- 5 hours ago
For educational purposes
When a fighter or bomber strikes ground forces, it is acting as an attack aircraft.
Many fighters can play this role, but recent wars have shown the value of dedicated attack aircraft, designed to hit hard and survive extensive battle damage.
Featured Aircraft:
- Douglas AD-6 Skyraider
- LTV A-7 Corsair
- Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog,”
- Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter
When a fighter or bomber strikes ground forces, it is acting as an attack aircraft.
Many fighters can play this role, but recent wars have shown the value of dedicated attack aircraft, designed to hit hard and survive extensive battle damage.
Featured Aircraft:
- Douglas AD-6 Skyraider
- LTV A-7 Corsair
- Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog,”
- Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:01Hi, I'm Neil Armstrong. Join me for an adventure through time.
01:00It's acting as an attack aircraft.
01:07Many were developed for use in World War II. In Korea and Vietnam, they were effective
01:13and deadly. But flying slowly and at low levels, pilots were exposed to new dangers, both from
01:21the ground and the air.
01:29The first use of airplanes in battle was during World War I. They were used initially for
01:34reconnaissance, locating enemy positions and troop movement. In the latter part of World
01:40War I, a new role emerged for fighter aircraft which would form the basis for attack aircraft
01:45of the future. Armed with machine guns and bombs, they performed close ground support of their
01:51armies in battle. They bombed roads, railroads, enemy gun emplacements, and strafed enemy troops
01:58with machine guns.
02:04Pilots were learning though, that flying an aircraft close to enemy ground fire was a dangerous
02:09business. There was a need for aircraft with better armor and more powerful weapons.
02:19Germany under Adolf Hitler recognized the importance of air superiority. As a horrified world looked
02:26on, Stuka dive bombers in combination with Panzer tank divisions plowed their way through Poland.
02:32Against inferior forces, Stuka's gained a fearsome and overrated reputation.
02:44The Ju-87 Stuka had two forward firing 7.9mm machine guns, one large bomb under the fuselage and two
02:53smaller
02:54bombs under each wing. It was a formidable attack aircraft, but it was too slow and poorly armed to
03:01defend itself against fighter aircraft. RAF hurricanes and Spitfires in the Battle of Britain put the Stuka's
03:08notoriety to rest.
03:12Fighter aircraft made the best attack aircraft. Attack aircraft needed to be able to defend themselves in the sky.
03:22One of the fighters adapted by the allies to the ground attack role was the large Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
03:29It had speed as well as immense firepower and armament. The Thunderbolt was used on all fronts to escort bombers
03:36and with its eight .50 caliber machine guns strafed ground forces.
03:48Another adapted fighter was the P-38 Lightning. It appeared in 18 variants and nearly 10,000 were delivered to
03:55the U.S. Air Force.
04:00Two large twin-engine American aircraft were especially fierce attackers.
04:05The American Douglas A-20 Havoc and the North American B-25 with a massive nose-mounted 75mm cannon in
04:13addition to 14 guns.
04:15Both bombers became the scourge of Japanese shipping and airfields in the Pacific War.
04:28The B-25 was a survivor aircraft. It could take the worst in an attack and limp homeward.
04:34But for attack aircraft, the costs of battle were always high.
04:39Through 1943, Americans recognized the value of close air support of advancing forces.
04:46Infantry commanders preferred to have attack aircraft make strikes just ahead of their positions on the front,
04:52softening the enemy.
04:53But the technique was inexact, and there were as many friendly casualties as those of the enemy.
05:00Almost sarcastically, it's called friendly fire.
05:05With the invasion of Europe in 1944, the technique of allowing ground commanders to direct overhead air support
05:12began reducing casualties from friendly fire.
05:19Another World War II-era aircraft arrived too late for the war, but would fill a gap for two more
05:25wars to come.
05:27The Douglas A-D Skyraider was the first aircraft designed primarily for the attack role.
05:33It was developed for the U.S. Navy, which needed a single-seat, carrier-based dive bomber and torpedo carrier.
05:39The Douglas A-D Skyraider was called to the front during the Korean conflict to do what the jets found
05:45difficult,
05:47slower and with an enormous fuel supply.
