A-10 Stats

[gruundehn]

Yes, I worked on the A-10 back when I was on active duty. That bird can carry a sh*tload of ordinance and can take enough damage to destroy five of any other combat type and it was designed to be easy to work on.

Have you tried Google? Search for the A-10 specifications and you should get what you need. What you probably won't be told is that the titanium bathtub, the cockpit protection, can take two 37mm hits in the same spot before the protection breaks down and anything after that can get through. The aircraft can fly with one engine and one horizontal and vertical stabilizer missing as well as the outer portion of each wing down to where the ailerons start.

The Electronic Warfare Receiver (what I used to work on - an earlier version, ALR-46 against ALR-69 today) can detect, and display (and otherwise warn the pilot about) as many as a dozen different threats of various types giving the direction in relation to the aircraft nose and the distance in relation to the effective danger distance. The effective danger distance is how close the threat has to be before it has a serious chance to kill the A-10.

[jj234]

bump (please, plane stats anyone?)

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by gruundehn

Have you tried Google? Search for the A-10 specifications and you should get what you need. What you probably won't be told is that the titanium bathtub, the cockpit protection, can take two 37mm hits in the same spot before the protection breaks down and anything after that can get through.

If you know (and can tell us without having to kill us), what sort of caliber does it take to actually pierce the skin of the wings/body/engine housings? I've seen quotes to the effect that it can "withstand" hits from 23mm (though whether that means it can't penetrate, or the DR and HP keep single/few hits from being crippling is at best vague), and the "bathtub" can stop up to 57mm groundfire (though probably not reliably near that limit). With better information there, it shouldn't be difficult to estimate the DR.

As a first draft:

TL  Vehicle                  ST/HP  Hnd/SR  HT   Move   LWt.  Load  SM  Occ  DR  Range  Cost    Locations  Stall
7   Fairchild Republic A-10  117    +1/3    13f  2/215  25    8.2   +6  1    ?   2500   $11.8M  g3WWi      68

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by RyanW

If you know (and can tell us without having to kill us), what sort of caliber does it take to actually pierce the skin of the wings/body/engine housings? I've seen quotes to the effect that it can "withstand" hits from 23mm (though whether that means it can't penetrate, or the DR and HP keep single/few hits from being crippling is at best vague), and the "bathtub" can stop up to 57mm groundfire (though probably not reliably near that limit). With better information there, it shouldn't be difficult to estimate the DR.

Personally, I'd treat the "withstand" as the average roll for those rounds. I'd probably give the titanium bathtub under the cockpit a level of hardened as well.

Not sure I agree with the Hnd/SR figures. 0/4 may be more accurate; it's been known to land safely after losing most of one wing and half the tail, and being riddled with .50cal AA gunfire.

[gruundehn]

Originally Posted by RyanW

If you know (and can tell us without having to kill us), what sort of caliber does it take to actually pierce the skin of the wings/body/engine housings? I've seen quotes to the effect that it can "withstand" hits from 23mm (though whether that means it can't penetrate, or the DR and HP keep single/few hits from being crippling is at best vague), and the "bathtub" can stop up to 57mm groundfire (though probably not reliably near that limit). With better information there, it shouldn't be difficult to estimate the DR.

As a first draft:

TL  Vehicle                  ST/HP  Hnd/SR  HT   Move   LWt.  Load  SM  Occ  DR  Range  Cost    Locations  Stall
7   Fairchild Republic A-10  117    +1/3    13f  2/215  25    8.2   +6  1    ?   2500   $11.8M  g3WWi      68

Oh boy! IIRC, 25mm would penetrate the skin other than the cockpit. And, as I said, the bathtub can take TWO 37 mm hits in the same spot and the third hit of any caliber would go through. But, there was so much duplication that no one hit with anything other than maybe a direct SAM hit would knock out the capabilities of the aircraft. My equipment was designed to prevent anyone from being able to effectively shoot at the aircraft so I had no direct knowledge except for the briefing given the maintenance and support troops when the A-10 first arrived at DMAFB. That, and the talks I had with the other maintenance people.

I'm not sure on the GURPS stats but the A-10 is extremely maneuverable, at least comparable to what I have seen WW II fighters do. The first A-10 at DMAFB put on an air show for the troops and it was doing high-G turns, loops, and rolls, etc. without leaving the maintenance area of the flight line once it was in the air, and never more than a couple of hundred feet in altitude, it didn't lose much altitude in all that maneuvering. Take-off and landing are short distance also, it was designed for unimproved runways where there might be obstacles close by.

In case you can't tell, the A-10 is my favorite of all the types I worked on, with the AC-130 a close second.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by gruundehn

I'm not sure on the GURPS stats but the A-10 is extremely maneuverable, at least comparable to what I have seen WW II fighters do. The first A-10 at DMAFB put on an air show for the troops and it was doing high-G turns, loops, and rolls, etc. without leaving the maintenance area of the flight line once it was in the air, and never more than a couple of hundred feet in altitude, it didn't lose much altitude in all that maneuvering.

I understand it can briefly turn inside just about any jet fighter of the same generation, but loses so much energy doing it that it's basically just a trick A-10 pilots liked to pull to annoy fighter pilots during war games. Slow, lazy turns to lure a fighter jock down into a valley to kill the "bomber", then yank the stick back and fill the sky with simulated 30mm.

Basically taught a generation of F-16 pilots which parts of the sky belong to Warthogs and Frogfoots (Frogfeet?).

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by RyanW

I understand it can briefly turn inside just about any jet fighter of the same generation, but loses so much energy doing it that it's basically just a trick A-10 pilots liked to pull to annoy fighter pilots during war games. Slow, lazy turns to lure a fighter jock down into a valley to kill the "bomber", then yank the stick back and fill the sky with simulated 30mm.

Basically taught a generation of F-16 pilots which parts of the sky belong to Warthogs and Frogfoots (Frogfeet?).

Accounts from people I've known in and around the RAF also suggest that they are surprisingly manouverable even compared to prop-trainers...

[gruundehn]

Originally Posted by RyanW

I understand it can briefly turn inside just about any jet fighter of the same generation, but loses so much energy doing it that it's basically just a trick A-10 pilots liked to pull to annoy fighter pilots during war games. Slow, lazy turns to lure a fighter jock down into a valley to kill the "bomber", then yank the stick back and fill the sky with simulated 30mm.

Basically taught a generation of F-16 pilots which parts of the sky belong to Warthogs and Frogfoots (Frogfeet?).

No, it isn't a trick, it is a necessity for close air support. The A-10, and any aircraft intelligently designed for work close to the ground and in a high-threat environment will be able to maneuver like that and not lose much energy. An A-10 must be able to maneuver quickly in order to avoid not only weapons but ground obstacles as well.

In my post about the maneuverability of the A-10 I referenced the first A-10 to be assigned to DMAFB and the air show the pilot put on. I repeat that the aircraft was probably never over 200 feet in altitude and if the aircraft had lost energy as you suggest, he would have crashed into a whole bunch of A-7 aircraft parked on the flight line.