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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- In the past five months, the 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, deployed from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., set a record number of combat flying hours in the A-10 Thunderbolt II - 12,200 to date - breaking a former record held by their sister squadron, whom they replaced in March.
During that span of time the 74th EFS 'Flying Tigers,' who trace their roots back to the American Volunteer Group of WWII, have employed hundreds of 500-pound bombs, 2.75-inch rockets and more than 54,000 30-mm high explosive shells, according to Lt. Col. Philip Weilhouwer, commander, 74th EFS.
"What the team of the 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and 74th Aircraft Maintenance Unit have accomplished is fly more than 2,800 missions in support of troops on the ground. Whether we drop [bombs] or shoot doesn't really matter, it's whether we've supported the guys on the ground, and if they are protected and they get the mission accomplished is what counts," Weilhouwer said.
The partnership between the operations and maintenance groups is one to be envied as the Flying Tigers have not gone a single day where there were not A-10s airborne conducting operations in the skies over Afghanistan.
The A-10 'Warthog,' as it is affectionately nicknamed, performs a role of precision engagement, close-air-support and airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for American and coalition ground forces throughout Afghanistan.
Among the Warthog's large array of weapons is the GAU-8 Gatling gun, which is mounted on internal pylons in the aircraft. The GAU-8 is capable of firing upwards of 4,000 rounds of high explosive 30-mm shells per minute in a very compact footprint.
"The 30-mm is the preferred weapon of the ground commander," said Maj. Kevin Eilers, a veteran A-10 pilot. "It's a distinct advantage in a close-in fight, because I can confidently target a bad guy with almost surgical precision. There's just a lower risk of unintentional casualties."
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2009 11:44 |
| Story ID: | 36832 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 203 |
| Downloads: | 189 |
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