Peter C Smith's "Fairchild Republic A–10 Thunderbolt II"
Book review by Dennis D. McDonald
This history of the Fairchild A-10 "Warthog" is one of the most exhaustively detailed aircraft books I’ve read. It covers a lot—genesis, interservice rivalry (Army vs. Air Force), politics, competition, design and development, engineering, production, and deployment.
Many other aircraft-related books tend to focus on flying and operational details. This one dives into the nitty-gritty, including armament details, maintenance procedures, and the A-10’s extensive system redundancies. The book is replete with tables, charts, and photos. Unlike many others, it includes the names of ground personnel responsible for maintenance in the numerous photographs.
Some of the things I learned include:
Close air support (CAS) in combat dates back to World War II. Lessons learned then contributed to the A-10’s design requirements.
One reason for the A-10’s lengthy development was U.S. Air Force resistance to spending money on "low and slow" aircraft instead of "high and fast" ones.
The Pentagon and congressional political wrangling described here are depressingly familiar. Still, the author seems to go out of his way to disparage congressional oversight as “meddling.”
Many years ago, when I worked in Germantown, Maryland, I often passed the Fairchild facility in Hagerstown. Now I know what they did there!
The author frequently mentions the Douglas Skyraider, another aircraft with a long service life—because nothing else could do what it did.
When all is said and done, the reader—no matter how enamored of aircraft and aeronautical history—must reckon with the vast technical, financial, and intellectual resources we devote to weapons of war. What folly it has been to think that developing ever more deadly and terrible weapons might somehow cause us humans to finally "wise up"!
Review copyright © 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald
