Puff The Magic Dragon Aircraft

Puff The Magic Dragon Aircraft - A number of AC-47 pilots and crew members were cited for bravery while serving aboard the plane, including Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. John L. Levitow. Levitow was on an AC-47 that was struck by a mortar round.

The "U" also has an advanced array of sensors including forward- and side-looking radar, low-light television, infrared sensing devices (ISDs), a global positioning system (GPS), and inertial navigation systems. This gives the gunship, according to the Air Force, "a method of positively identifying friendly ground forces as well as effective ordnance delivery during adverse weather (and night) conditions."

Puff The Magic Dragon Aircraft

The AC-47 initially used SUU-11/A gun pods that were installed on locally fabricated mounts for the gunship application. Emerson Electric eventually developed the MXU-470/A to replace the gun pods, which were also used on subsequent gunships.

Gunships Destroy Damage Enemy Vehicles

Although designated "Spooky" by the Air Force, the AC-47 was quickly nicknamed the "Puff the Magic Dragon" plane by ground troops. In some areas even its official call sign was changed from “Spooky” to “Puff.” Anyone who has ever heard Puff fire those three miniguns knows the reason for the new name.

The guttural roar made by the guns firing simultaneously could only come from a dragon—a very angry one. The idea for a side-firing gunship had been floating around military circles since at least 1926. In fact, the technique had been tested successfully in 1927 when 1st Lt.

Fred Nelson flew a DH-4 with a mounted .30-cal machine gun and destroyed a target on the ground. By then, the two converted gunships had flown 16 combat and 7 training missions. In February 1965, a gunship was sent to Bong Son, killing a hundred VC.

Another 150 or so VC are believed to have been killed in that action, but the survivors dragged away the bodies and a total body count was not possible. The truce of January 1973 ended American gunship operations in Vietnam and Laos.

The Lockheed Ac-A Prototype Arrives For Testing

The last combat mission for American gunships was flown over Cambodia on August 15, 1973. Unquestionably gunships played a vital role in America's efforts in Vietnam and were responsible for saving thousands of American lives. During the winter campaign of ’71 to ’72, gunships destroyed or damaged over 10,000 enemy vehicles, destroyed 223 watercraft, and damaged 142 others.

Most gunship activity in 1972 countered assaults by Communist forces on fire-support bases and provided fire support for troops. Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption.

If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page. In September 1967, the first Lockheed AC-130A prototype arrived at Nha Trang Air Base and began its test program.

Like its predecessor, the AC-119, the AC-130A carried four miniguns; in addition, it was equipped with four 20-mm cannon with 2,500 rounds of high-explosive incendiary ammunition, advanced electronics sensors, fire control systems, and searchlights. Before the addition of the flare launcher, the crews of gunships had only two crude but innovative defenses against the heat-seeking SA-7 Strela missiles commonly used by the enemy.

Sos Arrives Near Saigon For Command Support

The first was for a crew member to manually fire a handheld flare directly at an oncoming missile while hanging out the open rear cargo bay ramp. The tactic was meant to confuse the missile's infrared tracking system by giving it another "hot" target to lock onto;

sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The main problem was, you usually only had one shot. The 4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron (aka SOS, “Special Operations Squadron”) arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, near Saigon, on November 14, 1965, with 16 combat gunships and four others for command support and attrition.

Their mission was to respond with flares and firepower support of friendly positions during night attack, convoy escort, armed reconnaissance, close-air support, and interdiction. The development and early deployment of the AC-47 is the subject of The Gooney Bird by William C. Anderson.

Anderson went to Vietnam to research this novel, which features a fictional story written around a number of historical facts. The first night mission was flown on the night of December 23, over an outpost under attack near Thanh Yend.

The Lockheed C- Creep Shadow And Stinger

The ship fired more than 4,500 rounds of ammunition and dropped 17 flares, successfully halting the enemy assault on the outpost. In 1970, the Indonesian Air Force converted a formerly civilian DC-3. The converted aircraft was armed with three .50 caliber machine guns.

During 1975 the Indonesian Air Force used its "AC-47" in the Indonesian invasion of East Timor to attack the city of Dili. Later, the aircraft was used in Indonesian military CAS (Close Air Support) missions in East Timor.

A retirement date is unknown. The Douglas AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. More firepower than could be provided by Light and medium ground-attack aircraft was thought to be needed in some situations when ground forces called for close air support.

But the Army Air Corps and the Army Air Forces never came around to the idea. It was 1963 before the idea of ​​a side-firing aircraft got another serious test. A C-131B modified with gunsights and a minigun was successful in early tests and the experiment was repeated with a C-47.

Flir System Enhances Ship’s Abilities

Constitution Avenue, NW Between 12th and 14th Streets Washington, D.C. In seeking a replacement for the AC-47, the brass settled on the new Lockheed C-130. Unfortunately there were not enough of them available at the time, so the C-119G Flying Boxcar transport planes would be used until sufficient C-130s were available.

