The GAU-8 Avenger: The Gun the A-10 Was Built Around
by Brian Hudson 1 day ago
Almost anyone with an internet connection has probably seen an A-10 meme or heard someone talk about the (very) distinctive BRRRTTTTT sound of an A-10, diving down and spouting its flame from under its body. Those flames come courtesy of the GAU-8 Avenger.
The venerable A-10 Thunderbolt, affectionately nicknamed the Warthog, is the only U.S. Air Force aircraft built for the express purpose of close-air support (CAS). To that end, the whole thing was designed and built around the GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon. That’s right: cannon.
The Beginnings of the A-10
As the Vietnam War began to heat up in the early ’60s, the DoD realized the A-1 Skyraider, the only ground-support aircraft in the inventory, was woefully underpowered against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. Between the Air Force, Navy, and South Vietnamese AF, almost 400 were lost in combat.
So, in late 1966, then Air Force Chief of Staff General John McConnell ordered the design of a specialized CAS aircraft that would be low-cost, highly survivable, and with lots of firepower. In 1970, the request was modified to include the requirement for a 30mm cannon.
https://sofrep.com/news/the-gau-8-avenger-the-gun-the-a-10-was-built-around/
