One of the most vital
assets on the modern battlefield is the capability of close air support in
support of the ground commander. Specialized ground attack and support aircraft
have been a deciding factor in battles throughout the twentieth century. Initially
close air support originated in the form of grenades or small bombs being
dropped over the sides of biplanes and small dirigibles during the First World
War. These were used against opposing sides trench lines in support of
artillery barrages and advances across the barren landscape of No Mans Land.
Dedicated close support platforms were developed subsequently in the years
following the armistice and the end of the First World War. Aircraft
specifically designed to support the ground forces in the form of dive bombers
anti tank platforms took on a new form when in 1936, a resurgent Luftwaffe
under the guidance of Hermann Göring, himself a veteran of the First World War
and the Nazi Party deployed its new Junkers Ju 87 airframe. The Ju 87 commonly
referred to as the 'Stuka' taken from its official title of Sturzkampfflugzeug
meaning 'dive bomber' was a twin seat, gull winged, fixed under carriage attack
aircraft essentially a flying artillery piece able to provide sturdy, accurate
and effective fire support against ground targets.
The Ju 87 proved
successful in the 1936 Spanish Civil War and during the Blitzkrieg campaign
against Poland in 1939. The type operated with limited successes during the
1940 Battle of Britain where the types slow nature, poor maneuverability and
lack of defensive armament made it vulnerable to interception by Royal Air
Force fighters. It would go on to serve in the Balkans campaigns as well as in
North Africa and along the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa against
the Soviet Union. In the Eastern Front campaigns, the Stuka found a new lease on life when it was armed with heavy cannons and employed as a 'tank buster' to destroy Soviet armored vehicles. Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel a Stuka pilot would become the most
decorated German pilot during the Second World War including being the only
person awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves,
Swords and Diamonds. His kill count would total some 2000 vehicles destroyed
including 800 vehicles, 519 tanks, 150 artillery pieces, 70 landing craft, 9
enemy aircraft, 4 armored trains, several bridges, a destroyer, two cruisers
and a Soviet battleship the Marat.
The United States and
the United Kingdom had their own dedicated close air support aircraft the
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the Hawker Typhoon respectively. Both aircraft
saw subsequent deployment against German forces in the latter years of the war
when the Luftwaffe had been all but defeated on the western front. Following
the initial landings on the beaches of Normandy codenamed Operation Overlord,
American P-47s and British Typhoons provided close air support for advancing
ground forces during the hedgerow campaigns employing effective firepower
against well placed German tanks such as the Tiger and Panther. Using an
assortment of heavy cannons, wing launched rockets or bombs the capability of
these aircraft combined with their rugged construction and nature made them
valuable assets to the advancing ground forces. Utilizing speed, maneuverability,
armored construction designed to protect the pilot and capabilities for
carrying a large amount of ordnance refined the way ground attack aircraft
would be forever be developed.
The successes of
ground attack aircraft during the Second World War would not be completely or
correctly noted without mentioning one of the most effective ground attack
platforms of the war, the Soviet Union's Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik. Known as the
'Hunchback', 'Flying Tank' or 'Flying Infantryman' by ground forces, the type
was effectively employed against German forces during their invasion of the
Soviet Union. The heavy armor of the aircraft made it exceptionally difficult
for the Germans to shoot down the type and it was commonly nicknamed
'Schlächter' or Slaughterer or 'Der Schwarze Tod' the Black Death. German
pilots referred to it as Eiserner Gustav 'Iron Gustav' or Zementbomber
'Concrete Bomber'. Even Soviet leader Josef Stalin was an admirer of the type
and championed it, paying it a great tribute in his own unique way. It was said
that when one production factory fell behind in producing the planes, Stalin
sent an angry worded cable to the factory manager demanding more airplanes and
stressing the vitality of the type to the war effort. He ended the cable with
the words 'This is my final warning.'
