The Insane Engineering of the A-10 Warthog

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Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Brian McManus
3D Animation: Eli Prenten


References:

Thank you to AP Archive for access to their archival footage.


Songs:
Octavium - Robert Ruth
Melted Mind - Max Anson
Cruise Control - Martin Baekkevold
Travellers - Ran the Man
Bloom - Dye O
Beyond Rivers and Dust - Alec Slayne

Thank you to my patreon supporters: Adam Flohr, Henning Basma, Hank Green, William Leu, Tristan Edwards, Ian Dundore, John & Becki Johnston. Nevin Spoljaric, Jason Clark, Thomas Barth, Johnny MacDonald, Stephen Foland, Alfred Holzheu, Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Binghaith, Brent Higgins, Dexter Appleberry, Alex Pavek, Marko Hirsch, Mikkel Johansen, Hibiyi Mori. Viktor Józsa, Ron Hochsprung

[RealEngineering]

We just released a new video about the A-10's grand papi, the P-47 Thunderbolt. 👴🏻

[veritasg]

A-10's passive ability: Buffs morale of nearby ground troops.

[sumguyonabike]

The a-10 is my favourite gun for the simple reason it has a plane as an attachment!

[SyndicatorDylan]

07:45 The gun is mounted slightly off-centre. It's the chamber which rounds are fired from (9 o'clock) which runs along the centre line.

[creepycraiyons]

I knew an A10 pilot.

They’re noticeably a touch crazier than other pilots.

[vinceb]

7:43 small addition: The gun is actually mounted off-center to the left, so that the barrel that is firing (the lower right one) is directly in center line. Therefore, the recoil doesn't push the plane off target.

[albertbassoe]

MIG 21: here's an engine, make it fly
A-10: here's a 30 mm gatling gun, make it fly

[nerva-]

I remember back in the early-80's we were hiking at some national park, probably in the Mojave desert or maybe Nevada, and we're at the exit of a mountain canyon with a great sprawling view of the desert below, when this A-10 suddenly comes screaming by, through the canyon, turned sideways, barely off the ground -- scared the hell out of the group we were in, then as it continued on towards the open desert, it waggled its wings, and a lot of us cheered. The ranger or whoever was leading the hike (so long ago I can't remember the context anymore) explained to us that further down the canyon, all by itself, is a small cabin where a retired military vet lived, and the A-10 pilots loved to pay him a visit by thundering by his house at eye-level.

[IsfetSolaris]

As an ex A-10 pilot, I will say this.

The gratitude of ground forces always made my day. It reminds you that while you killed enemies, you saved your own.

The number of times I was doing a flyby at low speeds or coming in for a landing and could hear allied cheering over my own engines is immeasurable.

To my allies, thank you.

To my enemies,

[mala]

engeneer: so we made this 30mm gatling gun

general: make it fly

[nathankindle]

As an Army veteran, I can tell you that when I was in Afghanistan, there was nothing more beautiful than the sight of a Hog flying overhead.

[HECKproductions]

other planes: designed, then fitted with weapons
this plane: basically "here is a gun; make it so that it can fly"

[garrettemmons]

The gun is actually offset, the 9 o’clock barrel is the firing barrel and is also in line with the centerline and pilot.

[juliankandlhofer]

"Yo we got all this Uranium laying around, what do we do to dispose of it?"
"What if... >hits bong< ...we shot it at terrorists?"

[Cheezymuffin.]

"and if that don't work, use more gun"
-engineer

[davidblair]

Normal countries: “Let’s build a plane and design a gun for it.”
America: “Let’s build a gun and design a plane for it.”

[eduardopena]

2:30 THANK YOU for mentioning this. My father was one of the designers of this plane and pilot survival was a main design key. A lot of other reviews of this plane simply do not touch on one of the most important key designs. The reason why they come back to the bases like this is because THEY WERE DESIGNED TO DO THIS. They knew this plane would face stiff fire and they designed it to fly without a wing and an engine. They created the titanium "bathtub" cockpit to try to help protect the pilot.

[soviet_salsa]

Military: you are being retired

A10: i will retire when i feel like it

[ryanmccullough]

7:44 - The gun is actually offset to the left side so that the firing barrel is directly on the center line of the plane.

[JonLupen]

I love how there is a plane strapped to that gun.