Deployed to Aviano Air Base, Captain Sam Morgan, 355th Fighter Squadron"Fighting Falcons", A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, Eielson AFB, Arkansas, straps in with the assitance of STAFF Sergeant Douglas Crank, A-10 crew chief, prior to a Forward Air Control mission in support of Operation DELIBERATE GUARD. DELIBERATE GUARD supports the Stabilization Force (SFOR) Operation JOINT GUARD with enforcement of a U.N. mandated no-fly zone over the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Summary
The original finding aid described this photograph as:
Subject Operation/Series: DELIBERATE GUARD
Base: Aviano Air Base
State: Pordenone
Country: Italy (ITA)
Scene Major Command Shown: PACAF
Scene Camera Operator: SSGT Steve Thurow, USAF
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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