An A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" Tribute

The A-10 saw combat for the first time during the Gulf War in 1991, destroying more than 900 Iraqi tanks, 2000 military vehicles, and 1200 artillery pieces. A-10s shot down two Iraqi helicopters with the GAU-8 gun. The first of these occurred on 6 February 1991 when Captain Robert Swain shot down an Iraqi helicopter over Kuwait marking the A-10’s first air-to-air victory. Four A-10s were shot down during the war, all by surface-to-air missiles. Another three battle-damaged A-10s and OA-10As returned to base, but were written off, some due to additional damage sustained in crashed landings. The A-10 had a mission capable rate of 95.7%, flew 8100 sorties, and launched 90% of the AGM-65 Maverick missiles fired in the conflict. Shortly after the Gulf War, the Air Force gave up on the idea of replacing the A-10 with a close air support version of the F-16. US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft fired approximately 10000 30 mm DU rounds in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1994-1995. Following the seizure of some heavy weapons by Bosnian Serbs from a warehouse in Ilidza, a series of sorties were launched to locate and destroy the captured equipment. On 5 August 1994, two A-10s located and strafed an anti-tank vehicle. Afterwards, the Serbs agreed to return remaining heavy weapons. In August 1995, NATO launched an offensive called Operation Deliberate Force. A-10s flew close air support missions, attacking Serbian artillery, and positions. In late September, A-10s began flying patrols ...

Channel: YouTube Video Length: 5m 13s Date Found: Wed, Sep 01 2010 12:37 AM Category: Video Games Date Produced: Tue, Aug 31 2010 4:00 PM View Count: 0