RL A-10 Ferry Flights

[Eddie]

Did those initial guys fly combat sorties on their initial arrival into Italy? I.E. "quickturns" or actually leave the UK and fly south towards Libya before going into Italy?

 

 

A bit of both. ;)

[Rainmaker]

A bit of both. ;)

 

 

Makes sense then. I have heard of a lot of USAFE and NATO guys leaving out of the North and flying missions prior to hitting their forward deploying bases. Perhaps it was pre-emptive stuff to not give away the build-up of forces initially.

 

Or maybe they just figured "hey, what the hell, why not" :)

[Eddie]

Or maybe they just figured "hey, what the hell, why not" :)

 

Pretty much.

 

The Tornado GR4s flew several missions from their UK home base to Libya and back in order to take down the Libyan air defences and high priority targets during the week leading upto the deployment to Italian bases (an 8+ hour mission).

[159th_Viper]

Don't you dare putting any manpads or SAMs in there man... ZU-23s max! I mean - cmon... They would never send out A10s with just MAVs into combat area with sams and manpads... Would they? :cry:

 

You think? They did just that.

 

Attrition rate of A-10's in conflict to date, excluding AAA:

 

SA-16 Igla: One confirmed loss.

SA-13 Strela-10: Two confirmed losses.

SA-9 Strela-1: One confirmed loss.

Suspected Roland SAM: One confirmed loss.

 

Further 4 aircraft sustained serious damage as a direct result of Infra-Red missile strikes.

[kylania]

Attrition rate of A-10's in conflict to date, excluding AAA:

 

Any idea how that compares to other aircraft?

[Evil.Bonsai]

Don't you dare putting any manpads or SAMs in there man... ZU-23s max! I mean - cmon... They would never send out A10s with just MAVs into combat area with sams and manpads... Would they? :cry:

 

What is "a parking lot or two"?

 

viper answered the first part.

 

RE: parking lot. It's a reference to the book previously mentioned. Don't want to spoil it for those that haven't read it and/or plan to, but it basically is just that. During Desert Storm, the A10 guys had been assigned ALL KINDS of stuff that really wasn't very thought out. In one part they explain how they had to go WAY NORTH to take out a radar site. On their way back south, they found F16s practically just circling around doing some pissant sortie. The Hog drivers were a bit miffed they were sent on such dangerous missions while more suitable aircraft were held back.

 

It really is a good book. And some of the things they happened across out in the desert were pretty interesting.

 

As to my mission, it's my first REAL mission, so I'm taking my time trying to figure how things work. It'll be fairly simple. Something for n00bs, really. Including me :) The only complicated part will be NOT firing your last Maverick, as that will be your only sensor. Just like they did way back when. :)

[159th_Viper]

Any idea how that compares to other aircraft?

 

Rough idea from 1990 as it pertains to US craft only, excluding AAA:

 

F-15E: 3 losses - Radar SAM

F-16C: 3 losses - Radar SAM

F-16CG: 1 loss - Radar SAM

AC-130H: 1 loss - Igla MANPAD

F-117: 1 loss - RadaR? SAM

UH-60A: 1 loss - SMAF

Apache D: 2 losses - RPG

Apache: 1 loss - RPG

F/A-18 Hornet: 1 loss - Patriot SAM

[Megagoth1702]

You think? They did just that.

 

Attrition rate of A-10's in conflict to date, excluding AAA:

 

SA-16 Igla: One confirmed loss.

SA-13 Strela-10: Two confirmed losses.

SA-9 Strela-1: One confirmed loss.

Suspected Roland SAM: One confirmed loss.

 

Further 4 aircraft sustained serious damage as a direct result of Infra-Red missile strikes.

God damn it, I was looking forward to a lean-back mission. Using some systems to aquire targets and pop em and GTFO.

 

Thanks for ruining my dreams, Viper.