AC-47 Spooky
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The Douglas
AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon
") was the first in a series of gunship
s developed by the United States Air Force
during the Vietnam War
. It was felt that more firepower than could be provided by light and medium ground-attack aircraft was needed in some situations when ground forces called for close air support
.
C-47 Skytrain
(the military version of the DC-3
) that had been modified by mounting three 7.62mm General Electric minigun
s to fire through two rear window openings and the side cargo door, all on the left (pilot's) side of the aircraft. Other armament configurations could also be found on similar C-47 based aircraft around the world. The guns were actuated by a control on the pilot's yoke, where he could control the guns either individually or together, though gunners were also among the crew to assist with gun failures and similar issues. Its primary function was close air support
for ground troops. It could orbit the target for hours providing suppressing fire. Coverage given by a Spooky was over an elliptical area approximately 52 yd (47.5 m) in diameter, placing a round every 2.4 yd (2.2 m) during a 3-second burst.
The aircraft also carried flares, which it could drop to illuminate the battleground.
The aircraft was vulnerable to ground fire due to the age of its airframe. Further gunship designs, the AC-119 gunship
and the AC-130 gunship
, were developed based on newer cargo airframes.
When the AC-47 was introduced there were no preceding designs to gauge how successful the concept would be. The USAF found itself in a precarious situation when requests for additional gunships began to come in. It simply did not have enough miniguns to fit additional aircraft after the first two conversions. The next four aircraft were equipped with ten .30 caliber AN/M2 machine gun
s. It was quickly discovered, however, that these weapons, using ammunition stocks from WWII
and Korea
, jammed easily, produced large amounts of gases from firing, and, even in ten-gun groups, could only provide the density of fire of a single minigun. All four of these aircraft were retrofitted to the standard armament configuration when additional miniguns arrived.
The AC-47 initially used SUU-11/A
gun pod
s that were installed on locally fabricated mounts for the gunship application. Emerson Electric eventually developed the MXU-470/A to replace the gun pods, which were also used on subsequent gunships.
In August 1964, years of fixed wing gunship experimentation reached a new peak with Project Tailchaser under the direction of Capt. John C. Simons. This test involved the conversion of a single Convair C-131B
to be capable of firing a single GAU-2/A Minigun
at a downward angle out of the left side of the aircraft. It was discovered that even using crude grease pencil crosshairs it was very easy for a pilot flying in a pylon turn
to hit a stationary area target with relative accuracy. Testing was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base
, Florida
, by the Armament Development and Test Center (ADTC), but after initial testing was suspended by lack of funding. In 1964 Capt. Ron W. Terry returned from temporary duty in Vietnam as part of an Air Force Systems Command
team reviewing all aspects of air operations in counter-insurgency warfare, where he had noted the usefulness of C-47s and C-123s orbiting as flare ships during night attacks on fortified hamlets. He received permission to conduct a live-fire test using the C-131 and revived the side-firing gunship program.
By October, a C-47D was provided by Capt. Terry's team under Project Gunship and converted to a similar standard as the Project Tailchaser aircraft, armed with three Minigun
s. These were initially mounted on locally fabricated mounts, which essentially strapped gun pod
s intended for fixed wing aircraft (SUU-11/A
) onto a mount allowing them to be fired remotely out the port side. Captain Terry and a testing team arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base
, South Vietnam, on 2 December 1964, with equipment needed to modify two C-47s. The first test aircraft (43-48579, a C-47B-5-DK mail courier converted to C-47D standard by removal of its supercharger
s) was ready by 11 December, the second by 15 December, and both were allocated to the 1st Air Commando Squadron
for combat testing. The newly-dubbed "FC-47" often operated under the radio call sign "Puff". Its primary mission involved protecting villages, hamlets and personnel from mass attacks by VC guerrilla units.
Puff's first significant success occurred on the night of 23-24 December 1964. An FC-47 arrived over the Special Forces
outpost at Tranh Yend in the Mekong Delta
just 37 minutes after an air support request, fired 4,500 rounds of ammunition, and broke the Viet Cong attack. The FC-47 was then called to support a second outpost at Trung Hung, about 20 miles away. The aircraft again blunted the VC attack, forcing a retreat. Between 15 and 26 December the FC-47s flew 16 combat sorties, all successful. On 8 February 1965, an FC-47 flying over the Bong Son area of Vietnam’s Central Highlands demonstrated its capabilities in the process of blunting a Vietcong offensive. For over four hours, it fired 20,500 rounds into a Viet Cong hilltop position, killing an estimated 300 Vietcong troops.
So successful were the early gunship trials that the second aircraft was returned to the United States early in 1965 to provide crew training. In July 1965, Headquarters USAF ordered TAC to establish an AC-47 squadron. By November 1965, a total of 5 aircraft were operating with the 4th Air Commando Squadron
, activated in August as the first operational unit, and by the end of 1965, a total of 26 had been converted. Training Detachment 8, 1st Air Commando Wing, was subsequently established at Forbes AFB, Kansas
. In Operation Big Shoot, the 4th ACS in Vietnam grew to 20 AC-47s (16 aircraft plus four reserves for attrition).
The 4th ACS deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base
, Vietnam, on 14 November 1965. Now using the call sign "Spooky," each of its three 7.62 mm miniguns could selectively fire either 50 or 100 rounds per second. Cruising in an overhead left-hand orbit at 120 knots air speed at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the gunship could put a bullet or glowing red tracer (every fifth round) bullet into every square yard of a football field-sized target in three seconds. And, as long as its 45-flare and 24,000-round basic load of ammunition held out, it could do this intermittently while loitering over the target for hours.
In May 1966, the squadron moved north to Nha Trang Air Base
to join the newly-activated 14th Air Commando Wing. The 3rd Air Commando Squadron was activated at Nha Trang on 5 April 1968 as a second AC-47 squadron, with both squadrons redesignated Special Operations Squadrons on 1 August 1968. Flights of both squadrons were stationed at bases throughout South Vietnam, and one flight of the 4th SOS served at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
with the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. The superb work of the two AC-47 squadrons, each with 16 AC-47s flown by aircrews younger than the aircraft they flew, was undoubtedly a key contributor to the award of the Presidential Unit Citation
to the 14th Air Commando Wing in June 1968.
One of the most publicized battles of the Vietnam War was the siege of Khe Sanh in early 1968, known as "Operation Niagara
." More than 24,000 tactical and 2700 B-52 strikes dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance in attacks that averaged over 300 sorties per day. During the two and a half months of combat in that tiny area, fighters were in the air day and night. At night, AC-47 gunships kept up a constant chatter of fire against enemy troops. During darkness, AC-47 gunships provided illumination against enemy troops.
The AC-47D gunship should not be confused with a small number of C-47s which were fitted with electronic equipment in the 1950s. Prior to 1962, these aircraft were designated AC-47D. When a new designation system
was adopted in 1962, these became EC-47Ds. The original gunships had been designated FC-47D by the United States Air Force, but with protests from fighter pilots, this designation was changed to AC-47D during 1965. Of the 53 aircraft converted to AC-47 configuration, 41 served in Vietnam and 19 were lost to all causes, 12 in combat. Combat reports indicate that no village or hamlet under Spooky Squadron protection was ever lost, and there are a plethora of reports from civilians and military personnel about AC-47s coming to the rescue and saving their lives.
As the United States began Project Gunship II
and Project Gunship III
, many of the remaining AC-47Ds were transferred to the Vietnam Air Force
(VNAF), the Royal Lao Air Force
(RLAF), and to Cambodia
, after Prince Sihanouk was deposed in a coup by General Lon Nol
.
A1C John L. Levitow
, an AC-47 loadmaster with the 3rd SOS, received the Medal of Honor
for saving his aircraft, Spooky 71, from destruction on 24 February 1969 during a fire support mission at Long Binh
. The plane was struck by an 82mm mortar round that inflicted 3,500 shrapnel holes, wounding Levitow 40 times, but he used his body to jettison an armed magnesium
flare, which ignited shortly after Levitow ejected it from the aircraft, allowing the AC-47 to return to base.
, where they are known by civilians as Avion fantasma (ghost planes). They are successfully operated by the local airforce in COIN
operations in conjunction with AH-60 Arpia helicopters (an armed variant of the UH-60) and A-37 Dragonflys against local illegal armed groups. These are most likely the five BT-67s purchased by Colombia with .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (of unknown type) slaved to a Forward Looking Infrared
(or FLIR) system. The BT-67 is a variant of the C-47/DC-3 made by the Basler Corporation of Oshkosh, WI
. These "Turbo Dakotas" feature Pratt & Whitney Canada
PT6A-67R
turboprops, driving five-bladed Hartzell propellers, along with essentially overhauling the basic airframe.
In 1970 the Indonesian Air Force
converted an ex-civilian C-47. The converted C-47 was armed with three .50 caliber machine guns. During 1975 the Indonesian Air Force used their AC-47 during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor to attack the city of Dili
. Later, the AC-47 was used in Indonesian military CAS (Close Air Support) missions in East Timor
. Retirement date is unknown.
In late 1984–85, the United States supplied two AC-47 gunships to the El Salvador Air Force (FAS)
and trained aircrews to operate the system. The AC-47 gunship carried three .50-caliber machine guns and could loiter and provide heavy firepower for army operations. As the FAS had long operated C-47s, it was easy for the United States to train pilots and crew to operate the aircraft as a weapons platform. By all accounts, the AC-47 soon became probably the most effective weapon in the FAS arsenal.
Variants of the AC-47 based on various iterations of the airframe including the BT-67, have been used by Laos
, Cambodia
, South Africa
, El Salvador
and Rhodesia
, to name just a few, and with a variety of weapons configurations including Gatling guns of numerous types, various medium and heavy machine guns, and larger autocannon (South African "Dragon Daks" were known to fit 20 mm cannons). ROCAF (Taiwanese Air Force)
also converted some of its C-47 to gunships. These machines were armed with M2 machine guns which were likely to be from retired F-86 jet fighters.
Rhodesia
South Africa
South Vietnam
band Sodom
's 1989 album Agent Orange
, revolving largely around Vietnam War
themes, features a track named "Magic Dragon". The album's cover art drawing also depicts the gunner of an AC-47 in action.
The development and early deployment of the AC-47 is the subject of The Gooney Bird by William C. Anderson
. Anderson went to Vietnam to research this novel, which features a fiction story written around a number of historical facts.
In the film The Green Berets
an AC-47 strike enables the American and South Vietnamese forces to retake their firebase
, after losing it in an all-night battle.
AC-47 also appears in the first-person shooter Battlefield Vietnam
.
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...
AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon
Puff, the Magic Dragon
"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a song written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow, and made popular by Yarrow's group Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1963 recording. The song achieved great popularity and has entered American and British pop culture.-Lyrics:...
") was the first in a series of gunship
Gunship
The term "gunship" is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light craft armed with heavy guns.-In Navy:In the Navy, the term originally appeared in the mid-19th century as a less-common synonym for gunboat.-In military aviation:...
s developed by the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. It was felt that more firepower than could be provided by light and medium ground-attack aircraft was needed in some situations when ground forces called for close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
.
Design and development
The AC-47 was a United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
C-47 Skytrain
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
(the military version of the DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
) that had been modified by mounting three 7.62mm General Electric minigun
Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
s to fire through two rear window openings and the side cargo door, all on the left (pilot's) side of the aircraft. Other armament configurations could also be found on similar C-47 based aircraft around the world. The guns were actuated by a control on the pilot's yoke, where he could control the guns either individually or together, though gunners were also among the crew to assist with gun failures and similar issues. Its primary function was close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
for ground troops. It could orbit the target for hours providing suppressing fire. Coverage given by a Spooky was over an elliptical area approximately 52 yd (47.5 m) in diameter, placing a round every 2.4 yd (2.2 m) during a 3-second burst.
The aircraft also carried flares, which it could drop to illuminate the battleground.
