When the 105 goes off it gives a pretty good jolt to the ship, but probably worse is a continuous burst from the 20 mils. This leaves a lot of smoke floating around, even in the cockpit, but as we have so many open spaces on board it soon dissipates!’
An AC-130 pilot’s perspective of flying the ‘Spectre’
Largely because of the loss of the EC-130 ABCCC on ‘Eagle Claw’ and the subsequent acts of terrorism and hostage-taking, it was decided that all forces trained in air rescue and special operations should operate under a specialized, unified USAF command with its own helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. And so on 1 March 1983 the 23rd Air Force was activated at Scott AFB, Illinois. The precursors of this organization’s units, the air commando squadrons (from 1968, special operations squadrons), had played an essential covert role during the war in South-east Asia.
The first test for the new air force came on 25 October 1983 when the 23rd Air Force took part in Operation ‘Urgent Fury’, the rescue of US citizens from Grenada. During the invasion, AC-130 gunships and MC-130 and HC-130 tankers played their part very effectively. The operation even had the services of special EC-130E aircraft to broadcast recorded radio programmes to the residents of Spice Island. Five Combat Talons of the 8th Special Operations Squadron took part. Unlike previous operations that involved months of planning, training and reconnaissance, the 8th SOS prepared in less than 72 hours after being alerted. Its assignment was to insert Rangers of the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions at night to capture Point Salines International Airport, defended by both Cuban and Grenadian troops, in the opening moments of the operation. The five Talons divided into three elements, two of them leading formations of Special Operations Low Level-equipped (SOLL) C-130 transports.
The rear deck of an AC-130A gunship at Ubon airfield with the 105mm trainable gun to provide air to ground firing capabilities in the left paratroop door. Each round of ammunition must be loaded by hand. Ammunition storage is provided by racks located on the right-hand side of the Gunship between the operator’s compartment and the right paratroop door. The 105mm mount is capable of being moved manually within an elevation range of 0-20 degrees.
AC-130A gunship in the 16th SOS in flight over Việtnam. Note the ALQ-87 ECM pods fitted beneath the outer wings.
In clouds at 500 feet above the sea and twenty miles west of its objective, the lead Talon (64-0562) experienced a complete failure of its APQ-122 radar. Reorganization of the mission formations delayed the operation for 30 minutes, during which US Marines made their amphibious landing. To compound the lack of surprise, the US Department of State, apparently in a good faith but inept diplomatic gesture, contacted Cuban authorities and compromised the mission, further alerting the defences, including a dozen ZU-23-2 antiaircraft guns. An AC-130 Spectre gunship, directed to observe the main runway for obstructions, reported it blocked by construction equipment and barricades. Loadmasters aboard the inbound Combat Talons reconfigured them for a parachute drop in less than thirty minutes.
Talon 64-0568, flown as Foxtrot 35 by 8th SOS commander Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) James L. Hobson and with the commander of the Twenty-Third Air Force, Major Gen William J. Mall, Jr., aboard as a passenger, combat-dropped runway clearing teams from the Ranger Battalions on the airport, despite being targeted by a searchlight and under heavy AAA fire. Two Spectre gunships suppressed the AAA so that the other Combat Talons and the SOLL C-130s could complete the parachute drop of the Rangers, with the only damage to the Talons being three hits by small arms fire to 64-0572. For his actions, Hobson was awarded the MacKay Trophy in 1984.
In December 1989 and January 1990, ‘Volant Solo II’ EC-130Es - ‘Coronet Solo’ - were used during Operation ‘Just Cause’, the US invasion of Panama, to broadcast misinformation to Panamanian forces. Three MC-130E ‘Combat Talons’ from the 8th SOS, whose motto is ‘With the Guts to Try’, part of the 1st Special Operations Wing, deployed to Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia within 48 hours of being alerted and then airlanded Rangers of the 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment into Rio Hato Military airfield on 18 December with two HC-130 refuelling tankers from the 55th SOS supporting them. The operation was conducted under total blackout conditions, using night vision goggles, 35 minutes after the opening parachute assault. One of the MC-130s had an engine disabled by a ground obstruction while taxiing, then made an NVG takeoff on three engines under intense ground fire, earning its pilot the DFC. The lead Talon, the only MC-130E equipped with the Benson tank refuelling system, remained on the airfield as a Forward Area Refuelling and Rearming Point (FARRP) for US Army OH-6 helicopters.
AC-130A 56-0490 Thor on the ramp at Ubon, Thailand. This gunship was shot down near Pakse, Laos on 21 December 1972. In the nose is the AN/APN-59B navigation and moving target indicator. Behind the AN/ASQ-24A stabilized tracking set are twin 20mm M-61 cannon finally two 40mm Bofors cannon and the Motorola AN/APQ-133 beacon tracking radar which replaced the original NASARR F-151-A fire-control radar adapted from the F-104 Starfighter.
In all, 21 aircraft of the 1st Special Operations Wing, plus the 1720th Special Tactics Group (STGP) and elements of the 9th and 55th Special Operations Squadrons, flew over 400 missions during the operation. Seven of the aircraft were AC-130 gunships from the 16th SOS which were among the first in action early on the morning of 20 December, destroying the Panamanian Defence Force’s Comandancia HQ with devastating fusillades of cannon and machine-gun fire. MC-130E ‘Combat Talons’ and MH-53E helicopters were used to infiltrate US Navy SEALS (Sea-Air-Land) into Panamanian positions. When Panamanian General Manuel Noriega surrendered on 3 January he was immediately flown to Homestead AFB, Florida, by a Combat Talon.
A closer view of the left hand side of AC-130 56-0490 Thor showing the ASN/ASD-5 ‘Black Crow’ truck ignition sensor dome. Six AC-130A/E gunships were lost to enemy action in SE Asia, 1969-1972. Five were downed while truck hunting along the Hồ Chi Minh Trail by 57mm and 37 mm Triple A and a SA-2 SAM and one by a SA-7 shoulder fired SAM which struck the #3 engine and blew off the wing. The opening to the right contains the AN/ASQ-24A stabilized tracking set (Korad AN/AVQ-18 laser designator and bomb damage assessment camera).
‘Just Cause’ was the 23rd Air Force’s final operation before its deactivation. On 22 May 1990 the 23rd Air Force became the USAF component of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), when Special Forces of each branch of the armed forces came under its central operational control. Headquarters were established at Hurlburt Field, Florida, where special operations personnel have trained since 1942, when they prepared for the Doolittle raid on Tokyo. The new command’s directive was to organize, train, equip and educate Air Force special operations forces. AFSOC is the air component of the unified US Special Operations Command. The 720th Special Tactics Group, with its headquarters at Hurlburt Field, has units in the US, Europe and the Pacific. The group has special operations combat control teams and para-rescue forces. AFSOC missions include air traffic control for establishing air-assault landing zones; close air support for strike aircraft and AC-130 ‘Spectre’ gunship missions; establishing casualty collection stations; and providing trauma care for injured personnel.
The 16th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field and Eglin AFB, Florida, is the oldest and most seasoned unit in AFSOC. It has no less than six special operations squadrons, three of which operate MC-130E ‘Combat Talon P and MC-130P (formerly HC-130N/P) ‘Combat Shadow’ tankers: the 8th SOS (MC-130E), the 9th SOS (11 MC-130P tankers at Eglin) and the 15th SOS (MC-130H ‘Combat Talon IP) - while the 4th SOS and 16th SOS operate AC-130H/U gunships and the 19th SOS operates AC-130s for training . The 7th SOS and the 67th SOS in the 352nd SOG at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, operate MC-130H and MC-130P tankers, respectively (alongside the 21st SOS, equipped with the MH-53J ‘Pave Low’). In Japan, at Kadena AB, Okinawa, the 1st SOS and the 17th SOS in the 353rd SOG operate MC-130H and five MC-130P tanker aircraft, respectively.
The AC-130’ wrote one ‘Spectre’ pilot ‘has been developed as a highly sophisticated side-firing weapons platform, designed to orbit a target, firing downward on to it, the idea being that the ordnance hits the centre of the circle, the target and to complete its tasks the AC-130H is fitted with an impressive array of weaponry and sensors. These include two 20mm rotary ‘Gatling’ guns, each capable of delivering 2,500 rounds per minute (which can be geared down to 2,000 rounds per minute) and primarily used for’ soft’ targets. A single 40mm Bofors gun is also fitted, firing 100 rounds per minute and is used against targets such as vehicles. The most potent weapon on board is a single 105mm Army howitzer capable of dispatching between six and nine rounds per minute and this is used to strike ‘hard’ targets such as buildings. These guns are all fitted on trainable hydraulic mounts and ‘tied in’ to the ship’s sensors.
