Cold Valentine: A-10

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A-10

A-10 Warthog

Fairchild Republic

A-10

The A-10 Thunderbolt or Warthog was specifically designed for close air support of troops on the ground. It is relatively slow as jets go but it can linger over an engagement far longer than a streaking jet. These qualities enable it to more precisely attack ground targets but also leaves it vulnerable to enemy fire. With that in mind the A-10 has numerous features enabling it to withstand significant combat damage.

A-10

Crew: 1

Power: 2 - General Electric 4115 kg / 9065 lb thrust TF34 GE-100 turbofans

Max. Speed: 706 kph / 439 mph

Ceiling: 9302 m / 30,500 ft plus

Range: 926 km / 576 miles

Climb: Not available

Weight -

Empty: 9780 kg / 21,541 lb

Max. Take Off: 22,700 kg / 50,000 lb

Size -

Wingspan: 17.53 m / 57 ft 6 in

Wing Area: 24.18 sq m / 260.28 sq ft

Length: 16.26 m / 53 ft 4 in

Height: 4.42 m / 14 ft 8 in

Armament:

1 - GAU-8/A 30 mm / 1.18 in cannon

up to 7264 kg / 16,000 lb of weapons, including:

free-fall or guided bombs

Maverick missiles or Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles

on underwing and under fuselage points.

V I D E O

GAU-8 / A 30 mm 7 barrel cannon

The Avenger 7 barrel cannon fires 35 rounds of depleted uranium armor-piercing ammunition per second. It and the Maverick anti-armor missile are the primary ordinance used by the A-10 to counter hostile tanks.

Avenger

Two wars with Iraq postponed the planned retirement of the A-10. The mission of a number of Thunderbolts has been converted to Forward Air Control or FAC aircraft now that armored warfare in Western Europe is no longer a threat.

Armored cockpit

The cockpit is protected with titanium armor, the engines are positioned for defensive purposes, critical systems have duplicate and triplicate redundancy and the aircraft can continue flying with the loss of all hydraulic pressure. The A-10 was clearly designed with foreknowledge of the dangers inherent in close air support of troops on the ground.

Cockpit

The many faces of dials reminds you this bird was designed in the 70s. It's like working with tubes when you're used to circuit boards and transistors. What's a tube? Think World War II.

A-10 cutaway

144 A-10s were sent to Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War. Six were lost and all due to ground launched missiles. In turn they were responsible for the destruction of a thousand tanks as well as thousands of other vehicles and artillery pieces.