Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!uokmax!occrsh!att!cbnews!military From: military@cbnews.ATT.COM (William B. Thacker) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re:Still more A-10 stuff Message-ID: <11264@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 9 Nov 89 15:27:35 GMT Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 68 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Scott Babb Peter Nelson writes: >> The energy from the [depleted uranium] round is probably sufficient to >> ignite the trapped air within the crew compartment. It sure looks >> like that's what happens in the demo films. Second, even if the >> air doesn't ignite, where does the armor go > > What does this mean: "ignite the air"? > >> > >> making the A-10 one of the most sought-after drivers jobs in the USAF. > > I was talking to an A-10 pilot at an air show at Hanscom last year and > he said that their understanding is that any actual combat mission in > the A-10 is strictly one-way. Titanium bathtub or no, modern AA weapons > will allow a pretty sure kill of the plane by any reasonably well-equipped > ground force, according to him. > > ---Peter Sorry, that does sound a little dumb, doesn't it? I forgot to run it through the hyperbole filter before I posted. Please accept my apologies and allow me to elaborate: It *LOOKED* like something caught fire inside the tanks on the videotape I saw. The owner of the tape claimed that these were depleted uranium rounds igniting the air. A couple of things could make it appear this way: The energy from the round could raise the air temperature above the flash-point of some materials inside the tank. This is what happens, I'm told, when a submarine hull fails at depth, the sailors burn before they can drown or be crushed. The nickel-steel/uranium vapor could ignite. As metals go, uranium is pretty flammable. I suppose that this could be interpreted as the 'air' igniting, since the air is what you make it, and we've made it into uranium vapor. Anyway, the film showed an old tank being chewed up by an A-10, and there was quite a bit of flame coming from inside the tank during the run. I didn't see anything that looked like a magazine hit. When the A-10 finished its run, the tank was a scorched hulk with holes that you could see daylight through. Technically, I suppose that it is possible to 'ignite' air, but unless we're loading 30mm thermonukes on A-10's, then I don't think that things will get hot enough :-). The A-10 drivers who I spoke to were all gung-ho types. They didn't admit to any shortcomings or vulnerabilities. I guess that it was all standard company line stuff that they were dishing out. They probably perferred thinking that they were invincible. The A-10 is still a great tank-killer. The trick to surviving is to not go cowboying on in solo. If you play as part of the team, then your survivability goes way up. Mech-infantrymen are less likely to point SA-7s at you when your tanks and helicopters are pounding the hell out of their positions. Scott ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Scott L. Babb | These are not my employers opinions, they are mine, | | babb@judo.crsfld.com | and I refuse to keep them to myself. | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------