Last ‘Hog Flys Last Air Weapons School Training Flight
The end of an era, boys.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II SN 82-0665 completed its final training sortie with the 66th Weapons Squadron this week, flown by Lt. Col. Ridge Flick, the unit’s commander.
“The flight closed a chapter of providing graduate-level training in advanced close air support with the U.S. Air Weapons School,” as noted Nellis’s PAO.
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Alex Padilla, a crew chief assigned to the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, conducts postflight maintenance on an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, August 18, 2026. Maintainers assigned to the 757th AMXS routinely inspect and service aircraft to ensure combat-ready airpower for the joint force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt)
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ridge Flick, 66th Weapons Squadron commander, conducts postflight procedures in an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, August 18, 2026. The 66th WPS completed the final A-10 training flight for the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt)
A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft taxis after its final training flight at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Aug. 18, 2026. The 66th Weapons Squadron conducted the final training flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt)
Fitting that it was with 82-0665, the last ‘Hog built. According to Baugher’s sheets, 82-0665 (MSN 713) was delivered on 20 March 1984 to the 23rd FW, 74th TFS “Flying Tigers” at England AFB, Louisiana, and has had a full career.
An air-to-air right-side view of a 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft banking toward Cain Lake, a landmark near the base where pilots practice their combat flying tactics. The aircraft is armed with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and an AN/ALQ-119 electronic countermeasures pod. The last production A-10A Thunderbolt II built (S/N 82-0665) was delivered to the TAC’s 74th Fighter Squadron at England AFB. (TSgt Bill Thompson)
Wearing a woodland camo paint livery and EL tail code, 82-665 was part of the TAC A-10 Demo Team and was named “Cool Cat the Last Tiger” to mark the last production A-10A.
She was sent to the Boneyard at AMARC in 2001, then returned to service and converted to A-10C standard before being sent to the 66th WPS.
The 66th, as recently as March, was conducting austere landing training on a dry lake bed outside of Las Vegas. You know, the kind of stuff the A-10 was designed for, and virtually no other combat jet in the world can pull off with style.
A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned to the 66th Weapons Squadron, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, performs an austere landing at Delamar Dry Lake near Alamo, Nevada, May 28, 2026. The 66th WPS provided close air support and forward air control during a Weapons School Integration mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt)
A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned to the 66th Weapons Squadron, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, deploys defensive flares during an evasive maneuver over the Nevada Test and Training Range, Nevada, May 28, 2026. The 66th WPS participated in a Weapons School Integration mission, challenging students to develop tactically relevant plans integrating multiple mission partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt)
The squadron is no stranger to change and flying icons.
Initially formed in 1940 as the 66th Pursuit Squadron, just seven months after Pearl Harbor, the outfit was flying its P-40 Warhawks as air cover for Monty’s British 8th Army’s drive across Egypt and Libya into Tunisia to kick the Afrika Korps off the continent.
Converted to the P-47 Thunderbolt, the 66th flew the big “Jug” all over Italy and Southern France for the rest of the war. They shifted airfields no less than 32 times during the war to keep up with the frontline.
Their mascot and emblem was cartoonist Al Walker’s cigar-chomping “Slug the Penguin.”
Cold War service saw the 66th fly F-51s, F-80s, F-94s, F-89s, F-105s, and later F-4s before transitioning to the A-10 in 1977. They have been based at Nellis since 1969 in support of the USAF Weapons School.