05:49It could stay in the heat of battle for long periods. As a dive bomber, it was superb.
05:55Its dive breaks slowed descent, making it stable and accurate.
06:00Sky Raiders worked together, stringing their attacks one after the other, accurately, until a target was destroyed.
06:07This gave advancing soldiers extended cover in an attack.
06:11At the same time, the Skyraider's heavy armor protected the pilot from enemy ground fire.
06:16Neil Armstrong flew a Skyraider in Korea.
06:19He compared notes with civilian pilot Misha Hauserman, who flies one for the Museum of Flying, in Santa Monica, California.
06:27It's an AD-6.
06:30Tell me about how old this machine is.
06:33Well, this one from the Bureau number, I think, is about 1952 manufacturer.
06:38They were first, they came out right at the end of World War II. They didn't see World War II.
06:42And there are many different versions they came out with, from the AD-3, 4, 5, 6, and even on
06:49to a turboprop experimental version.
06:51And what's the engine on this one, mister?
06:54This particular one is a 3,350 cubic inch, 2,300 horsepower engine.
07:01They went all the way to about 2,700 horsepower with water injection.
07:05From the looks of the number of racks on the wings, it looks like it'll carry quite a load.
07:09They can carry a load, more of a load than a B-17 of World War II.
07:13Is that right?
07:14The way I got involved in it is I used to fly helicopters in Vietnam, and they used to cover
07:19us.
07:19I used to fly search and rescue and medevacs, and always watch them cover us.
07:25They would stay on station for 8, 9, 10 hours.
07:27They had cannons, they had miniguns, they had rockets.
07:30They would put them on the external pods.
07:32They did not have anything internally, except the 50-cal machine guns in the gear doors.
07:39You still have the gun bays where you have access to where the 50-cal machine guns were.
07:45I feel very fortunate to be able to fly an airplane like this.
07:48I get a chance to fly a lot of the different Warbirds, and this is my favorite.
07:52It has all the latest technological advances incorporated that they did towards the end of World War II.
07:58It is the top-of-the-line airplane built of that era.
08:02It has hydraulic boost.
08:07It flies like a Super Cub.
08:08It is a gentle sweetheart.
08:09Well, you know that.
08:11I mean, you're a Navy pilot.
08:12You fold more than I do.
08:13I'm cheating.
08:13I'm a helicopter pilot on an airplane.
08:15Yeah, I loved flying this old machine.
08:18It was a big machine, but very maneuverable and very docile, as you say.
08:24Very pleasant to fly.
08:26Got enormous speed brakes.
08:28Have you ever seen what you could do with those speed brakes?
08:31Absolutely incredible, I know.
08:33And the one thing I always tell people that ask me what it's like to fly,
08:36it's like dancing with a big fat lady.
08:38Once it's her idea, it's great.
08:40You've just got to wait for it a little bit.
08:57Many fighters can be configured for the attack role.
09:01But recent wars have shown the value of the dedicated attack aircraft.
09:06The early versions were designed to fly low and fast.
09:10This new breed was designed to hit hard and survive extensive battle damage.
09:21Jet aircraft saw their first use in combat during the Korean War.
09:25There, jet fighters like the F-86 Sabrejet also assumed attack aircraft missions.
09:32But what was gained in jet powered speed was lost in target accuracy and friendly fire casualties increased.
09:45After the Korean War in 1953, ground support paled in importance to strategic bombing.
09:52Military budgets reflected the doctrine.
09:55The need for new attack aircraft was put aside.
10:05Vietnam was different from Korea or World War II.
10:09The enemy was elusive.
10:11And friendly troops were hidden by the massive jungle.
10:15The US Air Force pulled the old Sky Raider back into service.
10:18Now calling it the A-1.
10:21And they took what had been a basic Cessna jet trainer, the T-37, modified it and used it as
10:28the A-37 Dragonfly.
10:30Both aircraft reaffirmed the need for newer, accurate attack aircraft.
10:35With heavy firepower and communication between the aircraft and ground commanders.
10:42In Vietnam, a host of other aircraft were called into the ground attack role.
10:48Jets such as the F-4 Phantom IIs and the F-105 Thunder Chiefs.