All AC-119G and K gunships were equipped with four miniguns and a NOD (Night Observation Device) or starlight optical sensor. In addition, all AC-119Ks were equipped with two 20-mm cannon and a side-looking radar. The later addition of a Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) system greatly enhanced the ship's ability to detect and destroy enemy vehicles.

Even when stationary and hidden under heavy foliage, the new system could detect heat rising from still-warm engines. For the next four years, AC-47 gunships distinguished themselves in more than four thousand missions over South Vietnam and Laos.

They accounted for at least 5,300 enemy killed, and hundreds of enemy trucks destroyed or damaged. Not a single hamlet or fort defended by Puff was ever overrun. The effectiveness of such a gunship was dependent upon its ability to direct concentrated fire on enemy positions in close proximity to friendly forces.

The Evolution Of Puff The Magic Dragon Plane

The chosen craft also had to have enough power and cargo space to carry the necessary armament and heavy loads of ordnance. The Lockheed AC-130A prototype test program ended on December 12, 1967. The final evaluation stated that the AC-130 had three times the combat effectiveness of the AC-47.

The AC-130A gunship's principal advantages were more power (four engines), more cargo space, and more cargo-carrying capability. These advantages allowed the AC-130 to have more and larger armament, more ordnance, and more speed. The pilots would take off with a 7-man crew and seek out small bases and villages under fire by North Vietnamese forces.

When fighting popped off, the crew would drop flares out of the open door and the pilot would fly a race track pattern over the target, pouring fire on it the whole time. In February 1972, the first AC-130E Specter was outfitted with a 105-mm Howitzer in place of one of the 40-mm Bofors cannons.

This gave the gunship a much greater firing range and allowed it to fire from a higher altitude. The addition of the Howitzer also made the gunship a much more effective spotter aircraft. A1C John L. Levitow, an AC-47 loadmaster with the 3rd SOS, received the Medal of Honor for saving his aircraft, Spooky 71, from destruction on 24 February 1969 during a fire support mission at Long Binh.

Other Air Forces

The aircraft was struck by an 82 mm mortar round that inflicted 3,500 shrapnel holes, wounding Levitow 40 times, but he used his body to jettison an armed magnesium flare, which ignited shortly after Levitow ejected it from the aircraft, allowing the AC-47 to

return to base. The armament chosen for the gunships was the General Electric rotary-barreled M-134 machine gun, known as the “minigun,” which could fire either fifty or a hundred rounds of 7.62-mm ammunition per second. Initially three miniguns per ship would be fixed-mounted in a side-firing configuration.

Positioning the aircraft at the proper altitude and angle was the only means of aiming the weapons. The AC-130A prototype flew its last mission on November 18, 1968, and was returned to the States once more.

During its short combat career, the prototype was determined to be the most cost-effective close-support and interdictive craft in the U.S. Air Force arsenal. By 1969, the old AC-47s were beginning to wear out, and it was no longer feasible to keep rebuilding and maintaining them.

Six “Spectre” Gunships In Southeast Asia

On December 1, 1969, a lone AC-47 gunship flew its final mission in Vietnam under American command. The remaining ships were turned over to the South Vietnamese and Laotian Air Forces and continued to fight. The mighty dragon Puff evolved from very humble beginnings.

The predecessor of the first fixed-wing gunship used in Southeast Asia was the WWII twin-engined C-47 (DC-3) “Gooney Bird,” which was first brought to Vietnam as a transport and cargo ship in November 1961. Shortly after

their arrival, many C-47s were outfitted as "flare ships" and designated FC-47 ("F" for flare) to drop huge parachute flares over enemy positions during night attacks. In November 1963, FC-47s flung more than seven thousand flares over enemy positions.

The first AC-119G gunships arrived in Vietnam in December 1968, as the 71st Special Operations Squadron. Four AC-119Gs were in the country by January 1969, but trials revealed that the craft was slow, hard to maneuver, and vulnerable to enemy ground fire;

Spooky And Puff

consequently it was not to be used in high-threat situations. Close-air support was the most appropriate use for the "G" model. This air-to-ground attack aircraft features advanced armament with new computer-directed gun systems. No longer stationary, or fixed-mounted, the guns now have computer-driven, trainable mounting systems, integrated with fire-control avionics.

These advanced fire-control systems are fed target coordinates from infrared and radar sensors. In September 1971, AC-119s began to be turned over to the South Vietnamese Air Force in preparation for the introduction of the latest model gunship, a converted four-engine C-130 cargo plane.

The transfers were completed and Vietnamese crews were fully trained by May. Appreciate the article, served Vietnam 66/67. Sent there as 5000 gal JP4, DIESEL, AV GAS, 500 POUNDERS, NAPALM, & any thing else ! Many of us have a zillion experiences.

Keep publishing them-our stories do matter! Thank you Bob Buckley As the United States began Project Gunship II and Project Gunship III, many of the remaining AC-47Ds were transferred to the Vietnam Air Force (VNAF), the Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF), and to Cambodia, after Prince Sihanouk was deposed in

By Ron Sanders

a coup by General Lon Nol.