Fairchild AC-119
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Hobson, Chris. "Vietnam Air Losses, USAF/USN/USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973." North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85780-1156....
and the AC-130 gunship
Lockheed AC-130
The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, while Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support...
, were developed based on newer cargo airframes.
When the AC-47 was introduced there were no preceding designs to gauge how successful the concept would be. The USAF found itself in a precarious situation when requests for additional gunships began to come in. It simply did not have enough miniguns to fit additional aircraft after the first two conversions. The next four aircraft were equipped with ten .30 caliber AN/M2 machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s. It was quickly discovered, however, that these weapons, using ammunition stocks from WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, jammed easily, produced large amounts of gases from firing, and, even in ten-gun groups, could only provide the density of fire of a single minigun. All four of these aircraft were retrofitted to the standard armament configuration when additional miniguns arrived.
The AC-47 initially used SUU-11/A
U.S. aircraft gun pods
The idea of the gun pod as a concept largely came into its prime during and period following World War II. So-called "package gun" installations on US medium and light bombers, such as the B-25 Mitchell and A-26 Invader, were probably the first such attempts by the United States military...
gun pod
Gun pod
A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns or automatic cannon and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns....
s that were installed on locally fabricated mounts for the gunship application. Emerson Electric eventually developed the MXU-470/A to replace the gun pods, which were also used on subsequent gunships.
United States Air Force
C-131 Samaritan
The Convair C-131 Samaritan was an American military transport produced from 1954 to 1956. It is the military version of the Convair CV-240.-Design and development:...
to be capable of firing a single GAU-2/A Minigun
Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
at a downward angle out of the left side of the aircraft. It was discovered that even using crude grease pencil crosshairs it was very easy for a pilot flying in a pylon turn
Pylon turn
A pylon turn is a flight maneuver in which an aircraft banks into a circular turn, in such a way that an imaginary line perpendicular to aircraft's axis points to a fixed point on the ground...
to hit a stationary area target with relative accuracy. Testing was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, by the Armament Development and Test Center (ADTC), but after initial testing was suspended by lack of funding. In 1964 Capt. Ron W. Terry returned from temporary duty in Vietnam as part of an Air Force Systems Command
Air Force Systems Command
Air Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...
team reviewing all aspects of air operations in counter-insurgency warfare, where he had noted the usefulness of C-47s and C-123s orbiting as flare ships during night attacks on fortified hamlets. He received permission to conduct a live-fire test using the C-131 and revived the side-firing gunship program.
By October, a C-47D was provided by Capt. Terry's team under Project Gunship and converted to a similar standard as the Project Tailchaser aircraft, armed with three Minigun
Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
s. These were initially mounted on locally fabricated mounts, which essentially strapped gun pod
Gun pod
A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns or automatic cannon and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns....
s intended for fixed wing aircraft (SUU-11/A
U.S. aircraft gun pods
The idea of the gun pod as a concept largely came into its prime during and period following World War II. So-called "package gun" installations on US medium and light bombers, such as the B-25 Mitchell and A-26 Invader, were probably the first such attempts by the United States military...
) onto a mount allowing them to be fired remotely out the port side. Captain Terry and a testing team arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base
Bien Hoa Air Base
Bien Hoa Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about 20 miles from Saigon near the city of Bien Hoa within Dong Nai Province....
, South Vietnam, on 2 December 1964, with equipment needed to modify two C-47s. The first test aircraft (43-48579, a C-47B-5-DK mail courier converted to C-47D standard by removal of its supercharger
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
s) was ready by 11 December, the second by 15 December, and both were allocated to the 1st Air Commando Squadron
1st Special Operations Squadron
The 1st Special Operations Squadron is part of the 353d Special Operations Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan. It operates MC-130 Combat Talon II aircraft providing special operations capability...
for combat testing. The newly-dubbed "FC-47" often operated under the radio call sign "Puff". Its primary mission involved protecting villages, hamlets and personnel from mass attacks by VC guerrilla units.
