Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: gwh%typhoon.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (George William Herbert)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re:  A-10 Thunderbolt -- Who /really/ flys them?
Message-ID: <10175@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 13 Oct 89 02:39:44 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: ucb
Lines: 41
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: gwh%typhoon.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (George William Herbert)
In article <10138@cbnews.ATT.COM> gahooten@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Greg A. Hooten) writes:
>In article <10085@cbnews.ATT.COM> shafer@drynix (Mary Shafer) writes:
>
>>The attack pilot community is also _very_ fond of the Kevlar bathtub
>                                                       ^^^^^^
>>that they sit in in the A-10.  The A-16 will be very lightly armored,
>>on the theory that they'll be in and out so quick that no one will
>>shoot at them.  (Yeah, right.  :-) )
>
>I was under the impression that the bathtub was not kevlar,
>but titanium.  This creates a very impressive defense, but is
>undermined somewhat by the approved tactics of the mission.
>Though many are pop up firing runs, I have been told that many
>runs are flow from behind a hill, and as they emerge from
>behind the hill, the plane rolls inverted to pull negative g's
>into the firing run.  This is "better" than pulling positive
>g's that pull you out of the seat as you come over the hill
>and drop.  But, it expses the canopy to fire rather than the
>tub, and if a round penetrates the canopy, it will stay inside
>the tub until it is spent.  Could make swiss cheese.  

The Bathtub is Titanium, ranging from 0.5" to (3"?) in thickness.

The popup maneuvers are flown inverted only for high popups, and in any case the initial appearance is not when a plane is likely to be hit.  There are
many more worrysome things that being pinged while coming in.  Such
as being hit on the way out...

BTW: Rounds will not 'bounce' around the inside.  Most antiaircraft rounds will
detonate (they're usually explosive) and the KE ones will hit it and stop, 
usually.  There are some pictures available of a sample Bathtub which had been
shot with 23mm and 37mm Russian Antiaircraft rounds.  Neat scratch marks and
a 2-4" diameter dimple on the inside. 


****************************************
George William Herbert  UCB Naval Architecture Dpt. (my god, even on schedule!)
maniac@garnet.berkeley.edu  gwh@ocf.berkeley.edu
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