A-10 Warthog
 

My **all time** favorite warbird (not counting David from The Dark Tower--if you have to ask...).

Holy shit!

Low & slow, ugly & mean

I watched a show on Discovery/Military/History channel (one of 'em anyway) and this guy was driving an A-10 in Iraq and took "some ground fire, some anti-aircraft fire". He thought his plane "might have taken some damage". He headed for home. When they checked his plane, he had (I believe it was) 110 bullet/shrapnel holes, in the plane, and a hole in the left wing big enough to pass a basketball through.

I believe the 'hog has triply redundant hydraulic, and one mechanical/cable-type flight controls.

A-10 Thunderbolts are some tough mothers. And one of my fav's also!

You just know the sound of that GAU-8 cannon makes the enemy's asshole slam shut!

Wounded Warthog IOtD.

I would expect the opposite effect.

Weird looking plane. I guess they put the engines back there to make more room for weapons on the wings.

Keeps them away from ground-fire, and flying debris on low strafing runs.

The backpack engine location is for blanking off the engines from likely angles of ground fire, etc. as Bruce said. The engines's exhaust signature is also blanked by vertical tailplanes outboard of each exhaust stream, as well as the horizontals. The engine access for maintenance is good so a bashed engine may be readily changed out, the fuselage is freed up for fuel tankage for loitering endurance and as you noted the wing structure only has the job of carrying abundant external stores without having to carry engines as well.

And the plane is designed to soak up 23mm all day. The type has a couple of air-to-air victories with that big gun: two helicopters over Iraq. It could dogfight in a turning fight once the external stores are pickled off the wings, but only with aircraft that can't go much faster than 400 knots.

I've heard 20mm M61 type guns fired. It is the scariest single sound I know. A loud, cracking, blasting ripping noise nearer the sound of an air hammer mixed with a chainsaw and tearing canvas than a machine gun.