Lockheed AC-130A Spectre "Jaws of Death"
The success of the AC-47 Spooky COIN aircraft in Vietnam led to consideration given to an upgraded version in a larger, newer aircraft—the AC-47s already approaching 30 years old during the war. The C-130 was the natural choice, and in 1967 a JC-130A testbed was modified as a gunship. It was initially given the callsign Super Spooky, but later changed to Spectre. After successful operational trials over both South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos, several more C-130As and C-130Es were modified to Project Spectre standard, mounting four GAU-2/A 7.62mm Minigun gatling cannons and four M61A1 Vulcan 20mm gatling cannons. A few were in turn modified by removing two of the Vulcans in favor of two Bofors 40mm cannon for use against armored targets under Project Surprise Package.
Besides their heavy weaponry, the AC-130s also had a comphrensive electronics suite, consisting of night vision equipment, FLIR, improved avionics and navigation equipment, and a digital fire-control system. In addition, AC-130s also carried a modified MAD sensor called Black Crow, which allowed the gunships to detect spark plugs used by North Vietnamese trucks. Following the end of the Vietnam War, the USAF retired all other gunship designs but kept the AC-130 in service, standardizing them as the AC-130H with two Vulcans, a single Bofors, and a M102 105mm howitzer, as the gatlings and the 40mm cannon had proven inadequate against hardened targets (such as tanks) or area attacks.
This proved to be a prescient choice, as AC-130s have seen service in every war fought by the United States since Vietnam: Grenada, Panama, both Gulf Wars, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Libya. During the Panama operation, Spectre crews successfully decapitated Panamanian Defense Force leadership by destroying the PDF’s headquarters, while they were instrumental in stopping an Iraqi armored column during the Battle of Khafji. In Afghanistan in 2001, AC-130s were the first USAF aircraft to see action, and proved so devastating in their first combat, the Battle of Konduz, that the city fell the next day to Northern Alliance forces without a shot.
The Spectre has been continually improved, and current USAF units use AC-130H/U variants. The AC-130U deletes the two Vulcans in favor of a single trainable GAU-12/A Equalizer 25mm gatling cannon, and has a much more advanced sensor suite over the H model. The “U-Boats” use an APQ-180 synthetic aperature radar and GPS-guided fire control, and can attack two targets simutaneously with twice the ammunition storage of the AC-130H.
The effect of the AC-130 in any form is devastating; no camp or unit defended by Spectres has ever been overrun by an enemy force. The guns of a Spectre can place a bullet on every square foot of a football field every second until the ammunition runs out. The only real weakness of the AC-130 is its vulnerability to ground fire, though most threats to the Spectre from light antiaircraft fire are usually eliminated quickly, while heavier flak can be defeated by escorts. Spectres carry a range of powerful ECM and countermeasures against SAMs, but aside from shoulder-fired SAMs, AC-130s rarely operate in such a high-threat environment and never in areas where enemy fighters could intercept them. Currently, the USAF has a single wing of AC-130s, with AC-130Hs being slated for retirement soon, while the AC-130U will serve for some years to come.
55-0014 was built originally as a standard C-130A transport for the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing at Ashiya and Tachikawa, Japan. In 1968, it was converted to an AC-130A Spectre and was assigned to the 16th Special Operations Squadron at Ubon RTAFB, Thailand, where it operated against North Vietnamese forces on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia; it was named "Jaws of Death," a name it would retain until the end of its career.
After its Vietnam service, "Jaws" was transferred to the 919th SOG of the Air Force Reserve at Duke Field, Florida, where most of the AC-130As ended up by the late 1970s. It was due for retirement by the beginning of the First Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) in 1991, and was one of several 919th AC-130As sent to the theater in Feburary of that year. It flew 23 missions during its month in combat over Kuwait and Iraq, including over the infamous "Highway of Death" near Basra. In 1995, "Jaws" was retired with the rest of the A-models, and was donated to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia.
55-0014 is displayed in the gunship gray scheme used by AC-130s in the 1990s and presently; AC-130As were retrofitted with later four-bladed propellers rather than the three-bladed ones used by the early C-130As. It carries the Spectre nose art used by the AC-130 fleet to this day, with 23 camels for mission markers (these are not the numbers of camels killed by the aircraft!).
It's interesting that, a few days after photographing 55-0014, I got a picture of 54-1623, another AC-130A, this one on display up the road at Dobbins AFB. The two aircraft's careers parallel each other: both were converted at the same time to gunships, both served in Vietnam and Desert Storm, and both were retired to museums in Georgia.