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Sf34 Aircraft

Sf34 Aircraft - ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more. NetZero.aero Covering the journey to net zero emissions in aviation.

You can read 3 more free articles without a subscription. Discover how AeroInside supports your aviation research. Get access to AeroInside Insights with the Pro plan, a new enhanced search and filter tool, full read access to every article published and

Sf34 Aircraft

much more. Discover how AeroInside supports your aviation research. Get access to AeroInside Insights with the Pro plan, a new enhanced search and filter tool, full read access to every article published and much more. Technical Requirements

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Windows: 10/8/7/Vista/XP. Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX with SP1 and SP2 (or Acceleration Pack) installed or Lockheed Martin – Prepar3D Flight Simulator v3 or v4 or FSX Steam Edition. i3 processor/3GHz or similar Minimum 2GB RAM (Recommended 4GB RAM)

512MB graphics card. 880MB available hard disk space

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Simple Green Aircraft

Simple Green Aircraft - To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon.

It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Toll Free: 877-477-7823 Customer Service: 800-861-3192 Fax: 800-329-3020

Simple Green Aircraft

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R4d Aircraft

R4d Aircraft - This post-war development of the famous Douglas twin-engined transport was meant to replace the DC-3 in both military as well as the commercial markets, but failed commercially due to the many military surplus C-47s flooding the market and the competition on

the Convair Liner series with pressurized cabins. The conversion price was between $250,000 and $300,000, while a Convair CV340 would seat 44 passengers, flew faster and would cost about usd $570,000 brand new. As a supply plane, the C-47 could carry up to 6,000 pounds of cargo.

R4d Aircraft

It could also hold a fully assembled jeep or a 37 mm cannon. As a troop transport, it carried 28 soldiers in full combat gear. As a medical airlift plane, it could accommodate 14 stretcher patients and three nurses.

Rd- / C- Skytrain

Seven basic versions were built, and the aircraft was given at least 22 designations, including the AC-47D gunship, the EC-47 electronic reconnaissance aircraft, the EC-47Q antiaircraft systems evaluation aircraft and the C-53 Skytrooper. After World War II Douglas decided to modernize the DC-3, with more power and capable of carrying a greater load.

This led to the Super DC-3, or DC-3S, which was issued an Approved Type Certificate on July 24, 1950. Douglas put Wright 1820-C9HE engines on the prototype and initial production models. The maximum speed increased from 230 mph to 270 mph, and cruising speed increased from 207 mph to 251 mph.

Although the DC-3S looked like a DC-3 (or C-47), it was much improved. The Super DC-3 had newly designed wings, an enlarged tail and landing gear doors were added. Also the nose was changed and the wings had square cut tips.

It seated up to 37 passengers and it was 60 percent a completely new airplane. The plane body is assembled on top of an International truck frame, fitted with a big diesel powerful enough to haul the rig down the highway without complaint.

Inside, there's all the basics one would expect in a homebrew conversion RV, with beds, a bathtub, and sink and all the rest. Best of all, much of the cockpit remains virtually unchanged from the original Douglas equipment, with Lucci going to great lengths to integrate the RV's systems with the plane's original control panels.

Rooftop switches control air conditioning and heating, and there's still a pilot intercom, too. The International truck's basic gauge cluster and steering all remain intact inside, too, along with a modern double-DIN head unit for in-plane entertainment.

The C-117 was based on the reliable and proven DC-3/C-47 and was originally intended for the civilian airline market. The "Super DC-3" featured a longer fuselage, redesigned tail and wings, and fully enclosed the landing gear when retracted.

In 1951, the Navy evaluated the Super DC-3 and liked the increased performance it offered and accepted the aircraft as the R4D-8. Rather than purchase new aircraft a total of 98 earlier R4Ds were converted to R4D-8 standards.

In 1962, the R4D-8 was redesignated under the joint Air Force-Navy designation system as the C-117D. Super Gooneybirds continued in U.S. Navy service into the mid-1970s. The military career of the Douglas DC series began in 1936, when the U.S.

Army Air Corps ordered a pair of DC-2 commercial transports under the designation C-32. A contract followed for 18 DC-2s in the C-33 freighter configuration and two more as C-34 staff transports. Then, in 1937, the U.S.

Army ordered a plane built to its own specifications. It was a hybrid design that combined the fuselage of the DC-2 with a DC-3 tail. This was the sole C-38 prototype, and it led to 35 production versions called the C-39.

The C-39 represented the first serious effort by the Army to establish an airlift capability. After World War II, the US Navy modified 100 R4Ds to Super DC-3 standards. The US Navy had 100 R4D-5s and R4D-6s converted to "Super Three" (R4D-8) standards, although other engines were used: Wright R-1820-80s.

This aircraft, designated the R4D-8 had more powerful engines, newly designed wings, an enlarged tail and added landing gear doors. The name "Skytrain II" didn't stick much, "Super DC-3" or "Super Three" did. The R4D-8 was designated the C-117 after 1962.

