this video is made possible by Skillshare premium memberships begin at around $10 a month but for
the first 200 people to sign up with the link in the description you can get two months of
Skillshare for free if you are stuck on the ground hemmed in by enemy forces there is no
sweeter sound than an a-10 warthog approaching and if you're the intended target that sound quickly
leads to feelings of fear from the menacing turbofan engine whine as it comes in close to the
racket of its massive gun laying down a blanket of lead there is no question it is there to destroy
and with its long loiter times it can keep coming back until the job is done if you think of the
warthog as a giant machine gun cannon with wings and then add some armor multiple armaments and a
sprinkling of redundant systems then you begin to understand its true purpose and the breadth
of its capabilities soft targets tanks air defense systems booby trap buildings it doesn't matter the
a-10 can eat them for breakfast and be home in time for lunch and despite the airforce brass
trying to take the a-10 out of the air on several occasions the Army has fought equally hard to keep
it flying and has exceeded more than once and the Air Force 810 pilots are big fans too they
like coming home just as much as the guys on the ground do after 40 years of being part of
the army in 1947 the Air Force became its own branch of the US military and after the Korean
War the so-called nuclear mission became one of the air forces driving tenants they felt Wars
would be won from the skies as interceptors or in delivering nuclear weapons thus close air support
was somewhat neglected despite Soviet tanks still posing a threat but fast forward a few
years and the Vietnam War was a wake-up call using piston-powered prop-driven planes like
the a-1 skyraider just wasn't cutting it when it came to close air support and as of 1966 the army
agreed to give up most of its fixed-wing aircraft and the air force its rotary wing aircraft given
this neglect the army came up with their own and for close air support their answer was found in
the aah 56 Cheyenne helicopter prototype but due to a slew of technical political and cost
issues the program was eventually cancelled ultimately the a-10 was chosen in part due to
the air force's desire to grab a larger budget albeit too late to see service in Vietnam the
Air Force a10 came in at a relatively low cost and was excellent at destroying ground targets
had long loiter times great survivability and provided precise firepower and before
we go too much further what is close air support according to a joint publication by the DoD in
part it defines it this way close air support is air action by fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft
against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and requires
detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces in other words
aircraft in the sky helping forces on the ground in a coordinated way although the a-10 officially
went into service in 1976 it had a rocky start with a crash in 1977 at the Paris Air Show and
in 1978 during an ammunition certification test at Edwards Air Force Base but it went on to have
numerous successes during the 1990s and 2000s and still the Air Force brass really wanted them out
and the a-10 continues even today to be put on the chopping block more on that in a bit the Fairchild
Republic a-10 Thunderbolt 2 is also known as the a-10 warthog or just the hog and gets its
nickname from all its bumps and protrusions its ability to take out armored vehicles also earns
at the moniker of the tank buster it is really a giant gun first and a highly survivable plane
second which is why it is also known as the flying gun the designers of the a-10 borrowed
not just from the a-1 skyraider experiences but also sought out input from Hans rudl a highly
decorated German World War two Stuka pilot that flew over 2300 ground attack missions and claimed
the destruction of over 500 tanks it is powered by two GE TF 34 turbo fans providing over 9000
pound-feet of thrust each with a top speed of 439 miles per hour an unusual feature is that many of
the aircraft's parts are interchangeable between the left and right size including the engines
main landing gear and vertical stabilizers the aircraft is designed to be able to fly with one
engine one-half of the tail one elevator and half of a wing missing because of the large
area straight wings it is stable it has excellent lift and low speed maneuverability and is able to
perform short takeoff and landing the titanium armored bathtub under the cockpit can handle up
to 23 millimeter anti-aircraft fire and sets a standard when it comes to survivability as does
the triple redundant flight controls the fuel is safely stored in the fuselage away from the
engines and the fuel tanks also have built-in fire suppression it has three radios that can
communicate with troops on the ground other aircraft and with JTAC an a-10 is relatively
easy and cheap to maintain at 19,000 dollars per flight hour one of the cheapest in the Air
Force inventory now let's talk about the heart of the a-10 the gau-8/a avenger Gatling style
autocannon often known as just the gun the gau-8 is a whopping 19 and a half feet long weighs 4,000
pounds and is capable of 3900 rounds per minute the accuracy of this behemoth is impressive and
is able to place 80% of its shots within a 40 foot circle while in flight at 4,000 feet and
because the guns recoil is so massive it has to be mounted off-center to ensure the recoil forces are
properly balanced this lends to its accuracy and also allow space for the front landing
gear it fires 30 by 173 millimeter shells and its ammunition drum can hold over 1,100 rounds it can
use target practice rounds high-explosive rounds and armor-piercing incendiary 's and although the
gun is estimate to cost north of $150,000 a rough estimate shows that firing just a single drum of
the relatively cheap target practice rounds cost around $20,000 the ordnance capabilities are quite
flexible with 11 hard points on its undercarriage it can carry air-to-air missiles sensors flares
rockets air-to-surface missiles bombs and rocket pods for instance it can fly at very low altitudes
and in low visibility weather and can fire something like white phosphorous rockets to
establish both friendly and enemy positions by radio comms with troops on the ground helping
to avoid friendly fire don't forget to check out our new channel two-bit history where we
delve into fascinating untold stories about companies people machines and more so what
about those success stories amidst turmoil in the Middle East the Air Force felt the f-15e and f-16
could handle close air support but army general Norman Schwarzkopf stepped in and mandated the
use of the a-10 and shortly thereafter in 1991 during the first Gulf War the a-10 showed its
tough it had quick rhea tack times and destroyed more Scud launchers than any other aircraft there
were many air defense systems that were missed by the f-15e and f-16 and so the a-10 was brought in
to do the job in the end over 8,000 missions were flown with 900 Iraqi tanks taken out and
300 armored personnel carriers and artillery sites also destroyed in 1999 during the Balkan
wars in Serbia a-10s helped in a rescue effort of a downed f-117 pilot by creating a decoy to draw
missile launchers away from the helicopters that were then able to successfully complete the rescue
mission and bring that pilot home and in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom Kim Campbell was
called in to take out enemy positions with her a 10 and sustained heavy enemy fire both her primary
and secondary hydraulic systems were rendered inoperable so as she started to spiral downwards
she switched to manual reversion mode which uses mechanical cables and pulleys to control the plane
this allowed her to get out of immediate danger and start home at some point objecting over open
ground was definitely an option but this badass pilot decided instead to try and land the plane
and land it she did photos of the aftermath are truly stunning and yet this bird did the job and
was brought home safely you don't have to look far to find rabid passion and love for the hog
not just amongst military aviation enthusiasts but the pilots who fly these magnificent beasts
and the men and women on the ground who rely on them it is reliable it is inexpensive to maintain
it is mighty powerful and it stands alone as a purpose-built tool that has proven it can save
lives and more yes the a-10 warthog has earned its place as one of the most special military aircraft
of past present or future although attempts to kill the a-10 have failed thus far the end of
the a-10 is inevitable so if you love this plane get out there and try to see one fly or lay down
some lead maybe you can even get inside one if you know somebody and if you are that somebody send us
a message we would love to see one up close and if you can't create some 3d animations of your
own like we did with blender a free 3d software suite that we've gotten up to speed on quickly
thanks to great teachers on Skillshare like Oliver Villar but visuals are only part of the equation
as youtubers we are all constantly trying to up our game when it comes to video editing animation
audio recording storytelling and more when we started out there was a pretty steep learning
curve with all these different tools and if we knew Skillshare existed it would have made our
lives so much easier and that's where skill share can level the playing field skill share is great
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