Gooney Bird I.

This is coolbert:

From Suvorov:

I adore weapons. Of every sort . . . One day I shall open a small museum, and the first exhibit which shall buy for my museum will be an American jeep.. This is a real miracle weapon . . . how many types of tanks guns, aircraft, rockets have come and gone in the time of the jeep? . . . But they have gone and the jeep is still there."

Here is ANOTHER WEAPON OF WAR THAT SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE THE MUSEUM OF SUVOROV:

The world-famous C-47 [and in all the variants thereof]

"The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport 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."

A few in operation to this day. In the transport AND THE COMBAT MODE.

The AC-47 for instance. "Puff the Magic Dragon" from Vietnam fame.

A modified C-47, sporting three 7.62mm mini-guns, carrying a minimum of 20,000 rounds per mission for use in combat.


A weapons system that had an unexpected usefulness in Vietnam. When the AC [attack cargo] version of the C-47 was proposed, I don't think anyone would have believed the "gooney bird" was going to have the dramatic impact it did?

From the comments of Rich Silva to the blog:

"I used to fly on the original Spectre gunships [this I assume is the AC-130] before we had TV and big guns and stuff. The 'A' models were all retired in the early or mid 90s. Now there are the 'E' and 'U' models flying." [the A models of the AC-130 are now retired, all the while the AC-47 IS STILL GOING!!]

And, SOME OF THOSE AC-47 ARE STILL IN USE. Being flown right now, as we speak, by the Colombian air force, used in the COIN [COunter-INsurgency] role once again!!

"Retrofitted AC-47s are still in use in Colombia, where they are known by civilians as Avion fantasma (ghost planes). They are successfully operated by the local airforce in COIN operations"

Bang-bang, shoot em' up, your dead!!

Over sixty years and counting. The "gooney bird".

coolbert.