The father and son duo bought the plane in mid-2019, stripping off useful parts to support a French-based restoration of a similar aircraft. Efforts were taken to preserve as much original equipment and heritage of the aircraft as possible.

Such authentic touches are visible all over the build, from the kink in the fuselage from prior damage, to the front wheel fenders built out of the former engine nacelles. On July 12, 1976, the Navy phased out the last C-117 (Douglas DC-3), perhaps the most famous transport plane of all time.

The last C-117 was flown from Pensacola to Davis Mountain Air Force Base, Arizona, the boneyard for obsolete military aircraft. @media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) { #ga-ad {display: none;} }

The successes of early Marine transport aircraft, especially during World War II, paved the way for what was to evolve into the modern day operational support airlift (OSA) mission. Early transports were essentially commercial aircraft, with minor modifications, that were put into military service to provide logistical support directly to the warfighter.

Mostly, these aircraft had no armament or special equipment for protection during combat. Employing them in a hostile environment emerged from a warfighting necessity because no other Marine aircraft had the required payload, range, and reliability offered by these early transports.

It's a dream project made in to reality, with Lucci finally completing the build in late 2020 after first being inspired at the young age of 12. It looks like an absolute hoot to drive, though we imagine it's probably difficult to fill up at the pump

without getting more than a few curious onlookers asking questions. Of course, that's pretty typical whether your oddball RV build is big or small. Overall, it's a great example of what can be achieved when you follow through with whatever crazy idea your heart desires.

"We wanted to keep a lot of the themes and stuff that makes the airplane, the airplane itself," explains Lucci in a video about the project. "These pieces here that we smashed our heads a couple hundred times while building it, they're actually the wing attach points on the airplane, which makes it exactly right at the max legal width in all 50 states."

Marine aircraft were first used in their OSA role during the late 1960s and early 1970s. OSA aircraft, mostly old C-117 "Hummers" once used during combat resupply missions in Southeast Asia, were attached to Marine Corps air stations (MCASs) at Cherry Point, NC;

Wash, AZ; Futenma, Okinawa; and Iwakuni, Japan. By the early 1980s newer, more modern OSA aircraft were entering the Marine Corps' fleet. In an interview with FOX 17 WXMI, Lucci shows off the interior of the building and takes it out for a drive on local roads.

It's not the quietest ride, but the experience is undeniably special. "When there's snow on the ground, because it's all white, it looks like you're above the clouds," jokes Lucci. "I guess I'm just a big kid, you can pretend."

Every branch of the U.S. military and all the major allied powers flew it. The U.S. Navy version was the R4D. The British and the Australians designated it the Dakota (a clever acronym composed of the letters DACoTA for Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft).

The aircraft operated from every continent in the world and participated in every major battle. By the end of World War II, more than 10,000 had been built. For all of its official and unofficial names, it came to be known universally as the “Gooney Bird;”

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, termed it one of the most vital pieces of military equipment used in winning the war. The donor plane for the project was a Douglas R4D, a modified DC-3 designed for Navy service.

The plane was built in 1943 before entering service in 1944, spending much of its service life in South America during World War II as an executive transport. It later went on to work for the Federal Aviation Administration flying test routes for navigational purposes.

Its last flight was in the 1980s, upon which it was laid up before later being damaged beyond repair by a tornado and parts scavengers in the intervening years. Such conversions are road-registerable as long as they're properly inspected and meet all the necessary requirements.

The Fabulous Flamingo is registered as a Class A motorhome, with the conversion likely posing few problems as it's based on an existing road-going truck frame. The plane merely counts as a rather unconventional body on top.

While plane-conversion RVs are still thin on the ground, we've seen other plane bits modified in similar ways—such as this cute little jet-engine camper. By 1941, the old Air Corps had been transformed into the Army Air Forces, and it selected a modified version of the DC-3—the C-47 Skytrain—to become its standard transport aircraft.

A reinforced fuselage floor and the addition of a large cargo door were the only major modifications. Other changes included the fitting of cargo hooks beneath the center wing section and the removal of the tail cone to mount a hook for towing gliders.

It's not every day you see an aircraft rolling down the highway, and if you did, you'd be forgiven for thinking there's been some kind of in-flight disaster followed by an emergency landing. However, in the case of the Fabulous Flamingo, what you'd actually be looking at is a custom-built RV put together by Gino Lucci and his son Giacinto.

