Today marks the final A-10 Demo Team performance, after 1800 shows across 10 countries over the course of more than 40 years.
Nov. 10, 2024, marked a sad day in the airshow community: the final demonstration by the U.S. Air Force’s A-10C Demonstration Team after a 40 year run.
In Stuart, Florida, the team flew one final performance in the A-10C “Memphis Belle III”, the aircraft specially painted in honor of Vietnam War veterans and the F-105D Thunderchief “Memphis Belle II”, which is now on display in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
The team, now commanded by Major Lindsay “MAD” Johnson, has been flying in its current form since 2018 but had existed prior as two teams, East and West. The two teams flew until shutdown in 2011. The A-10 participated in heritage flights a few times before the formal reactivation of the team.
“MAD” took the reins of the team last year, from Maj Haden “Gator” Fullam, who led it for the 2021 and 2022 airshow seasons. Before being named the team commander, Capt Johnson was an Instructor Pilot and Flight Commander assigned to the 357th Fighter Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona and previously served also in Texas and Korea. As a veteran instructor pilot, she has amassed over 1,250 flight hours, including 431 combat flight hours in support of both Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and the Resolute Support Mission.
The demo team’s final season comes as the U.S. Air Force works to retire the entire A-10 fleet. In July 2024, the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services directed the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin III, to explore the possibility of transferring retired A-10C Thunderbolt II’s to Jordan. As we reported back then, in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill released on July 8, the Committee outlined the potential transfer of the attack aircraft to Jordan with the requirement that the Secretary of Defense also assess Jordan’s ability to maintain the aircraft on their own. The A-10s are expected to be fully retired by 2029.
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, the first and largest home of the type, retired its first A-10 back in February and shuttered the 354th Fighter Squadron (and 354th Fighter Generation Squadron) in June. The base was, however, selected by the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) to become a new “Power Projection Wing” by hosting a squadron of MC-130J Commando II’s and OA-1K Sky Wardens. Nellis AFB’s 34th Weapons Squadron and 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron will also be moving to Davis-Monthan with their HH-60W Jolly Green II rescue helicopters.
Earlier this year, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, also hosted what could potentially be the last-ever “Hawgsmoke” competition, pitting 13 squadrons against each other to determine which flew the “Hawg” the best. The hosting 47th Fighter Squadron claimed the final title.
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On Nov. 1, 2024, ahead of its final airshow, the A-10 Demo Team carried out a final performance at the team’s homebase at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
The first model of the aircraft, an A-10A, arrived at the base near Tucson on March 2, 1976. This model was assigned to the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing that arrived there in 1971 and replaced the Vought A-7D Corsair flown by the 355th TFW. The 355th TFW was later reclassified as the 355th Tactical Fighter Training Wing, prompting the 354th, 357th, and 358th Fighter squadrons to train U.S. Air Force pilots on the A-10A aircraft.
A-10C “Memphis Belle III”
In 2023, of the three A-10Cs assigned to the demo team received a new heritage paint scheme nicknamed “Memphis Belle III”. To pay homage to the work the B-17F “Memphis Belle” did during WW2, the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing nicknamed one of their F-105s the “Memphis Belle II.” That Thunderchief was assigned to the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron and is credited with two air-to-air kills in 1967. Since the team’s aircraft are assigned to the 357th Fighter Squadron, it was decided to nickname tail number 78-0651 “Memphis Belle III”. Similarly to the “Memphis Belle II”, the A-10 was painted in the Vietnam-era SouthEast Asia (SEA) camouflage.
The upper surfaces of the A-10C have thus been painted with medium green, dark green and dark tan patches, while the lower surfaces have been painted with camouflage gray, in line with the same colors used by the US Air Force aircraft during the Vietnam conflict. The starboard side of the A-10’s nose features the names of all the unit’s members who lost their lives or were captured during the conflict, accompanied by the National League of Families POW/MIA flag, to honor the Prisoners of War, Missing in Action and Veterans.
The A-10 Demo Team has previously honored the heritage of their unit: in 2021, another Warthog, tail 81-0962, was repainted in the SEA camo inspired by the F-105 Thunderchiefs that the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing (former designation of the current 355th Fighter Wing based at Davis-Monthan) flew during the Vietnam War. Like “Memphis Belle III”, the A-10 featured the names of the unit’s PoWs and KIAs and was still flying with these colors during the recent Heritage Flight Training Course.
