The Douglas AC-47 'Spooky' was an American counter-insurgency gunship used by the US Air Force during the Vietnam War and other low-intensity armed conflict around the world. It was developed from a World War II cargo plane, the C-47 Skytrain, to meet the need of bringing accurate and concentrated fire to bear on an enemy position from the air. It would also be employed to attack concentration of enemy ground troops, thus providing fire support to friendly spearhead forces to allow them to keep advancing. By the time the cargo plane began to be converted into a gunship aircraft, the versatile C-47 was already more than twenty years old.
The Douglas AC-47 first flew in 1964 in a combat mission to test the effectiveness and capability of the gunship. It would enter service with the US Air Force the following year, in November 1965, as the AC-47D, and it would soon be given the code name 'Spooky'. A total of 53 cargo planes were converted into gunships. From the outset, this ground-attack aircraft was seen as a night weapon, since it flew combat sorties at night. Each gunship carried 56 flares to illuminate targets and make them visible for the gunners operating the Miniguns. The first night mission was flown on the night of December 23/24, 1964, and it was deemed very successful. The aircraft was able to loiter for long periods over suspected Viet Cong ground positions. In Vietnam, it was also known as the 'Magic Dragon'.
On February 8, 1965, the AC-47 was sent to the Bong Son area in the face of a Viet Cong offensive in Central Highlands, South Vietnam. In under five hours, the gunship poured 20,500 rounds of 7.62-mm ammunition into a hilltop where the VC were dug in. More than 300 Viet Cong guerrilla fighters were killed that night. Each Spooky mission was manned by seven US Air Force personnel and a South Vietnamese observer. During its first eleven days of use, the AC-47 flew 18 combat missions, which were also training sorties. By the end of 1965, the Spooky was also based in Thailand, from which it flew combat sorties over Laos to attack VC's sanctuaries.
Specifications (AC-47D)
Type: gunship/ground-attack fixed-wing aircraft
Length: 19.43 m (63 feet, 9 inches)
Wing Span: 29,11 m (95 feet, 6 inches)
Wing Area: 91.69 m2 (987 square feet)
Height: 17 m (55 feet, 9 inches)
Power Plant: two 1,100-HP Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90D Twin Wasp, radial piston engines.
Maximum Speed: 257 km/h (160 mph)
Range: 2,575 km (1,600 miles)
Service Ceiling: 7,450 m (24,450 feet)
Crew: 7
Armament: three 7.62-mm (.30-cal) General Electric SUU-11A Miniguns, which having 6,000 round per minute rate of fire; five .30-cal Browning machine guns.
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| Above, the AC-47 flying over Vietnam. |
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| The GE SUU-11A Miniguns mounted on the port side of aircraft. |
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| The WW2 Douglas C-47 cargo plane, which would be adapted for combat missions. |