The A-10 Warthog Making One Final Flight — to the Boneyard

[Elderberry]

PJ Media by Stephen Green  July 03, 2023

Beloved as much by the grunts on the ground as the pilots who flew it, the A-10 ground attack jet is being retired after five decades of very loud and effective service. Air Force enthusiasts everywhere are going to miss that ugly S.O.B.

The Air Force announced plans last week to replace two of the last remaining A-10 squadrons with more modern F-16s and F-35s. “This is all in line with the service’s goal of divesting the last A-10s before the end of the decade, if not sooner,” according to Yahoo News. Air Force brass have been trying to retire the hog for years but Congress has kept telling them no. This new announcement indicates that the A-10 will not keep flying until the 2040s, after all.

But what a jet, even if it did have a face not even a mother could love.

With war in Vietnam raging, the time had come in the late ’60s for the Air Force to get serious about ground-attack missions — and finally develop a replacement for its fleet of (almost) WWII-vintage, prop-driven A-1 Skyraiders. It’s said that the best antitank weapon is another tank, and when it came to developing the A-10, the Air Force seems to have asked, “What if we took a tank and added wings and a couple of big-ass engines to it?”

Although the requirements for the Air Force’s new ground-attack jet were formulated during Vietnam, planners had a different enemy in mind: Soviet tanks. The goal then was to take a slow, heavily armored jet and give it a gun so big and powerful that it could rip open Russian armor like a tuna can.

Fairchild-Republic stepped up to meet the Air Force’s need, and the result was the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Neither sleek nor sexy, the Thunderbolt is usually called the Warthog or just the Hog. The whole jet was designed around the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary autocannon whose (airborne!) ammo magazine is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. It’s capable of firing depleted uranium shells that tear through the thickest armor like a hot knife moving at 3,324 feet per second through melted butter.

That autocannon sounds like this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvIJvPj_pjE

More: https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/07/03/the-a-10-warthog-making-one-final-flight-to-the-boneyard-n1708007

[sneakypete]

The USAF brass are zoomies,and zoomies want nothing to do with  any disgusting  airplanes that are associated with soldiers down in the dirt.

Gentlemen fight at a distance.

[Kamaji]

So, the idiots finally managed to kill the A-10.

[sneakypete]

So, the idiots finally managed to kill the A-10.

@Kamaji

The USAF is ran by gentlemans,and gentlemans do NOT fly in those crude  and rude ground attack aircraft.

[Timber Rattler]

The USAF is going to greatly regret that in the future, and the grunts on the ground extremely so.

[Kamaji]

The USAF is going to greatly regret that in the future, and the grunts on the ground extremely so.

Yup.

[mystery-ak]

The USAF is going to greatly regret that in the future, and the grunts on the ground extremely so.

I don't care what they say..the A-10 should still be in service...they did a job that an F-16 can't..



How would you like this coming at you..

[DefiantMassRINO]

The A-10 Warthogs would be perfect for Ukraine.  They were originally designed to be Soviet tank killers over the steppe of central and eastern Europe.

[SZonian]

I do wish I had the opportunity to work this bird in my career. Came close when we had a squadron at Shaw AFB, but I couldn't get them to cut me loose from F16s. What a beast of an aircraft and her accomplishments are many and need no other words. What a damned shame that her era is coming to a close...for now. Those useless idiots who made this decision will find themselves on the wrong side of history soon.

[sneakypete]

The USAF is going to greatly regret that in the future, and the grunts on the ground extremely so.

@Timber Rattler

If by "The USAF" you mean their senior officer corps,you  couldn't be more wrong if you tried. They NEVER liked ground-attack aircraft of ANY kind,which was one big reason they were more than happy to give up helicopters in exchange for the US Army giving up their own aircraft.

They are gentlemen of distinction and sophistication,and do not associate with creatures that roll around in the dirt.

PLEASE note my comments only apply to those who wear stars,and the creatures who aspire to wear stars. IIRC,there was a LOT of competition amongst the O-1 through the 0-4 pilot officers to see who would get to fly the old carrier Prop fighter-bombers,the Wart Hogs,and the Korean War era fighter-bombers whose nomenclature I can never seem to remember. I seriously doubt ANY  of them ever made star rank because  of it.

Those pilots who  did fly the old prop fighter-bombers all had standing invitations to visit our camp any  time they got the chance,and the drinks were free.

Same with the US Army chopper pilots.

Very few ever took us up on this deal because frankly,they were all too busy flying missions,but the few that did find the time were treated like Royalty while there.

BTW,while I am on this subject,I would like to point out that the US Army helicopter crews that flew troops into hot LZ's and then came back time after time to pick up the wounded or extract troops to reinsert them into another LZ ahead of the retreating NVA NEVER got anywhere NEAR the attention they deserved for courage and dedication to duty.

Think about this for a moment,there you are, a pilot or co-pilot,hovering over a "hole" in the jungle to dislodge infantry troops,while almost always under fire from the NVA as they came in and landed. Despite this,they came in and hovered over the ground low enough the infantry troops could jump out and establish a perimeter.

Yeah,they had a door gunner in each side with a M-60 Machine gun to help suppress enemy fire,but even then the gunners were "targets" sitting in seats in a open doorway,while the pilots just had to sit there and take fire without being able to fire back.

AND.......,they did this several times a week.

You think THAT doesn't take "stones"?

Sadly,from what I can tell,damn few of them got even  a percentage of the recognition they deserved for their bravery.

[sneakypete]

The A-10 Warthogs would be perfect for Ukraine.  They were originally designed to be Soviet tank killers over the steppe of central and eastern Europe.

@DefiantMassRINO

YUP!

[Hoodat]

The USAF is going to greatly regret that in the future

No, they won't.  The Air Force hates the A-10.  Always has.  And it won't be their guys dying on the ground for lack of combat air support.

and the grunts on the ground extremely so.

True.  Very true.  Ukraine asked the US for any surplus A-10s that they were retiring, but the Secretary of Defense told them 'no'.  Can't have any A-10 success stories out there when the AF is trying to get rid of them.

[Hoodat]

@Timber Rattler

If by "The USAF" you mean their senior officer corps,you  couldn't be more wrong if you tried. They NEVER liked ground-attack aircraft of ANY kind,which was one big reason they were more than happy to give up helicopters in exchange for the US Army giving up their own aircraft.

They are gentlemen of distinction and sophistication,and do not associate with creatures that roll around in the dirt.

You are correct, sir.  Combat air support is tolerable as long as you are flying at Mach 1 dropping laser-guided ordinance from a distance.  But actually flying low within range of small arms fire?

[sneakypete]

You are correct, sir.  Combat air support is tolerable as long as you are flying at Mach 1 dropping laser-guided ordinance from a distance.  But actually flying low within range of small arms fire?

@Hoodat

That is something that only peasants,like Lt's and Captains would do.

And the funniest part about this is I have been told there was a LOT of competition between the jr USAF officers to get one of the few slots  open in one of  those commands.