AC-130A Azreal Angel of Death Spectre gunship (Azrael in the Koran is the angel of death who severs the soul from the body). The crew of this AC-130A displayed courage and heroism during the closing hours of Operation ‘Desert Storm’. On 26 February 1991, Coalition ground forces were driving the Iraqi army out of Kuwait. Azrael was sent to the Al Jahra highway between Kuwait City and Basrah, Iraq, to intercept the convoys of tanks, trucks, buses and cars fleeing the battle. Facing numerous enemy batteries of SA-6 and SA-8 surface-to-air missiles and 37-mm and 57mm radar-guided anti-aircraft artillery, the crew inflicted significant damage on the convoys which left much of the enemy’s equipment destroyed or unserviceable, contributing to the defeat of the Iraqi forces. The aircraft was assigned to the 919th Special Operations Wing and was retired to the National Museum of the Air Force at Dayton, Ohio in October 1995.
Head on view taken in March 1981 of AC-130H Spectre 69-6569 Excalibur, Fatal Attraction flown by the 4th SOS near Hurlburt Field, Florida. The AC-130H has a 40 mm L/60 Bofors cannon and a 105 mm M102 howitzer (USAF T/Sgt. Lee Schading)
‘This ‘trainable mode’ allows us to attack targets in close proximity, without the pilot having to adjust the aircraft’s position, but we are also able to operate them in a ‘fixed mode’, which allows the pilot to acquire the target visually in an F-16 style HUD which is fitted to the left-hand window of his cockpit. The gun crews strive for a particular proficiency with their hand-loaded 105mms: they aim to have a shell in the breech, one on the way down and one hitting the target at any given time - ‘driving nails’, in gunship parlance. Because the howitzer points downward, the shell cases have to be specially crimped to stop them sliding down the barrel. Like the 105mm, which uses single rounds, the 40mm is also hand-loaded using four-round clips and such is the appetite of the 20mm guns that one of the most important pieces of equipment aboard the Spectre is a ‘snow shovel’ to keep the spent cases from jamming up the breeches!
‘The ‘brains’ of the Spectre is the fire control system. It has two INS’s, two fire control computers and a GPS and these are tied into the Total Sensor Suite. This allows us to accurately navigate into an area and deliver our firepower (FCO, pronounced ‘Foco’). Two gunners normally man the 20mms in the back and a third serves as a ‘right scanner’ sitting just forward of ‘the booth’, which is gunship slang for the sensor suite compartment. Inside ‘the booth’ is the infrared operator, a dedicated electronic warfare officer (EWO) and the LLLTV operator. In the aft cargo compartment are two more gunners who man the 40 and 105mm ‘big guns’ and finally, with his ‘bubble’ at the rear, is the loadmaster, whose duties in a combat situation include looking outside and below the aircraft for any threats.
MC-130P-66-0215, the last MC-130P to depart RAF Mildenhall to the 9th SOS.
‘Before any combat mission there is an intensive briefing, where we look in as much detail as we can at our intended target or area of operations. The EWO is the recognised expert on all of the types of threat we could expect and he will, together with the navigator, plot our best route. We take an Intel update and during our tasking evaluation we try to get a tight set of coordinates for our target so that we can be on station in the minimum time possible. We are performance-limited because we carry a lot of high-drag devices, either sticking out or hung under the wings, all of which make it heavier and more difficult to fly than a ‘slick’ C-130. Also we must be the only attack aircraft in the world that goes into combat without ejector seats! However, we do have on board our own parachutes and we all wear a parachute harness, lifejacket, survival vest and flying helmets, with NVG attachments. The gunners wear Kevlar helmets that offer greater protection against blast problems.
‘Once airborne, we need to do a sensor alignment, so we orbit the field at a nominal altitude, say 6,000 feet, picking a single point on the ground and tracking it with the visual sensors. We carry two basic types of sensor, ‘visual’ and ‘electronic’. On the ‘visual’ side is the AN/AAD-7 FLIR, which is housed in a ball turret beneath the undercarriage bay. This gives a 360-degree view and is primarily used to locate targets en route and we are able to slave it to the INS to get a really tight position. Once we have found the target and established our orbit, we switch to our other visual sensor, the AN/ASQ-145V low light level television (LLLTV), which is mounted on an AN/AJQ-24 stabilized tracking set and fitted with an AN/AVQ-19 laser target designator and rangefinder. This equipment is located in the crew entrance door.’ The electronic’ sensors comprise an AN/APQ150 beacon tracking sensor, which is essentially a SLAB (sideways-looking airborne radar) that searches for and acquires radar beacons from friendly forces. Once located, the signal from the beacon allows us to accurately fly to its location. It is also able to transmit data to us, updating our target information. Second is the AN/ASD-5 ‘Black Crow’ sensor, which can be tuned to frequencies such as those transmitted by truck ignition systems. Also fitted is an AN/APN-59B search radar system (AGMTIP) in the nose, complete with moving target indicator (MTI) and external illumination is provided by a 2kW AN/AVQ-17 searchlight mounted in the aft cargo area and this is capable of ‘normal’ or infra-red operation. For self-defence we carry AN/ALE-20 chaff and flare dispensers fitted to the aft sections of the wheel bays and wing-mounted SUU/42A pods which can each fire chaff and flares. Additionally we can carry externally hung AN/ALQ-87 ECM pods if necessary.
AC-130H 69-6577 Spectre Death Angel, which was built in 1969 as a C-130E and was modified to AC-130E standard and to AC-130H in 1973.
AC-130H 69-6573 Heavy Metal in the 16th SOW, US Special Operations Command at Cannon AFB, New Mexico. On 13 May 1972 this gunship (see page 86) was hit by a SA-7 in the tail just above the ramp on the port side and fragments punched large holes on the starboard side. Ken Felty was injured in this missile strike and the aircraft landed safely. The aircraft was in combat for the Easter Offensive in Việtnam and was repaired. During the twenty-year corrosion inspection the beer can patches from the ramp cargo compartment were removed!
‘The ‘Foco’ then aligns all of the ship’s sensors to that point. He also checks that the pilot’s HUD is correct for AGL, airspeed and bank angle. Our next move is to ‘tweak’ the guns, which is a check to ensure the round will impact where the sensors are looking. What we do is find a remote place and then fire off a flare, to give us a fixed position to work with. A ‘tweak’ is one burst from each gun at 120-degree intervals, shooting three bursts from each gun in one orbit. On approach to the target area, we go to NVGs as the FLIR operator keeps a firm lookout to try and get an early target ID. Crew co-operation is a big part of Spectre operations and primary conversations are on two separate networks, plus the main interphone to which everyone has access.
‘About eight miles from the target we switch from ‘En-Route Guidance’ to ‘Orbit Guidance’, which will give us a tangent to the target as we roll in for our left-handed orbit around the area, using the attack mode segment of our orbit guidance system: this gives us a ‘circle’ of flight and shows us left or right, fore or aft of the target. Once those are centred up and we are close to the nominal bank angle for the orbit, I look through the HUD and get a ‘diamond’ superimposed over the target, which has now been acquired by the LLLTV operator, slewing his sensor around by using a ‘thumbwheel’ on his control panel. He ‘sparkles’ the target with laser energy, allowing us to get an accurate track and that allows the fire control computer to calculate the exact range. With all of the sensors now looking at the same point on the ground, the guns are set to ‘trainable mode’ and these come up on their hydraulic mounts. The sensor operator then keeps the target firmly fixed in the cross-hairs on his TV screen.
‘The ‘Foco’ now works in concert with the two sensor operators, known simply as ‘IR’ or ‘TV; and he will have predetermined with them what he wants them to look for. The ‘Foco’ then ‘calls’ the target once he is sure and has already planned to use our No.6 gun (the 105mm). I call ‘Pilot in the HUD, arm the gun!’ The ‘Foco’ will have the No.6 gun selected on his panel, so he flips all his switches and sets the correct ballistics into the computer. In conjunction with the navigator he again confirms the target and the flight engineer sets the master arm to ‘Live’. In my HUD I get a CCIP (Constantly Computed Impact Point) and I have to keep that CCIP in the trainable box, which ensures that the target remains in the gun’s correctable parameters, so even in high winds I can still adjust the orbit to enable us to fire all the way.
KC-130Ts of VMGR-152 refuelling F-18Cs of VFA-97 in 2006.
‘When ready to shoot, I squeeze the trigger and in ‘trainable mode’ this is the last electronic link to the sensor operator. When I have my finger on the trigger and all the constraints are met, he gets a ‘Ready to fire’ light on his panel. He pushes a button, which is a momentary consent switch and this passes the firing pulse to the guns, with the computer constantly checking the rate and coincidence. As soon as the round is out, I come off the trigger and the gunners ‘sling out the brass’ and reload. They close the breech and call ‘Gun ready’. I squeeze the trigger again. Meanwhile the sensor operators are looking at where the first round hits and making any adjustments for the next shell. When the 105 goes off it gives a pretty good jolt to the ship, but probably worse is a continuous burst from the 20 mils. This leaves a lot of smoke floating around, even in the cockpit, but as we have so many open spaces on board it soon dissipates!’1
AFSOC has seven SOS squadrons operating MC-130E, MC-130H and MC-130P tankers. AETC (Air Education and Training Command, activated 1 July 1993) and AFRes operate MC-130E, MC-130H and MC-130P Hercules. AETC has one SOS squadron -the 550th SOS/58th SQW (19th Air Force), at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, which operates MC-130H and MC-130Ps and is also the operational base for ‘Combat Talon II’ training.
