Custom A-10 salutes P-51 heritage

Airmen of the 355th Equipment Maintenance Squadron gave an A-10 Thunderbolt II, assigned to the A-10 Demonstration Team at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, a custom paint job resembling a World War II-era P-51 Mustang. The aircraft, serial number 80-0275, has a special color scheme to be flown on the next airshow circuit.

A recently painted A-10 Thunderbolt II assigned to the A-10 Demonstration Team flies over Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Sept. 23. Senior Airman Cheyenne Powers

Special paint schemes are fairly rare, so this is very exciting news for photographers and fans who are eager to catch the new design in 2020.

The A-10 / P-51 paint scheme includes green paint overlapping the standard low-visibility gray pattern on the upper surfaces of the fuselage, engines, wings and horizontal stabilizers, while invasion stripes have been applied on the lower surfaces of the engines and wings.

The 355th Equipment Maintenance Squadron Airmen gave an A-10 Thunderbolt II, assigned to the A-10 Demonstration Team at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, a custom paint job resembling a World War II P-51 Mustang. The aircraft, serial number 80-0275, has a special color scheme to be flown on the next airshow circuit. Courtesy photo

The engines and wings also sport the same insignia used by the U.S. Army Air Forces until 1947, a few months before the official formation of the U.S. Air Force, instead of the current low-visibility markings.

The repainted A-10C took flight on Sept. 23. The P-47 Thunderbolt had a much similar livery during WWII.

The new paint scheme includes green paint overlapping the standard low-visibility gray pattern on the upper surfaces of the fuselage, engines, wings and horizontal stabilizers, while invasion stripes have been applied on the lower surfaces of the engines and wings. Courtesy photo

The Demo Team announced on Instagram that the newly painted A-10 debuted Sept. 27 during Wings Over Wine Country Airshow 2019, near Santa Rosa, California, where it performed with the Heritage Flight.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is also affectionately known as the Warthog.

To see a video of the 355th EMS Airmen painting the A-10, go to www.facebook.com/A10DemoTeam/videos/3292791450732756/.

For more about the A-10 Thunderbolt II https://www.aerotechnews.com/davis-monthanafb/2019/08/26/going-through-an-a-10-phase/