Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA1308
A-10A Thunderbolt II (Warthog)
23rd TFW England AFB, 1990
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True 1/72 scale
Professionally painted
Great attention to detail
All markings are Tampoed (pad applied)
Option to display the model on a stand that is provided
Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions
Loads of optional armament has been provided
Canopy opens
Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic
Highly collectable
THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES
NOT THE FINAL PRODUCT
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Specifications:
Crew: One
Main role: A-10 - close air support, OA-10 -
airborne forward air control
Manufacturer: Fairchild Republic Co.
Power Plants: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans
Thrust: 9,065 pounds per engine
Length: 16.16 meters (53 ft 4 ins)
Height: 4.42 meters (14 ft 8 ins)
Wingspan: 17.42 meters (57 ft 6 ins)
Speed: 420 miles per hour (Mach 0.56)
Ceiling: 13,636 meters (45,000 ft)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 22,950 kg. (51,000 lbs.)
Range: 800 miles (695 nautical miles)
Armament: One 30 mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun; maximum 7,200 kg
(16,000lbs.) of mixed ordnance on eight under-wing and three under-fuselage pylon
stations, including 225 kg (500 lbs.) Mk-82 and 900 kg (2,000 lbs.) Mk-84 series low/high
drag bombs, incendiary cluster bombs, combined effects munitions, mine dispensing
munitions, AGM-65 Maverick missiles and laser-guided/electro-optically guided bombs;
infrared countermeasure flares; electronic countermeasure chaff; jammer pods; 6.99 cm
(2.75 in.) rockets; illumination flares and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
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For the first time since WWII the 74th, 75th and 76th TFS were activated when the
4403rd TFW was renamed the 23rd TFW on July 1, 1972. The first aircraft used was
the Vought A-7D. The 74th squadron markings were a blue stripe and in 1979 they
added white stars and a 74. The 75th started out with a black stripe outlined with white
but changed to a black and white checker. The 76th uses a red tail stripe with white
stars and a 76. The tail code for the 23 aircraft belonging to the 23rd TFW was “EL”. It
wasn’t until September 23, 1980 that the 74th TFS received their A-10As with the 75th
and 76th receiving theirs within the next few months. The wing won numerous awards
in all the operational competitions they entered and set records for "mission capable"
and "fully mission capable" rates. Four times the Wing was the recipient of the Air
Force Outstanding Unit Award. In August 1990 the 74th and 76th deployed to Saudi
Arabia in preparation for Operation Desert Shield.
The 23rd TFW flew more than 2,700 combat sorties and had a 95% mission-capable
rate. Their responsibilities were to provide close air support for the ground forces and
to hunt for and destroy Scud facilities. As part of the 144 A-10s participating in Desert
Shield they helped with the destruction of 987 tanks, 926 artillery pieces, 500 APC1,
106 trucks, 112 military structures, 96 radars, 72 bunkers, 57 Scud launchers, 50 AAA
batteries, 28 command posts, 11 Frog missiles, 9 SAM sites, 8 fuel tanks and 12
aircraft. The units from the 23rd TFW began returning to England AFB throughout
1991. In 1990 a Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected England AFB as
one of the facilities that would be closed no later than September 1992. On December
2, 1991 the 75th TFS was inactivated followed by the 76th on February 13, 1992 and
the 76th on May 29th 1992. The A-10s were assigned to various ANG units and on
June 1, 1992 the 23rd TFW was inactivated and England AFB closed.
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