Why the AC-130 Gunship Means Death for America’s Enemies

[rangerrebew]

Why the AC-130 Gunship Means Death for America’s Enemies
Story by Christian Orr • 5h ago




To fans of the James Bond/Agent 007 film and literary franchises alike (Yours Truly is a lifelong member of both categories), the name "SPECTRE" equates to the villainous Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion, headed up by the nefarious Ernst Stavro Blofeld. To enemies of the United States, however, the word "Spectre" conjures up an even more ominous, and the very real prospect of "Death From Above": the AC-130 gunship.
 
AC-130 Spectre: Slaughterous Sequel to Spooky

Before the AC-130 gunship, aka Spectre, came along there was "Spooky,” i.e. the AC-47 gunship used with terrifying effect during the Vietnam War under the callsign "Puff the Magic Dragon," as immortalized in the John Wayne movie The Green Berets. The original Spooky could do plenty of damage with her 7.62mm mini-guns, but Spooky II, aka Spectre, went a step beyond. Actually, leaps and bounds beyond.
 

The AC-130 is a heavily-armed version of the ubiquitous C-130 Hercules, a member of the exclusive pantheon of U.S. military aircraft that have been in service for over 50 years. First deployed in 1966, it was able to join its older Spooky sister in inflicting havoc upon the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars alike. The two gunship systems combined to destroy more than 10,000 enemy trucks and Lord only knows how many enemy troops. 

 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/why-the-ac-130-gunship-means-death-for-america-s-enemies/ar-AA18uJbc?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3ad8c04fd22e4a6eaf4dbb2821ba33ac&ei=11

[sneakypete]

To the best of my memory,in 68-69,we were calling  all the USAF "gun ships" "Spooky",be they C-123's or C-130's.

I SEEM to even recall a version of the C-123 that had a cannon they could roll out on the ramp to shoot 105 cannister and HE shells. Could be wrong about that one,though,even though the most obvious visual difference in appearance between the two was the C-123's had two engines,and the C-130's had 4.

SEEMS like I also  heard of at least one Caribou that had a cannon they could roll down their ramp.

The C-130's were the ones that could really lay down the damn-damn,though