#ac-130a

29 March 1972- The War on Trucks: the first AC-130A gunship was shot down by a SAM missile over Laos; all 14 crewman lost, remains not found until 1986

Douglas FC-47D tail no. 0-48579—the original “Puff the Magic Dragon”—carried three 7.62mm GE miniguns in makeshift mounts. (U.S. Air Force)

An AC-47’s miniguns, each firing at a rate of 6,000 rounds per minute, unleash on Viet Cong positions. (U.S. Air Force)

With its armament of twin 40mm cannons and a pair of 20mm rotary guns, this Spectre awaits its next mission in a revetment at Thailand’s Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force)

4th Special Operations Squadron crewmen operate an AC-130U’s 105mm gun. (U.S. Air Force)

To supplement the AC-130 in Vietnam, the Fairchild AC-119G and K were developed. (U.S. Air Force)

One of the first production C-130s, which did not have the characteristic "Roman nose" with a weather radar antenna, was converted into the first AC-130A. A picture of the first AC-130A was taken during flight tests over the Gulf of Mexico. On the water surface - splashes from the shells of the aircraft's cannons, a plume of powder gases stretches behind the aircraft.

AC-130-LM Hercules Spectre Gunship 55-0029 of the 16th Special Operations Squadron flying from Korat RTAFB, Thailand, July 1974. This aircraft was retired to AMARC on 15 November 1994