TANKBUSTER TALES A-10 COLD WAR OPS

摘要

The story of the A-10 in the United Kingdom began in August 1978 when three Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt Ils arrived at RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk, assigned to the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing for maintenance training. The following January, some 15 A-10As landed at a snow-covered Bentwaters on the 25th, the first aircraft assigned to the 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) of the 81 st TFW - which also occupied nearby RAF Woodbridge. The 81st was destined to become the largest fighter wing in the USAF, eventually comprising six squadrons: the 78th TFS and 509th TFS (Woodbridge) and the 91st TFS, 92nd TFS, 510th TFS and 511th TFS (Bentwaters). The projected number of aircraft for the 81st TFW at the outset was 108.