The AFRes (activated on 17 February 1997) has two SOS squadrons: the 5th SOS/919th SOW, with MC-130P tankers and the 711th SOS/919th SOW with MC-130E-Y ‘Combat Talon P’ and C-130E. Both units are based at Duke Field, Eglin AFB, Florida and come under AFSOC command when the organizations are mobilized, as does ANG’s 193rd SOS/193rd SOW and its EC-130E ‘Coronet Solo’ aircraft at Harrisburg IAP, Pennsylvania: still the only weapon system within the USAF whose mission is to support Psychological Operations (PYSOP) with airborne broadcasting.
Fourteen C-130Es were modified to MC-130E ‘Combat Talon F’ configuration and equipped for use in low-level, deep-penetration tactical missions by the 1st and 8th Special Operations Squadrons based respectively in the Pacific and North America. (‘Combat Talons’ led the raid on the Son Tay prison camp, 20 miles northwest of Hànôi on 21 November 1970.) Deliveries of 24 MC-130H ‘Combat Talon’ IF aircraft (the first of which flew in 1988), began in mid-1991. They are fitted with an in-flight refuelling receptacle, have explosionsuppressive fuel tanks, a modified cargo ramp area for the high-speed, low-level aerial delivery system, Emerson Electric AN/APQ-170 precision terrain-following and terrain-avoidance radar, dual radar altimeters, dual INS and finally provision for a GPS receiver. Twenty-eight MC-130P ‘Combat Shadow’/tanker aircraft are in service with AFSOC for single-ship or formation in-flight refuelling of its ‘Pave Low’ special operations’ helicopters working in a no- to low-threat environment.
AC-130 gunships used by the Command have evolved since November 1965 when the 4th Air Commando Squadron in Việtnam became the first operational unit to use AC-47 gunships. Call-sign ‘Spooky’ AC-47s and those of the 14th ACS demonstrated such highly effective convoy escort and armed reconnaissance over the Hồ Chi Minh Trail that the US forces looked to another converted transport for its next generation, fixed-wing gunship. At the Wright-Patterson AFB, the Aeronautical Systems Division tested a Convair C-131B transport fitted with a 7.62mm General Electric SUU-11A minigun, while at Eglin AFB, Florida, experiments were conducted with a C-130 and a C-47. AC-47s flew their first sortie on 15 December 1964 - ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ was retired from the Special Operations Squadrons in 1969.
On 6 June 1967 the 4950th Test Wing had begun flight-testing a JC-130A (54-1626) modified by Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force System Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio to ‘Gunship Il’/’Plain Jane configuration. 54-1626 was fitted with four port-side-firing General Electric MXU-470 7.62mm GAU-2 miniguns and four port-side-firing General Electric M-61 20mm Vulcan cannon, to fire obliquely downward. Vulcan Express, as the AC-130A Gunship II was named, was equipped also with the ‘Starlight Image-Intensifying Night-Observation Scope’, AN/AAD-4 SLIR side-looking radar, computerized NASARR F-1551 fire-control system (adapted from the F-104 Starfighter), beacon tracker, DF homing instrumentation, FM radio transceiver and an inert tank system, while a semi-automatic flare dispenser and a steerable 1.5 million candlepower AN/AVQ-8 searchlight containing two Xenon arc lights (infra-red and ultra-violet), were mounted on the aft ramp.
Vulcan Express was despatched to the 711th SOS at Nha Trang, South Việtnam in September 1967 for combat evaluation. As might be expected, the complexity of its sophisticated equipment was responsible for many scrubbed missions, but nevertheless, it acquitted itself well between 24 September and December 1967. The aircraft was later refurbished in the US and was then sent to Ubon RTAFB (Royal Thai Air Force Base) in February 1968 for additional evaluation along the Hồ Chi Minh Trail until early June that year. In mid-June it was transferred to Tân Sơn Nhầt near Saïgon, where it took part in operations in the socalled ‘in-country’ war against Việt Công insurgents. It returned to the US in November 1968.2
An AC-130H gunship from the 16th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida, jettisons flares as an infrared countermeasure during multi-gunship formation egress training on 24 August 2007. (USAF photo/Senior Airman Julianne Showalter).
Meanwhile ‘Project Gunboat’, as it was code-named, went so well that the Pentagon awarded a contract to LTV Electrosystems of Greenville, Texas, for the modification of seven more JC-130As to AC-130A configuration. Delivered from August to December 1968, they differed from the prototype in being fitted with improved systems, including the AN/AAD-4 SLIR (side-looking infrared) and AN/APQ-136 moving target indicator (MTI) sensors and AN/AWG-13 analogue computer.
53-3129, the first production C-130A made its maiden flight at Marietta, Georgia on 7 April 1955. Its career was almost cut short on 14 May 1955 when a fuel leak resulted in half the port wing being burned off during its third flight, but the aircraft was repaired and flew again in February 1956. In September 1957 53-3129 was modified as a JC-130A and completed tours of duty at the Cambridge Air Research Center, the Air Force Research Center, the Air Force Missile Center and Temco Division at Major Field in Texas. In December 1961 53-3129 was attached to the 6550th Support Wing (Range). On 31 October 1968 the 16th SOS based at Ubon - call-sign ‘Spectre’ - was activated and the aircraft became its inaugural AC-130A gunship. Christened The First Lady in November 1970 she was first used for night interdiction and armed reconnaissance missions during ‘Barrel Roll’ operations in Laos. Ubon became the home of the AC-130 gunships for the rest of the war, being used to mount operations in Cambodia until shortly before the ceasefire came into effect on 15 August 1973.
From Ubon The First Lady and her heirapparents were used at night, mainly on ‘out-country’ operations in South-east Asia and in particular on the Hồ Chi Minh Trail, on ‘Commando Hunt’ interdiction missions. The First Lady was hit in March 1971 by a 37-mm shell. Again she was repaired and she went on to serve the 415th SOTS and, from November 1976 to 1994, the 711th Special Operations Squadron. The First Lady was almost certainly the oldest aircraft to take part in Operation ‘Desert Storm’ in 1991. She was presented to the USAF Armament Museum at Eglin AFB in November 1995.
AC-130U 89-0509 Total Carnage. AC-130U Spooky gunship’s primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Other missions include perimeter and point defence, escort, landing, drop and extraction zone support, forward air control, limited command and control, and combat search and rescue. The U-model gunship incorporates the latest sensor technology, along with an entirely new fire-control system, to substantially increase the gunship’s combat effectiveness. The fire control system offers a dual-target attack capability, whereby two targets up to one kilometer apart can be simultaneously engaged by two different sensors, using two different guns. All light-level television, infrared sensors and the Hughes APQ-180 radar (also found on the F-15E Strike Eagle) provide night and adverse weather capability. To enhance survivability, emphasis has been placed on increasing the stand-off range of the gunship’s weapons system and improving first-shot accuracy. In addition, a set of ECM has been installed to help defend the AC-130U against modern threats.
The other six AC-130A gunships of the 16th SOS also had colourful careers. From January to March 1969 three were used in South-east Asia and on average destroyed 2.7 enemy vehicles per sortie. Mainly up to twelve crew were carried, including three to five gunners. 54-1623 became better known as Ghost Rider and was retired in April 1997 to Dobbins AFB, Georgia before eventually being put on display at the Lockheed Museum at Marietta, Georgia.
