Rotary cannon fire echoing through the Ozarks

mstuhr

mstuhr

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Howdy,
Just returned from about 130 mile float on the upper Gasconade river in Missouri.
Two of us went and we returned beat up, bug bitten, stormed on and worn out.
It was fun.
One thing new this trip was the real "Homeland Security" flying maneuvers in the Warthogs. We have often seen them flying on these trips but this time, somewhere past Buzzard Bluff, they were flying and shooting the rotary cannons.
It is indescribable. The closest thing it compares to that I can think of is a up close top fuel rip. That being something you have to experience as eye/ear witness description is never adequate.
It is another one of those sounds I have to add to my list of sounds that make me crack a smile.
I'd tell you more about it but I don't know how.
Anyone know where they fly out of?
We see the A-10s a lot on the river and Lake Ozark area.
Thanks
Mike
 
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old bear said:
Mike, it's my understanding that G.E. developed the rotary cannon then the USAF had a plane developed to put the cannon in???
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I've heard that too. I saw a Warthog up close on the ground before an air show, and could see the offset of the nose gear to keep the gun on centerline of the fuselage. The muzzles on that cannon looked like little replicas of the Chunnel. :D

I didn't find the plane ugly despite its nickname. It's beautifully designed for what it does so well.

I also saw one at a show make a slow, and I mean slow, pass over the field practically standing on its tail. It just sort of oozed by, and I couldn't believe it didn't stall and fall.
 
Yup, the A10 was literally engineered around the GAU-8. That 30mm cannon is music to a ground pounders ears, and you have to be a dedicated dude to fight after having one churn the earth around you.... Truly a fearsome weapon.
 
Thanks

Howdy,
rocketdog put up the sound. The only thing lacking is the volume.Speakers will never do it justice. It is overwhelming and is felt to the bone as well as heard.
I was in awe.
We thought they might have been been flying out of Ft. Leonard Wood.
Thanks
Mike
 
way back in the mid 80s I deployed to Morocco with an A-10 unit. I took the radio jeep out to the range every morning and helped run the cattle off so they could shoot. they were a good half mile in front of us when they fired and it literally rattled your teeth. very short bursts. they were shooting at older soviet armored vehicles of various design. the target practice rounds went thru both sides of the armored personnel carriers. here is a picture of a couple of rounds. one I dug up an hour after it was fired and it was still warm. the other is one the loaders gave me. lee
 

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rwsmith said:
The gun sounds like a chainsaw on steroids.
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Great description! Reminds me of the time when I was sixteen and saw an F4U Corsair strafing targets on a training range at Fort Knox. Pilot cut loose with the six wing-mounted .50's and I realized for the first time that the feeble "rat-tat-tat" used in movies to make clear that these were machine guns was bogus. The sound was "CRRUMMMP!", and the results on target were pretty damn impressive.

Certainly showed a teenaged boy some formidable power in 1953, and the A10 makes it look like Nerf guns and Super Squirters.
 
wbraswell said:
I've seen them fly down here around Texarkana. I think they were Ark. Air Guard out of Little Rock.
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More likely flying out of Fort Smith where the 188th Fighter Wing 'Flying Razorbacks' are based. Little Rock is where the C130's are based.

I've seen them flying simulated combat maneuvers over remote areas of the Arkansas Ozarks many times, often at treetop levels. My youngest son and I were riding ATV's near Gulf Mountain WMA once when a pair came over at treetop level and nearly scared the mess out of me. I've never seen or heard them fire their guns, though.
 
I hope the Air Force keeps them. There was a move to get rid of them before Desert Storm. Then they showed hwo effective they were. Hope they're around a long while; great aircraft.
 
My son said they saved his life several times in Iraq. He was always glad to see and hear them. The enemy was not.
 
It's a Sturmovic to the fourth or fifth power, and apparently there's nothing better suited to the job. I can't imagine why they would phase it out, but equally dumb decisions litter our history.
 
The Warthogs are flying out of Fort Leonard Wood, which is right there.
The Big Piney goes through the base and is the river you cross going west on 44 before you hit the Gasconnade.
I used to live on Lake of the Ozarks on the Big Niangua branch. They would sometimes train over the lake following the terrain so closely that I swear they were hitting trees.

Hope the small mouths were biting for you...I love those Ozark rivers!
 
I don't live far from Camp Shelby, Ms. I frequently see a couple of them escorting one or two C130's that are probably loaded with paratroopers. There's a range about ten miles from here and the A 10's and some other planes drop stuff over there that rattle the windows. The sound of freedom.
 
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