Puff's first significant success occurred on the night of 23-24 December 1964. An FC-47 arrived over the Special Forces
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
outpost at Tranh Yend in the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
just 37 minutes after an air support request, fired 4,500 rounds of ammunition, and broke the Viet Cong attack. The FC-47 was then called to support a second outpost at Trung Hung, about 20 miles away. The aircraft again blunted the VC attack, forcing a retreat. Between 15 and 26 December the FC-47s flew 16 combat sorties, all successful. On 8 February 1965, an FC-47 flying over the Bong Son area of Vietnam’s Central Highlands demonstrated its capabilities in the process of blunting a Vietcong offensive. For over four hours, it fired 20,500 rounds into a Viet Cong hilltop position, killing an estimated 300 Vietcong troops.
So successful were the early gunship trials that the second aircraft was returned to the United States early in 1965 to provide crew training. In July 1965, Headquarters USAF ordered TAC to establish an AC-47 squadron. By November 1965, a total of 5 aircraft were operating with the 4th Air Commando Squadron
4th Special Operations Squadron
The 4th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It operates AC-130U Spooky aircraft providing special operations capability.-Mission:...
, activated in August as the first operational unit, and by the end of 1965, a total of 26 had been converted. Training Detachment 8, 1st Air Commando Wing, was subsequently established at Forbes AFB, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. In Operation Big Shoot, the 4th ACS in Vietnam grew to 20 AC-47s (16 aircraft plus four reserves for attrition).
The 4th ACS deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base
Tan Son Nhut Air Base
Tan Son Nhut Air Base was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force facility. It is located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War , stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there...
, Vietnam, on 14 November 1965. Now using the call sign "Spooky," each of its three 7.62 mm miniguns could selectively fire either 50 or 100 rounds per second. Cruising in an overhead left-hand orbit at 120 knots air speed at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the gunship could put a bullet or glowing red tracer (every fifth round) bullet into every square yard of a football field-sized target in three seconds. And, as long as its 45-flare and 24,000-round basic load of ammunition held out, it could do this intermittently while loitering over the target for hours.
In May 1966, the squadron moved north to Nha Trang Air Base
Nha Trang Air Base
Nha Trang Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force military airfield in Vietnam. It is located northwest of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province....
to join the newly-activated 14th Air Commando Wing. The 3rd Air Commando Squadron was activated at Nha Trang on 5 April 1968 as a second AC-47 squadron, with both squadrons redesignated Special Operations Squadrons on 1 August 1968. Flights of both squadrons were stationed at bases throughout South Vietnam, and one flight of the 4th SOS served at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force base, the home of 2nd Air Division/23rd Wing Air Combat Command.The 231 Squadron "Hunter" is assigned to Udorn, equipped with the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet-A.-History:...
with the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. The superb work of the two AC-47 squadrons, each with 16 AC-47s flown by aircrews younger than the aircraft they flew, was undoubtedly a key contributor to the award of the Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation
The Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy...
to the 14th Air Commando Wing in June 1968.
Operation Niagara
Operation Niagara was a U.S. Seventh Air Force close air support campaign carried out from January through March 1968, during the Vietnam War. Its purpose was to serve as an aerial umbrella for the defense of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Base on the Khe Sanh Plateau, in western Quang Tri Province...
." More than 24,000 tactical and 2700 B-52 strikes dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance in attacks that averaged over 300 sorties per day. During the two and a half months of combat in that tiny area, fighters were in the air day and night. At night, AC-47 gunships kept up a constant chatter of fire against enemy troops. During darkness, AC-47 gunships provided illumination against enemy troops.
The AC-47D gunship should not be confused with a small number of C-47s which were fitted with electronic equipment in the 1950s. Prior to 1962, these aircraft were designated AC-47D. When a new designation system
1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system
The 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system is a unified designation system introduced by the United States Department of Defense on 18 September 1962 for all the U.S. military aircraft. Prior to this date, each armed service used their own nomenclature system...
was adopted in 1962, these became EC-47Ds. The original gunships had been designated FC-47D by the United States Air Force, but with protests from fighter pilots, this designation was changed to AC-47D during 1965. Of the 53 aircraft converted to AC-47 configuration, 41 served in Vietnam and 19 were lost to all causes, 12 in combat. Combat reports indicate that no village or hamlet under Spooky Squadron protection was ever lost, and there are a plethora of reports from civilians and military personnel about AC-47s coming to the rescue and saving their lives.
