A-10 Thunderbolt II over the desert
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
A-10 Thunderbolt II over the desert
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
A-10 Thunderbolt II over the desert.
An A-10 Thunderbolt II, assigned to the 74th Fighter Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, GA, returns to mission after receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker, 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, over the skies of Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, May 8, 2011.
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin turbofan engine, straight wing jet aircraft developed for the USAF. Commonly referred to as "Warthog" or "Hog", its official name comes from the P-47 Thunderbolt, a WWII fighter-bomber effective at attacking ground targets. The A-10 was designed for close air support (CAS) of friendly ground troops, against armored vehicles, tanks, and enemy ground forces.
The Thunderbolt II entered service in 1976 and is the only production-built aircraft in the USAF designed solely for CAS.
The A-10 was designed around the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon that shoots ammo of the size of a milk bottle. Its airframe was designed for durability with many systems duplicated or even triplicated. Titanium armor protects the cockpit and aircraft systems. The location of the twin jets hide them between the wings and the tails, to protect the plane from heat seeking SAMs. All these measures allow the Warthog to absorb a significant amount of damage and continue flying. Its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines, and its simple design enables maintenance with minimal facilities.
The A-10 served in the Gulf War, where it distinguished itself, and in other conflicts such as Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and against Islamic State in the Middle East.
With a variety of upgrades and wing replacements, the A-10's service life may be extended to 2040.
Original image by U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. William Greer. Further image enhancements and post processing by Weston Westmoreland.
More fighters, bombers and biplanes one copy-paste away in my Aircraft Gallery at http://westonwestmoreland.com/collections/aircraft
You can learn more about what drives me in my blog:
http://inspiringthoughtsandimages.com/
Weston Westmoreland.
Uploaded
March 20th, 2018
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