BRRRT / A-10 Thunderbolt II Firing Sound
About
"BRRRT" is an onomatopoeic term describing the distinctive noise of the American ground-attack aircraft A-10 Thunderbolt II firing its rotary cannon. On the Internet, the phrase is most commonly uttered by video gamers and military fans in celebration of the aircraft due to its frequent appearance in a variety of military simulation games.
Origin
As the United States Air Force's only ground-attack aircraft that has been deployed in several major military operations spanning over almost four decades of its operational history, most notably in the Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq War, the A-10 has long been celebrated by aviation enthusiasts and military personnels for its durability, versatility and effectiveness in combat. In gaming culture, the aircraft has been featured in more than 48 titles on various platforms, beginning with the release of the PC military flight simulator A-10 Tank Killer in 1989.
The Aircraft
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II[3] is an American twin-engine straight wing jet aircraft specifically designed to provide close air support for troops on the ground. Nicknamed "Warthog" or "Hog," the aircraft has been in active service for the United States Air Force since March 1977. While the A-10 is capable of carrying a versatile range of armaments and substantial payload, the aircraft is well-known for its 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger rotary cannon, the primary built-in weapon which can fire depleted uranium shells for maximum impact against heavy armor at a fixed rate of 3,900 rounds per minute. In popular culture, the aircraft is most frequently discussed for its distinctive fart-like noise ("BRRT") generated by the 30mm bullets breaking the sound barrier upon firing and hitting the ground.
Various Appearances
During the 1990s and 2000s, the A-10 continued to gain traction among the fans of military simulation, first-person shooter and real-time strategy subgenres through its inclusion in several long-running franchises, most notably Ace Combat, Command & Conquer, Battlefield, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X, Digital Combat Simulator and Call of Duty series.[2]
- Command & Conquer (1995)
- Command & Conquer: Renegade (2002)
- Command & Conquer: Generals (2003)
- Command & Conquer: The First Decade (2006)
- Ace Combat 2 (1997)
- Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies (2001)
- Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (2004)
- Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (2006)
- Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (2006)
- Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2007)
- Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010)
- Ace Combat Assault Horizon (2011)
- Battlefield 2 (2005)
- Battlefield 2: Armored Fury (2006)
- Battlefield: Bad Company (2008)
- Battlefield 3 (2011)
- Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X (2009)
- Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X 2 (2010)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
- Lock On: Modern Air Combat (2003)
- Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 2 (2009)
- Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 3 (2012)
- Digital Combat Simulator: A-10C Warthog (2011)
- Digital Combat Simulator: Black Shark 2 (2011)
Spread
On September 25th, 2007, Yahoo Answers user Jay submitted a question titled "Why does the A-10 Thunderbolt (Fighter Plane) make that strange buzzing noise from the front?"[10] to which user Lowlevel replied that the noise is generated by the aircraft's supersonic turbofans, contrary to the widespread belief that it is the sound of bullets breaking the sound barrier, however it may be ruled out that Jay meant some other noise the A-10 makes.
Meanwhile on 4chan, The earliest known discussion of the A-10 can be traced back to a comment posted on March 8th, 2009 in a /b/ (random) thread titled "Bush War Art," which featured a war propaganda poster showing the-then United States president George W. Bush with the aircraft in the background. On March 13th, 2011, YouTuber Swampfoot uploaded a video clip from the 2010 military documentary film Restrepo that shows an A-10 Thunderbolt providing close air support during a U.S. military ground operation in Afghanistan, garnering over one million views in less than five years (shown below).
On February 7th, 2012, GameFAQs user TommyGuner started a discussion thread titled "The A-10 farting noise" in the subforum dedicated to Battlefield 3, calling the buzzing noise "one of greatest sounds any machine makes." In November 2013 and December 2014, the aircraft's notorious buzz was highlighted by Gawker's Gizmodo blog,[8][9] describing the noise as "one of the most terrifying human-produced sounds you can hear in the planet."
On March 19th, 2015, satirical U.S. military news blog DuffelBlog[15] highlighted a tongue-in-cheek op-ed article titled "I Sexually Identify As An A-10 Thunderbolt" by author SGT B, which was inspired by the "I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter" copypasta that had been previously posted to Reddit.
On April 15th, 2015, an anonymous 4chan user uploaded an image macro poking fun at the vulnerability of ISIS against the A-10 Thunderbolt to the /pol/ (politically incorrect) board (shown below).[13]
On May 4th, an anonymous 4chan user submitted a satirical confession thread on /k/ (weapons) board claiming that the OP sexually identifies oneself as an A-10 Thunderbolt II. That same day, a screenshot of the original post was re-submitted to Reddit's /r/4chan in a post titled "Anon identifies as A-10,"[5] garnering more than 4,200 points prior to its archival.
On May 10th, YouTube channel WarLeaks released a compilation video of the A-10 Thunderbolt II in combat action to commemorate the anniversary of its maiden flight on May 10th, 1972 (shown below).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] YouTube – Search Results for 'a-10 brrt'
[3] Wikipedia – A-10 Thunderbolt
[4] Chan4chan – Bush War Art
[5] Reddit – Anon identifies as A-10
[6] Reddit – I sexually identify as an A-10 Thunderbolt II
[7] GameFAQs – The A-10 farting noise
[8] Gizmodo – Hear the terrifying sound of the A-10 tank killer's gun in an attack run
[9] Gizmodo – The gigantic gun inside America's tank killer
[10] Yahoo Answers – Why does the A-10 Thunderbolt (Fighter Plane) make that strange buzzing noise from the front?
[11] DIYLOL – A-10 Thunderbolt Memes
[12] Pinterest – Search Results for 'A-10'
[13] 4Plebs – Afghanistan is made for dirt bikes. A-10's love dirt bikes…
[14] 9GAG – 30kg Freedom per second
[15] DuffelBlog – Op-Ed: I Sexually Identify As An A-10 Thunderbolt
Top Comments
HRH Princess Celestia
Aug 15, 2015 at 12:31AM EDT
Lutien Moderator
Aug 14, 2015 at 10:36AM EDT