After the end of the
Second World War, dedicated close support aircraft were largely disregarded in
favor of fast moving fighters and fighter bombers. In the United States, the
most effective close support platform in the years after the war was the
Douglas A-1 Skyraider. The piston powered, propellor driven aircraft known as
the 'Spad' was effectively deployed in Korea and Vietnam. Fast jets nicknamed
'Fastmovers' by ground forces were largely ineffective in close air support
operations because the high operating speeds didn't afford pilots the
opportunity of time to accurately pinpoint targets on the ground as well as the
drawback of lacking loiter time on target.
In 1966, the United
States Air Force instituted the Attack Experimental (A-X) program office which
was followed on 6 March 1967, by the request placed with 21 defense contractors
for a low cost dedicated attack aircraft. Pierre Sprey, an aircraft designer
and defense analyst partnered with the Secretary of the Air Force to outline
the details of the requirements for the new aircraft. Interviews with Skyraider
pilots resulted in the desire for the new type to have a long loiter time, good
maneuverability at low speeds, extreme battlefield survivability and heavy
cannon firepower. Design elements were taken from the earlier Soviet Ilyushin
Il-2, German Henschel Hs 129 and the American Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Additional
information was taken from accounts written by German Stuka ace Hans-Ulrich
Rudel in his biography. The final proposal took shape in May of 1970. The
threat of Soviet armored forces and the emphasis of the new type to be able to
operate in an all weather environment concluded that the aircraft be designed
specifically for a 30mm cannon, fly with a maximum speed of 460mph, have a
takeoff distance of 4,000 feet, be able to carry an external combat load of
16,000lbs with a 285 mile mission radius and have a unit cost of US $1.4
million.
From this point on
out the program began to develop in two phases, with the initial requirement
for the aircraft developed, the requirement for the new aircraft's cannon
armament was soon developed. The requirement for the cannon dictated that it be
of 30mm in caliber with a requirement for a high rate of fire at 4,000 rounds
per minute with high muzzle velocity.
Northrop and
Fairchild Republic were selected by the United States Air Force to submit
prototypes. Northrop would submit the YA-9A and Fairchild Republic would submit
the YA-10A with General Electric and Philco-Ford being selected to submit
prototypes for the cannon armament.
In develop separate
from the aircraft, the 30mm cannon was not available for the initial aircraft
trials and both aircraft were retrofitted with the smalled M61 Vulcan 20mm
gatling gun. The Fairchild Republic YA-10A prototype built in Hagerstown,
Maryland first flew on 10 May 1972. Following a trial and fly off competition,
the YA-10A was selected over the YA-9A by the United States Air Force on 18
January 1973. General Electric was selected to manufacture the 30mm cannon
designated GAU-8 in June 1973.
The first production
aircraft were flown in October 1975 with the Air Force receiving its first
deliveries of the type in March of 1976 with 715 airframes being built and
delivered to the United States Air Force between 1976 and 1984. The aircraft
would designated officially as the A-10 Thunderbolt II, inheriting it's name
from the rugged World War II era Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
The Thunderbolt II
has superior maneuverability characteristics at low operational speeds
attributed to its large wing area, high wing aspect ratio and large ailerons.
The inclusion of the high wing aspect ratio permits the type to accomplish
short takeoff and landing or STOL capability allowing it to operate from
improvised airfields near the front lines of a conflict. The loiter time for
the aircraft is great and the airplane can operate at altitudes under 1,000
feet with 1.5 mile visibility. Its slow operating speed of 330 knots or 350
miles per hour makes it a much more suitable attack platform than fast moving
jet aircraft. The aircraft's infrared signature is lowered by passing engine
exhaust over the types horizontal stabilizer and between the twin tail pylons.
The placement of the engines high on the fuselage and behind the wings
partially shields them from anti-aircraft fire as well as keeps them high out
of the risk of the ingestion of foreign objects or debris.
Specially designed
wing panels are resistant to combat damage and they bear no load so damaged
panels can be quickly replaced in field environments. The ailerons are
positioned near the far end of the wings to produce a greater rolling moment.