In the early hours of 22 April 1970 54-1625 War Lord (call sign ‘Adlib 1’) in the 8th TFW captained by Major William Leslie Brooks took off from Ubon on a ‘Commando Hunt’ mission over the Hồ Chi Minh Trail in southern Laos and was later joined by two fighters to form a truck hunter-killer team. ‘Adlib 1’ started work over Route 96A about 25 miles east of the town of Saravan. As the attack proceeded the AC-130 was hit by 37-mm AAA and the port wing caught fire near the wing root. Some of the eleven man crew attempted to fight the blaze but the fire was too intense. Staff Sergeant Eugene Fields groped his way forward through darkness and smoke but found the gunner’s position vacant and a hatch open. Fields strapped on a parachute and abandoned the aircraft. ‘Killer 2’, one of the accompanying fighters, made voice contact with one of the crew who identified himself as ‘Adlib 12’, which was Major Donald Garth Fisher’s call sign. Fields had suffered burns on his face and hands and his parachute snagged on a tree. He eventually climbed down and hid until morning when he was rescued by a SAR task force. He was the only survivor.3
54-1627 Gomer Grimier went on to serve the 415th SOTS and the 711th SOS before retirement in 1976; while 54-1628 The Exterminator, finished its career in 1994 with the 711th SOS. On 24 May 1969 AC-130A 54-1629 in the 8th TFW, which had been the first C-130 with rear-opening nose-gear doors, was on a night armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos checking Routes 914 and 920 for truck traffic and was hit when the aircraft was about to attack a truck convoy on a road near the village of Ban Tanbok about twenty miles southwest of the A Shau Valley. It took two rounds of 37-mm AAA in the tail and fuselage as it orbited at 6,500 feet. The hydraulic system failed and the aircraft started climbing uncontrollably until the pilot and co-pilot wrestled the control columns to full forward and brought all the crewmembers to the flight deck to make the aircraft nose-heavy. It was then discovered that the elevator trim, rudder control and autopilot were no longer functioning but Lieutenant Colonel William H. Schwehm and Major Gerald H. Piehl regained partial control by the use of aileron trim and differential engine power. Staff Sergeant Jack Wayne Troglen the illuminator operator had been mortally wounded and died before the aircraft landed. Lieutenant Colonel Schwehm and Major Piehl nursed the damaged aircraft back to Ubon and ordered most of the crew to bail out near the airfield before attempting a landing. As the aircraft touched down the starboard undercarriage collapsed and the AC-130 veered off the runway shearing off the starboard wing when it hit the barrier cable housing causing the aircraft to catch fire. Staff Sergeant Cecil Taylor, the flight engineer, was unable to escape and died in the incident. This was the first AC-130 gunship to be lost during the Việtnam War.4
54-1630, which went by the equally colourful name of Mors de Coelis was later re-named Azrael (for the angel of death in Islam who severs the soul from the body) and figured prominently in the closing hours of Operation ‘Desert Storm’. On 26 February 1991 Coalition ground forces were driving the Iraqi Army out of Kuwait. With an Air Force Reserve crew called to active duty, Azrael was sent to the Al Jahra highway (Highway 80) between Kuwait City and Basra, Iraq, to intercept the convoys of tanks, trucks, buses and cars fleeing the battle. Facing SA-6 and SA-8 surface-to-air missiles and 37 mm and 57 mm radar-guided antiaircraft artillery the crew attacked and destroyed or disabled most of the convoys. Azrael was retired to the Cold War Gallery at the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio in October 1995.
Used in the fighting in South-east Asia, the AC-130As proved very effective, especially against vehicles along the Hồ Chi Minh Trail at night. Operations continued until the summer of 1970, by which time it was clear that aircraft with improved all-weather operation and larger-calibre guns were needed. The surviving AC-130As were therefore withdrawn for refurbishment and a C-130A (55-0011) was modified to ‘Pave Pronto’ configuration under the ‘Super Chicken’ or ‘Surprise Package’ programme to meet the requirement for improved all-weather capability. It was armed with two 20mm M-61 Vulcan cannon and two 7.62mm miniguns forward and two M-l Bofors clip-fed 40mm cannon aft of the wheel fairing. Uprated avionics included AN/ASD-5 ‘Black Crow’ truck ignition sensor, Motorola AN/APQ-133 beacon-tracking radar, an AN/AVQ-18 laser designator/rangefinder and AN/ASQ-24A stabilized tracking set containing ASQ-145 LLLTV (low-light-level television). Tests were conducted in October 1969 and in November, 55-0011, better known as Night Stalker, was despatched to South-east Asia. (The aircraft remained on the active USAF inventory until 1995). ‘Surprise Package’ lived up to its name, with expectations proving higher than anticipated and subsequently nine more C-130As were modified to the AC-130A ‘Pave Pronto’ configuration, with AN/ASQ-24A stabilized tracking set, AN/AVQ-18 laser designator and bomb-damage assessment camera, SUU-42 flare ejection pods, dual AN/ALQ-87 ECM pods under the wings and some other improvements. The AN/ASD-5 ‘Black Crow’ truck ignition sensor which was not originally included was reinstated.
The AC-130U ‘Spooky II’ has a General Dynamics 25 mm GAU-12/U Equalizer 5-barreled Gatling cannon (capable of firing 1,800 rounds per minute); a single-barrel, rapid-fire 40 mm L/60 Bofors cannon and a 105 mm M102 howitzer.
AC-130U aerial gunners of the 4th Special Operations Squadron conduct a live-fire mission in an AC-130U Gunship during ‘Emerald Warrior’ at Hurlburt Field, Florida in May 2016. ‘Emerald Warrior’ is the Department of Defense’s only irregular warfare exercise, allowing joint and combined partners to train together and prepare for real world contingency operations.
In Southeast Asia the ‘Pave Pronto’ AC-130As of the 16th SOS wreaked havoc among enemy convoys at night and used their AN/AVQ-18 laser designator/rangefinder to mark targets for F-4D Phantoms carrying laser-guided bombs (LGBs). In December 1971 55-0044 Prometheus was damaged by a 37-mm shell and lost Nos. 3 and 4 propellers, but survived, only to be shot down south-east of Tchepone, Laos on 28 March 1972. It set off with a fourteen man crew captained by Major Irving Burns Ramsower from Ubon on a truck hunting mission over the Hồ Chi Minh Trail in southern Laos. As the aircraft approached the town of Muang Phine, about 35 miles west of Khê Sanh. It was seen to be hit by an SA-2 missile fired from one of the newlyestablished SAM sites in Laos. The aircraft burst into flames, crashed and exploded. No parachutes were seen but an emergency beeper signal was picked up briefly. A SAR task force found no sign of any survivors although the search of the area was limited due to intense ground fire. The Pathet Lao (‘Lao Nation’) subsequently issued a news release claiming that they had shot down the aircraft.
The first half of May 1972 brought continuing heavy application of air-power, as the North Việtnamese forces pressed toward Kontum. Numerous pitched battles took place in nearby villages, camps and fire support bases. One such engagement occurred at the compound of Polei Kleng (also known as Camp Le Vanh, Firebase Base, Landing Zone Base) Special Forces Camp about fifteen miles west of Kontum.5 An AC-130 Spectre was already airborne in the highlands region, learning by radio that Polei Kleng was under attack by a Communist regiment with tanks. The situation was so serious that American personnel had already been evacuated. The AC-130 crew talked directly with the South Việtnamese commander on the ground and placed fire all around the embattled post. The gunship expended a full load of ammunition, including 96 rounds of 105mm fire, aiming at enemy muzzle flashes and a bridge. The aircrew’s mission report noted, ‘Situation quiet upon departure.’ Later reports revealed that Spectre 03, assisted by fighterbombers, had killed over 350 enemy troops, destroyed the bridge and repulsed a full-scale attack by a North Việtnamese regiment.
The emergency at An Lôc dictated diversion of the gunship effort away from the trails. On 15 April six AC-119 Stingers moved from Nakhon Phanom, one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand, to Biên Hỏa, establishing a forward operating location for support of the battle at An Lôc. The AC-130s also shifted effort to An Lôc, but continued to operate from Ubon, landing once or twice at Tân Sơn Nhầt during each mission day to replenish fuel and ammunition. The arrangement greatly lengthened a crew’s time over target at An Lôc. Sometimes, crews remained on duty 24 hours or more without rest, fighting fatigue but appreciating the urgency of the situation on the ground. At least one gunship remained on station over An Lôc around-the-clock. Besides an important night detection and strike capability, the gunships could deliver ordnance far more accurately than the fighter-bombers.
The earliest AC-130 missions over Lộc Ninh and An Lôc were disappointing. FAC’s were generally inclined to give priority to fighterbombers and often held off gunships from targets to permit strikes by the jets. Lieutenant Colonel George F. Hall, a ‘Pave Aegis’ Fire Control Officer described his crew’s disappointment on their first mission to An Lôc. ‘Over the city the crew received a target assignment, an old French mansion south of the town. Confident in the precision of their 105, the crew promised to hit a particular upstairs window to the disbelief of the ground party and the FAC’s. Rolling in for the first attack, the crew was instead told to pull off to make way for an F-4 strike. Again and again, the gunship crew prepared to fire, only to be called off.’
After two hours. Hall and his disgusted crew headed back for Ubon, having fired not a single shot. Hall’s combat tour was interrupted by two weeks of emergency’ leave. Afterwards he returned to An Lôc with his now-veteran crewmates. Hall quickly realized that in the interval, the men on the ground at An Lôc had learned something of the effectiveness of the AC-130. No longer were there delays in applying the Spectre’s firepower. From a bunker in the rubble, an American voice asked for a single 40mm round at an easily-seen fountain; verifying the burst, the voice next called for a second round at an intersection two blocks east. Finally, the voice prescribed a particular house and corner. Hall’s crew thereupon destroyed the building with 20mm, 40mm and 105mm fire. The crew expressed concern during the firing, after learning that friendly forces were directly across the street. The voice below assured them that all was going well, excitedly calling for the crew to ‘keep it coming.’
