Gunship.

This is coolbert:

There has been a definite plan to the development of Assault Cargo [AC] aircraft used by the U.S. Air Force for the last forty years. NOT hit or miss projects.

A plan that has paid off with real dividends. Aircraft that have been used with great effectiveness in a variety of wars.

Continue to play an important role, and will do for the foreseeable fuiture.

A weapons system that has the effect of a tactical nuclear weapon. Something that allows U.S. commanders to, "fight the enemy with weapons you have, but he does not!!"

Using a cargo plane, refitted for an assault role is a sound concept.

These aircraft can:

* Loiter over a battlefield for hours on end.

* Carry a super-abundance of ammunition.

* Employ a variety of targeting equipment. Night-vision, infra-red, side-looking-airborne-radar w/moving target indicator.

"According to legend, the side-firing gunship idea came from old mail airplanes which flew in a circle to deliver a package accurately; in any case, whereas forward-firing gunships can only fire during the short time of the firing pass, the side-firing gunship circling around the target can shoot non-stop, so the enemy is kept under fire (or the area denied) continuously as long as the gunship is present."

[these AC aircraft are already the thing of legend!!]

The first AC aircraft fielded was the AC-47. Used in the Vietnam War. Called "Spooky" or "Puff the Magic Dragon"

This stage of gunship development was Gunship I.




Allowed for the use of enormous firepower of the counter-insurgency [COIN] battlefield by friendly forces.

"It was discovered that even using crude grease pencil crosshairs it was very easy for a pilot flying in a pylon turn to hit stationary area targets with relative accuracy."

"Each AC-47 fielded three 7.62 mm mini-guns. Each gun capable of firing 6000 rounds per minute!!The AC-47 was a United States Air Force C-47 Skytrain that had been modified by mounting three 7.62 mm General Electric miniguns to fire through two rear window openings and the side cargo door, all on the left (pilot's) side of the aircraft. (However, first prototypes had a group of up to ten Browning .50 machine guns instead.)"



"A three second burst from all guns, according to Air Force reports, would put one round in every square foot of a football field sized target."

The AC-47 was used extensively as an on-call vehicle to aid in the defense of Special Forces [SF] camps. These camps, remotely located, would often come under assault by overwhelming numbers of Viet Cong/North Vietnamese [VC/NVA] troops. SF commanders had the capability to request, and get, assistance of an AC-47. If the aircraft arrived on time, successful defense was almost guaranteed.

"it carried over 24,000 rounds of ammunition."

Amazingly enough:

"Retrofitted AC-47s are still in use in Colombia, where they are successfully operated by the local airforce in COIN operations."

[keep in mind that these aircraft were first designed in the 1930's and built during World War Two [WW2]!!!]

Following the AC-47 was the development of the AC-130 [Spectre]. This was Gunship II.

Much more firepower, longer range and loiter time, much improved targeting capability. A more versatile and deadly version of the gunship than was the AC-47.

The armament development of the AC-130 has been spectacular:

"Armament

AC-130A Project Gunship II

4× 7.62 mm GAU-2/A miniguns
4× 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon

AC-130A Surprise Package and Pave Pronto and AC-130E Pave Spectre
4× 7.62 mm GAU-2/A miniguns
20MM Vulcan cannon ammo belt2× 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon
2× 40 mm (1.58 in) L60 Bofors cannon

[Surprise Package. Yeah, getting blasted by an AC-130 would be a "surprise package".]

AC-130E Pave Aegis and AC-130H Pave Spectre II
2× 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon
1× 40 mm L60 Bofors cannon
1× 105 mm (4.13 in) M102 howitzer

AC-130U
1× 25 mm (0.984 in) GAU-12/U Equalizer gatling gun
1× 40 mm L60 Bofors cannon
1× 105 mm M102 howitzer"

Yet another gunship from the Vietnam War era was the AC-119 [Shadow and Stinger]. This was Gunship III.



A Vietnam War era development only. Used for interdiction along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Had a engine-block busting 20 mm cannon on board designed to take out trucks.



"AC-119 ks primarily for the "truck hunter" role over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These aircraft were called Stingers primarily in reference to the 2 M61 20 mm cannons they carried in addition to the AC-119Gs 4 GAU-2/A miniguns."

"Even the TIC [troops in contact] AC-119G featured some of the most up to date ECM and radar equipment, as well as, cruder technology including an AVQ-8 Xenon light, a Night Observation Sight (NOS), and a LAU-74/A flare launcher."

[even a Xenon searchlight. These aircraft carried a lot of flares and the searchlight too. Could turn night into day and do so for a prolonged period of time. This had to be frustrating to the VC/NVA!!]

"The AC-119K, designed to hit trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail was significantly more advanced. Included in the conversion was the AN/APN-147 Doppler Navigation radar, AN/AAD-4 Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), AN/APQ-133 side-looking beacon tracking radar, and AN/APQ-136 search radar."

The AC-47 and AC-119 have both been retired long time ago now. The current version of the AC-130 has an awesome capability. Was used in both Iraq wars. And is still used in the COIN environment too.

[during the administration of Ronald Reagan, the AC-130 was used surreptitiously against the communist guerilla forces in El Salvador. With, again, great effectiveness. A RC-135 aircraft flying at 30,000 feet, would provide command and control, and six Spanish speaking American Special Operations troops on the ground would provide targeting info to the loitering AC-130. The guerilla commanders said, "that thing killed a lot of our people". Yeah, I bet it did!!]

Deadly stuff!! Persons who have seen these aircraft describe a scene that is both breath-taking and scary, both at the same time!! Being on the receiving end of incoming from an AC aircraft is not where you want to be.

These AC-130 continue to be modified and upgraded with no end in sight:

"Upgrades

A new program has been initiated to upgrade the armament of existing AC-130s still in service. On the drawing board are plans to replace the GAU-12/U with a member of the Bushmaster family, whether it be an existing 25 mm M242 Bushmaster or a newer Bushmaster II or Bushmaster III cannon. There are also plans to look into replacing the M102 howitzer with a breech-loading 120 mm mortar, and to give the AC-130 a standoff capability using either the AGM-114 Hellfire missile, the Hydra 70 rocket or the Viper Strike glide bomb."

Bang-bang, shoot em' up, you're dead!!

coolbert.