As the United States began Project Gunship II
Lockheed AC-130
The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, while Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support...
and Project Gunship III
Fairchild AC-119
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Hobson, Chris. "Vietnam Air Losses, USAF/USN/USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973." North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85780-1156....
, many of the remaining AC-47Ds were transferred to the Vietnam Air Force
Vietnam Air Force
The Vietnam Air Force began with a few hand-picked men chosen to fly alongside French pilots during the State of Vietnam era. It eventually grew into the world’s sixth largest air force at the height of its power, in 1974...
(VNAF), the Royal Lao Air Force
Royal Lao Air Force
The Royal Lao Air Force was the air force branch of the Military of the Royal Lao Government in the Kingdom of Laos. The RLAF, along with the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Army, were placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane....
(RLAF), and to Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, after Prince Sihanouk was deposed in a coup by General Lon Nol
Lon Nol
Lon Nol was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice, as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister...
.
A1C John L. Levitow
John Levitow
John L. Levitow , was an AC-47 gunship loadmaster for the 3d Special Operations Squadron who received the Medal of Honor for exceptional heroism during wartime.-Biography:...
, an AC-47 loadmaster with the 3rd SOS, received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for saving his aircraft, Spooky 71, from destruction on 24 February 1969 during a fire support mission at Long Binh
Long Binh
Long Binh is a ward, in District 9 of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.-Long Binh Post:During the Vietnam War, Long Binh Post was located near Bien Hoa, Dong Nai province. Vietnam, 33km from Saigon . The base functioned as a U.S. Army base, logistics center, and major command headquarters for United...
. The plane was struck by an 82mm mortar round that inflicted 3,500 shrapnel holes, wounding Levitow 40 times, but he used his body to jettison an armed magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
flare, which ignited shortly after Levitow ejected it from the aircraft, allowing the AC-47 to return to base.
Other air forces
Retrofitted AC-47s are still in use in ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, where they are known by civilians as Avion fantasma (ghost planes). They are successfully operated by the local airforce in COIN
Counter-insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
operations in conjunction with AH-60 Arpia helicopters (an armed variant of the UH-60) and A-37 Dragonflys against local illegal armed groups. These are most likely the five BT-67s purchased by Colombia with .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (of unknown type) slaved to a Forward Looking Infrared
Forward looking infrared
Forward looking infrared cameras, typically used on military aircraft, use an imaging technology that senses infrared radiation.The sensors installed in forward looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal imaging cameras, use detection of infrared radiation, typically emitted from a...
(or FLIR) system. The BT-67 is a variant of the C-47/DC-3 made by the Basler Corporation of Oshkosh, WI
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...
. These "Turbo Dakotas" feature Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada is a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney , itself a business unit of United Technologies...
PT6A-67R
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is one of the most popular turboprop aircraft engines in history, and is produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. The PT6 family is particularly well known for its extremely high reliability, with MTBO's on the order of 9000 hours in some models. In US military use, they...
turboprops, driving five-bladed Hartzell propellers, along with essentially overhauling the basic airframe.
In 1970 the Indonesian Air Force
Indonesian Air Force
The Indonesian Air Force is the air force branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel equipped with 110 combat aircraft including Su-27 and Su-30.-Before Indonesian independence :...
converted an ex-civilian C-47. The converted C-47 was armed with three .50 caliber machine guns. During 1975 the Indonesian Air Force used their AC-47 during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor to attack the city of Dili
Dili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
. Later, the AC-47 was used in Indonesian military CAS (Close Air Support) missions in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. Retirement date is unknown.
