Additionally, as a CAS aircraft, the new design would have to make use of efficient engine power while not expending vital fuel stores, providing the capability of loitering in a target area for hours until called to action by ground forces or command. As a system charged with attacking both heavily armored and lightly (or unarmored) ground targets, the aircraft would have to heavily armed and capable of an impressive payload output. The pilot would have to sit in a reasonably armored environment and the aircraft's critical internal operating components (hydraulics, avionics and fuel) would also have to be designed in such a way as to keep the aircraft aloft even after sustaining combat damage that would do in most any other airplane.
As such, survival was of the utmost importance for both pilot and machine. This aircraft could have to operate in the thick of combat actions and become the target of small arms, large caliber ground-based cannons and missile batteries. At any rate, the Thunderbolt II official designation and Warthog unofficial nickname are essentially interchangeable when talking about this fine aircraft.Ĭlose-Air Support (CAS) functions relied on some distinct requirements that would differentiate the design from existing strike fighters. The name stuck with crews but has since evolved to the simpler "Hog" or, perhaps more appropriately, "Hawg". Major at the Tactical Air Warfare Center (TAWC) Review. The name was dropped in a speech given by Major Michael G. In staying with this tradition, the A-10 Thunderbolt II had unofficially become known as the "Warthog" over the years, due to its less-than-beautiful outward appearance. The Republic F-84 became the first to use this moniker, being nicknamed "Groundhog" or "Hog" while the F-84F Thunderstreak became the "Superhog" and the Vietnam-era F-105 Thunderchief became the "Ultra Hog". Though officially designated "Thunderbolt II" in April of 1978 in honor of the other exceptional Republic product - the P-47 Thunderbolt of World War 2 fame - the A-10 carried the company tradition of having been given an unofficial name in line with the "hog" reference. This exercise no doubt showcased the value of a dedicated tank busting system but even in the years after the war, no party put forth a capable design, feeling other systems were more than efficient at the CAS role. Perhaps the best known of these became the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, armed with two underwing cannons pods with the projectile velocity to penetrate the armor of Soviet tanks. As such, all sides delved into the development of aircraft with suitable armament to deal with enemy armor. Tank busting elements played a crucial role in World War 2 where tank-on-tank battles often times moved the war in one direction of the other. An answer was needed and that answer would become the Fairchild Republic A-10 tank-killing "Warthog". Helicopter gunships provided some solution to the problem but no true dedicated systems existed - apart from say the prop-driven Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Additionally, these aircraft held little in the way of dealing directly with heavy armor systems, their 20mm Vulcan cannons useful in engaging other aircraft and perhaps even light-skinned vehicles.
The Vietnam War showcased such a need for the United States Air Force, where their thirsty, high-flying jets could do little in the way of directly supporting troops in contact with the enemy by roaming on station until called and then heading in to deliver payloads with pinpoint accuracy. The terminology inherent in "Close-Air Support" was generally defined in a variety of ways by each respective nation (and perhaps further viewed differently by even individual commanders).
The A-10 Thunderbolt II was designed exclusively to fulfill the Close-Air Support (CAS) role from the outset, perhaps matched only in scope by the Soviet/Russian Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot".
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