Stone - Thunderbolt II

HOG DRIVER

ONE MAN ONE MACHINE

STEVE STONE

Steve Stone 2016

Steve Stone has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

Published by Digital Dream Publishing 2016

CONTENTS

FOREWARD

On 24 July 2013, a pair of A-10s was called in to protect a convoy, which had been ambushed. They were supporting the evacuation efforts of wounded soldiers under quite heavy enemy fire. Ground forces had been able to communicate an estimated location of enemy forces to the pilots in the A-10s, after which the lead aircraft, relying just on visual references, fired two rockets to mark the area to guide cannon fire from the second A-10. The enemy moved up closer to the soldiers position - which prevented helicopter evacuation. This left the convoy commander without any other choice, but to order the A-10s to fire danger close in order to protect the convoy. The A-10s conducted several strafing runs, flying 75ft above the enemy's position and 50 meters parallel to friendly ground forces. The A-10 and their drivers undertook 15 gun passes firing nearly 2,300 rounds and dropping three 500 lb bombs. This is exactly the sort of mission the A-10 had been designed for - carried out with surgical precision, providing cover for the beleaguered soldiers on the ground in the all too common troops in contact mission in Afghanistan.

The Republic Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as Warthog or just Hog, has become an important element of CAS (Combat Air Support) and FAC (Forward Air Control) after having finally proving its worth during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. In Afghanistan, soldiers on the ground love the sight of a Hog overhead just as much as the Taliban have hatred for it. The aircraft has not had an easy time silencing its critics and even now there are those that see the Hog as outdated and in need of replacement. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes it has avoided the axe on several occasions its budget having been left to the fate of congress on more than one occassion. The story of the company that built the Hog is nearly as impressive as the story of the Hog itself

The story begins with Republic Aviation, which came about in 1939 after the Seversky Aircraft Corporation had financial problems and was reformed as Republic Aviation. The firm operated out of Farmingdale in New York and, after many setbacks, designed the P-47 after requests from the U.S. military for a long range fighter. The USSAF refused to give republic and development money for the P-47 so they initially had to go it alone. However, the Army was pleased with the performance of the P-47 even though, like the Thunderbolt II, it ended up heavier than the original specification had stated. In June 1942, the Army took delivery of the first P47Bs. By the end of the war, 15,660 P-47s had been produced, making it the most produced U.S fighter of the war. With the success of the P-47, Republic went on to develop other aircraft connected with the Korean and Vietnam wars. With the F-84 and the F-104 Thunderchief however, Republic was under financial pressure again. In the early 1960s, Fairchild, an aerospace company owned by Sherman Fairchild, began buying up Republic stock and finally acquired Republic Aviation in 1965. In September 1965, Republic became the Republic Aviation Division of Fairchild Hiller and it then ceased to exist as an independent company. After buying out the German aircraft company Dorniers civil assets, Fairchild Aerospace Corporation was acquired by German insurer Allianz A.G. and the United States investment group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc, before the Fairchild assets were acquired by M7 Aerospace in 2003. Then, in 2010, M7 itself was purchased by the United States subsidiary of the Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems.

The Hog is maintained and upgraded by Lockheed Martin and it is planned to be kept in service until 2028, although its replacement in the form of the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II. For now, the Hog, along with the Apache, forms the backbone of CAS for allied forces in Afghanistan and across the globe. They may well be deployed to other hot spots in the Middle East and Africa over the next few years, continuing the story of a great aircraft that is often in the shadows of its more illustrious and complex peers. In February 2014, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James ordered that development of Suite 8 software upgrade continue, in response to Congressional pressure. Software upgrades were originally to be ceased due to plans to retire the A-10. Suite 8 software includes IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) Mode 5, which modernizes the ability of friendly units to identify the A-10 as a friendly aircraft using a cryptographically secured identification.

A-10A Specification

Crew : 1

Length : 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m)

Wingspan : 57 ft 6 in (17.53 m)

Height : 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)

Wing area : 506 ft (47.0 m )

Empty weight : 24,959 lb (11,321 kg)

Loaded weight : 30,384 lb (13,782 kg)

CAS mission : 47,094 lb (21,361 kg)

Anti-armour mission : 42,071 lb (19,083 kg)

Max. takeoff weight : 50,000 lb (23,000 kg)

Powerplant : 2 General Electric TF34-GE-100A turbofans, 9,065 lbf (40.32 kN) each Internal fuel capacity : 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)

Performance : Max speed: 450 knots (518 mph), at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) with 18 Mk 82 bombs Maximum speed: 381 knots (439 mph) at sea level, clean.

Cruise speed : 300 knots (340 mph)

Stall speed : 120 knots (138 mph)

Combat radius:

CAS mission : 250 nmi (288 mi, 460 km) at 1.88 hour loiter at 5,000 ft (1,500 m), 10 min combat.

Anti-armour mission : 252 nmi (290 miles), 40 nmi (45 miles) sea-level penetration and exit, 30 min combat Ferry range: 2,240 nmi (2,580 miles) with 50 knot (55 mph) headwinds, 20 minutes reserve.

Service ceiling : 45,000 ft (13,700 m)

Rate of climb: 6,000 ft/ min (30 m/ s)

Wing loading : 99 lb/ ft (482 kg/ m )

Armament

Guns: 1 30 mm (1.18 in) GAU-8/ A Avenger Gatling cannon with 1,174 rounds (Capacity 1,350)

Hardpoints : 11 (8 under-wing and 3 under-fuselage pylon stations) with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,260 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:

Rockets : 4 LAU-61/ LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19 / 7 Hydra 70 mm rockets, respectively) 4 LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19 CRV7 70 mm rockets) 6 LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4 127 mm (5.0 in) Zuni rockets)

Missiles : 2 AIM-9 Sidewinders air-to-air missiles for self-defense 6 AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles

Bombs : Mark 80 series of unguided iron bombs or Mk 77 incendiary bombs or BLU-1, BLU-27/ B Rockeye II, Mk20, BL-755[ 154] and CBU-52/ 58/ 71/ 87/ 89/ 97 cluster bombs or Paveway series of Laser-guided bombs or Joint Direct Attack Munition (A-10C) or Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (A-10C)

Other ordnance : SUU-42A/ A Flares/ Infrared decoys and chaff dispenser pod or AN/ ALQ-131 or AN/ ALQ-184 ECM pods or Lockheed Martin Sniper XR or LITENING targeting pods (A-10C) or 2 600 US gallon Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for increased range/ loitering time.

PROLOGUE

Lt Elliot Griffin walked around his Hog, which was the nickname given to the Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II that Griffin flew. He walked round and undertook all his pre-flight checks, starting with the 30mm Cannon, undercarriage and flaps, and finally the stores. Griffin then climbed into the cockpit and started to strap himself in with help from a member of ground crew. Sitting in the Hogs titanium tub which even protects its pilots from 23mm rounds, Griffin shuffled himself around on his seat to get comfortable. He then completed his pre-flight checks before starting each of the two General Electric TF34-GE-100A turbofans. Each of the engines roared into life. With the auxiliary power unit switched off, Griffin was ready to depart. Griffin taxied to the runway past the lines of C-17s and Hercules aircraft. With immediate clearance to take off granted, he did not have to stop short so pulled straight onto the main runway. He carried out the final checks on the right console, making sure that the day strobe, day NAV lights and pitot heat were all set to on, before gently easing the throttles to 90% with the brakes on.