Dark Wing

by Richard Herman

  Since the A-10 is a single-seat aircraft and there are no two-seaters, I have never flown one. But thanks to Brigadier General John Bradley and the men and women of the 442nd Fighter Wing (AFRES) who care for and feed it, I have come to respect and understand the jet.

  I am indebted to all the pilots of the 303rd Fighter Squadron. Major Don Slone and Captain Dave Graham were very helpful. A special note of appreciation is due to Majors Jim Preston and “Hampster” Brunke. Hampster never lost patience in making sure I understood A-10 pilots. Jim was unflagging in his support, was willing to spend long hours in answering dumb questions, kept me on track, and retaught me an old lesson—that love of flying and a challenge is what it’s all about.

  I owe a deep thanks to Captain Guy “Spike” Morley and the men and women of the 552nd Air Control Wing. They gave me a rare insight into the E-3 Sentry aircraft and the AWACS mission, proving again that people are still the key to high-tech warfare.

  Others contributed significantly to the story that became this book. Stephen Tse offered invaluable help with Chinese names. At McClellan Air Force Base, California, Don Zimmer and Mark Huntley shared their knowledge of the A-10. Lieutenant Colonel Mike Steffen and his Range Rats at Cannon Range in Missouri showed me the business end of bombs. At March Air Force Base, I was introduced to both ends of the KC-10 by the Seventy-ninth Air Refueling Squadron (AFRES). A crew from the Sixth Air Refueling Squadron (Twenty-second ARW), Captains Carlos Jensen and Wayne Cochran, Master Sergeant Duke Winder, and Staff Sergeant Jack Lemons, demonstrated what the “Gucci Bird” can do in a tight situation. But it was Major Mike Vitolo, Mr. Ron Trow, and Staff Sergeants Terry Contrell and Russ Taylor of the Twenty-second Transportation Squadron who acquainted me with the cargo-carrying capabilities of the Ten. It was impressive.

  To all, again, thank you.

  GLOSSARY

  AFRES Air Force Reserve.

  AIM Air intercept missile, such as the infrared-guided Sidewinder AIM-9.

  ALO Air liaison officer. The ground-based part of the forward air control team that directs fighters onto enemy troops.

  APC Armored personnel carrier.

  ASO Air surveillance officer. The officer on board the AWACS who is responsible for early identification and tracking of hostile aircraft.

  ASOC Air support operations center. The section of a ground commander’s battle staff that coordinates requests for close air support between various ALOs.

  AWACS Airborne warning and command system. Provides surveillance command, control, and communications to commanders. Based on the E-3 Sentry aircraft, a much-modified Boeing 707 airframe, with a thirty-foot diameter radar dome on top.

  BAI Battlefield interdiction. Sealing off the battlefield from resupply, reinforcement, and so forth.

  Bandit An aircraft positively identified as hostile.

  BDU Battle dress uniform. The latest name given to the uniform worn in battle.

  CAP Combat air patrol. A mission flown with the specific intention of finding and destroying enemy aircraft.

  CAS Close air support. The business of Warthogs. Involves killing tanks, bombing and strafing, and generally wreaking havoc on hostile attacking troops in contact with friendly forces. Dangerous but highly rewarding work.

  CBU-58 Cluster bomb unit. The CBU-58 contains 650 baseball-sized bomblets, each of which explodes into 260 fragments. Inside each bomblet are two five-grain titanium incendiary pellets. It is much more effective than napalm, which was a squirrely weapon to deliver in the first place. CBU-58s are very effective against soft-skinned targets, such as enemy troops.

  DASR Directed assignment roster. The bureaucratic method of keeping track of, and paying, armed forces personnel who are engaged in covert operations.

  DCI The director of central intelligence. The individual in charge of all U.S. intelligence agencies and functions. Also heads the CIA.

  Dragon A man-portable, shoulder-fired, medium-range anti-tank missile.

  FAC Forward air controller. The pilot who, with the ALO, forms the airborne part of the forward air control team. Their job is to direct fighters, like the Warthog, onto enemy troops and tanks in contact with friendly troops.

  Fantan NATO code name for the Nanchang Q5/A5 twin-engined fighter-bomber. Similar in size and performance to the MiG-19 Farmer. China has an estimated six hundred.

  Farmer NATO code name for the MiG-19, a twin-engine Soviet-designed fighter-bomber. The Chinese variant is called the J-6.