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Russian Anti Aircraft Gun

Russian Anti Aircraft Gun - Air-to-air combat has been rare in modern war, with only isolated examples in recent decades. U.S. pilots, for example, have not flown extensive aerial dogfights since the first Iraq War in 1991. Since then, U.S. fighter jets have engaged in

air-to-air combat on just a few occasions, shooting down 10 planes in the Balkan wars and one plane in Syria, according to Mr. Deptula. Berlin has pledged 50 Gepards — some of which have already been delivered — as part of a polyglot array of Western air-defense missiles and cannon being sent to Ukraine. Some pundits have also urged the US to send the 1960s-era M163, a 20

Russian Anti Aircraft Gun

-mm Vulcan cannon mounted on a M113 armored personnel carrier, though it lacks an onboard radar needed to detect targets. The Ukrainian Air Force is operating in near total secrecy. Its fighter jets can fly from air strips in western Ukraine, airports that have been bombed yet retain enough runway for takeoffs or landings — or even from highways, analysts say. They are vastly outnumbered:

Variants Of The S-

Russia is believed to fly some 200 sorties per day while Ukraine flies five to 10. The S-60 is a very powerful weapon system. Anti-aircraft guns often rely on either a high rate of fire or powerful shells to destroy their target. The S-60 has both these features. The cyclic rate of fire of 105 to 120

rounds per minute allows for a practical rate of fire of 70 rounds per minute. The maximum horizontal range is 12 km with the maximum vertical range being 8.8 km. The maximum effective range is 4 km as a standalone weapon and 6 km with fire control.

In combat the S-60 proved to be most useful versus fighter aircraft at altitudes between 0.5 and 1.5 km. When used against ground targets the effective range is up to 3 km. Andriy hustles into his Su-27 supersonic jet and hastily taxis toward the runway, getting airborne as quickly as possible. He takes off so fast that he doesn't yet know his mission for the night, though the big picture is always the same —

to bring the fight to a Russian Air Force that is vastly superior in numbers but has so far failed to win control of the skies above Ukraine. “I had situations when I was approaching a Russian plane to a close enough distance to target and fire,” he said. “I could already detect it but was waiting for my missile to lock on while at the same time from the ground they tell

Mm S-

me that a missile was fired at me already." The S-60 is a towed single barrel 57mm anti-aircraft gun of Soviet origin. It was designed just after World War 2 to replace the 37mm M1939. It was also known as the AZP S-60 in Soviet service and as the M1950 in

the West. It can be used as a standalone weapon or used in conjunction with fire control and radar. During several wars it proved to be a potent weapon system. In modern armies the S-60 is replaced by surface to air missiles. The S

-60 remains a powerful but outdated weapon system. Andriy graduated from the Kharkiv Air Force School after deciding to become a pilot as a teenager. “Neither me nor my friends ever thought we would have to face a real war,” he said. “But that’s not how it turned out.”

The S-60 is a towered 57mm anti-aircraft gun of Soviet origin. There are no Soviet variants of the S-60, although over time different fire control systems have been employed with the S-60. The S-60 has been produced in China since the late 1950's as the Type 59. The Type 59 is a close copy of the S-60 but is different in a few details and uses the Type GW-03 fire director. It was not

Mm S-

produced to replace the 37mm M1939 series anti-aircraft guns in Chinese service, but to complement them. The Hungarian SZ-60 and Polish production S-60 are completely similar to the original S-60. Andriy has moved his wife to a safer part of Ukraine, but she has not left the country, he said. She spends her days weaving homemade camouflage nets for the Ukrainian army. He never tells family members when he is going on duty, he said

, calling only after returning from a night flight. “Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs,” Mr. Zelensky said in a video address to Congress on March 16, appealing for more planes. “And you know that they exist, and you have them, but they

are on earth, not in Ukraine — in the Ukrainian sky.” Older anti-aircraft guns also offer a political advantage. Countries supporting Ukraine have been reluctant to supply some high-tech weapons, including jet fighters and long-range missiles that could strike deep inside Russia, for fear of antagonizing Moscow.

Russia and Ukraine are both using Soviet-made S-60 anti-aircraft guns that date to the 1940s. But even more recent Soviet-designed flak, such as the Cold War-era ZSU-23-4 Shilka and 2S6 Tunguska used by both sides, is of limited use against drones.

Fire Control

But old-fashioned flak is a safe choice, the RUSI report argues: "Neither MANPADS or SPAAGs should be considered politically sensitive as they are fundamentally defensive weapons needed to protect civilian infrastructure that do not require the absolute to latest in cutting-

effective." "Medium- and long-rang SAMs are most effective when they are complemented by a robust network of AA guns that can threaten any aircraft trying to avoid higher-altitude threats by flying low," Reynolds told Insider. different systems are an essential part of an integrated air defense net."

57mm S-60 towed anti-aircraft gun on display in a museum in Israel. Source: Bukvoed - © GNU Attribution - Share Alike license As in other aspects of Ukraine's war effort, volunteers play a role in the air battles. A volunteer network watches and listens for Russian jets, calling in coordinates and estimated speed and altitude. Other private Ukrainian pilots have removed up-to-date civilian navigation

equipment from their planes and handed it over to the air force, in case it can be helpful. He said he maneuvered his jet through a series of extreme banks, dives and climbs in order to exhaust the fuel supplies of the missiles coming after him. “The time I have to save myself depends on how far away the missile was fired at me and

what kind of missile,” he said. Nearly a month into the fighting, one of the biggest surprises of the war in Ukraine is Russia's failure to defeat the Ukrainian Air Force. Military analysts had expected Russian forces to quickly destroy or paralyze Ukraine's air defenses and military aircraft.

