A10s over Kosovo

[Toolboy77]

Just finished reading this.

What a great read!

 

Will be starting again in a couple of days.

[4c Hajduk Veljko]

This whole procedure simply tells you that the A-10's over Yugoslavia could not be used for what they were designed for. But were used for FAC missions for which they were not very effective either, because they were not designed for FAC missions. Write meters conversion on the canopy? Manually converting m to ft? Read coordinate over the radio, so that Yugoslavian military can hear, and change location?

 

Ahh OAF and the A-10A - here's a great extract from that book which talks about the Warthog FAC(A) pilots and how they had to operate. We're truly spoilt with our TAD and datalink, it's amazing what they had to do in that time and environment.

 

After an A-10 AFAC located a lucrative target (Which was quite a feat in itself), he had to develop the data necessary for the FAC-to-fighter brief (9-line). To do so, while flying the aircraft, he would have to use a sequence similar to the following:

 

1. Find the general target area on a large-scale map (1:250) that had markings for each of the smaller-scale maps (1:50).

 

2. Determine which 1:50 to use.

 

3. Find the correct 1:50 among the stack of 16 such maps. (Imagine all that crammed in your helmet bag which itself is crammed in the cockpit somewhere.)

 

4. Study the terrain, roads, forests, power lines, and houses marked on the map to match the target area on the ground.

 

5. Read the coordinates, in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) format, from the scale on the map.

 

6. Write these coordinates on the inside of the A-10’s canopy in grease pencil.

 

7. Go back to the 1:50, follow the contour lines to determine the target elevation in meters, and write that on the canopy.

 

8. Use the Inertial Navigation System to convert the UTM coordinates to latitude and longitude, and write those on the canopy.

 

9. Use the HUD to convert the elevation from meters to feet, and write that on the canopy.

 

10. Finally, read the target information to the incoming fighters over the radio.

Edited April 21, 2014 by =4c= Hajduk Veljko

[Bushmanni]

It still seemed to be the best plane available for the AFAC job at that time. Kosovo is more of an example of how hard it's to find and destroy ground forces hiding in a forest than how bad the A-10 is as a CAS plane. A-10 didn't do CAS that it was designed for as there wasn't any ground forces that needed air support.

[NineLine]

This is the way of war, sure you can point out all the flaws and what didnt work, but this is how people learn and adapt. If the same scenario took place today, how differently would it have been approached, at the end of the day the pilots did the best they could with what they were ordered to do and tools they were given to do it, its easy to pick it all apart after its done, especially when you are on the other side of the fence.

 

But really... this has nothing to do with the quality of the book and if it is worth the read, which is what the topic is about.

 

This whole procedure simply tells you that the A-10's over Yugoslavia could not be used for what they were designed for. But were used for FAC missions for which they were not very effective either, because they were not designed for FAC missions. Write meters conversion on the canopy? Manually converting m to ft? Read coordinate over the radio, so that Yugoslavian military can hear, and change location?

[4c Hajduk Veljko]

This is the way of war, sure you can point out all the flaws and what didnt work, but this is how people learn and adapt. If the same scenario took place today, how differently would it have been approached, at the end of the day the pilots did the best they could with what they were ordered to do and tools they were given to do it, its easy to pick it all apart after its done, especially when you are on the other side of the fence.

I fully agree whit what you are saying. And I did not question military response and adaptation to political demands from Washington DC.

 

What I question is interpretation of achieved results. And this book is perfect because we have a lot's of facts to talk about. I know that it hurts when different opinion is heard, opinion that is not in line with accepted believes.

 

I also have a first hand account from the people that were on the ground looking at those A-10's flying over Kosovo and Metohija. My brother was born and use to live in Kosovo and Metohija. My wife was born and used to live in Kosovo and Metohija. Her family still owes land there, but ... Some 40+ years ago, my father took me to the field of 14th century Kosovo Battle ... Back in Yugoslavia, my friends and colegues were Kosovo Albanains, there was a young Kosovo Albanian lady attending the same class in the primary school with me.

 

But really... this has nothing to do with the quality of the book and if it is worth the read, which is what the topic is about.

The book is excellent, I read it long time ago, I had a hard copy for a while until I gave it away. And I bought additional copy as a gift to one of my friends. I've never said that book is bad. This book is a perfect testimony of real pilots doing "mission impossible". And with all of their effort and adaptation, results of that mission impossible were not that great.

[wilky510]

I know that it hurts when different opinion is heard, opinion that is not in line with accepted believes.

I don't think anyone is hurt by your opinions. Ok. So the air campaign apparently failed. What do you want from this?

 

Thus, A-10's were really useless, they could not go low, because of the IC SAM's, including a home made R-73's converted to SAM version.

Didn't you say the F-35 was not worth buying into high numbers? Your opinion about the A-10 basically says the opposite, because replacing F-35's with A-10's would make sense; as they would've of faired WAY better in this kind of situation.

 

Reminder: SAM = HARM Central!

[NineLine]

I don't think anyone is hurt by your opinions. Ok. So the air campaign apparently failed. What do you want from this?

 

 

Didn't you say the F-35 was not worth buying into high numbers? Your opinion about the A-10 basically says the opposite, because replacing F-35's with A-10's would make sense; as they would've of faired WAY better in this kind of situation.

 

Reminder: SAM = HARM Central!

 

This isnt on topic, please stay on topic.