin' more.
This is a mean nasty little treat for any DAT. I could care less what tank you think is greatest in the world. An A-10 will put a cramp in yer lifestyle no matter. This thing is 'breed' for one thing....tank killin'.
Been there, done that, don't wanna go back.
Hate to be the id10t drivin a T-80.
Winky
Well-Known Member
Who's the "puss in the forest"?
You quoted Uncle Hobart!
My question was whether or not the A-10's were still deployed
in England, certainly having NOTHING to do with you still having PTSD
because about the only REAL threat you faced 15 years ago was from fratricide!
Why the Hell would you worry about closing the hatch?!?
it sure as hell wouldn't make any difference, would it?
The 30mm x 173 GAU-8/A ammunition was among the most effective ammunition used in Operation Desert Storm with proven performance against all targets, including tanks, armored and light vehicles.
The PGU-14/B API Armor Piercing Incendiary round has a lightweight body which contains a sub-calibre high density penetrator of Depleted Uranium (DU). In addition to its penetrating capability DU is a natural pyrophoric material which enhances the incendiary effects.
You quoted Uncle Hobart!
My question was whether or not the A-10's were still deployed
in England, certainly having NOTHING to do with you still having PTSD
because about the only REAL threat you faced 15 years ago was from fratricide!
Why the Hell would you worry about closing the hatch?!?
it sure as hell wouldn't make any difference, would it?
The 30mm x 173 GAU-8/A ammunition was among the most effective ammunition used in Operation Desert Storm with proven performance against all targets, including tanks, armored and light vehicles.
The PGU-14/B API Armor Piercing Incendiary round has a lightweight body which contains a sub-calibre high density penetrator of Depleted Uranium (DU). In addition to its penetrating capability DU is a natural pyrophoric material which enhances the incendiary effects.
Winky
Well-Known Member
A-10's may be ugly, but when you need air support, there is nothing more beautiful."
By Noah Shachtman and Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, DefenseTech.org
It wasn't too long ago that the Air Force was making noises about cancelling the venerable, scrappy A-10 Warthog close air support plane. Last week at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, "a significantly upgraded version of the 1970s-era Warthog with new advanced precision engagement capabilities took its first flight," Inside the Air Force reports.
From the outside, the new Hog looks the same as the old one. But there are slew of differences on the inside that should make the A-10 a whole lot easier to fly.
The $300 million [A-10C] program gives the Warthog two new glass multifunction color cockpit displays, along with a digital stores management system that allows pilots to control weapons through computers. Also, a new grip and throttle, which incorporate a number of buttons and switches to control various functions, will allow Warthog pilots to command most of the aircraft's functions without taking their hands off the throttle and stick.
The power supply onboard the aircraft also has been increased to manage the new weapons the fighter will employ -- the Jo int Direct Attack Munition and Win d-Corrected Munitions Dispenser ...
Finally, the PE [precision engagement] program provides the fighter with a fully integrated targeting pod capability to deliver the smart weapons. A-10Cs can carry up to six Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers.
The upgrades give A-10 pilots an "unbelievable" increase in situational awareness, along with a reduced workload, said Maj. Trey Rawls, a pilot with Eglin's 40th Flight Test Squadron who commanded the aircraft during its first flight last week. He spoke with ITAF Jan. 24.
Air Combat Command is aiming to begin deploying in 2007 only A-10Cs to combat theaters. The entire active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10 inventory of 356 aircraft is scheduled to receive the upgrades.
Not bad for a plane that Air Force generals have been trying "to kill it from the moment it was born," as Slate's Fred Kaplan notes.
Why the antipathy? To understand that, "one must go back to 1947, when the Air Force broke away from the Army and became an independent branch," author Robert Coram explained in a 2003 New York Times op-ed.
"Strategic bombing," which calls for deep bombing raids against enemy factories and transportation systems, was the foundation of the new service branch. But that concept is fundamentally flawed for the simple reason that air power alone has never won a war.
Nevertheless, strategic bombing, now known as "interdiction bombing," remains the philosophical backbone of the Air Force. Anything involving air support of ground troops is a bitter reminder that the Air Force used to be part of the Army and subordinate to Army commanders. For the white-scarf crowd, nothing is more humiliating than being told that what it does best is support ground troops.
Until the A- 10 was built in the 1970's, the Air Force used old, underpowered aircraft to provide close air support. It never had a plane specifically designed to fly low to the ground to support field troops. In fact, the A-10 never would have been built had not the Air Force believed the Army was trying to steal its close air support role -- and thus millions of dollars from its budget -- by building the Cheyenne helicopter. The Air Force had to build something cheaper than the Cheyenne. And because the Air Force detested the idea of a designated close air support aircraft, generals steered clear of the project, and designers, free from meddling senior officers, created the ultimate ground-support airplane.
It is cheap, slow, low-tech, does not have an afterburner, and is so ugly that the grandiose name "Thunderbolt" was forgotten in favor of "Warthog" or, simply, "the Hog." What the airplane does have is a deadly 30-millimeter cannon, two engines mounted high and widely separated to offer greater protection, a titanium "bathtub" to protect the pilot, a bullet- and fragmentation-resistant canopy, three back-up flight controls, a heavy duty frame and foam-filled fuel tanks -- a set of features that makes it one of the safest yet most dangerous weapons on the battlefield.
