AC-47 takes to the air

spookyboss · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 12:39 pm

After a long cold winter of maintance on the AC-47 we rolled it out of the hanger fired it up did an engine run up and flew it for an hour. She flew perfectly as always! it is a time machine and a great thrill to get to fly her. we have some airshows already booked for this summer and everyone can check them out at our site www.squadron14.com

Oscar Duck · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 5:58 pm

Well done chaps. Love the "Spooky". Saw them during my time in the South East Asian "Wargames" in the early '70's...

dj51d · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:06 pm

That's great to hear. I'm looking forward to seeing the AC-47 again in May and getting some better photos than last year.

JohnH · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 6:24 am

And this is also known as Puff the Magic Dragon or is that the C-130 version?

John

N3Njeff · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 7:03 am

AC-47 "spooky"
AC-119G "Shadow"
AC-119K "Stinger"
AC-130A/H "Spectre"
AC-130U "Spooky"

Puff has been a name for the ground pounders

RMAllnutt · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 10:13 am

Just out of curiosity, is this AC-47 and original gunship, or was it just converted from a C-47 to represent one? It's a terrific exhibit regardless... just wasn't aware of any AC-47 survivors, and if it's a real one, then that's even better. Thanks for all the great work.

Cheers,
Richard

N3Njeff · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:42 pm

Was a converted C-47, painted in the honor of a MOH recipant that flew the origional in SEA.
Think it was Air Classics that had a article on it.

airnutz · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 4:16 pm

I was under the impression, that the first AC-47's in '65 were named, and
nicknamed Puff the Magic Dragon. Complete with dragon-breathing-fire
noseart. When asked what they wanted as a "Call Sign for their spooky birds"..the call sign "Spooky" was decided to be just fine. Then the name
"Spooky" evolved to refer to all AC-47 Gunships.

When dad got home from 'Nam in 69, he had photos of the AC-47
Gunships...we referred to them as Puffs..he corrected us and said, "No
those are "Spooky's"...complete with "ghost nose art".

Oscar Duck · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:08 pm

One gunship not on your list was the smallest of them all. I own and fly a Cessna 0-1G Birddog that was used to tial a mini-gunship concept in Vietnam in 1966. S/n 0-11976 was fitted with a side mounted M-60 GPMG in place of the back seat and named "Little Puff". Photos of her exist in Vietnam and she currently resides with the rest of my collection in Brisbane....

airnutz · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:20 pm

Oscar Duck..kewwwelll...piccies Pleeezzz?? :wink:

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 6:12 pm

Airnutz,
My historian hat is on and the answer to your question is has follows:
The first C-47 gunship was converted by Capt Ron Terry at Wright-Pat. It was s/n 44-8462 and named "Terry and the Pirates" and it carried a single SUU-11A minigun.
But, the first aircraft to mount a minigun was a Convair C-131 s/n 53-7820 which also mounted a single gun.
"Puff" (not "Puff-the Magic Dragon") was s/n 44-48579 and was armed with 3 mini guns by Capt Terry at Clark Field in 1966 and flown by him to Viet Nam.
Due to the shortage of guns and mounts, 4 aircraft were field modified in VN to carry 10 .30 cal MGs! One of these was s/n 44-4891 (?) and named "Git'Em-Bullett".
Hopes this helps.....Jack

airnutz · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2005 9:38 pm

Ummmnn...No Jack, it is getting more confusing. I heard the 30 cal. setup
was tried 1st. in combat. I got the R&D at Wright-Patt. Didn't know about C-31 tests. Thanx..

I ran across a website awhile back stating Puffs were 1st combat with
mini-guns..he was a Puff vet from inception, 1965...I gott go find it.
Thanks Jack.. :roll:

airnutz · **Posted:** Mon Mar 28, 2005 4:27 pm

OK, Jack..I found the source of my confusion with the AC-47 program. At
a Gooney site is an online "book" by Lt.Col "Jack" Haller. It is more of an
online pamphlet consisting of a collection of stories by various early
AC-47 participants. Haller made this statement about training with the
newly forming 4th Air Commando Squadron, at Forbes AFB Kansas....
"There was supposed to be a group of Gooney Birds in Vietnam developing
the tactics for our combat missions, but they had .30 caliber machine guns
firing 800 rounds per minute....", But being as the gunship program was
a classified "Secret" project, there is no reason to suggest what actual
details would be available to Col. Haller. This comment was probably made in mid-1965..just guessing by the now apparent timeline of when
the .30 cal ships were outfiited and Hallers training at that point. He
couldn't know that "combatship#1", FC-47D"Puff" 43-48579 had begun Ops
15 Dec 1964 with the SUU-11a miniguns in Vietnam with USAF 1st ACS.

