A-10A Thunderbolt II aircraft of the 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing line the air field after stopping on base. The aircraft are en route to the United States after being deployed in the Persian Gulf area during Operation Desert Storm
Summary
The original finding aid described this photograph as:
Subject Operation/Series: DESERT STORM
Base: Naval Air Station, Sigonella
State: Sicily
Country: Italy (ITA)
Scene Camera Operator: PHAN Cinelli
Release Status: Released to Public
Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files
The A-10 Thunderbolt has excellent maneuverability at low airspeeds and altitude and is a highly accurate and survivable weapons-delivery platform. Called the “Warthog” for its aggressive look and often painted with teeth on the nose cone, the A-10 Thunderbolt II is the U.S. Air Force’s primary low-altitude close air support aircraft best known for its GAU-8 Avenger 30mm Gatling gun designed to fire armor-piercing depleted uranium and high explosive incendiary rounds. In the 1970s the threat of Soviet armored forces and all-weather attack operations had become more serious. Six companies submitted aircraft proposals, with Northrop and Fairchild-Republic selected to build prototypes: the YA-9A and YA-10A, respectively. General Electric and Philco-Ford were selected to build and test GAU-8 cannon prototypes. First A-10 was delivered to the U.S. Air Force on 30 March 1976. By 1984, 715 airplanes had been built.
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