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Opitz related how his crew pinpointed the enemy on one night mission over An Lôc. The AC-130 pilot called for the friendlies on the ground to identify their position with green flares. Green flares promptly appeared from several quadrants of An Loc, indicating the enemy was listening in. The pilot then called for red flares. After several red flares appeared, the American controller on the ground called out: ‘I’ve got no red flares, hit ‘em all.’ Opitz and crew complied, using 20mm with effect.
Vital for the successful employment of the gunships were the several US Army advisors on the ground at An Lộc, who day after day directed the AC-119 Stingers and AC-130 Spectres to targets by voice radio. Crewmen learned the voice of ‘Zippo’ Smith at Lộc Ninh and invited him to attend one of the monthly parties at Ubon. All were relieved by the news that Smith had successfully exfiltrated after the fall of Lộc Ninh. AC-130 crewmen lavishly praised one Army Colonel at An Lôc who stayed on the air for weeks and seemed especially skilled in directing the gunships to rewarding targets. The use of street and house directions for precision attacks became standard procedure, in nearly all cases either killing the enemy troops or forcing them from cover. AC-130 crewmen arriving at An Lộc knew to expect to be asked whether or not they carried the 105 cannon - the ‘big gun.’ Since the 105 mm could penetrate and stop tanks, those gunship crews with only the 40mm weapon were often frustrated by their ineffectiveness against enemy armour. Opitz on one occasion watched as his ship’s fire splashed against and exploded on the sides of a Communist T-54. The enemy tank moved steadily closer to the friendly position, the ears of its crewmen no doubt ringing but otherwise unharmed. Finally, the friendly radio transmission ended, indicating that the position had been smashed and overrun. With heavy hearts, Opitz and his drained crewmates returned to base.
On 18 June the first AC-130 ever downed in South Việtnam - AC-130A 55-0043 Spectre II - was shot down in the A Shau Valley, a Communist infiltration route south-west of Huế, by a Strela SA-7A heat-seeking, surface-to-air missile. Two AC-130 gunships had been lost over Laos in March to SA-2 SAMs and one had been hit by an SA-7 but not downed over An Lôc in Military Region III to the south. SA-7s brought down several A-1 Skyraiders and FAC aircraft in the Northern provinces during April and May. Spectre II was operating southwest of Huế at an altitude that should have protected it from the Strela. The target was in mountainous terrain - in a valley with hills around it that reached up to 3,500. The SA-7 was fired from the side of one of the hills. Sergeant William B. Patterson had the job of watching for missiles and AAA fire. He lay on the aft cargo door, actually hanging out into the airstream so he could get a good field of view below the aircraft. It was dark and Patterson spotted the tell-tale flash of light when the missile was fired. It arched up toward the aircraft in a smooth curving trajectory, the motor burning with an eerie blue-white light, holding straight to its course, not porpoising back and forth the way SA-7s usually did. When the missile was 2-3 seconds away, the crew fired a decoy flare, but the SA-7 kept boring right in, hitting the right inboard engine. There was a loud explosion and a flash of fire as the missile struck. The aircraft shuddered, rose up at the nose slightly and then settled down; the #3 engine separated from the wing. The flight engineer called on intercom that they were losing altitude, the pilots worked to pull her up. Someone else was calling out on the UHF radio that Spectre II had been hit by a missile.
Patterson rolled back into the aircraft, unhooked the restraining strap which kept him from falling out and reached for his chest-pack parachute. At about that time, the right wing came off and the aircraft started into a cartwheeling roll. Patterson managed to hook only one side of his parachute to his body harness, in his haste attaching it backwards, when fresh explosions blew him into the blackness outside. Fortunately, Patterson was an experienced chutist, with a hobby of skydiving. The sergeant lived to tell how he somehow found the rip-cord in the darkness and of his harrowing descent and landing - his chute still only halfconnected. Three men of the fifteen aboard Spectre II that night survived. They were picked up from the A Shau Valley the next morning by the Air Force Jolly Greens.
Beginning in 1967 the C-130s of the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing flew twenty-eight ‘Commando Lava’ sorties into the A Shau Valley to air-drop 120 tons of defoliants so as to deny the NVA and VC forces their entry corridor into South Việtnam. ‘Commando Lava’ was dangerous work, because the C-130s had to drop down to 200 feet in order to release the chemical compound, thus heightening the risk of being knocked out of the sky by SAM missiles. Unfortunately the mud-making operations - first conceived by William H. Sullivan, the US ambassador to Laos - were no more of a hindrance to the Communists than the annual monsoon and they simply covered over the worst-affected parts of the route with gravel or bamboo matting.
Meanwhile in 1965 in a similar attempt, ‘Banish Beach’ missions were first flown by C-130s in an effort to deprive the Việt Công of forest sanctuaries by starting forest fires with almost simultaneous drops of fuel drums. There were also ‘Commando Scarf’ bombing missions in which the C-130s carried small XM-41 anti-personnel mines; and in southern Laos, CDU-10 noisemakers were dropped by C-130s as part of the interdiction campaign.
AC-130A 56-0490 Thor of the 16th SOS, 56th SOW was shot down 25 miles north-east of Pakse, Laos on 21 December 1972 killing Captain Harry Roy Lagerwall and thirteen of his crew. The aircraft had found three trucks near Ban Laongam, 25 miles west of Saravan in southern Laos. It was firing at the target from an altitude of 7,800 feet when it was hit by 37-mm AAA. The aircraft may have been hit in a fuel tank as it exploded and crashed in flames. Two of the crew managed to bail out and were rescued by a 40th ARRS HH-53 some hours later, located by the night vision devices on board another AC-130 and the LNRS equipment on board the helicopter.6
AC-130U 90-0163 Bad Omen the first AC-130U Spooky gunship to retire from the active fleet flew from Hurlburt Field following a small ceremony on 21 September 2015 to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB.
55-0014 Jaws of Death survived, ending its career in 1995 and therefore being allocated to the Robins AFB museum in 1996. 55-0029 Midnight Express was retired in 1994, while 55-040 was retired in 1976. 55-046, better known perhaps as Proud Warrior and which in 1957 had been loaned to the USMC for in-flight refuelling tests, was retired in 1994. 56-0469 Grim Reaper also survived the horrors of Việtnam and since 1995 has been used as a ground trainer at the 82nd TRW at Sheppard AFB, Texas. 56-0509 Raids Kill Um Dead was damaged at An Lộc South Việtnam on 23 December 1972; however, it was repaired and later assigned to the 711th SOS. In 1995 and now named Ultimate End, this AC-130A finished its days at the Hurlburt Field Memorial Air Park.
Meanwhile in April 1970 the decision was taken to convert two C-130Es to AC-130E prototype gunships. The C-130E’s higher gross weight, stronger airframe and increased power offered greater payload and longer loiter time than the original AC-130A gunships. As a result of experience gained in Việtnam, more advanced avionics were fitted and what was known as ‘Pave Aegis’ armament configuration was created by installing a 105mm howitzer in place of one of the 40mm cannon in the port parachute door, while retaining the two 20mm cannon forward of the port undercarriage fairing. The howitzer was later attached to a trainable mounting controlled by AN/APQ-150 beacon-tracking radar.
In February 1971 nine more C-130E conversions not dissimilar to ‘Pave Pronto’ AC-130As were ordered. However, by the time that the first AC-130Es were completed in June and July 1971 they represented such a leap forward in avionics over the earlier ‘Pave Pronto’ gunships that they became known as ‘Pave Spectre IV’. All eleven ‘Pave Spectre’ AC-130Es served in Southeast Asia, entering combat in the spring of 1972 when they helped repulse the Việt Công offensive. AC-130Es proved most effective tank killers during night operations and on night interdiction sorties along the notorious Hồ Chi Minh Trail. On 30 March 1972 AC-130E 69-6571 ‘Spectre 22’ of the l6th SOS, 8th TFW at Ubon with a fifteen man crew was shot down near An Lôc, South Việtnam. ‘Spectre 22’ had spotted a convoy of trucks on the Trail 35 miles north of Muang Fangdeng in southern Laos. The aircraft destroyed three of the trucks and was about to fire again to make sure of the kill when it was hit by ground fire. The aircraft was flying at 195 knots and 7,500 feet when 57mm anti-aircraft shells hit its starboard wing and fuselage. The AC-130 caught fire when fuel leaking from the starboard pylon tank ignited. Captain Waylon O. Fulk headed northwest towards Thailand in the hope of reaching Ubon but he and Captain E. N. Bolling and the thirteen other crew were forced to abandon the aircraft which crashed about fifteen miles southeast of Saravan. An HC-130 soon arrived on the scene and took over as on-scene commander of what proved to be a massive and complex rescue mission.7 Numerous aircraft including ‘Nail’ FACs and other Spectres conducted a radio and visual search throughout the night to locate the survivors in preparation for a pick-up attempt at first light. It was discovered that two of the survivors had bailed out soon after the aircraft had been hit and were forty miles to the east of the main group of survivors. At first light in a wellcoordinated operation four HH-53s from the 40th ARRS picked up thirteen men from the main group, one of whom had a broken leg. A few minutes later two Air America UH-34D helicopters protected by A-1 Skyraiders rescued the two other survivors from a well-defended area near the Trail to the east. Unfortunately, the successful rescue of the entire crew of Spectre 22 was overshadowed by the attempted rescue of ‘Bat 21’ that followed in the next few days.8
AC-130U sensor operator.
