[JoeGar]

To my generation, AC130s were affectionally called "Puff" -- after the fire-breathing dragon.

[Nam Vet]

Puff! heh heh. Hi there Buddy. From one ol' f*rt to another.

Nam Vet

[Nip]

Sorry my friend, but the “Puff” call sign was never used by the AC-130. It was used by its immediate predecessor, the AC-47.

There was only one time that an AC-130 might have been confused with “Puff” (also called “Spooky”) – that was during its secret combat eval circa 1967.

I volunteered for AC-130 duty during Vietnam and couldn’t get into the program until 1975. Proudly flew the unfriendly skies with Specter until 1990 and still work with that platform today doing test and development.