New heritage scheme for 124th FW A-10C

A US Air Force (USAF)-operated Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II from the Idaho Air National Guard’s (ANG’s) 124th Fighter Wing (FW) at Boise Airport-Gowen Field has been rolled out sporting a new World War Two heritage paint scheme.

The aircraft – serial 78-0618 (c/n A10-0238), assigned to the 124th FW’s 190th Fighter Squadron (FS) ‘Skull Bangers’ – was unveiled on May 4, after receiving the new heritage livery at the ANG’s paint facility in Sioux City, Iowa.

124th FW A-10C [US ANG/Senior Master Sgt Vincent De Groot]
USAF Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II - serial 78-0518 - from the 124th FW shows off its new heritage scheme outside the Air National Guard's paint facility in Sioux City, Iowa, on May 4, 2021. US ANG/Senior Master Sgt Vincent De Groot

It has been painted as ‘405190’ with the code ‘8N’ to represent the first Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters of the 124th FW’s predecessor, the 405th FS, which was operational during World War Two. The wing conceived the idea in order to commemorate the unit’s 75th anniversary and overall lineage.

Following World War Two, many active flying units remained in service but were renumbered as they were reassigned to components of the National Guard. These units were authorised to receive equipment, pilots, aircraft maintainers and support personnel as they were being moved back to the US.

The 124th FW is one of dozens of ANG units that can trace its lineage directly to its World War Two predecessor, which in this case is the 405th FS. The heritage scheme applied to this Idaho ANG A-10C has been designed to replicate the liveries worn by the original P-47 Thunderbolts, which were operated by the 405th while the unit was based in Western France in 1944.

This heritage scheme includes a white nose, with white bands on the aircraft’s vertical stabilisers and a World War Two-era USAF star and bar on the fuselage and wing, along with D-Day invasion stripes on the wings and fuselage. The A-10C has been given an olive drab base coat and the ‘8N’ painted on the side of the aircraft indicates the aircraft code of the 405th FS.