do we REALLY control the airport in bagdad

[COHIBA]

i heard this morning that we had an A10 shot down near the airport.
#1 how in the heck do you shoot down a warthog? i have seen some land that looked like they had been used for an AA demonstration and they still came back.
#2 what type of force is so close to the airport that we have ANY plane shot down there?
#3 how in the heck do you shoot down a warthog?????
i know thats the same as #1, i just dont get it.

 

[MLH]

Probably

A shoulder fired SAM.

 

[Tamara]

"Very resistant to damage" is not necessarily the same thing as "impossible to shoot down".

A lucky hit with a man-portable SAM; a 57mm site that's patiently kept itself concealed until a target too good to pass up came along; a "Zoo" that hadn't been squandered in futile ground attacks... there are a number of possibilities. CAS is a risky job.

 

[Pilgrim]

For some reason many people have bought into the hype that the M1A1 Abrams Tank is invincible. Same that the A-10 Warthog can't be shot down. Just remember that on April 15, 1912 an unsinkable ship went to the bottom with over 1,500 people.

 

[SIGarmed]

Thats "Zsu".

 

[dude]

.....since we have been landing C-130s there and conducting helo ops I'd safely say that yes, we really (REALLY) have control of the airport in Bagdad


Do some of y'all actually think that the A-10 is impossible to shoot down??

 

[Tamara]

SIGarmed,

I was just trying to be all cool and use jargon.

 

[Hutch]

I thought the cool techno-speak for the ZSU-23 was "Zeus". Like the god.

 

[Leatherneck]

Pilot talk for a ZSU-23-4 is#*&^%###

TC
TFL Survivor

edited to add: Tamara has it right. The A-10 design was based on absorbing any single 23mm API or HEI round, and while the engine location, redundant separately-routed wires and hydraulics, and the titanium bathtub for the pilot make it very hard to bring down (as in K-Kill), it is not invulnerable, and it works in a very bad neighborhood.

 

[LawDog]

Hmm. I always thought it was :"That four-barrelled SOB that they tow behind stuff."

We have troops sleeping in the departure lounge, using the rest-rooms and raiding the 'fridge in the VIP lounge.

We have C130's landing on the main runway, Blackhawks taking off from the taxi pad, and the air-traffic controller seems to have developed an American accent.

Just off-paw, I'd say we control the airport.

LawDog

 

[Al Thompson]

Have only read the wire service reports, but I have the impression that the A-10 may have been struck elsewhere and flew close enough to the ground troops for piolot recovery.

There's always a golden BB somewhere.

 

[Baba Louie]

Maybe eventually, we'll be able to send over some of the TSA staff found in the local airports to either learn "How to be REAL Security personnel"

- or -

maybe they'll "teach the soon-to-be-hired new staff how to properly search luggage and ask for Driver's Licenses three times before boarding an aircraft".

In an effort to "Spread Democracy and stop terrorism" of course.

Adios

 

[bountyhunter]

"i heard this morning that we had an A10 shot down near the airport.
#1 how in the heck do you shoot down a warthog? i have seen some land that looked like they had been used for an AA demonstration and they still came back.
#2 what type of force is so close to the airport that we have ANY plane shot down there?
#3 how in the heck do you shoot down a warthog?????
i know thats the same as #1, i just dont get it."

Get used to it. The USA (through the CIA) funneled tons of arms to the Afghanis when the were fighting the Russkis. Hundreds of Stinger missiles are unaccounted for and on the open market.

Kind of makes you sick. We watched the Russian try to maintain order while occupying a country that hated them. Now, we have taken on that role and will be getting shot at with hardware made in this country. How stupid is that?

 

[JohnBT]

Not that surprising really about the airport.

There are parts of D.C. we don't even control 24 hours a day.

Parts of Richmond, too.

John

 

[Intune]

From watching them on tv this a.m. it looked like the pilots were almost "trolling" for aa fire. They might have downed a Warthog but they sure didn't blow it out of the sky. One tough hombre plane.

 

[TexasVet]

Last briefing I saw said that all three A-10s that were hit (the two that got back and the one that went down) were nailed by full size rail launched SAMS. Type seems to differ on which news channel you are watching.

 

[Blackhawk]

Bet one of the French Roland missiles made and delivered within the last year was used to down the A-10.

 

[COHIBA]

and after we found a few dozen modern SAMs w/ retrofitted thermal nose cones.

 

[twoblink]

The A10 is my favorite plane, as it can still fly with something like over 30% of it missing..

A buddy of mine who served in the Navy said they were "Tanks with wings".. I'd hate to see one get shot down...

 

[EMDII]

For some reason many people have bought into the hype that the M1A1 Abrams Tank is invincible. Same that the A-10 Warthog can't be shot down. Just remember that on April 15, 1912 an unsinkable ship went to the bottom with over 1,500 people.

Exactly! And no one would dare fly a plane into the WTC.

Any tank (or Warthog) can be killed, given a determined dismount or patient ATGM crew. Tankers know it, adn we take pains to avoid wandering about the battlefield w/o proper Infantry support. Contrary to opinions, we ain't stoopid, just stubborn!


I received pics this AM from my brother (Fort Knox) of the A10 a pilot brought home yesterday. She had holes ALL OVER the a/c, but she brought it in. So, the -10 and M1 are both tough, but they are NOT invincible.

 

[jmbg29]

do we REALLY control the airport in bagdad

Yes, really.