Peter C.Smith - Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

To the memories of Captain Richard Dale Storr, Captain Steven Richard Phillis and First Lieutenant Patrick B. Olson, the A-10A pilots who gave their lives fighting evil.

PETER C SMITH

FAIRCHILD REPUBLIC A-10 THUNDERBOLT II

The Warthog Ground Attack Aircraft

First published in Great Britain in 2020 by

Air World

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Peter C Smith, 2020

ISBN 978 1 52675 926 9

eISBN 978 1 52675 927 6

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52675 928 3

The right of Peter C Smith to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.

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An A-10 in fully cry ( CMSDPF ).

The Junkers Ju.87G Gustav of 1943-45. This aircraft had the same mission scenario as the Fairchild Republic A1-10 Thunderbolt-II aircraft of the 1970s to kill Soviet tanks pouring into Western Europe (Franz Selinger).

This brace is from the 917 th Tactical Fighter Group, AFRES. ( Combined Military Services Digital Photographic Files (CMSDPF) ).

You are SLOW, A-10, the F-16C screams,

You stagger so painfully across the sky,

While I soar effortlessly five miles high,

I turn, and I twist, and I dive, and I zoom,

I tear azure sky with my transonic boom!

(The A-10 says nothing, just goes on killing tanks; thwarting the dictators dreams.)

You are UGLY, A-10, the F-15E sneers,

Straight wings, high engines, an angular Geek,

My lines flow and blend, aerodynamic and sleek,

Parting the sunlit sky, with my roar and my flash,

While you crawl down in the mud, with the troops, in the hash.

(The A-10 says nothing, just goes on culling tanks, causing the enemy tears.)

You are AWKWARD, A-10, the Apache whoops out,

My blades take me any place, Im dainty, Im neat,

And I pack quite a punch, guns and missiles complete,

(While its true that just one hit brings me down in a pile,

Yet you take hit after hit after hit, and still keep on fighting in style.)

(The A-10 says nothing, too busy with tanks, turning each victory into a rout!)

You are OLD, A-10, the JSF boasts and brags,

Im a fledgling, everything desirable and grand,