Part of the confusion is created by Col. Hallers inconsistent timeline
and some, in my opinion, retro history. He reports to Forbes "sometime"
in 1964. 4th Air Commando Squadron then reports to 'Nam late '65.
When reading through a lot of Puff/Spooky stuff one hopes for someone
to tell their story of the their involvement in the FC-47/AC-47 in a
"timeline" fashion and then leading into the "Puff" and then onto the
eventual "Spooky" history..but it don't happen that way... at least as far
as what's available on the web. It is also related in this pamphlet that the
Green Berets training them in "Vietnam education and fieldcraft", are
already calling the F/AC-47's "Puff the Magic Dragon"..a guzzillion times..
I might add...throughout this story. Anyway, here Hallers "book"...

http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/stories?1005

As for "combatship #1", 48-48579 being gunned-up at Clark and then
being flown to 'Nam by Terry in 1966..I can find no record of this.
Everything I've read, says a C-47D was a mailrun-machine actively being
flown out of Nha Trang by Capt. Jack Harvey USAF. Capt. Terry picked
48-48579 from a maintenance list solely for her low-time and inferred
maintainance-free operation, (relatively speaking). This was in fall 1964
and the guns-conversion was performed in Bien Hoa. FC-47D 48579
became operational 15 Dec. 1964, with Capt. Harvey continuing as
commander of the ship along with another relief crew led by Lee Johnson.
Everyone has pretty-much heard how "Puff the Magic Dragon" was
christened following a Stars and Stripes reporters description, which in
my guess-timate would have been early spring 1965...about the time
FC-47 gunship#2 was coming on-line. Here is a color profile of "Puff"
FC-47D after Harvey and Johnson agreed to christen her...
http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/gallery?60075

Has anyone seen a copy of the Stars and Stripes with the authors
description of "Puff the Magic Dragon", which led to "Puffs" name??
I'd really like to see a copy of that issue or article. It would also make a
nice addition to the American Flight Museums archival display for their
AC-47. www.squadron14.com

Here's another colorplate of a later version of the AC-47 of the 4th ACS...
http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/gallery?60065

Other, I Heards...
Most of the web-history of the F/AC-47 Gunship is a mishmash of "facts".
Most relate how Cpt. Terry enters 'Nam in Fall of 64...designs the mounts
for the "Non-Pod" SUU11a mini's and installs said guns. He then adapts
a Mk20mod4 Gunsight from an A1-E Skyraider and "Bam!" off they go.
Some details suggest otherwise,
-One account from a Specter-guy relates "he heard", that the earliest
form of sighting was a "welding rod fastened to the wingtip with a X
marked with grease pencil on the pilots window for a sighting tool."

-Another suggests that they used a "gunsight cobbled up from a crosshair
reticle and a 16mm camera reflex viewfinder", Walter J. Boyne.
...before they adapted the mk20.

I would like to find a few good books on the early efforts of Capt. Terry
and would really like to read a detailed account from Capt. Harvey
concerning his observation/participation/training in the "very brisk"
implementation of the "Terry mods". Roughly Oct.-Dec. 1964. Any suggestions guys??

A very good page on the history of th gunship program and AC-47....
http://ac-119gunships.com/ac47/gunshipac47.htm

Hope this is informative ..and correct...

airnutz · **Posted:** Mon Mar 28, 2005 4:57 pm

Thanks Rob...I have been wondering of any of the Laotian AC-47's still
survive in some form there. Everyone is focused on WW2 warbirds
in Southeast Asia, but I wonder what is laying about in Laos, Cambodia,
Thailand etc. Setter country? I have seen some photos of some FAC
stuff a while back...in I think was, Vientiene and this makes me wonder
about other boneyards.

RMAllnutt · **Posted:** Mon Mar 28, 2005 10:10 pm

Col. Rohr wrote:

Hi All,

As for any existing AC-47 out their the answer is no like the B-26K when they came back they where cut up right away thou I've been told that their might be one or two fusl. still out their.

RER

...actually Rob, a couple of B-26K's did survive the initial scrapping. There was one at the Florence air Museum, which survived until that museum closed. I believe it was reduced to parts with the majority scrapped, however, the USAFM does have a complete B-26K in its reserve collection (see link). You are right though in that they were not released to the public after decommisioning. Perhaps a few others survive, but of these I do not know.

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/annex/an21a.htm

Cheers for the info on the AC-47's by the way.

Cheers,
Richard

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