"When the first Gulf War was being planned in 1990, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, the chief of U.S. Central Command, had to fight the Air Force to send over a mere 174 A-10s for his use," Kaplan writes. "Yet in the course of the war, those A-10s knocked out roughly half of the 1,700 Iraqi tanks that were destroyed from the air... Even the Air Force brass had to admit the planes had done a good job, and they kept them in the fleet."
"A-10's may be ugly in the air, but when you're a grunt under fire and you call in air support, when that 'Hog' flies over the dunes at low level, there is nothing more beautiful," one Defense Tech reader said.
"I served in the 1st Cav[alary Division] during the 1st Gulf war and had the honor of watching the Warthog in action. I was never prouder of the Air force than at that time," one Defense Tech reader said.
By the second Gulf War, however, the Air Force was again considering putting the Warthog out to pasture. Air Combat Command's Maj. Gen. David Deptula told a subordinate to work up a "persuasive" argument for "terminating the A-10 fleet." It never happened. And the Warthog has gone on to be one of the most effective fighters on the Iraqi campaign.
By Noah Shachtman and Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, DefenseTech.org
It wasn't too long ago that the Air Force was making noises about cancelling the venerable, scrappy A-10 Warthog close air support plane. Last week at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, "a significantly upgraded version of the 1970s-era Warthog with new advanced precision engagement capabilities took its first flight," Inside the Air Force reports.
From the outside, the new Hog looks the same as the old one. But there are slew of differences on the inside that should make the A-10 a whole lot easier to fly.
The $300 million [A-10C] program gives the Warthog two new glass multifunction color cockpit displays, along with a digital stores management system that allows pilots to control weapons through computers. Also, a new grip and throttle, which incorporate a number of buttons and switches to control various functions, will allow Warthog pilots to command most of the aircraft's functions without taking their hands off the throttle and stick.
The power supply onboard the aircraft also has been increased to manage the new weapons the fighter will employ -- the Jo int Direct Attack Munition and Win d-Corrected Munitions Dispenser ...
Finally, the PE [precision engagement] program provides the fighter with a fully integrated targeting pod capability to deliver the smart weapons. A-10Cs can carry up to six Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers.
The upgrades give A-10 pilots an "unbelievable" increase in situational awareness, along with a reduced workload, said Maj. Trey Rawls, a pilot with Eglin's 40th Flight Test Squadron who commanded the aircraft during its first flight last week. He spoke with ITAF Jan. 24.
Air Combat Command is aiming to begin deploying in 2007 only A-10Cs to combat theaters. The entire active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10 inventory of 356 aircraft is scheduled to receive the upgrades.
Not bad for a plane that Air Force generals have been trying "to kill it from the moment it was born," as Slate's Fred Kaplan notes.
Why the antipathy? To understand that, "one must go back to 1947, when the Air Force broke away from the Army and became an independent branch," author Robert Coram explained in a 2003 New York Times op-ed.
"Strategic bombing," which calls for deep bombing raids against enemy factories and transportation systems, was the foundation of the new service branch. But that concept is fundamentally flawed for the simple reason that air power alone has never won a war.
Nevertheless, strategic bombing, now known as "interdiction bombing," remains the philosophical backbone of the Air Force. Anything involving air support of ground troops is a bitter reminder that the Air Force used to be part of the Army and subordinate to Army commanders. For the white-scarf crowd, nothing is more humiliating than being told that what it does best is support ground troops.
Until the A- 10 was built in the 1970's, the Air Force used old, underpowered aircraft to provide close air support. It never had a plane specifically designed to fly low to the ground to support field troops. In fact, the A-10 never would have been built had not the Air Force believed the Army was trying to steal its close air support role -- and thus millions of dollars from its budget -- by building the Cheyenne helicopter. The Air Force had to build something cheaper than the Cheyenne. And because the Air Force detested the idea of a designated close air support aircraft, generals steered clear of the project, and designers, free from meddling senior officers, created the ultimate ground-support airplane.
It is cheap, slow, low-tech, does not have an afterburner, and is so ugly that the grandiose name "Thunderbolt" was forgotten in favor of "Warthog" or, simply, "the Hog." What the airplane does have is a deadly 30-millimeter cannon, two engines mounted high and widely separated to offer greater protection, a titanium "bathtub" to protect the pilot, a bullet- and fragmentation-resistant canopy, three back-up flight controls, a heavy duty frame and foam-filled fuel tanks -- a set of features that makes it one of the safest yet most dangerous weapons on the battlefield.
"When the first Gulf War was being planned in 1990, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, the chief of U.S. Central Command, had to fight the Air Force to send over a mere 174 A-10s for his use," Kaplan writes. "Yet in the course of the war, those A-10s knocked out roughly half of the 1,700 Iraqi tanks that were destroyed from the air... Even the Air Force brass had to admit the planes had done a good job, and they kept them in the fleet."
"A-10's may be ugly in the air, but when you're a grunt under fire and you call in air support, when that 'Hog' flies over the dunes at low level, there is nothing more beautiful," one Defense Tech reader said.
"I served in the 1st Cav[alary Division] during the 1st Gulf war and had the honor of watching the Warthog in action. I was never prouder of the Air force than at that time," one Defense Tech reader said.
By the second Gulf War, however, the Air Force was again considering putting the Warthog out to pasture. Air Combat Command's Maj. Gen. David Deptula told a subordinate to work up a "persuasive" argument for "terminating the A-10 fleet." It never happened. And the Warthog has gone on to be one of the most effective fighters on the Iraqi campaign.