AC-130 gunship firing a broadside at dusk.
On 18 June an AC-130A was downed by a SA-7 shoulder fired SAM which struck the No.3 engine and blew off the wing. On 21/22 December AC-130A was downed while truck hunting along the Hồ Chi Minh Trail at 7,800 feet by 37-mm AA. Although the 57-mm fire known in Laos was not as severe at An Lộc, the gunship crewmen detested equally the concentrations of 37-mm fire. The 37-mm had higher projectile velocity, which reduced the effectiveness of evasive action, while its greater rate of fire gave substantial weight in barrage. The SA-7 became the greatest concern for the gunship crews, although alertness, evasive action and the use of decoy flares held down the frequency of hits. Crews reported as many as six or seven SA-7 firings on certain missions. High threat sectors were identified and avoided when possible. One AC-130 was hit and severely damaged by a SAM on 12 May, after sighting four other launchings the same day. The crew barely managed an emergency landing at Tân Sơn Nhứt. The only sure defence against the SA-7 however, was in altitude. The higher altitudes meant some loss in AC-130 weapon effectiveness - the 20mm became almost useless because of loss of projectile velocity at this distance, while the accuracy of the 40- and 105-mm appeared only slightly affected.
In June 1973 all remaining AC-130Es were upgraded to AC-130H standard when they were reengined with T56-A-15 turboprops. The AC-130H also differed from the AC-130E in having its 7.62 miniguns omitted. In 1978 AC-130H aircraft were retrofitted with an in-flight refuelling receptacle and other improvements. Each AC-130H/U is crewed by five officers: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, fire-control officer and electronic warfare officer - and nine enlisted men: flight engineer, low-light TV operator, infra red detection set operator, five aerial gunners and a load master.
In July 1987 Rockwell was awarded a contract to cover the research and development of a new AC-130U Spectre gunship to replace the Special Operation Squadrons’ ageing AC-130A. Thirteen new C-130H airframes fire-control radar, derived from the APQ-70 carried by the F-15E Strike Eagle, AN/AAQ-117 forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) mounted under the port side of the nose, or turretmounted Bell Aerospace all-light-level TV (ALLTV) in the port main undercarriage sponson for true adverse weather ground-attack operations. The ‘Black Crow’ truck-ignition sensor and radome and separate beacon-tracking radar used on earlier gunships were omitted. Observer stations are included on the three under fuselage chaff and flare dispensers (Capable of dispensing 300 chaff bundles and either 90 MJU7 or 180 M206 1R decoy flares), Texas Instruments AN/AAQ-117 FLIR countermeasures and ITT Avionics AN/ALQ-172 jammer, are all fitted to increase survivability in a low-to-medium-threat environment. Delivery to the 16th SOW began in 1994, at which time the eighteen AC-130Hs were transferred to the AFRes 919th SOW at Duke Field, Florida whose AC-130As were retired. The AC-130Us or ‘U-boats’ as they are affectionately known by crews provide other special operations’ roles, including escort, surveillance and reconnaissance/interdiction in addition to the primary precision fire support mission. All eighteen AC-130Us are operated by the 4th SOS, 16th SOW, at Hurlburt Field, Florida.
AC-130H 69-6573 Heavy Metal gunship is directed to a parking spot on the ramp in February 1995. US forces are bringing in personnel, materiel and equipment to support Operation ‘United Shield’, which is the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from Mogadishu, Somalia. Thirty-two AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ aircraft based on the MC-130J; 32 aircraft are being procured to replace the AC-130H. [USAF photo by A1C Randy S. Mallard]
AC-130U 89-0514 Maximum Carnage.
In 1990 the Air Force Reserve’s 711th SOS deployed some AC-130As to Turkey for Operation ‘Proven Force’, the ‘second front’ for the coming war with Iraq. On 7 January 1991 the joint task force (JTF) was activated at Ramstein AB, Germany and one of its components, the Special Operations Task Force, was to seek and rescue downed Allied pilots. On 17 January three EC-130s from the 43rd ECS, 66th ECW, at Sebach AB, Germany were among the European units that deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey. Eight AC-130 gunships meanwhile and six MC-130E ‘Combat Talon Is’ were deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation ‘Desert Storm’ missions in the Gulf War, which began on 16 January. (While defending a USMC force under attack by Iraqi forces on 31 January, AC-130H 69-6567 call-sign ‘Spirit 03’ in the 16th SOS was shot down (probably by a handheld SAM) 68 miles south-south-east of Kuwait City with the loss of all fourteen crew).
‘Combat Talon Is’ of the 8th SOS delivered the 15,000lb BLU-82/B ‘Big Blue’ fuel-air explosive bomb, the largest and heaviest conventional bomb in the USAF inventory. (One of the largest conventional weapons ever to be used the BLU-82B was outweighed only by a few earthquake bombs, thermobaric bombs and demolition (bunker buster) bombs. (Some of these include the ‘Grand Slam’ and T12 earthquake bombs of late WWII and more currently, the Soviet Air Force FOAB and USAF GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb and the Massive Ordnance Penetrator). On 15 February ‘Combat Talons’ began dropping BLU-82 ‘daisy-cutters’ (as they were nicknamed in Việtnam) on Iraqi minefields as a prelude to the ground offensive. The ‘Big Blues’ were also used by MC-130Es of Special Operations Command against Iraqi troop concentrations with devastating effect. Eleven BLU-82Bs were palletized and dropped in five night missions during the 1991 Gulf War, all from Special Operations MC-130 Combat Talons. The initial drop tested the ability of the bomb to clear or breach minefields; however, no reliable assessments of mine clearing effectiveness are publicly available. Later, bombs were dropped as much for their psychological effect as for their anti-personnel effects.9
MC-130 82-04272 Fulton 7th SOS conducting training for special air operations and related activities.
‘Bombs’ containing 16,000,000 leaflets were also dropped by ‘Combat Talon’ and HC-130N/P aircraft, with messages telling Iraqi soldiers how to surrender to the ground forces; other ‘PSYOP’ missions dropped leaflets telling Iraqis that more BLU-82s were on the way. EC-130Es helped to psychologically prepare the battlefield for ‘Desert Storm’, the 193rd SOW being one of the first special operations’ units to be sent to the Gulf region. On 22 November the unit began ‘PSYOP’ operations, broadcasting the ‘Voice of America’ into Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. A crash modifications programme, lasting several weeks, upgraded the EC-130Es so that the ‘Commando Solo’ aircraft could broadcast in the local TV format for this region. The 193rd SOG’s leaflet drops and broadcast readings from the Koran and testimonials from Iraqi prisoners were instrumental in persuading Iraqi troops to surrender. When surveyed, Iraqi PoWs indicated that PSYOP radio broadcasts reached 58 per cent of the military target audience; of those, 46 per cent indicated that the broadcasts had an influence on their decision to surrender.
In June and July 1993 Somalia pushed the war in Bosnia off the world’s front pages as American air units fought to prevent General Mohamed Farrah Hassan Aidid and his supporters retaking control of Mogadishu. Aidid’s fighters were blamed for the killing of twenty-three Pakistani UN peacekeepers on 5 June. AC-130H gunships and Cobra helicopters of a US Army quick-reaction force were used in day and night actions against Aidid and his supporters in Mogadishu. In a one-hour attack on 11/12 June the ‘Spectre’ gunships and Cobra helicopters destroyed Aidid’s radio station as American soldiers led attacks on his command headquarters and weapons caches. ‘Spectres’ attacked ammunition dumps and garages housing ‘technicals’ close to Aidid’s residence. While conducting a routine mission in support of UN forces on 14 March 1994, AC-130H ‘Spectre’ 69-6576 call-sign ‘Jockey 14’ in the 16th SOS, 56th SOW crashed in the sea four miles south of Malindi, Kenya after takeoff from Mombasa after a howitzer round exploded in the gun-tube and caused a fire in the left-hand engines. Eight crew members died. Three of the six survivors stayed with the aircraft during the crash-landing while the other three parachuted to safety.
Captain Thomas Bernard, a 36th Airlift Squadron Hercules pilot performing a visual confirmation with night vision goggles during a training mission over Kanto Plain, Japan, 14 October 2015. Yokota Air Base aircrews regularly conduct night flying operations to ensure they are prepared to respond to a variety of contingencies throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (USAF photo/Osakabe Yasuo)
An MC-130E from the 711th Special Operations Squadron, 919th Special Operations Wing, drops the last operational BLU-82 (Bomb Live Unit bomb) at the Utah Test and Training Range on 15 July 2008. The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, known under programme ‘Commando Vault’ and nicknamed ‘Daisy Cutter’ in Vietnam and in Afghanistan is an American 15,000 lb conventional bomb, delivered from either a C-130 or an MC-130. The BLU-82 was retired in 2008 and replaced with the more powerful, 11-ton GBU-43/B or MOAB (‘mother of all bombs’), which was first dropped on 13 April 2017, on an Islamic State stronghold in eastern Afghanistan, which killed 36 ISIS militants. It is the largest nonnuclear bomb ever used in combat.
