photo #4210290

Happy Birthday to this pretty girl!!May 10th, 1972, The Warthog first took to the skies.The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, single-seat, twin turbofan, straight wing jet known as the "Warthog" or “Hog” became a welcome sight to friendly forces on the ground, and a literal nightmare to her enemies. Designed with one mission, close air support (CAS) of friendly ground troops, while removing the threat of enemy armoured vehicles and tanks, by providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces.Her continual exposure to enemy fire at low altitude meant that she would take a beating, and the A-10 could amazingly suffer a loss of 50% of a wing structure, half of the tail surface, a single elevator, and one functioning engine, and still remain capable of flight, and bring her crew home.The single-seat, twin turbofan tank killer developed by Fairchild-Republic for the USAF is a real life example of the old saying “Walk quietly, and carry a big stick”! Go Ugly Early!