Thunderbolt

According to the New York Times, U.S. Warplanes upset some ISIS folks the other day.

ISTANBUL — Intensifying pressure on the Islamic State, United States warplanes for the first time attacked hundreds of trucks on Monday that the extremist group has been using to smuggle the crude oil it has been producing in Syria, American officials said.

According to an initial assessment, 116 trucks were destroyed in the attack, which took place near Deir al-Zour, an area in eastern Syria that is controlled by the Islamic State.

The airstrikes were carried out by four A-10 attack planes and two AC-130 gunships based in Turkey.

Plans for the strike were developed well before the terrorist attacks in and around Paris on Friday, officials familiar with the operation said, part of a broader operation to disrupt the ability of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, to generate revenue to support its military operations and govern its territory.

Thunderbolts. Hellfire up close and personal. My dad was haunted by the fact that his own WWII Thunderbolt strafed trucks so close to the ground that he could see the faces of the men he killed. The A-10 is the same kind of plane. Not a high wire act but a ground hugging murderous machine. Even its shadow is a menace.

P-47 Thunderbolt