10:52And even transports like the C-130 Hercules and the C-47.
11:04The US Air Force converted the Navy's carrier-based bomber, the Vought A-7 Corsair II,
11:09into an attack aircraft.
11:11As the A-7D tactical fighter,
11:14the Corsair was fitted with a more powerful Allison TF-41A1 turbofan,
11:20with 14,500 pounds of thrust.
11:24In addition to a 20mm Vulcan multi-barrel cannon,
11:28it carried up to 15,000 pounds of ordnance,
11:31including air-to-air missiles,
11:33air-to-surface missiles,
11:35bombs, rockets,
11:37gun pods,
11:37and drop tanks.
11:39Jay Bledsoe of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
11:42flew A-7s in Vietnam.
11:44The armament on this airplane is a 20mm cannon,
11:50Vulcan Gatlin gun.
11:52It can carry hard bombs,
11:56Mark 82, Mark 84 type bombs,
11:59500 to 2,000 pound bombs.
12:02And it can carry cluster bombs, and it can carry various rockets and air-to-air missiles.
12:09There are things you have to watch out for when you're flying any kind of a tactical aircraft,
12:13not especially this one, but in the mission we perform in this particular airplane,
12:19we have to be very cognizant of the ground at 100 feet or 300 feet,
12:25because the various hard types of maneuvering we do down there, high-G turns,
12:30we can run into the ground very quickly and not even know it.
12:33Compared to most fighters nowadays, it really can't measure up maneuverability-wise,
12:40which is one of the reasons it's becoming obsolete,
12:44although it can drop ordnance very precisely, and it excels at that.
12:50The A7 Corsair was used extensively in and after Vietnam.
12:58The value of attack aircraft was relearned time and time again,
13:03in conflicts like Korea and Vietnam.
13:06And as the Cold War continued in the 70s,
13:08with 20,000 Russian tanks aimed at Western Europe,
13:12a desperate need was felt for a new tank-buster attack aircraft.
13:27After Vietnam, an interesting conflict emerged.
13:32Air Forces wanted fast, low-flying jets with smart bombs dropped by computers.
13:39Armies, however, preferred slow, highly maneuverable aircraft
13:42with heavy armor and large cannons aimed by the pilot.
13:47Both theories would have the opportunity to be tested under fire.
13:54The British saw that their mid-60s development,
13:57the Hawker Sidley V-Stahl Harrier Jump Jet,
14:01had amazing potential as an attack aircraft.
14:03In both the Falklands and Gulf Wars,
14:06the Harrier was found to be vulnerable to ground fire because of its light construction.
14:10However, it proved its usefulness in gaining air superiority.
14:18To truly fill the ground support role in contemporary warfare,
14:23Fairchild Republic developed the A-10 Thunderbolt II,
14:26called, affectionately, the Warthog for the U.S. Air Force.
14:31The A-10 Warthog is a durable and deadly tank-buster.
14:35It proved its effectiveness in the Gulf War against Iraq.
14:39Flying one, pilot Paul Johnson won the U.S.'s second highest medal,
14:44the Air Force Cross.
14:45He pressed deep into enemy territory to cover the rescue of a downed Navy pilot.
14:51With a third of his right wing gone and one engine out, he got home.
14:57As tank busters, A-10s are superb.
15:00For good reason.
15:02They carry a General Electric Avenger seven-barreled cannon.
15:06It will fire 1,350 armor-piercing rounds at a rate of 4,000 rounds a minute.
15:14The cannon's muzzle velocity is 3,450 feet per second.
15:21Two pilots took out 27 tanks in one day.
15:25If you work as a combat pilot, like Captain Norm Renspies,
15:29the A-10 is a very capable front office.
15:33It was basically an airplane built for the Vietnam War.
15:39The big thing was lessons learned out of Vietnam.
15:41We needed an aircraft to do what this aircraft does.
15:43Close air support, and it does it well.
15:47The big thing that we want to always do is maintain a high energy level,
15:51be it traded off for altitude or regained by coming down to get airspeed.
15:56We don't want to get too slow.
15:58Obviously, you'll lose altitude, get closer to ground,
16:01and possibly even get into this stall envelope.
