The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, also widely known by the nickname Warthog, is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the
An A-10 of the 74th Fighter Squadron after taking on fuel over Afghanistan in 2011
By the time of the Vietnam War, the 1940s-vintage propeller-driven Skyraider was the USAF's only dedicated close air support aircraft. It was slow, vulnerable to ground fire, and relatively lightly armed.
The Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne appeared to offer the possibility of handing much of the tactical air-to-ground role to the U.S. Army.
An A-10A of pre-glass cockpit design
Douglas A-1 Skyraider
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The Douglas A-1 Skyraider is a single-seat attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company. It had an unusually long career, remaining in frontlin
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
…reconnaissance, air interdiction, and maritime surface warfare missions. The A-10 was intended to improve on the performance and firepower of the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. The Thunderbolt II's airframe was designed around the high-power 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary autocannon. The airframe was designed for durability, with…
A Douglas XBT2D-1 Skyraider prototype
AD-4 Skyraider taking off from USS Princeton during the Korean War
An A-1H of VA-115 in 1965