Lockheed AC-130A Spectre "Jaws of Death"
The success of the AC-47 Spooky COIN aircraft in Vietnam led to consideration given to an upgraded version in a larger, newer aircraft—the AC-47s already approaching 30 years old during the war. The C-130 was the natural choice, and in 1967 a JC-130A testbed was modified as a gunship. It was initially given the callsign Super Spooky, but later changed to Spectre. After successful operational trials over both South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos, several more C-130As and C-130Es were modified to Project Spectre standard, mounting four GAU-2/A 7.62mm Minigun gatling cannons and four M61A1 Vulcan 20mm gatling cannons. A few were in turn modified by removing two of the Vulcans in favor of two Bofors 40mm cannon for use against armored targets under Project Surprise Package.
Besides their heavy weaponry, the AC-130s also had a comphrensive electronics suite, consisting of night vision equipment, FLIR, improved avionics and navigation equipment, and a digital fire-control system. In addition, AC-130s also carried a modified MAD sensor called Black Crow, which allowed the gunships to detect spark plugs used by North Vietnamese trucks. Following the end of the Vietnam War, the USAF retired all other gunship designs but kept the AC-130 in service, standardizing them as the AC-130H with two Vulcans, a single Bofors, and a M102 105mm howitzer, as the gatlings and the 40mm cannon had proven inadequate against hardened targets (such as tanks) or area attacks.
This proved to be a prescient choice, as AC-130s have seen service in every war fought by the United States since Vietnam: Grenada, Panama, both Gulf Wars, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Libya. During the Panama operation, Spectre crews successfully decapitated Panamanian Defense Force leadership by destroying the PDF’s headquarters, while they were instrumental in stopping an Iraqi armored column during the Battle of Khafji. In Afghanistan in 2001, AC-130s were the first USAF aircraft to see action, and proved so devastating in their first combat, the Battle of Konduz, that the city fell the next day to Northern Alliance forces without a shot.
The Spectre has been continually improved, and current USAF units use AC-130H/U variants. The AC-130U deletes the two Vulcans in favor of a single trainable GAU-12/A Equalizer 25mm gatling cannon, and has a much more advanced sensor suite over the H model. The “U-Boats” use an APQ-180 synthetic aperature radar and GPS-guided fire control, and can attack two targets simutaneously with twice the ammunition storage of the AC-130H.
The effect of the AC-130 in any form is devastating; no camp or unit defended by Spectres has ever been overrun by an enemy force. The guns of a Spectre can place a bullet on every square foot of a football field every second until the ammunition runs out. The only real weakness of the AC-130 is its vulnerability to ground fire, though most threats to the Spectre from light antiaircraft fire are usually eliminated quickly, while heavier flak can be defeated by escorts. Spectres carry a range of powerful ECM and countermeasures against SAMs, but aside from shoulder-fired SAMs, AC-130s rarely operate in such a high-threat environment and never in areas where enemy fighters could intercept them. Currently, the USAF has a single wing of AC-130s, with AC-130Hs being slated for retirement soon, while the AC-130U will serve for some years to come.
55-0014 was built originally as a standard C-130A transport for the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing at Ashiya and Tachikawa, Japan. In 1968, it was converted to an AC-130A Spectre and was assigned to the 16th Special Operations Squadron at Ubon RTAFB, Thailand, where it operated against North Vietnamese forces on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia; it was named "Jaws of Death," a name it would retain until the end of its career.
After its Vietnam service, "Jaws" was transferred to the 919th SOG of the Air Force Reserve at Duke Field, Florida, where most of the AC-130As ended up by the late 1970s. It was due for retirement by the beginning of the First Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) in 1991, and was one of several 919th AC-130As sent to the theater in Feburary of that year. It flew 23 missions during its month in combat over Kuwait and Iraq, including over the infamous "Highway of Death" near Basra. In 1995, "Jaws" was retired with the rest of the A-models, and was donated to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia.
55-0014 is displayed in the gunship gray scheme used by AC-130s in the 1990s and presently; AC-130As were retrofitted with later four-bladed propellers rather than the three-bladed ones used by the early C-130As. It carries the Spectre nose art used by the AC-130 fleet to this day, with 23 camels for mission markers (these are not the numbers of camels killed by the aircraft!).
It's interesting that, a few days after photographing 55-0014, I got a picture of 54-1623, another AC-130A, this one on display up the road at Dobbins AFB. The two aircraft's careers parallel each other: both were converted at the same time to gunships, both served in Vietnam and Desert Storm, and both were retired to museums in Georgia.