Instead, Top Gun-style aerial dogfights, rare in modern warfare, are now raging above the country. “I only have to use my skills to win,” said Andriy. “My skills are better than the Russians. But on the other hand, many of my friends, and even those more experienced than me, are already dead.”

The S-60 is normally towered by 6x6 trucks such as the Ural 375 and Zil-151. It is designed to be used in a prepared firing position and cannot fire on the move. In an emergency situation the gun can be fired from its wheels

but the chassis is severely strained and accuracy is impaired. The ZSU-57-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun features two 57mm guns as used in the S-60. It has a much higher mobility, but lacks the option for radar guidance

. "Due to its relatively small size, shape, low altitude flight and low speed, legacy Soviet and Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) such as Shilka and Tunguska also struggle to reliably shoot down the Shahed-136," the RUSI

report says. Western-made SAMs are effective against Russian jets and cruise missiles, but Ukraine hasn't received enough spare anti-aircraft missiles to sustain its current rate of fire. MANPADS are good at downing "kamikaze drones" and even cruise missiles, but their

range — coupled with Ukraine's 1,000-mile frontline — means that vast numbers would be needed to protect troops at the front and infrastructure in the rear. Anti-aircraft guns are economical against drones, but their range is short.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has appealed repeatedly to Western governments to replenish the Ukrainian Air Force and has asked NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over the country, a step Western leaders have so far refused to take. Slovakia and Poland have considered sending

MiG-29 fighter jets, which Ukrainian pilots could fly with minimal additional training, but as yet no transfers have been made. 57mm S-60 towed anti-aircraft gun on display in the Saint Petersburg Artillery museum. Source: One half 3544 -

© Public domain In the night sky, Andriy said he relies on instruments to discern the positions of enemy planes, which he says are always present. He has shot down Russian jets but was not permitted to say how many, or of which type.

The system can fire at planes a few dozen miles away. The S-60 was widely used by Soviet and Eastern European forces. It was also widely exported to Soviet allies the Middle East, Asia and Africa. In Soviet service the S-60 was replaced by the 9K33 Romb (NATO: SA-8 Gecko

) self-propelled SAM system. By the late 1970's hardly any S-60 remained in service. However, the S-60 is still a very common weapon as it is used by many armies around the world. Even as more sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons have been deployed, anti-aircraft guns have remained useful, albeit in more limited roles. They proved deadly over North Vietnam and in the Middle East — during the October War in 1973, Israeli pilots who dived

to evade SAMs operated by Arab forces often got chewed up by the Shilka and other anti-aircraft cannon. In the end, the report says, the Shahed-136 "is simple and not especially difficult to intercept, but most of the current means of doing so are too expensive or draw on unacceptable numbers of weapons required for other defense tasks to provide an adequate

medium-term solution." Dave Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and the principal attack planner for the Desert Storm air campaign in Iraq, said the impressive performance of the Ukrainian pilots had helped counter their disadvantages in numbers. He said Ukraine now has roughly 55 combat operations

jets, a number that is dwindling from shoot-downs and mechanical failures, as Ukrainian pilots are “stressing them to max performance.” Pilotless drones are also a tool in the Ukrainian military's arsenal, but not in the battle for control of the airspace. Ukraine flies a Turkish-made armed drone, the Bayraktar TB-2, a plodding, propeller aircraft that is lethally effective in destroying tanks

or artillery pieces on the ground but cannot hit targets in the air. If Ukraine's air defenses fail, Russian jets could easily pick them off. The S-60 consists of a single 57mm 77-caliber autocannon mounted a turntable on a four wheel chassis. A crew of seven is needed to operate the weapon. A forward facing gun shield is fitted to protect the crew from aircraft and ground fire.

The gun is fed from 4 round clips. The 57mm ammunition is not interchangeable with Soviet 57mm cannon ammunition used in the ZiS-2 anti-tank gun and ASU-57 assault gun. In the firing position the wheels are raised of the ground.

weapon is supported by four outriggers: one at the front, one at the rear and one on each side. A unit of fire consists of 200 rounds. These are carried on the 6x6 truck used to tow the S-60.

The success of Ukrainian pilots has helped protect Ukrainian soldiers on the ground and prevented wider bombing in cities, since pilots have intercepted some Russian cruise missiles. Ukrainian officials also say the country's military has shot down number Thairots-winged 97

be verified but the crumpled remnants of Russian fighter jets have crashed into rivers, fields and houses. The S-60 can be used as a standalone weapon. In this case the operator aims the weapon using the sight unit. Up to six S-60 can be slaved to a PUAZO-5A fire director and SON-4 fire control radar.

the newer PUAZO-6 fire director and SON-9 Grom-2 fire control radar are used. Finally the RPK-1 Vasa fire control system on Ural 375 truck was developed. For the Chinese Type 59 the trailer mounted GW-03 director with LLP12

computers are used. Using big, expensive long-range surface-to-air missiles, known as SAMs, to stop a low-tech drone such as a quadcopter is like using an elephant gun to stop a flea. The increasing reliance on relatively slow, low-flying

missiles and aircraft has made flak indispensable again.

