In this A-10 Warthog video of a training exercise, you’ll see the A-10 in action using its cannon (30mm GAU-8 Avenger), firing missiles ( AGM-65 Maverick) and dropping GBU bombs.
In the early 1970s, the A-10 Thunderbolt II was developed. This official name was derived from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt that was used in World War 2. This was a fighter jet that was super effective at close air support. Its nickname is an affectionate one; it is known as the Warthog or simply ‘the Hog.’
The design for the A-10 Warthog was designed to fit around the cannon that it uses as its primary armament. This monstrous cannon is the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon.
It fires huge armor-piercing depleted uranium shells at an astonishing rate of 3,900 rounds per minute (fixed rate).
The Warthog can be reamed, serviced and refueled with the minimum of equipment, with many repairs that able to be done in the field.
A lot of the parts in this aircraft are interchangeable between both the left and right side; this includes the landing gear, vertical stabilizers, and even the engines.
The landing gear is sturdy; it has tires that are low-pressure and wings that are straight; these features all allow the craft to operate from the shortest, roughest landing strips even when fully loaded with ordnance.
This means that the Warthog can fly from sections of straight roadway, damaged bases and taxiways.
The forward landing gear is designed to be offset to the right of the aircraft so that there is better placement of the cannon, meaning that the firing barrel lines up along the center of the craft.
The wheels on the main landing gear protrude when retracted, allowing gear-up belly landings to be less damaging and far easier to control.
And now for the video!