Subdeacon Joe 27,604 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smuteye John SASS#24774 2,964 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 4 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 3,844 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Quite a fighting machine. God bless 'em. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 2,240 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 A truly good machine will develop its own legends. I've been told a Warthog kept pace with its carrier, flying alongside, staying aloft through sheer brute thrust of those magnificent engines, that it's like the bumblebee: aerodynamically, it's not possible for it to fly, but because it is too hard headed and contrary to listen to the science boys, they both fly anyhow. A pilot once described it to me as "a Vulcan cannon that only incidentally has wings and two engines bolted onto it." One fellow told me it was a titanium bathtub, and then he looked away, and would speak no more: there'd been a sincere effort to shoot him down while he was in that titanium bathtub of an armored cockpit, and it got him home safely. He was harmed. I'd been given to understand that after he landed, after he got out, after he walked away, what was left of his Warthog was politely bulldozed to the scrap heap, like the B17 his Granddad flew in the Second War, shot up so bad they couldn't salvage anything -- but it got its boys home! 3 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L 579 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Proven effective and efficient battlebird. A life saver for our troops and a life taker for the enemy. GG~ 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smoken D 2,429 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Security off my back deck 1 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trailrider #896 1,885 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 The Air Force has been trying to get rid of them for years. Thankfully, Congress has not let them! Of course, what might be a good idea is to transfer them to the Army's Armour branch. After all, it is really a flying tank! 2 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smuteye John SASS#24774 2,964 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 6 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said: The Air Force has been trying to get rid of them for years. Thankfully, Congress has not let them! Of course, what might be a good idea is to transfer them to the Army's Armour branch. After all, it is really a flying tank! The Fighter Mafia doesn't a use for anything that can't do Mach 2. Their idea of ground support is far different than the designed capabilities of something like the Warthog. The Brazilian Super Tucanos that they are attempting to use as a replacement are a rather feeble attempt at a ground support aircraft in comparison. If you look at the specs, the Super Tucanos are a pretty good attempt at producing half an A1 Skyraider (half the guns, half the hard points, half the carry weight). I agree that the Army would be better served by having it's own fixed wing ground support craft. Maybe they could get one of the US firms to get interested in actually building another purpose built craft rather than the US having to rely on a foreign design that should be considered a stop gap measure at best. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sedalia Dave 13,651 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Long ago a deal was struck that the Army would forever stay out of the fix wing aircraft Arena and the USAF would forever stay out of the Helicopter arena. There have been a few exceptions but they are few and far between. The USAF will never give A-10 to the Army because they would also have to give up the funding that supports them. The USAF wants to kill the A-10 and use it's funding to prop up the F-35 program by saying that the F35 will also do the CAS role. Problem is on its best day an F-35 couldn't out perform the A-10 in the CAS role if the A-10 had both wings tied behind its tail. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smuteye John SASS#24774 2,964 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 50 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said: Long ago a deal was struck that the Army would forever stay out of the fix wing aircraft Arena and the USAF would forever stay out of the Helicopter arena. There have been a few exceptions but they are few and far between. The USAF will never give A-10 to the Army because they would also have to give up the funding that supports them. The USAF wants to kill the A-10 and use it's funding to prop up the F-35 program by saying that the F35 will also do the CAS role. Problem is on its best day an F-35 couldn't out perform the A-10 in the CAS role if the A-10 had both wings tied behind its tail. The issue is that the Fighter Mafia and reality have two different ideas of what 'close air support' should be. The 'F-35's can do close air support' folks think that 'CAS' should be the guys on the ground call in for support and a 'package' is planned, assembled and sent to the area. Once the specific threat is dealt with, they return to base. The A-10 is built to loiter in the area and deal with threats more immediately. Stuff like, "Hog, you see that cluster of trees about 300 meters to my west? They are assembling there." "Hog. I see it. They won't be doing that for long." F35's don't loiter any better than 'Hogs go Mach 2. Besides, the Air Force would get out of the CAS business if they started losing those birds down in the weeds. They cost too much and their replacement would a really big budget item to have to explain Congress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 3,844 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Part of the argument that the A-10 is no longer needed is the Apache Helicopter can do the job for the Ground Commander. As much as I admire the Apache, it doesn't have the weight of impact of the Warthog. By golly!!! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sedalia Dave 13,651 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 No helo ever made can take the punishment that the A-10 does and still get its pilot safely back to base. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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