The USAF has also used AC-130 gunships in Operation ‘Uphold Democracy’ in Haiti in 1994. AC-130s took part in Operation ‘Assured Response’ in Liberia in 1996 and in Operation ‘Silver Wake’ in 1997, the evacuation of American non-combatants from Albania. The AC-130U gunship set a new record for the longest sustained flight by any C-130 on 22 and 23 October 1997, when two AC-130U gunships flew 36 hours nonstop from Hurlburt Field, Florida to Taegu Air Base (Daegu), South Korea, being refuelled seven times in the air by KC-135 tankers. The two gunships took on 410,000lbs of fuel. Gunships also were part of the build-up of US forces in 1998 to compel Iraq to allow UNSCOM weapons inspections. AC-130s took part in the NATO missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo during the 1990s.
AC-130A 53-3129 First Lady, the first production C-130A to come off the line. AC-130H 69-6576 Preditor, Bad Company, Widow Maker, which was lost on 15 March 1994 over the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya, near the town of Malindi with the loss of eight crewmembers. Aircraft and crew were supporting the ongoing operations in and around Mogadishu, Somalia.
AFRC WC-130J 97-5305 at Dobbins AFB. The WC-130 provides vital tropical cyclone forecasting information and is the primary weather data collector for the National Hurricane Centre, supplemented by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s WP-3D Orion. They penetrate tropical cyclones and hurricanes at altitudes ranging from 500 to 10,000 feet above the ocean surface depending upon the intensity of the storm.
The US has used gunships in Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ during the War in Afghanistan, 2001–2014 and the Iraq War (Operation ‘Iraqi Freedom’), 2003-2011. AC-130 strikes were directed by Special Forces on known Taliban locations during the early days of the war in Afghanistan. The day after arriving in Afghanistan, the AC-130s attacked Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces near the city of Konduz and were directly responsible for the city’s surrender the next day. On 26 November 2001 Spectres were called in to put down a rebellion at the prison fort of Qala-i-Janghi. The 16th SOS flew missions over Mazar-i-Sharif, Konduz, Kandahar, Shkin, Asadabad, Bagram, Baghran, Tora Bora and virtually every other part of Afghanistan. The Spectre participated in countless operations within Afghanistan, performing on-call close air support and armed reconnaissance. In March 2002 three AC-130 Spectres provided 39 crucial combat missions in support of Operation ‘Anaconda’ in Afghanistan. During the intense fighting, the gunships expended more than 1,300 40 mm and 1,200 105 mm rounds.
Close air support was the main mission of the AC-130 in Iraq. Night after night, at least one AC– 130 was in the air to fulfil one or more air support requests (ASRs). A typical mission had the AC–130 supporting a single brigade’s ASRs followed by aerial refuelling and another 2 hours with another brigade or SOF team. The use of AC-130s in places like Fallujah, urban settings where insurgents were among crowded populations of non combatants, was criticized by human rights groups. AC-130s were also used for intelligence gathering with their sophisticated long-range video, infrared and radar sensors.
In 2007 when US Special Operations forces used the AC-130 in attacks on suspected al-Qaeda militants in Somalia, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) initiated a programme to upgrade the armament of AC-130s. The test programme planned for the 25 mm GAU-12/U and 40 mm Bofors cannon on the AC-130U gunships to be replaced with two 30mm Mk 44 Bushmaster II cannons. In 2007, the Air Force modified four AC-130U gunships as test platforms for the Bushmasters. These were referred to as AC-130U Plus 4 or AC-130U+4. AFSOC, however, cancelled its plans to install the new cannons on its fleet of AC-130Us. It has since removed the guns and reinstalled the original 40 mm and 25mm cannons and returned the planes to combat duty. Brigadier General Bradley A. Heithold, AFSOC’s director of plans, programs, requirements and assessments, said on 11 August 2008 that the effort was cancelled because of problems with the Bushmaster’s accuracy in tests ‘at the altitude we were employing it’. There were also schedule considerations that drove the decision, he said. There were also plans to possibly replace the 105mm cannon with a breech-loading 120 mm M120 mortar and to give the AC-130 a standoff capability using either the AGM-114 Hellfire missile, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (based on the Hydra 70 rocket), or the ‘Viper Strike’ glide bomb.
Pilot and co-pilot from the 73rd Special Operations Squadron prepare to return to base an AC-130W ‘Stinger II’ after a live-fire mission in support of ‘Emerald Warrior’ at Hurlburt Field, Florida, 27 April 2015. The AC-130Ws are conversions of former MC-130W ‘Dragon Spear’ MC-130Ws. (USAF photo by Senior Airman Cory D. Payne)
In May 2009, following a lapse of plans to acquire and develop an AC-27J ‘gunship light’ to replace the aging, operations-stressed AC-130 inventory, the Air Force began exploring an option of converting MC-130Ws into interim gunships. The ‘Dragon Spears’ are equipped with a Bushmaster II GAU-23/A 30mm gun (an improved version of the MK44 MOD0 30mm gun), sensors, communications systems and precision-guided munitions in the Precision Strike Package. The PGMs are to be in the form of the Gunslinger weapons system, a launch tube designed to deploy up to ten GBU-44/B ‘Viper Strike’ or AGM-176 ‘Griffin’ small standoff munitions in quick succession. Initial supplemental funds to the 2010 Defence Authorization Bill were for two kits to be installed in 2010. On 17 November 2009 a contract was awarded to Alliant Techsystems to produce 30 mm ammunition for use by the ‘Dragon Spear’.
In September 2010 the Air Force awarded L-3 Communications a $61 million contract to convert eight MC-130W ‘Combat Spear’ special-mission aircraft to give them a gunship-like attack capability. Under the terms of the deal, L-3 will perform modifications that will allow the aircraft to take the weapons kits, which are called ‘precision strike packages’. MC-130Ws fitted with the weapons will be known as Dragon Spears. Air Force Special Operations Command is converting all twelve MC-130W aircraft to ‘Dragon Spears’ in order to relieve the relentless operational demands on its regular AC-130 gunships until new AC-130Js enter the fleet. The MC-130W ‘Dragon Spear’ went from concept to flying with a minimum capability in less than 90 days and from concept to deployment in eighteen months. Its success led to the William J. Perry Award and it will be the model for the AC-130J gunship programme.
The first converted MC-130W arrived in Afghanistan in late 2010. It fired its first weapon one month after arriving, killing five Taliban with a ‘Hellfire’ missile. By September 2013, fourteen aircraft had been converted into gunships. The conversion adds a sensor package consisting of day/night video cameras with magnification capability. The weapons currently consist of ten ‘Griffin’ missiles and four ‘Hellfires’, with an optional 30 mm autocannon. The use of missiles allow the gunships to operate during the daytime because they can fly above the range of ground fire. The cannon is available but optional, as missiles provide sufficient firepower and less weight would need to be carried.
As of July 2010 there were eight AC-130H and seventeen AC-130U aircraft in active-duty service. The MC-130W ‘Dragon Spear’ was renamed the AC-130W ‘Stinger II’ in 2011. In March 2011, the US Air Force deployed two AC-130U gunships to take part in Operation ‘Odyssey Dawn’, the US military intervention in Libya, which eventually came under NATO as Operation ‘Unified Protector’.
The C-130J Super Hercules programme reached another significant milestone with the delivery of its 300th aircraft, MC-130J Commando II 15737, which was ferried from the Lockheed Martin facility on 18 December 2013 by a USAF crew for delivery to the US Air Force Special Operations Command. The Commando II supports such missions as in-flight refuelling, infiltration/exfiltration and aerial delivery and resupply of special operations forces.
AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ The US Air Force’s newest gunships will enter service later than expected because of plans to load extra weapons on the aircraft.
WC-130J-97-5309 NOAA’s Ark. The most important function of these reconnaissance aircraft is to collect highdensity, high-accuracy weather data from within the storm’s environment. This includes penetration of the centre or hurricane eye of the storm. This vital information is instantly relayed by satellite to the National Hurricane Centre to aid in the accurate forecasting of hurricane movement and intensity.
