A10 Thunderbolts in UK?

[rognjac1]

Just saw an A10 Thunderbolt over N. Cambs. Is there a sqdn. back in the UK? Last time it was due to runway resurfacing in Germany.

[Load Toad]

I remember them & Tornado's flying over our factory in UK before Gulf War I; abso-phuqin-utely incredible; we assumed they were allowed to use our factory with it's very long / broad road / clealy visibler chimney's and nearby train line / river as some sort of aiming point. Brilliant to watch,hear &...feel the noise was amazing.

[Flarkey]

There are 8 or 10 on det at Lakenheath at the moment.

View topic - Hawg Huntin' in Suffolk 9-8-11 (http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36143)

[Bubblewindow]

There's been 10 of them at LN for the past 2 weeks working up for heading east. They have been working Holbeach and Donna Nook up to 2300hrs during the week. This is their last week and I hear they may go home early though they were on Aberporth this morning.

I was lucky to see 8 of them depart with 6 F-15E's and an RC-12 on a counter IED practice mission last week.

I will put some photos here when I've resized them,

BW

[Mactlsm1]

A mate of mine is hoping that they will be going through the Mach Loop and is up there "on holiday" with the family and his trusty camera. If they are going early he will be p****d.

[Jane-DoH]

At the penalty of sounding stupid and ignorant -- why was the A-10 needed as a dedicated CAS aircraft? While I understand the USAF felt that CAS was an unneeded role that tied them to the Army, a more versatile and conventional design like the A-4 would able to perform an effective CAS role too...

[Hedge36]

You might find this enlightening: Amazon.com: Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War (Potomac Books' The Warriors series) (9781574888867): William L. Smallwood: Books

[Bubblewindow]

A mate of mine is hoping that they will be going through the Mach Loop and is up there "on holiday" with the family and his trusty camera. If they are going early he will be p****d.


They went around the Loop today!! :ok:

BW

[Bubblewindow]

Some images from LN...


http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/460884-hawgs-ln-some-photos.html#post6642277

BW

[racedo]

Part of a deployment east but question is how far, near east, mid east or farish east ?

Remember 86 when BBC on about a training exercise when aircraft on way to Libya.

[GreenKnight121]

JD...
The USAF found in Vietnam that CAS was something it couldn't avoid doing, after it kept the US Army from getting the A-4 or a similar aircraft*.



The USAF used the A-1 in the early part of the Vietnam war (along with the F-100), and replaced the F-100 with the A-7D Corsair II at the end of the 1960s. The A-37 was also used (mostly as a replacement for the A-1) from 1968, and was kept in service in the National Guard until it was replaced by the A-10.

The US Army raised a ruckus over the poor quality of CAS provided by the USAF in the early stages of Vietnam, and Congress pressured the USAF to hold a competition for a new CAS aircraft, with an emphasis on anti-armor capability, to combat the Warsaw Pact/USSR superiority in tank numbers in Europe.

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II#A-X)

The Fairchild/Republic A-10 beat out the Northrop A-9, and the USAF grudgingly accepted it, and the mission-set that came with it.

Northrop YA-9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_YA-9)



* in 1961, two A4D-2 Skyhawks (BuNos 148490 and 148483) were borrowed by the U.S. Army and modified by Douglas for evaluation in competition with the Northrop N-156 (predecessor of the F-5) and an Italian Fiat G-91, for operations from unimproved airfields near front lines. Modifications of the Army Skyhawk included large dual wheels on beefed-up main landing gear mounts; a heavier wing to house the larger landing gear; and installation of an A-3 Skywarrior drag chute. Flown by Douglas test pilot Dru Wood, the modified "Army" Skyhawk won the competition, but the project was canceled when Congress ruled that the US Army couldn't operate fixed-wing combat aircraft, causing Army funds to be diverted to helicopter procurement.

Army Skyhawk | A-4 Skyhawk Association (http://a4skyhawk.org/2c/a4-army-1.htm)

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b336/Bager1968/Aircraft/A4D-2NUSArmySkyhawk.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b336/Bager1968/Aircraft/G91/G91ARMY1.jpg

[Thud_and_Blunder]

GreenKnight121,

Posts like your last one are why I love visiting PPRuNe - I learn something new every day. Had no idea that the G91 ever appeared in US colours; certainly knew nothing of the Army A4 modification.

As for the A4 vs A10 argument - I'm sure that if Douglas had produced a way of getting a GAU-gun, titanium tub and a second donk into the Skyhawk then it would've been considered. Perhaps.

Apart from airborne FAC around Wales/ Mercia during my AAC tour (they always needed less hand-holding than any other jet), my only close-hand working experience of the A10 was during the first Gulf unpleasantness when our unit lurked at a base with a wing of them (you can tell I never did ISS, can't you?). Symbiotic, with information being shared during mission debriefs of benefit to each party. Much impressed by their LTC coming back after being bracketed by 57mm; 357 holes in the airframe, which was simply speed-taped and flown back into deeper Saudi for base repair.

[Bertie Thruster]

A pair in the circuit at Waddo, yesterday. Lovely sight and sound. I got quite excited!

FAC in the Gazelle, 1980's, pre laser, was always interesting with the A10:

" 'Crocodile*', this is 'Pork' Flight. We are a pair of A10's. We have got 30mm, Maverick, Hershey Bars and Superman comics. You got any 'trade'?"

(I know, should be a 'Spindle' callsign but that's what they liked calling me)

[PBI]

I was on exercise at STANTA about 2 weeks ago, going through the usual contact drills and I thought I'd be clever and call in CAS.

Get on the net and call out ECAS, and low and behold a flight of A-10s come skimming over the trees!:D

I looked the dogs danglies until they continued on to LN!