  Feng shui The ancient Chinese belief that powerful spirits of dragons, tigers, and other beings occupy mountains, hills, rivers, trees, and so forth. Rather than incur their wrath, geomancers, men who know the will and desire of these spirits, should be consulted before doing anything to nature. Practitioners of feng shui do not come cheap in China.

  Finback NATO code name for the Shenjang J-8, an enlarged version of the Soviet-designed MiG-21. The U.S. sold the AN/APG-66 radar fire control system to the Chinese for the Finback, greatly improving its capability.

  GAU-8 The thirty-millimeter, seven-barreled gun called the Avenger. The A-10 was designed around this gatling-type cannon, which was designed to kill tanks. Not to be trifled with when it is in the hands of a skilled pilot and you are a hostile tank driver in the immediate vicinity.

  Grail The NATO code name for the SA-7, a shoulder-held, Soviet-designed surface-to-air missile they call the Strela, or Arrow.

  Have Quick The name for the radio that uses rapid frequency hopping to defeat jamming and monitoring.

  HUD Head-up display. A transparent glass screen in front of the pilot on which tactical and flight information is displayed. Since the screen is in front of him, the pilot does not have to look down into the cockpit when he would much rather be looking at the bad guy.

  IFF Identification friend or foe. A radar transponder used by interrogating radars for aircraft identification.

  J-8 See Finback.

  J-6 See Farmer.

  J-STARS The Army/Air Force joint surveillance target attack radar system. The system is based on the E-8A, a Boeing 707 airframe, with a synthetic aperture/pulse Doppler radar. It can detect stationary targets, low-flying helicopters, slow-moving aircraft, tanks, and vehicles at ranges of two hundred kilometers or more. The information is downlinked to a mobile ground module and provides the ground commander with real-time intelligence about the disposition of enemy forces. Very cosmic.

  LASTE Low-altitude safety and targeting enhancement. A weapons delivery system that makes the Warthog smart, not the bombs.

  MAAG Military Assistance Advisory Group. A military mission that provides military aid to a foreign government.

  Mark-82 AIR Air inflatable retarded. A five-hundred-pound bomb that is employed at low altitudes. Its fall is retarded by the ballute, an inflatable balloon/parachute, that deploys behind it and slows the bomb’s descent, allowing the delivery aircraft time to scamper to safety and avoid the bomb’s blast.

  MCC Mission crew commander. The officer in charge of the working troops in the back of the AWACS. The MCC is responsible for mission accomplishment and must never lose situational awareness. The MCC takes the heat and is hanged first when anything goes wrong.

  MRC Major regional conflict. The emerging type of conflict that is large scale but limited to a specific region. The Persian Gulf War is a prime example. Not good, but better than total war.

  PDB President’s Daily Brief. A summary of the best and most pertinent intelligence available to the United States. Strictly for the president’s use. It is prepared daily by a committee at the CIA, is highly classified, and is read by a very limited number of high-ranking policy makers.

  PLA People’s Liberation Army. The defense establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

  PL-2 The Chinese version of the Soviet Atoll air-to-air missile. The Atoll is a clone of an early version of the U.S. Sidewinder AIM-9 missile.

  PRC The People’s Republic of China. The official name for China.

  PRC-90 Th
e small radio used for survival by aircrew members.

  RHAW Radar homing and warning. The equipment that alerts the pilot to hostile radar threats. A certified attention-getter.

  RPG-7 Rocket-propelled grenade. A shoulder-held, Soviet-designed antitank rocket. It is an old weapon but still effective against older and medium tanks.

  Sandy The call sign for the close air support aircraft dedicated to search and rescue operations. Sandies hold off the enemy while helicopters extract downed aircrews. A very dangerous but satisfying job.

  SA-7 See Grail.

  SIB Safety investigation board. The Air Force panel convened to investigate aircraft accidents. Its job is to determine the cause of the accident so corrective action can prevent it from occurring again. Its findings cannot be used for punishment or disciplinary action.

  Sidewinder An air-to-air missile. See AIM, PL-2.

  SOF Supervisor of flying. The officer who controls daily flying operations. Normally, the duty is rotated among experienced pilots.

  Stinger The U.S.-designed, shoulder-held, infrared-guided surface-to-air missile. An excellent short-range air defense weapon.

  TOW Tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided antitank missile. Bad news for enemy tanks.