The Air Force launched an initiative in 2011 to acquire sixteen new gunships based on new-built MC-130J ‘Combat Shadow II’ special operations tankers outfitted with a ‘precision strike package’ to give them an attack capability and increase the size of the gunship fleet to 33 aircraft, a net increase of eight after the planned retirement of eight aging AC-130Hs. By September 2013 fourteen MC-130W ‘Dragon Spear’ aircraft had been converted to AC-130W ‘Stinger II’ gunships. The ‘Stinger’ gunships were deployed to Afghanistan to replace the aging AC-130H aircraft and provide an example for the new AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’. Modifications began with crews cutting holes in the aircraft to make room for weapons and adding kits and bomb bases for laser-guided munitions. Crews added a 105mm cannon, 20-inch infrared and electrooptical sensors and 250lb bombs on the wings. The AC-130J will follow the path of the ‘Dragon Spear’ programme, along similar lines to the USMC ‘Harvest Hawk’ programme.
Air Force Special Operations Command has decided to augment the existing fleet on AC-130H/U gunships in the short term by outfitting a portion of the MC-130W ‘Dragon Speer’ aircraft with a Precision Strike Package (PSP), similar to but more elaborate than the USMC’s Harvest Hawk kit, which would give these Hercules, dubbed ‘AC-130W ‘Stinger II’ the ability to perform Close Air Support (CAS), ISTAR (Information, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance), armed over-watch and support Special Forces missions without having to buy an entirely new aircraft. A single Bushmaster 30mm cannon is fitted to the forward port side of the fuselage, along with a pair of highly capable AN/AAQ-38 FLIR turrets both under the nose and under the port forward fuselage sponson-like structure. Also, a modular Battle Management System (BMS) and advanced communications system, including the latest video and information datalinks are tied to a series of missionized control stations mounted inside the spacious cargo hold. The ‘Stinger’s’ real sting comes from its ability to lob GBU-176 ‘Griffin’ air-to-ground missiles, or GBU-44 ‘Viper Strike’ munitions off of its rear ramp. This simple but effective rear ramp arsenal configuration is affectionately called ‘Gunslinger.’ Ten of the low-yield’Griffins’ or ‘Viper Strikes’ can be carried in the cradle mounted on the ramp at any given time, although there is room for more to be stowed in the hold until needed. Outboard wing pylons carry AGM-114 ‘Hellfire’ missiles and 250lb guided GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs.
On 9 January 2013 the Air Force began converting the first MC-130J ‘Combat Shadow II’ into an AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’. The first AC-130J entered service in 2017. The Air Force decided to add a 105 mm cannon to the AC-130J in addition to the 30mm cannon and smart bombs because the shells are more accurate and cheaper than dropping SDBs. AFSOC is interested in adding a directed energy weapon to the AC-130J. Other potential additions include an airborne active denial system to perform crowd control and deploying small unmanned aerial vehicles from the common launch tubes to provide remote video feed and coordinates to weapons operators through cloud cover. By 2018 AC-130 gunships will have been providing close air support for special operators for fifty years. Although the aircraft have been kept relevant through constant upgrades to their weaponry, sensor packages and countermeasures, they are not expected to be survivable in future non-permissive environments due to their high signatures and low airspeeds. Military analysts, such as the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, have suggested that AFSOC invest in more advanced technologies to fill the role to operate in future contested combat zones, including a mix of lowcost disposable unmanned and stealthy strike aircraft.
Perhaps the most dangerous element of AC-130 gunship operations is the relatively low altitude at which the aircraft must operate, exposing themselves to enemy ground fire. Gunpowder technology still limits the effectiveness of the airborne weapons platforms used by the US Special Forces. Lockheed Aircraft Service Company began exploring some new hypervelocity weapon technologies developed in the Strategic Defence Initiative Organization (SDIO) or ‘Star Wars’ programme that promises to increase dramatically the effectiveness of airborne gunships. Craig H. Smyser, principal investigator of advanced weapons systems studies, has written: ‘Low projectile velocities mean less energy on target and less accuracy because the slow-moving projectile must spend more time subject to the distorting effects of wind and weather, requiring pilots to fly closer in than might be safe.’
Directed energy devices such as lasers and particle beams are considered not ‘mature’ enough for tactical applications to gunships, but hypervelocity weapons such as hypercannon, coilguns, electrothermal, light-gas and liquidpropellant guns, developed for the ‘Star Wars’ applications, could effectively be used aboard gunships of the future. A study has shown that a 4,600hp, turbine-powered, 150mm hypervelocity electro-magnetic rail-gun and all its support equipment, could be accommodated onboard an AC-130. Hypervelocity guns would enable an AC-130U gunship (and a C-5 for that matter) to operate at stand-off distances at altitudes over 15,000 feet - well above the range of 37-mm and 57mm AAA fire and IR missiles. Target accuracy remains high because the high projectile velocities of the ‘Star Wars’ weapons are virtually unaffected by the distorting effects of wind and weather.
This is the future. Then, as now, the part played by the mysterious Hercules of AFSOC may well never be fully told. However, when called upon to deploy specialized airpower, or to deliver special operations, or to conduct psychological and counter-measures operations, as well as a host of other covert activities. Special Operations Command is ready - anytime, anywhere.
The first AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ gunship arrives at Hurlburt Field in Florida on 29 July 2015. Both the AC-130W and AC-130J lack the heavy armour of their predecessors, which will enhance their range and operating altitude but hurt in the down-low survivability department. Like the AC-130W, the AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ features Integrated Helmet Mounted Sights (IHADSS) for the pilots: the same 30mm ATK GAU-23/A auto cannon and 105mm howitzer; ‘Gunslinger’ rear ramp modification weapons system for AGM-176 ‘Griffin’ missiles and/or GBU-44/B ‘Viper Strike’ munitions (10 round magazines); wing mounted AGM-114 ‘Hellfire’ missiles; GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) and/or GBU-53/B SDB II, along with the same command and control interfaces and a high-power synthetic aperture radar pod that can provide live targeting for SDB IIs and other weaponry. All these systems can be reverse-upgraded into the AC-130W fleet and can be easily modified back into an MC-130 special operations transport and visa-versa if needed. The fleet of AC-130s will grow to 45 airframes and can be rapidly increased as required. These include 17 AC-130Us, twelve AC-130Ws and 16 AC-130Js.
Line up of MC-130H aircraft (87-0024, the nearest) at RAF Mildenhall in November 2014.
1 Quoted in US Air Force Special Operations Command by Rick Llinares and Andy Evans (SAM Publications 2010).
2 It was transferred to the outdoor Air Park at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio in 1976 and converted back to AC-130A configuration in the late 1990s.
3 Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
4 Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
5 After overrunning the ARVN bases at Tân Cảnh, Đắk Tô and the Firebases along Rocket Ridge the PAVN turned their attention to the base and to Ben Het Camp which blocked the avenues for attack on Kontum. The base had been subjected to artillery fire since 24 April, but from midday on 6 May the volume of fire increased dramatically with over 500 rounds systematically destroying the base bunkers and an infantry assault by the PAVN 64th Regiment penetrated the perimeter. At 19:00 the two US advisers at the base were evacuated by helicopter. The attack was repulsed and the ARVN continued to hold for a further 3 days during which time US airpower, including gunships and 16 B-52 strikes, was concentrated on the attacking PAVN. On the night of 7 May the PAVN attempted another assault but were again repulsed suffering 300 killed. On the morning of 9 May the ARVN abandoned the base in the face of a PAVN tank and infantry assault, only 97 ARVN and their dependents reaching safety in Kontum.
6 Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
7 It involved seven HH-53s, eight A-1s, three HC-130s, eleven flights of strike aircraft (seven of which made attacks), four EB-66s, six F-105s, fourteen ‘Nail’ FACs, three ‘Raven’ FACs, three ‘Air America’ helicopters, four AC-130s and an F-4 Fast FAC. Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
8 The rescue of Bat 21 ‘Bravo’ the call sign for Iceal ‘Gene’ Hambleton, from behind North Việtnamese lines was the ‘largest, longest and most complex search-and-rescue’ operation during the Viêtnam War. It began on 2 April, the third day of the Easter Offensive when the early morning flight was led by Bat 20 flown by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Singletary. Hambleton was the navigator aboard a EB-66 aircraft escorting a cell of three B-52s. Bat 21 was configured to gather signals intelligence including identifying North Việtnamese anti-aircraft radar installations to enable jamming. Bat 21 was destroyed by a SA-2 surface-to-air missile and Hambleton was the only survivor, parachuting behind the front lines into a battlefield filled with thousands of North Việtnamese Army soldiers.
9 In November 2001the USAF began dropping several BLU-82s during the campaign to destroy Taliban and al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, to attack and demoralize personnel and to destroy underground and cave complexes. It proved a very effective anti-personnel weapon and as an intimidation weapon because of its very large blast radius (variously reported as 5,000 to 5,500 feet) combined with a visible flash and audible sound at long distances. American forces used the bomb in December 2001 during the Battle of Tora Bora. On 15 July 2008 airmen from the Duke Field 711th Special Operations Squadron, 919th Special Operations Wing dropped the last operational BLU-82 at the Utah Test and Training Range. There were 225 constructed. The BLU-82 was retired in 2008 and replaced with the more powerful MOAB