In late 1984–85, the United States supplied two AC-47 gunships to the El Salvador Air Force (FAS)
Air Force of El Salvador
The Salvadoran Air Force the air force of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, and is independent from the army and navy. It was formed on 20 March 1923 during a period of heavy interest in aviation in El Salvador. In 1947 after signing the treaty of Rio...
and trained aircrews to operate the system. The AC-47 gunship carried three .50-caliber machine guns and could loiter and provide heavy firepower for army operations. As the FAS had long operated C-47s, it was easy for the United States to train pilots and crew to operate the aircraft as a weapons platform. By all accounts, the AC-47 soon became probably the most effective weapon in the FAS arsenal.
Variants of the AC-47 based on various iterations of the airframe including the BT-67, have been used by Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, to name just a few, and with a variety of weapons configurations including Gatling guns of numerous types, various medium and heavy machine guns, and larger autocannon (South African "Dragon Daks" were known to fit 20 mm cannons). ROCAF (Taiwanese Air Force)
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
also converted some of its C-47 to gunships. These machines were armed with M2 machine guns which were likely to be from retired F-86 jet fighters.
Former Operators
- Royal Cambodian Air ForceRoyal Cambodian Air ForceThe Royal Cambodian Air Force is the branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces which is charged with operating all military aircraft in Cambodia.-Organization:...
- Indonesian Air ForceIndonesian Air ForceThe Indonesian Air Force is the air force branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel equipped with 110 combat aircraft including Su-27 and Su-30.-Before Indonesian independence :...
operated a number of ex-civilian C-47 converted into Gunship
- Royal Lao Air ForceRoyal Lao Air ForceThe Royal Lao Air Force was the air force branch of the Military of the Royal Lao Government in the Kingdom of Laos. The RLAF, along with the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Army, were placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane....
- Philippine Air ForcePhilippine Air ForceThe Philippine Air Force is the air force of the Republic of the Philippines, and one of the three main services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas....
Rhodesia
- Rhodesian Air Force operated locally built gunship modification of C-47 aircraft.
South Africa
- South African Air ForceSouth African Air ForceThe South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
South Vietnam
- Vietnam Air ForceVietnam Air ForceThe Vietnam Air Force began with a few hand-picked men chosen to fly alongside French pilots during the State of Vietnam era. It eventually grew into the world’s sixth largest air force at the height of its power, in 1974...
- United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
- Royal Thai Air ForceRoyal Thai Air ForceThe Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
Specifications (AC-47)
Aircraft on display
- AC-47D Spooky, s/n 43-15510 is on display at the Air Commando Park, Hurlburt FieldHurlburt FieldHurlburt Field is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation, and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command , the 1st Special Operations Wing , the...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In popular culture
German Thrash metalThrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Sodom
Sodom (band)
Sodom is a German Thrash metal trio from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981.Along with the bands Kreator and Destruction, Sodom is considered one of the "big three" of Teutonic thrash metal...
's 1989 album Agent Orange
Agent Orange (album)
Agent Orange is the third album by German thrash metal band Sodom, their last with guitarist Frank Blackfire before he left the band and joined Kreator. The lyrical content delves deeply into mainman's Tom Angelripper's fascination with the Vietnam War, sporting a song dedicated to the ground...
, revolving largely around Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
themes, features a track named "Magic Dragon". The album's cover art drawing also depicts the gunner of an AC-47 in action.
The development and early deployment of the AC-47 is the subject of The Gooney Bird by William C. Anderson
William Charles Anderson
William Charles Anderson was the author of several novels, historical and true life stories, and author or coauthor of several screenplays for film and television, including the adaptation of his own Bat*21, which was made into a film, starring Gene...
. Anderson went to Vietnam to research this novel, which features a fiction story written around a number of historical facts.
In the film The Green Berets
The Green Berets (film)
The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
an AC-47 strike enables the American and South Vietnamese forces to retake their firebase
Fire support base
A fire support base is a military encampment designed to provide indirect fire artillery fire support to infantry operating in areas beyond the normal range of direct fire support from their own base camps....
, after losing it in an all-night battle.
AC-47 also appears in the first-person shooter Battlefield Vietnam
Battlefield Vietnam
Battlefield Vietnam is the second video game in Electronic Arts' Battlefield franchise after Battlefield 1942. The game was developed by the Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts on March 15, 2004 in North America and days later in other parts of the world....
.