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Puff The Magic Dragon Aircraft

Puff The Magic Dragon Aircraft - A number of AC-47 pilots and crew members were cited for bravery while serving aboard the plane, including Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. John L. Levitow. Levitow was on an AC-47 that was struck by a mortar round.

The "U" also has an advanced array of sensors including forward- and side-looking radar, low-light television, infrared sensing devices (ISDs), a global positioning system (GPS), and inertial navigation systems. This gives the gunship, according to the Air Force, "a method of positively identifying friendly ground forces as well as effective ordnance delivery during adverse weather (and night) conditions."

Puff The Magic Dragon Aircraft

The AC-47 initially used SUU-11/A gun pods that were installed on locally fabricated mounts for the gunship application. Emerson Electric eventually developed the MXU-470/A to replace the gun pods, which were also used on subsequent gunships.

Gunships Destroy Damage Enemy Vehicles

Although designated "Spooky" by the Air Force, the AC-47 was quickly nicknamed the "Puff the Magic Dragon" plane by ground troops. In some areas even its official call sign was changed from “Spooky” to “Puff.” Anyone who has ever heard Puff fire those three miniguns knows the reason for the new name.

The guttural roar made by the guns firing simultaneously could only come from a dragon—a very angry one. The idea for a side-firing gunship had been floating around military circles since at least 1926. In fact, the technique had been tested successfully in 1927 when 1st Lt.

Fred Nelson flew a DH-4 with a mounted .30-cal machine gun and destroyed a target on the ground. By then, the two converted gunships had flown 16 combat and 7 training missions. In February 1965, a gunship was sent to Bong Son, killing a hundred VC.

Another 150 or so VC are believed to have been killed in that action, but the survivors dragged away the bodies and a total body count was not possible. The truce of January 1973 ended American gunship operations in Vietnam and Laos.

The Lockheed Ac-A Prototype Arrives For Testing

The last combat mission for American gunships was flown over Cambodia on August 15, 1973. Unquestionably gunships played a vital role in America's efforts in Vietnam and were responsible for saving thousands of American lives. During the winter campaign of ’71 to ’72, gunships destroyed or damaged over 10,000 enemy vehicles, destroyed 223 watercraft, and damaged 142 others.

Most gunship activity in 1972 countered assaults by Communist forces on fire-support bases and provided fire support for troops. Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption.

If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page. In September 1967, the first Lockheed AC-130A prototype arrived at Nha Trang Air Base and began its test program.

Like its predecessor, the AC-119, the AC-130A carried four miniguns; in addition, it was equipped with four 20-mm cannon with 2,500 rounds of high-explosive incendiary ammunition, advanced electronics sensors, fire control systems, and searchlights. Before the addition of the flare launcher, the crews of gunships had only two crude but innovative defenses against the heat-seeking SA-7 Strela missiles commonly used by the enemy.

Sos Arrives Near Saigon For Command Support

The first was for a crew member to manually fire a handheld flare directly at an oncoming missile while hanging out the open rear cargo bay ramp. The tactic was meant to confuse the missile's infrared tracking system by giving it another "hot" target to lock onto;

sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The main problem was, you usually only had one shot. The 4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron (aka SOS, “Special Operations Squadron”) arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, near Saigon, on November 14, 1965, with 16 combat gunships and four others for command support and attrition.

Their mission was to respond with flares and firepower support of friendly positions during night attack, convoy escort, armed reconnaissance, close-air support, and interdiction. The development and early deployment of the AC-47 is the subject of The Gooney Bird by William C. Anderson.

Anderson went to Vietnam to research this novel, which features a fictional story written around a number of historical facts. The first night mission was flown on the night of December 23, over an outpost under attack near Thanh Yend.

The Lockheed C- Creep Shadow And Stinger

The ship fired more than 4,500 rounds of ammunition and dropped 17 flares, successfully halting the enemy assault on the outpost. In 1970, the Indonesian Air Force converted a formerly civilian DC-3. The converted aircraft was armed with three .50 caliber machine guns.

During 1975 the Indonesian Air Force used its "AC-47" in the Indonesian invasion of East Timor to attack the city of Dili. Later, the aircraft was used in Indonesian military CAS (Close Air Support) missions in East Timor.

A retirement date is unknown. The Douglas AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. More firepower than could be provided by Light and medium ground-attack aircraft was thought to be needed in some situations when ground forces called for close air support.

But the Army Air Corps and the Army Air Forces never came around to the idea. It was 1963 before the idea of ​​a side-firing aircraft got another serious test. A C-131B modified with gunsights and a minigun was successful in early tests and the experiment was repeated with a C-47.

Flir System Enhances Ship’s Abilities

Constitution Avenue, NW Between 12th and 14th Streets Washington, D.C. In seeking a replacement for the AC-47, the brass settled on the new Lockheed C-130. Unfortunately there were not enough of them available at the time, so the C-119G Flying Boxcar transport planes would be used until sufficient C-130s were available.

