The
A-10 was never used in
World War II (contrary to what some say), for one thing even at the end of World War II
jets were still in the experimental phase in the US. The A-10 was developed in the early years of the
cold war to patrol the area along the
iron curtain.
The A-10 is perhaps the most rugged aircraft known to man and the ugliest, hence the name "Warthog." Its main weapon is a 30 millimeter seven-barreled Vulcan cannon. The gun is so big that designers started with the cannon and built the aircraft around it (this is why the nose gear is off center).
Weapons Systems:
The A-10 has 11 non-jettisonable external pylon stations (numbered 1 to 11 from left to right) for external carriage of ordnance. Three of these stations have the capability of carrying external fuel tanks. Forward firing ordnance may be carried on pylon stations 2 through 10. Aim-9 air-to-air missiles may be carried on stations 1 and/or 11. Conventional munitions may be carried on all pylons. Seven of the pylons house a bomb rack which has both 14 inch and 30 inch suspension hooks. The two most outboard wing pylons on each side contain a bomb rack which has only 14 inch suspension hooks. Each ejection rack assembly has provisions for bomb carrying, release, and a forced ejection mechanism.
Four self-protection chaff and or flare dispensers are installed in each main landing gear pod and on each wing tip such that payloads are dispensed in a downward direction.
The primary and by far the most devastating weapon carried by the A-10 is the internally-mounted GAU-8/A (pronounced like "cow" except with a "g") Avenger 30 millimeter Gatling Gun. The GAU-8/A spits 65 one and one half pound projectiles every second, penetrating up to 4 inches of the world's most impenetrable armor. A mastery of weapons engineering, the GAU-8/A remains the world's most devastatingly effective and flexible ground attack weapon ever built. Early versions of the A-10 would actually recoil when the gun was fired, making it very hard to stay on target. Now the A-10 has a computer that freezes the controls when the trigger is depressed; this keeps the A-10 stable but it can not maneuver when on target and shooting.
The A-10 with its massive carrying capability and 11 suspension racks can carry every conventional free-fall munition in the Air Force inventory. General purpose "dumb" bombs, laser guided smart bombs, bomblet dispensing canister weapons, and special purpose stores can all be carried in combination with each other.
Forward firing weapons include the AGM-65 television or heat guided "Maverick" missile system, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile, and various flavors of unguided 2.75 inch rockets.
The A-10 was designed with redundant systems for everything and even when everything is knocked out the thing will still fly. A pilot in the Gulf War was shot up and flew back to his air field with no hydraulics, no electricity, 1/3 of one wing blown off, 1/2 of the other one, and one tail (of the two) and one engine blow off the airframe. He landed safely.
The A-10 is made to fly low and slow so it can spot and kill tanks, making it an attack aircraft, not a fighter. This makes it very vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire (AA fire) and surface-to-air missiles. To protect the pilot, the cockpit sits inside a titanium armor "bathtub" that can withstand a direct hit from a sidewinder missile. The canopy is almost two inches of bullet proof synthetics.
Pilots of the "Warthog" refer to fighter pilots as "Pointy-nosed mach snots."
Much of this information was obtained at the following URL. It is a great resource for more info on the A-10. http://www.shreve.net/~blade/homeset.html