AC-47D call sign "Spooky"
 

Have always wondered who's idea it was to put a few GE Mini Guns in the old C-47 and make it a gunship. Also would like to know who nicknamed it "Puff, the Magic Dragon". Any of the old timers here get to see it in action? Must have been impressive. ;)


http://youtube.com/watch?v=uKOrpyO0z48

Spooky

Puff the Magic Dragon ;)

Pat

I'm holding out for the AC-5A!:D

Still in use by a lot of third world nations. In fact, Colombia has a modernized version (AC 47T) with variable pitch turboprop engines, 3 x side mounted . 50 cal GAU-19s and FLIR. One of their planes substituted one of the GAU 19s for a 20mm. They cost them about $5M each. Talk about cost effective. When I was stationed with one of their JTFs, they had one on site that was used to support their CG operations and I flew in it a few times. Awesome is all I can say.

During my time in the bush, we didn't use them, as the triple canopy prevented visual marking. And they were spray-n-pray at best. The C-47 are not what you call stable in tight rolls.They tend to "float".

We did used them around camps and fire bases, as denial support. Circling the Fort, to stop in depth & mass attacks. From with-in the fire base we use 105mm, 0 elevation, flechette (beehive) ammo. A real crowd-pleaser combination.

The combo normally did a good job of telling Charley that he was not an invited guess.. :D

I was assigned to the 1st ARVN Airborne for a short period, as the fire support coordinator, to the 1st Cav. We had a observation point on the bunker roof and would "walk" Spooky around the camp.

They fired the normal 1-n-5 tracer, but at 6K+ @ minute, it looked like flowing fire water. You could see tracers pour down and WAG (wild a$$ guess) the "safe" range. This was almost exclusively at nite.. During the day light hours the tracers were harder to visualize,, but the sound.. Like the hammer of Thor.. :D

We gave El Salvador a couple of them in the early 80s. Never saw them shooting but we did get intel support whenever they were flying in our AO. Limited sensor package but still provided useful info.

I saw them in Honduras.

The El Sal AF was dropping flares over Mesa Grande Camp.

Looked pretty impressive to us a few klicks away.

Got to ride on a couple of AC-130 missions, that was really impressive.

TR

AC-47
 

My dad saw them in Vietnam. Said the "cone of fire" was impressive. And just heard that loud "Hmmmmmm" of the guns.

What he really said was impressive was Arc-light missions.

There were C 119 gun ships too. Called 'Stinger' if I remember correctly....any mini gun at night is impressive both in the air and the splash.

Impressive for us, not so much for Charles or the NVA.

AC-119
 

I think the Stinger gunships were flying out of Rocket City (Da Nang).

I know that the VNAF was using them a lot too.

There were a few at the Pleiku airfield too...a favorite rocket target.