16:05Well, before we got this new computer,
16:08we always had to go back to almost World War II kind of aircraft.
16:12It was a manual sight, manual delivery, a lot of Kentucky windage when you were shooting
16:17because you basically had an iron sight.
16:19So you always had to figure out what your dive angle was,
16:22your release altitudes, target elevation, temperatures, wind,
16:26and you had to figure out what you were going to drop on.
16:29It was very much like World War II bombing.
16:32Since we've got this new computer, about the last six months,
16:36it takes most of that out for us.
16:39It gives us a lot more time to think about threats on the ground,
16:43become more survivable, and actually go out to a target, kill it, and then come back home.
16:50I think it's the best darn airplane in the Air Force inventory.
16:53I wouldn't want to fly another aircraft right now.
16:56It is survivable. You can get to a target. You can get back home.
17:00It'll take you there. It'll come back. It is easily maintained.
17:03You talk to any maintainers, they love the hell out of it.
17:06You talk to any pilot who flies it, they love the hell out of it.
17:09You know, it's just a good airplane all around.
17:12It's ugly, but it's our, you know, it's the warthog.
17:20The Gulf War with Iraq solved a controversial argument among military tacticians, the hard way.
17:26One view in the debate was that low-flying, fast jets with smart weapons
17:31was the best direction to take in the deployment of attack aircraft.
17:35The swing-wing, supersonic Panavia Tornado took on that role when it went to battle in the Gulf War.
17:42It's manufactured together by Britain, Germany, and Italy.
17:46It's a multipurpose fighter that was given what became the most dangerous mission of the Gulf War,
17:51attacking airfields at low levels.
17:53Many of them were shot down by surface-to-air missiles,
17:57and the extensive artillery around the Iraqi bases.
18:00The other side of the debate provided a solution.
18:04A high-flying, fast fighter with smart weapons.
18:12It looks like a machine out of a science fiction novel.
18:16The Lockheed F-117A Stealth Fighter is by far the most unusual attack aircraft.
18:33It's designated a night reconnaissance attack aircraft,
18:36yet it has the letter F in front of its number indicating fighter.
18:40Though its radar signature is all but indistinguishable,
18:44it must fly at night to be truly invisible.
18:50It's a delta wing with V-shaped fins and no horizontal tail.
18:57Two General Electric non-afterburning turbofan engines
19:01are buried somewhere between where the fuselage ends and the wings begin.
19:06There are weapons in there too, using lasers and electro-optics to find their targets.
19:13How potent was it in the Gulf War?
19:17Millions of people watched its effectiveness on television
19:20as stealth fighters' smart weapons hit their military targets in the middle of downtown Baghdad.
19:27The fighters remained unseen above.
19:31There is only one seat in a stealth fighter.
19:35United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Miles Pound sits there.
19:40I think Desert Storm showed the impact of stealth technology and the capabilities that it allowed us to do.
19:47The aircraft behind me was responsible for the destruction of 43% of the strategic targets in Operation Desert Storm,
19:54yet it represented less than 3% of the total force that was over there.
19:58It allowed us to get downtown Baghdad.
20:00The F-117 was the only aircraft to do that during the entire war.
20:06Its capabilities with precision-guided munitions allowed us to have one aircraft, one man, one target, and one bomb,
20:14and almost certain destruction of that target each mission, each night.
20:18That's never in the history of air warfare been capable or been possible before the F-117.
20:40If you're flying in the daytime and going against another aircraft in an air-to-air role, yes, I'd like
20:46to be in an F-18 or an F-16.
20:48If I was flying to kill a target in a highly defended combat area, the aircraft behind me is the
20:55one I want to be in.
20:56Admittedly, it'll be at night and I won't be going after other aircraft, but it's the one I want to
21:00be in to survive.
21:05My initial reaction was, I'm not sure this is an airplane, but I'll take your word for it.
21:11Once I flew it and found out how it could experience how it flies and its handling characteristics,
21:18I was convinced that Lockheed probably had got it right and that it really was an airplane.
21:22It just was a very unique looking airplane.
21:47Join me next time for First Splights.
21:50First Splatters.
21:51First Splatters.
22:19Transcription by CastingWords
Comments