The prefix A-, in US military aviation, refers to a type of plane generally considered an attack plane. Currently, the most famous attack plane is the A_10 Thunderbolt II.

Since World War II, there have been two major, broad types of aircraft: fighter aircraft and bomber aircraft. However, between them were classes commonly known as fighter_bombers, including heavy fighters (notably the Bristol Beaufighter) and attack aircraft.

There were two distinct time periods in which attack aircraft were designated by the A- prefix: 1926-1947 (mainly Army/Air Force) and 1962_present (the unified system). The first ranged from the A-3 Falcon (only counting those that made it past the experimental stage) to the A-36 Apache. These ranged from biplanes to bomber-like monoplanes.

However, during that time period (during which World War II was fought), the pursuit fighters (with the prefix P-) were more popular types of fighter-bombers. Instead, the most famous attack planes came after 1962 (especially during the Vietnam War). The A-10 is the archetypal attack plane: it was able to manage fast speeds (450 mph or so during combat), while able to slow down to under 200 mph to provide an advantage in air-to-ground combat. It and other attack planes is meant to provide close ground support (i.e. rockets and machine guns vs. tanks and infantry), and cannot perform well in a normal air-to-air or air-to-facility (runway, building, etc.) role.

Sources

• Aero-Web.org (http://www.aero-web.org/)

See also

• List of American Attack Planes