All AC-119G and K gunships were equipped with four miniguns and a NOD (Night Observation Device) or starlight optical sensor. In addition, all AC-119Ks were equipped with two 20-mm cannon and a side-looking radar. The later addition of a Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) system greatly enhanced the ship's ability to detect and destroy enemy vehicles.

Even when stationary and hidden under heavy foliage, the new system could detect heat rising from still-warm engines. For the next four years, AC-47 gunships distinguished themselves in more than four thousand missions over South Vietnam and Laos.

They accounted for at least 5,300 enemy killed, and hundreds of enemy trucks destroyed or damaged. Not a single hamlet or fort defended by Puff was ever overrun. The effectiveness of such a gunship was dependent upon its ability to direct concentrated fire on enemy positions in close proximity to friendly forces.

The Evolution Of Puff The Magic Dragon Plane

The chosen craft also had to have enough power and cargo space to carry the necessary armament and heavy loads of ordnance. The Lockheed AC-130A prototype test program ended on December 12, 1967. The final evaluation stated that the AC-130 had three times the combat effectiveness of the AC-47.

The AC-130A gunship's principal advantages were more power (four engines), more cargo space, and more cargo-carrying capability. These advantages allowed the AC-130 to have more and larger armament, more ordnance, and more speed. The pilots would take off with a 7-man crew and seek out small bases and villages under fire by North Vietnamese forces.

When fighting popped off, the crew would drop flares out of the open door and the pilot would fly a race track pattern over the target, pouring fire on it the whole time. In February 1972, the first AC-130E Specter was outfitted with a 105-mm Howitzer in place of one of the 40-mm Bofors cannons.

This gave the gunship a much greater firing range and allowed it to fire from a higher altitude. The addition of the Howitzer also made the gunship a much more effective spotter aircraft. A1C John L. Levitow, an AC-47 loadmaster with the 3rd SOS, received the Medal of Honor for saving his aircraft, Spooky 71, from destruction on 24 February 1969 during a fire support mission at Long Binh.

Other Air Forces

The aircraft was struck by an 82 mm mortar round that inflicted 3,500 shrapnel holes, wounding Levitow 40 times, but he used his body to jettison an armed magnesium flare, which ignited shortly after Levitow ejected it from the aircraft, allowing the AC-47 to

return to base. The armament chosen for the gunships was the General Electric rotary-barreled M-134 machine gun, known as the “minigun,” which could fire either fifty or a hundred rounds of 7.62-mm ammunition per second. Initially three miniguns per ship would be fixed-mounted in a side-firing configuration.

Positioning the aircraft at the proper altitude and angle was the only means of aiming the weapons. The AC-130A prototype flew its last mission on November 18, 1968, and was returned to the States once more.

During its short combat career, the prototype was determined to be the most cost-effective close-support and interdictive craft in the U.S. Air Force arsenal. By 1969, the old AC-47s were beginning to wear out, and it was no longer feasible to keep rebuilding and maintaining them.

Six “Spectre” Gunships In Southeast Asia

On December 1, 1969, a lone AC-47 gunship flew its final mission in Vietnam under American command. The remaining ships were turned over to the South Vietnamese and Laotian Air Forces and continued to fight. The mighty dragon Puff evolved from very humble beginnings.

The predecessor of the first fixed-wing gunship used in Southeast Asia was the WWII twin-engined C-47 (DC-3) “Gooney Bird,” which was first brought to Vietnam as a transport and cargo ship in November 1961. Shortly after

their arrival, many C-47s were outfitted as "flare ships" and designated FC-47 ("F" for flare) to drop huge parachute flares over enemy positions during night attacks. In November 1963, FC-47s flung more than seven thousand flares over enemy positions.

The first AC-119G gunships arrived in Vietnam in December 1968, as the 71st Special Operations Squadron. Four AC-119Gs were in the country by January 1969, but trials revealed that the craft was slow, hard to maneuver, and vulnerable to enemy ground fire;

Spooky And Puff

consequently it was not to be used in high-threat situations. Close-air support was the most appropriate use for the "G" model. This air-to-ground attack aircraft features advanced armament with new computer-directed gun systems. No longer stationary, or fixed-mounted, the guns now have computer-driven, trainable mounting systems, integrated with fire-control avionics.

These advanced fire-control systems are fed target coordinates from infrared and radar sensors. In September 1971, AC-119s began to be turned over to the South Vietnamese Air Force in preparation for the introduction of the latest model gunship, a converted four-engine C-130 cargo plane.

The transfers were completed and Vietnamese crews were fully trained by May. Appreciate the article, served Vietnam 66/67. Sent there as 5000 gal JP4, DIESEL, AV GAS, 500 POUNDERS, NAPALM, & any thing else ! Many of us have a zillion experiences.

Keep publishing them-our stories do matter! Thank you Bob Buckley As the United States began Project Gunship II and Project Gunship III, many of the remaining AC-47Ds were transferred to the Vietnam Air Force (VNAF), the Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF), and to Cambodia, after Prince Sihanouk was deposed in

By Ron Sanders

a coup by General Lon Nol.

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