[Preacherman]

This photograph was taken in Afghanistan. It's an AC130 gunship in action, shooting while circling over a target. The explanation provided with the photograph reads:The Vietnam era had the "Puff The Magic Dragon" gunships. The latest version of this weapon is the AC130 with its 105mm. cannons and Gatling guns. Computer controls allow for concentrated targeting while the aircraft lumbers in circles. This time lapse photo shows its accuracy, as every fifth shell is a tracer! Guaranteed to scare the **** out of everone within 10 miles.


http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?postid=653997

[Nightfall]

Wow. :eek:

[echo3mike]

I was given the opportunity to witness the AC130 in action at some Marine Corps dog and pony show. Devastating doesn't even come close to a description.


Glad they're on OUR side.

S.

[wintermute76]

Where can I buy one? :evil:

[Ky Larry]

I worked on these many years ago. I can't even imagine being on the receiving end.

[Double Naught Spy]

There is a reason the Vietnam era version was called "Puff the Magic Dragon"!!!!

What a cool photo! So, are the round trails we see only from the tracer rounds and if so, then the rain of lead is 5 time as much as shown (assuming 1 of 5 is tracer0, right?

[Deadman]

I recall reading once how 'Puff the Magic Dragon' gunships would be accompanied by small prop-driven planes during night ops.

The small prop-driven plane was used for an ARVN soldier to warn Viet-Cong over a megaphone that they should surrender or suffer the wrath of the 'dragon'.

The Viet-Cong usually opened fire on the prop-driven plane, which would result in the 'Puff' gunship returning fire. And because the VC were very superstitious the sight of thousands of tracers falling from the sky like hellfire usually scared the cr*p out of them.

[Leatherneck]

Now THIS is what I call a Gun-Related thread! :D

TC
TFL Survivor

[RTFM]

Here is a 7+ Min video of an AC-130 in action in Afganastan.

NOT FOR DIAL UP USERS, it 5.5M large. But it is a fast connection.
http://www.foreverhardcore.com/downloads/video/AC130_GunshipMed.wmv

If the link is down or you can't get it, search the net for
"AC-130 Gunship Targeting Video, Afghanistan"

It's AWESOME in a grand scale.

RTFM

[keyhole]

My newest Christmas wish!

[OEF_VET]

Now, that's what I call a good movie!!

We had some footage floating around the Brigade HQ in Kandahar of an AC-130 in action. It was great. One scene showed a pick-up driving along and then a 105mm round hits it. One of the bodies in it went flying through the air, doing about 3 complete spins before it splatted against a rock. Another part was an attack on an AQ training camp. The AC took out the front gate with a 105mm round. The AQ all ran around trying to figure out what happened, and eventually about 20 or 30 of them joined together in front of the gate. You could almost imagine them asking each other "*** just happened?" Then, WHAM, another 105mm round impacts dead center of the bunch. Bodies went flying everywhere.

The cameras on those aircraft are pretty amazing. We had one flying over KAF all night due to a threat of a rocket attack. (The rockets missed by about 2 miles, but that's another story.) So, anyways, the AC-130 is doing a patrol of the airfield when it spots something suspicious on the perimeter, near the ammo dump. The pilot radios us and tells us we might want to investigate, because it appears there are two people engaged in an intimate act with each other. We sent a platoon of grunts to check it out and they report back that the two guards, a male and a female, were enjoying each others' company. The Brigade Commander, COL Wiercinzki, made Kandahar Airfield a no-sex assignment after that. I can only imagine that bit of film made its' way around the Air Force. I bet the dude told his lady-friend that there was no way they'd get caught. LOL

Frank

[Waitone]

I've heard it called a cone of fire. Rekkon its accurate.

Looks like the gunner had a little hand tremor as the cone on the ground seems to be wobbling a little.

Dry fire. The fix is dry fire.

[Steel]

http://www.informationwar.org/articlesofinterest/ac130gunship.htm

[MonkeyMan]

There used to be a series on the Discovery Channel called "Wings" or "Great Planes". One of the episodes was on the C-130 and there was about 30 seconds of video from a live fire of I think an AC-130H that was amazing. Most of it was taken from a plane in front and it looked like a continuous stream of fire from the tracers. Simply awesome. There was also just a few seconds taken from inside just behind the M-61's. :what: Downright scary.

[45R]

Now that really puts a smile on my face this morning :D

[Ron L]

Death from above, or something like that. Awesome pics. Nice concentration of fire.

[RTFM]

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130-0430.jpg

That's the small picture, I use the full sized one for desktop wallpaper sometimes. :D


Great info at the Federation of American Scientists web site.
http://fas.org/

AC-130 info
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm

Also there an index of the U.S. and world weapon systems.
http://fas.org/man/index.html

It's a great site.

RTFM

[Harry Tuttle]

where can i order an IR proof poncho?
:uhoh:

[sensop]

Here's a 105 crew at work.

http://members.cox.net/sensop/AC-130/105mm.jpg

AC-130A

http://members.cox.net/sensop/AC-130/spectre_a.jpg

AC-130H

http://members.cox.net/sensop/AC-130/spectre_h.jpg

AC-130U

http://members.cox.net/sensop/AC-130/spooky_u.jpg

The U model (or U-Boat, as it is affectionately called) was nicknamed "Spooky", in memory of the original AC-47 Spooky Gunship in Vietnam.

The AC-130As did see action in Vietnam. There were also some C-119 Flying Boxcars that were converted to a Gunship configuration during Vietnam, but that version of the fixed wing gunship was short-lived.

Here's a pic of the forward section of an A-model, showing the TV sensor, the 20mms and the IR sensor. Note the mini-gun ports above the main gear are sealed off. Not much use for them any more.

http://members.cox.net/sensop/AC-130/tv_20mms_ir.jpg

All-in-all, a very satisfactory close air support weapon system if employed correctly.

[rayjay]

Amazing video footage and the pics are awsome. That C-130 is one bad MO - FO. "And that's Mr. Puff the Dragon."

[mdsteele]

I'm so glad you posted that pic. I saw it years ago(or one just like it)

Been wondering if I'd see it again.:cool:

[Jeff OTMG]

The Spectre's were based at Eglin AFB in Florida, don't know where they are now. Back then the unit all had shirts that read, 'You can run, but you will only die tired.' They were not allowed to wear them at public functions.

[Absolut]

awe inspiring

[Mil Novecientos Once]

The first pic looks like an http://community.the-underdogs.org/smiley/nonh/aliengreen.gif attack.http://pages.prodigy.net/rogerlori1/emoticons/shoot5.gif

[Cacique500]

Sweet video...thanks for the link.

[Trisha]

This is why the goblins are looking for " a nice fixer-upper, 122 meters of solid granite roof, easy dog-leg tunnel entrance, improved unpaved path entrance (unsuitable for motorized vehicles), no windows, a whopping 182 square feet - room for a family of nine! No running water or utilities, no neighbors (none heard from in months) - just right for the deposed civic demigogue in hiding!"

Trisha

[ocabj]

High Resolution Video Clip [160megs] (http://ocabj.ucr.edu/movies/firearms/AC-130U_gunship_video_high.mpg) - Better quality than the 5 meg version (good idea to right click and save as)

[Frohickey]

...couldda used one of these in Mogadishu, if only Clinton...
:cuss: