
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991                   TAG: 9102080188
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: AN AIRBASE IN EASTERN SAUDI ARABIA                                LENGTH: Short

SLOW, UGLY `WARTHOG' MAKES FIRST KILL IN AIR

A reservist who flies jetliners for USAir became the first A-10 pilot to score an air-to-air kill - of an Iraqi helicopter - with the "Warthog" tank-killer, Air Force officials said Thursday.

The Air Force also said a team of A-10s struck a dozen Iraqi missile-launching sites Wednesday night. Preliminary reports indicated several were destroyed and others heavily damaged.

The Air Force paid tribute to the A-10 in an odd way Thursday, displaying one that returned safely to base despite a gaping hole in its right wing.

The plane, often the butt of jokes because of its slowness and ugly design, has a series of redundant systems designed to allow it to fly even after being heavily damaged.

"He had to hold the control stick all the way to the left to keep it level," Tech. Sgt. Richard Gomez, 35, of Van Horn, Texas, said of the pilot who flew the damaged jet back from over Kuwait. "The plane worked as advertised. It could take a hit and come back."

The A-10, which first flew in 1975, is designed to fly slow and low for air-to-ground missions, primarily as a tank killer but also against missile sites and other ground targets.

The pilot credited with the air-to-air kill was Capt. Bob Swain, 33, of Charlotte, N.C.

by CNB