The ailerons of the A-10 are almost 50% of the total wingspan of the aircraft
improving control of the aircraft at slow speeds. The aircraft is ideal for
field use, being designed to be maintained with minimal equipment. The
Thunderbolt II was designed so that parts from both the right and left side of
the aircraft are interchangeable including the aircraft's engines, main landing
gear and vertical stabilizers. The A-10 was further designed with a sturdy
landing gear, low pressure tires and large straight wings to allow for
operation from short unprepared strips with a high ordnance load thus
permitting operation from damaged sites. If an airfield's runaway is damaged,
the A-10 can operate from short taxiways as well as straight sections of road
such as the autobahns in West Germany.
The airframe was
designed to be extremely tough, able to sustain direct hits from armored
piercing and high explosive rounds fired from calibers up to the Soviet 23mm.
Flight systems are triple redundant in design with mechanical systems to back
up the double redundant hydraulic systems thus allowing the attack pilot to
maintain flight and land the aircraft when hydraulics are lost or even if part
of the wing is lost. It was also designed to continue operation with one
engine, one tail, one elevator and with half of one wing missing. The aircraft
utilizes self sealing fuel tanks, and landing gear that partially protrude from
its wing nacelles to allow for belly landings in the event of an emergency with
minimal damage to the aircrafts underside.
The pilot is
protected by a 1,200lb titanium armored 'bathtub' which has been tested to
withstand direct hits from 23mm as well as 57mm rounds from multiple
trajectories and deflection angles. The armor protection makes up roughly six
percent of the aircraft's empty weight although it does provide protection for
the pilot against fragmentation as well. The canopy itself is resistant to
small fire adding additional protection to the pilot.
Although capable of
mounting a variety of weapons systems, the A-10s primary armament is the
General Electric GAU-8 30mm Avenger cannon.The weapon system fires a depleted
uranium armored piercing shell at a rate of 3,900 feet per minute. The cannon
takes half a second to come up to speed with 50 rounds being fired during the
first second, and roughly 70 rounds per second afterwards. The gun maintains a high
accuracy of being able to place some 80% of its shots within a forty foot
diameter circle from 4,000 feet while in forward flight. The GAU-8 is also
optimzed fora slant range of 4,000 feet with the A-10 in a 30 degree dive. It
is positioned off center in the nose of the aircraft with the front landing
gear placed to the right of the center line so that the actively firing cannon
is directly on the aircraft's center line. General combat load on the cannon is
1,174 rounds of 30mm ammunition although it can carry a maximum of 1,350
rounds.
A second common
weapon utilized by A-10 pilots is the AGM-65 Maverick guided missile which
allows the Thunderbolt II to engage targets at greater distances than
engagements with the GAU-8 well out of the range of modern anti-aircraft
systems. Other weapons include cluster munitions, Hydra rocket pods with the
additional capability of being able to use laser guided bombs and the AIM-9
Sidewinder air to air missile for a defensive capability against enemy
aircraft.
A-10s were initially
deployed to RAF Bentwaters/RAF Woodbridge in England complete with the European
I woodland paint scheme designed to minimize visibility from above in the low
operating environment of the aircraft. It used dark green, medium green and
dark grey to effectively blend in with the typical forest terrain of Europe.
Another feature of the type was a false canopy painted on the underside of the
aircraft behind the cannon to confuse enemy ground forces of the aircrafts
attitude and maneuver direction. A-10 detachments rotated from RAF Bentwaters/RAF
Woodbridge to four locations in West Germany known as Forward Operating
Locations. These sites were Leipheim, Sembach Air Base, Nörvenich, and Ahlhorn.
A-10s were frequently
painted with nose art such as sharks mouths and hog faces. It was initially
unwelcomed by fighter pilots who generally favored speed and appearance. An
additional role picked up by the aircraft was the forward air control role in
which the aircraft would be redesignated as the OA-10 and utilize a load of
Hydra smoke or white phosphorous rockets for marking ground targets.
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