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For those who care,"Puff the Magic Dragon" was the nickname given in Viet Nam to the C-47 gun ship (the AC-130's predecessor). The C47, used since before WW II, was a militarized DC-3; the two main differences being advanced radar in the nose cone and more powerful engines than the civilian version. The Puff came in a variety of gun configurations, including having an artillery piece in the belly of the cabin. I'm sure more technically adept contributors here can add to this general explanation.