The Only Plane the US Air Force Has Never Been Able to Kill

_____
As Major Kim Campbell flew over Baghdad in March of 2003, she pointed her aircraft's gun at an enemy attacking an American position full of troops.

Flying low over the target area, she suddenly heard and felt a loud bang on the back of her aircraft. She'd been hit.

Luckily, Major Campbell was flying one of America's sturdiest airplanes: the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II.

The A-10 is capable of working without hydraulics and has a 1,200-pound titanium aircraft armor that protects it from even the most powerful surface-to-air missile. And despite being a slow vehicle with a top speed of 420 miles per hour, it is most definitely not a delicate aircraft.

Built with maneuverability and simpleness in mind, the so-called ‘Warthog’ has survived repeated attempts by the US Congress to retire it, remaining on the United States Air Force's good side for over 50 years and becoming an iconic aircraft of the modern era.

---

Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.

As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.

All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[--Zook--]

My kinda cool A-10 story. My dad lived in Alaska and invited me up for a canoe trip down a remote river. This was like 1989 or so. I was 14. We were paddling down river enjoying the quiet peaceful scenery. The next thing we knew 2 A-10's buzzed us at about 100'. They were doing mock gun runs on us and we never even heard them until they passed. We got a wing waggle and they moved on. This was the coolest thing ever to happen to 14 year old me.

[steveconkey]

I worked at the Fairchild Republic plant on LI that built them in the '70's, and my son is currently with the 175th air wing A-10 squadron with 22 aircraft. It's a family affair....

[mancima]

My A-10 story. I was at a FOB on the Pakistan border in 2003. That night our LP/OP up on a ridge line above the compound was attacked by Taliban forces. We called Bagram For CAS and they sent up a couple of A-10s. I was down at the compound handing water bottles to the forward air controllers on the rooftop and could hear all the radio chatter. The lead attack pilot was female which for an old guy like me was something new. She definitely knew her stuff. It’s hard to describe the screeching sound that gun makes when the Warthog makes an attack run but I’ll never forget it. She tried to dust off the attackers with a rocket but that didn’t work. The LP/OP platoon leader finally requested a strafing run, which they don’t like to do when combat is that close. The pilot did it. I was about 300 or so meters away but definitely saw the impacts. Well, as you can guess combat ended immediately. There wasn’t enough left to count bodies but I don’t think any Taliban escaped to fight another day. The next day I flew back down to Bagram where I was stationed. A buddy of mine bumped into the pilot in the chow hall and she gave him a few spent 30mm shell casings from the attack. He gave one to me. It’s one of my most prized possessions.

[kevinkirk]

I've been an F-15 maintainer, on and off since 1986, both Active Duty and as a civilian contractor.
I never got to work on A-10s but everyone I ever talked with that did absolutely just loved that aircraft.
One of the things that I never had the opportunity to do. I love my Eagles, though.

[donuthole]

My impression was the Air Force wanted to kill-off the A-10 and some members of congress opposed that idea. I'll never forget a quote from the Discovery Wings documentary on the A-10: "while the Air Force pilots stated the air speed indicator on the A-10 should be replaced with a calendar, the fact remains, the A-10 can absorb battle damage that would bring down a whole squadron of F-16" Priceless 🤣

[daviswall]

I clearly remember the first time seeing an A10. It was late 70’s as I was walking in a field on the family farm in Southwest Mississippi. My brother was with me and we heard this whistling sound several seconds before two warthogs flew overhead at a couple thousand feet. I was very impressed 😎

[boarlegion]

The first P-47s were called Razorbacks, before they had bubble top canopies installed. To have the A-10 called the Warthog is an honor. I loved how they were assigned to the 188th in Ft. Smith, AR, in the late 2000s. Ft Smith is about an hour away from Fayetteville, home of the Arkansas Razorbacks. WPS.

[lkmh]

this plane was part of my everyday life growing up. It flew over Tucson AZ. 15 to 20 times a day. if they didnt fly one day i knew the world was ending soon. The A-10 is part off my life and memories

[keithallver]

The A-10 is a perfect example of the old adage ''If it's not broke, don't fix it''.

[DOGosaurus_rex]

the A-10 is so slow that it gets bird-strikes from behind 🤣🤣

[theallseeingmaster]

Seeing a Warthog dance in the air, at an air show, is a great thrill. It is something one must witness to appreciate its beauty.

[donuthole]

I used to fly an ultralight aircraft and remember reading a post from a guy flying his Phantom ultralight when a pair of A-10 came upon him. They dropped their flaps and gear to slow the aircraft down and the 3 of them got into a mock dogfight LOL. The guy in the Phantom was able to keep his nose on them the whole-time way better than the A-10's could muster which is not surprising and would have taken them both down if he had a gun 🤣 Afterwards they gave him a solute and went on their marry way. He said the experience was "surreal" and something he'll never forget. Makes for a great barroom bragging rights

[baddadjoker]

They are intimidating even when you’re on the right side of the war. I saw them in action in Afghanistan on multiple occasions. They flew out of the sun and disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. That cannon is insane.

[jonathanharver]

I heard a story from an air force mechanic about an A-10 that flew from Japan to Guam with a massive pipe wrench in the engine. There was no problems with the plane they found it upon inspecting the engine after landing.

[KoshN]

4:48 The P-47 Thunderbolt was a *fighter/bomber* not a "bomber." It was used as a fighter for bomber escort initially, but it was then replaced by the P-51 Mustang due to the Mustang's longer range and ability to stay with the bombers longer.

[OutdoorScienceDad]

In my second tour, OIF III, we often had A10 coverage. We talked directly to the pilots. On one particular strafing run, with rockets, they leveled 2 homes we were taking heavy fire from. 3 of us had to check it out and it was total carnage.

[yeetyateyote]

Anyone who wants actual information on this please go watch Lazerpig’s video. It’s not completely uninformed nonsense, and actually tells you why it SHOULD be well past retired.

[AcuraLvR]

I live in southern Missouri and quite often I see Warthogs flying along highway 65 on the way to Kansas City. They like to practice over Stockton Truman and Table Rock lakes and follow the regular highways to and from Whiteman Air Base. A while back a Warthog hit a power line doing a strafing practice run across Stockton and ripped its wing clean off. And yes it flew right back to base just fine lol.

[n.a.]

Once again, watch LazerPig's videos as well to get a better picture about the A-10 capabilities...

[killswitch]

Fun fact about the A-10: it has the dubious distinction of being responsible for more friendly fire incidents than any other aircraft in the US arsenal. The GAU-8 Avenger 30mm gatling cannon is actually pretty inaccurate, the recoil of firing makes it even worse, and it's actually pretty ineffective against modern armor. The F-111 Aardvark was actually a more effective tank buster than the A-10 with far more armor kills to it's name during Desert Storm. There's a reason the Air Force has upgraded the A-10 over the years to use more and more guided missiles and smart bombs instead of just having it rely on it's autocannon.