HMH Publications | Aircraft in Detail 030: Fairchild Republic A-10 A/C Thunderbolt II

Reviewed by Kevin Williams

Publisher: HMH Publications
Author(s): R. Pied, Nic Deboeck
Publishing date: 2024
ISBN: 978-9-494776-00-3 (Softcover)
Pages: 178

This particular volume (No. 030 in the series), covers the outstanding A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog), the mainstay close air support aircraft of the USAF.

Fitted with the excellent General Electric GAU-8 30mm rotary cannon (the aircraft was actually designed around this gun), the Warthog is an extraordinarily capable sub-sonic close support aircraft and tank destroyer. Much as was the case with the Douglas AD Skyraider of Vietnam era fame, US forces on the ground just love the long loitering time of the Warthog, and the incredible firepower it can bring to bear while supporting those forces.

As has already been very well established by now, these walk around type books from HMH, offer the viewer a plethora of details on the subject air-frame, using crystal clear photographs to illustrate various areas of interest. Enough informative text is also included to illuminate the reader as to the various functions of the areas depicted.

While the Warthog was never a truly colorful aircraft, there have been over the years a small number of various schemes used/experimented with, and a few of those schemes also show up in this volume.

Photo Samples (This is but a small portion of what's offered)

As is readily apparent. the images are really quite magnificent. Photos are broken down by section:

(It's my personal hope that we'll one day be seeing HMH titles on the fifth gen F-35 and F-22 as well.)

For those with a taste for large scale aircraft models, there is, at present, only one choice, the Trumpeter kit. While the Trumpeter kit does indeed have a few shortcomings, with some care, a very impressive model can still be produced from it.

Summation

Topping out at a very respectable 178 pages of A-10 splendor, it's just loaded with wall-to-wall details, and is therefore highly recommended to any and all Warthog aficionados.

My review copy compliments of Casemate Publishers. Thanks a ton to Casemate, it's truly an outstanding reference book for the A-10, really top-notch stuff. (Cover image snatched from the web.)

© Kevin Williams 2024

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This review was published on Wednesday, March 13 2024; Last modified on Saturday, March 16 2024