Posted on 08/08/2015 6:58:04 AM PDT by rktman
Known variously as Puff the Magic Dragon, Dragonships or just Spooky, the AC-47 gunship, with its broadside battery of GE miniguns, was a sight to behold.
In 1965 with the grunts on the ground needing as much persistent close in air support as could be spared, the Air Force went about converting a handful of World War II-era C-47 transports into lead slinging death dealers by attaching a number of General Electric GAU-2/M134 miniguns arranged to fire through the left-hand side of the plane at a target below.
(Excerpt) Read more at guns.com ...
Mobile border fence?
Just a thought...
Dont you know they’d like to circle one of these over Tea Party rallys.
Yeah, but they’d have to hire someone to touch those yucky gun thingys.
The Dragons were spectacular to watch from a distance. Even though only every fifth round was a tracer, the result was a flaming waterfall effect. (I’ve never seen the new AC-130s which also include 40mm Bofors and a 105mm howitzer. I think they’re called Spooky too.)
They’re Specters
One of the gun trucks of Viet Nam has twin Miniguns on it.
Yep. Thanks.
They used to remake them from DC-3s into Puffs on the N. side of Miami Int’l airport. Used to see them being worked on. They had some A-26 Invaders also. That, was a really cool plane.
Not to mention, they wouldn’t be very effective with one-round “clips”.
Maybe they could talk the Tea Partiers into going to therapy sessions with those jihadis.
Only 50? Should have had 5000. Would have won the war.
But I guess that was never really the goal, winning.
I heard that there was a C-117 variant as well. Does anyone know for sure?
I can remember watching when the were attacking at a distance at night, you would see that red line start to form in the dark sky and watch as it got longer and longer. Then it would separate and travel to earth where it would then get shorter and shorter. Only then would you start to hear that unmistakable sound, kinda like canvas ripping.
I would always think that somebody was having a really bad night.
The captured prisoners said the only thing they feared more than the B-52 strikes was Snoopy.
I meant spooky, damn.
Manufactured at the Springfield Armory if my memory is correct before McNamara “the knife” axed it. The Armory was converted into a community college (STCC). Without getting too into the weeds I know someone who machined the parts for the gun and got an award for a cost cutting measure...
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