Lieutenant Colonel Mike Ely, the former 74th Fighter Squadron commander, makes the signal known worldwide by F-16 pilots as "Makin Snakes" as he taxies his F-16C, tail no. 90-0776, out of its parking space. The F-16 known officially as the Fighting Falcon is commonly referred to by pilots and ground crews as the "Viper." This was one of the last three F-16C "Fighting Falcon" aircraft previously assigned to the 23rd Wing, to depart Pope for their new squadron and station at Cannon AFB, N.M. The 74th will remain at Pope and fly the A-10 Thunderbolt II in its new mission
Summary
The original finding aid described this photograph as:
Base: Pope Air Force Base
State: North Carolina (NC)
Country: United States Of America (USA)
Scene Camera Operator: Dave Davenport
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.
Tags
Date
Location
Source
Copyright info