Looking for photo of A-10 piloted by Eric "Fish" Salomonson

[fritzthefox]

I'm looking for any photos I can find of the A-10 piloted by Eric "Fish" Salomonson in the Gulf War. I do not know the serial number...if anyone knows it, or where to find it, that would be helpful. All I know is that he flew for the 76th Vanguards and plinked a lot of tanks. Any further information anyone can point me to would be welcome...

[Randy Haskin]

Are you looking for a particular mission?

Pilots aren't assigned one particular aircraft that they fly daily like what was done pre-Korean war era. They fly different aircraft on every mission, depending on which airframe maintenance provides the ops unit for the day.

If it's an aircraft he flew on a particular day, a particular mission, you'll simply have to know the tail number that he was flying on that particular day.

[HogDriver44]

I suspect you're looking for a photo of the plane he was flying on his famous flight on 25 Feb 91, when he and his wingman shot a whole mess o' tanks.

I don't know the tail number he was flying that day, but here's a painting of his airplane:
http://www.brooksart.com/Onceatiger.html

And here's a list that includes all of the tail numbers of the A-10 squadrons in Desert Storm:
http://www.dstorm.eu/pages/en/usa/a-10.html

Maybe those will get you started. Good luck!

[fritzthefox]

I have heard via the Warthog Territory message board that the aircraft he was flying was 79-0203. I DO have photos of this aircraft. Does anyone know how I can confirm that it was, indeed, the plane that "Fish" was flying on the day of his famous mission? Where could I find a record of the mission with that information?

[Randy Haskin]

I have heard via the Warthog Territory message board that the aircraft he was flying was 79-0203. I DO have photos of this aircraft. Does anyone know how I can confirm that it was, indeed, the plane that "Fish" was flying on the day of his famous mission? Where could I find a record of the mission with that information?

Have you tried asking him?

The only record of who is flying what aircraft on what day will be in his personal flying records. The sortie-by-sortie details are flushed by the USAF master records keepers every time a pilot PCSs, but each pilot keeps the printout of their individual records when they move.