[larssnowpharter]

If yer want CAS get an AV 10 not an A 10.

Just had a couple fly over the house.

[SloppyJoe]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/GAU-8_meets_VW_Type_1.jpg

Amazing gun they put in these.

[wub]

They went around the Loop today!!

Not my pics:

A10s @ Corris 15-8-11 - Talk Photography (http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=344606)

[Hedge36]

Amazing gun they put in these.

More accurately: amazing aircraft they wrapped around that gun.

[bobward]

BBC Look East did a short segment on them last night. The exercise is almost over and they go back to Spang soon. Enjoy them whilst you can, boys and girls....

Anyone else on here remember when they were at Bentwaters, Woodbridge and Alconbury. In those days they were green and grey too......happy days!
:D:O

[Bubblewindow]

exercise is almost over and they go back to Spang soon

Most of them working the U.K ranges and RTB Spang today.

BW

[srobarts]

Anyone else on here remember when they were at Bentwaters, Woodbridge and Alconbury. In those days they were green and grey too......happy days!

I lived in South Norfolk and was working all over Norfolk and Suffolk in the early eighties. They were a regular site a low level. I then moved to wokka country for a different aerial treat!

[airsound]

When the Hawgs were stationed at Bentwaters, I was lucky enough to do the commentary for a couple of their air shows. In those days, they were very popular round the country, and they used to do a very sharp two-ship display at many shows.

The Hawg guys were the nicest people to do business with - very laid-back, extremely can-do. And I came away on both occasions with a bottle of scotch, and a 'shot-glass' made out of a shell-case base from that extraordinary gun.

Still got the shot-glasses - though I'm always slightly worried that they may be faintly radio-active.....

airsound

[typerated]

Only the wartime rounds are made from depleted uranium.

The training rounds used in the UK were a mild steel cylinder with a dinky witches hat shaped aluminium cap over one end to make them somewhat aerodynamic - A very crude looking device compared to say an ADEN round.

I am sure archaeologists in the future will be puzzled why there are many thousands of 30mm (and the odd 27 and 20mm) diameter steel objects grouped around a few coastal locations in Lincolnshire.

[tonytales]

Will never forget, in 70's while skiing in New York 's Adirondack Mountains at Oak Mountain, of coming off ski lift. Turned to left and went to top of Kunjamok Run, looked down to see an A10 pulling up and flying nape of earth up the ski run. Came up the slope flying between the tree tops, then over my head and down the other side of the mountain. What a roar and skiers down on their backs, sides and sprawled all over slopes. Cheers and laughter followed. Never looked down at an aircraft flying up at me before. Sight to remember.

[jamesdevice]

going off-topic, but I once had the sight in the 1980's of a Vulcan screaming over my head on a narrow hill ridge and then dropping down into a valley to my left, with around 30 feet below the Vulcan and around 40 feet on each side - and I was looking down at it. The hill ridge is shown on the OS map as being only 114 meters high. OS grid ref was ST480163. The Vulcan had come south through the gap between Monatacute Tower and Ham Hill and was literally tree-scraping - I can only assume it was trying to "hide" from Yeoviltion - and then dropped into the Witcombe valley, below me. (and I was only at 114 metres high....)
Whoever was pilot that day was trying to prove something....

[BEagle]

Not me, Guv! Although a year or so earlier I did once rattle the windows at a lady friend's house on a direct track between Chard reservoir and the spies' wireless station at Trickey Warren which we were using as an IP for a bombing run.....:E

The USAFE A-10 pilots were always very good at passing low level position reports on the UKLF UHF frequency, bless them....:rolleyes: So, shortly after GW1 when I'd returned to child abuse at the UAS, I was pottering around LFA4 in one of HM's mighty Bulldogs with an air experience Shrivenham student in the seat, when we heard a brace of A-10s announcing their intentions.

So the horns came out. A bit of mental arithmetic and some devious lurking meant that I was well placed to appear from behind a well-known hill in the Vale of Evesham to roll in on them. Well as best you can in a Bulldog... Sure enough they spotted us, called the threat and did their defensive break manouevre. We had a brief "Were you there too?" chat on the frequency, then went our separate ways.

There was still fun to be had back then....;)

[ACW599]

>The USAFE A-10 pilots were always very good at passing low level position reports on the UKLF UHF frequency, bless them....<

One morning I happened to be listening to the London Mil ICF. Up popped "London Mil, this is... oh, gosh, darn, I forgot my callsign. We're an A-10 pair". Quick as a flash, the controller replied "A-10 pair roger, adopt the callsigns Dummy One and Dummy Two".

Which they did. Happy days...

[Beancountercymru]

My ATC squadron visited then from our summer camp at Wattisham. We were being shown around a jet on the flight line when our CO, who had been delayed, arrived in the squadron van, Seeing the cadets he thought he would drive down to join us.

To do this he passed a black and white car that then chased him with its light flashing and sirens sounding. Next minute our CO is facing the side of the van with arms in the air. Sniggers all round from staff and cadets...

[chopper2004]

Well I have also photographic proof from mid July that there were a pair of OA-10 in UK :cool: at RIAT no less :hmm:

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/P7161020.jpg

However driving past EGUL this morning noticed one of the 48th SFS Humvees parked at front gate looking menancing (assuming it was same exercise as why the Warthogs were in town as Humvees are rarely seen at the front gate facing the incoming traffic) and that earlier on up the A11, there was a Humvee going south as well and thats a rare sight to see a USAF Humvee on the roads, not so uncommon in Germany IIRC but on UK roads.

[chevvron]

larssnowpharter: I think you mean OV10 not AV10.