Ancestors of the A-10

RealClearDefense has an article about the two World War II aircraft - one German, one Soviet - that inspired the designers of the A-10. The tank-buster variant of the German Stuka dive bomber, the Ju-87G, and the Soviet's Sturmovik Il-2 ground attack plane were legends on the WW II eastern front. Both embodied specialized characteristics that were copied and improved upon in the A-10.