the AC-130 gunship?

Question

does the AC-130 gunship really have like lots and lots of guns? or is it just a transport..if it's just a transport then why is it named a gunship?

Answer 1

The AC-130 gunship is an armed variant of the C-130 Hercules. Manufacturing is a cooperation between Boeing and Lockheed.

The primary missions of the United States Air Force's AC-130H Spectre and AC-130U Spooky gunships are close air support, air interdiction, and force protection. Missions in close air support are troops in contact, convoy escort and urban operations. Air interdiction missions are conducted against planned targets or targets of opportunity. Force protection missions include air base defense and facilities defense.

These heavily armed aircraft incorporate side-firing weapons integrated with sophisticated sensor, navigation and fire control systems to provide targeted firepower or area saturation while spending long periods flying over their target area at night and in adverse weather. The sensor suite consists of a television sensor, infrared sensor, and radar. These sensors allow the gunship to visually or electronically identify friendly ground forces and targets in most conditions. The AC-130U is equipped with the AN/APQ-180, a synthetic aperture radar for long-range target detection and identification. The gunship's navigational devices include the inertial navigation systems and Global Positioning System. The AC-130U employs technologies developed in the 1990s and can attack two targets simultaneously. It also has twice the munitions capacity of the AC-130H.

An interesting sensor fitted during the Vietnam era was the Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), a highly sensitive passive device which picks up localized deviations from earth's magnetic field and is normally used to detect submerged submarines. The MAD array of the C-130 could detect the ignition coils of enemy trucks hidden under dense foliage, alerting the crew to their presence.

The AC-130 gunship has a combat history dating to the Vietnam War, where it replaced the AC-47 and the AC-119. According to legend, the side-firing gunship idea came from old mail airplanes which flew in a circle to deliver a package accurately; in any case, whereas forward-firing gunships can only fire during the short time of the firing pass, the side-firing gunship circling around the target can shoot non-stop, so the enemy is kept under fire (or the area denied) continuously as long as the gunship is present. Also, a side-firing gunship spotting a fast-moving target (such as a truck) can attack more quickly, as it doesn't need a separate approach and firing pass maneuver: it simply turns to the enemy and takes aim.

In Vietnam, gunships destroyed more than 10,000 trucks and were credited with many crucial close air support missions. During the Invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) in 1983, AC-130s suppressed enemy air defense systems and attacked ground forces enabling the successful assault of the Point Salines Airfield via airdrop and air land of friendly forces. The AC-130 aircrew earned the Lt. Gen. William H. Tunner Award for the mission.


105 mm gun (foreground), 40 mm Bofors (background)AC-130s also had a primary role during the United States invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) in 1989 when they destroyed Panama Defense Force headquarters and numerous command and control facilities. Aircrews earned the Mackay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year and the Tunner Award for their efforts.

During Operation Desert Storm, AC-130s provided close air support and force protection (air base defense) for ground forces. Gunships were also used during Operations Restore Hope and United Shield in Somalia, providing close air support for United Nations ground forces. More recently, gunships played a pivotal role in supporting the NATO mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The AC-130H provided air interdiction against key targets in the Sarajevo area.

In 1997, gunships were diverted from Italy to provide combat air support for U.S. and allied ground troops during the evacuation of American noncombatants in Albania. Gunships also were part of the buildup of U.S. forces in 1998 to convince Iraq to comply with U.N. weapons inspections. Gunships were later used in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the Iraq War.

Answer 2

The AC-130 Spectre gunship is just that. A gunship. The other C-130's are transport. Spectre's provide interdiction as well as close air support to ground forces.

Answer 3

Lockheed AC-130 Spectre is a heavy gunship (especially as most other gunships are very light aircraft with heavy armaments), converted from the airframe of the C-130 Hercules (C stands for cargo/transport, while A stands for attack)
With its gigantic frame, extreme force projection, and relatively small number (mostly because of a lack of airframes avalaible; the C-130 is still a quite popular and reliable transport, which means a large number of them has to stay unconverted) have let this flying symbol of power achieve legendary status throughout the missions it was used at.
As for the armaments, yeah, it is heavily armed. This flying behemoth always carries two 40mm L/60 Bofors cannons, along with an 105mm M1 Howitzer, both being able to wreak havoc, the first through its steady power projection, and the latter through its raw yield. Depending on the yield, the AC-130 can also carry a GAU/12 Avenger autocannon or two 30mm Bushmaster autocannons, along with a tail turret on some early versions. Currently, projects are being held to fit the Spectre with AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles for self defense, along with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, SLAMs (Standoff Land Attack Missiles), and JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) for stand-off capability.
You will have a hard time finding a single ground-attack aircraft (not heavy bombers) which can carry such a large and versatile amount of munitions.

Answer 4

Hi from Canada! The Ac-130 Gunship is a transport revamped to carry chain guns used in counter insurrgency warfare. Very powerful! It derived from the C-130 Hercules transport plane.

Answer 5

Just to correct another post, "Puff the Magic Dragon" is not an AC-130. That was an earlier version with a similar mission built on a much older aircraft (as seen in "The Green Berets" movie). The AC-130 is referred to as "Spectre" and is built on a C-130 platform. Like others have said, it carries a host of weapons to include up to a 105mm cannon.

You can probably find videos of the plane in action on youtube or other websites. There is a video from a few years ago where the plane is used to take out some taliban or terrorists. The taliban were trying to run and hide in caves and the planes cannon was doing nasty things to them.

I saw a few of these in a certain part of Iraq that I will not name.

Answer 6

its not just a transport plane it also is a gunship and a transport the reason its a transport is becase it carrys supplise into battle and when its doing that its also pertecting the troops on the ground and protecting where its goona land so its really desind for corgo but 5 years after it was mad they turnd it in to a gunship so it realy depends what misson it is in to call it a transport plane or a gunship

Answer 7

It's equipped with several 20mm electric gatling-type guns mounted in ports all down one side of the plane. They lock the plane into a turn so the guns all point down, and when they fire they pour out so much ammo the plane actually gains altitude from becoming lighter! I remember when they were used in Somolia during night-time raids on warlord compounds. The tracer fire looked like a tornado of fire. A three-second burst from one of these will put a bullet every six inches in an area the size of a football field.
Some of these planes are also equipped with a 105 howitzer.
Seriously.
Yeah, They got guns.

Answer 8

AC-130 Spectre Gunship is a side firing gun platform Based on the C-130 Hercules Cargo plane

PHOTOS:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/ac-130h-dll.jpg

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/ac-130h-nvg.jpg

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/ac-130u-19990803ac130a.jpg

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/ac-130u_image11.jpg

VIDEO:
AC-130 in action:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6061942703592677905&q=AC-130&hl=en

Guncamera AC-130 in Afghanistan firing on terrorists near a mosque
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4196355876653735555&q=AC-130&hl=en

Answer 9

The AC-130U "Spooky"
Armorment:
1 GAU-12 25mm Gatling Gun
1 40mm Bofors Gun
1 105mm Howitzer.

Answer 10

No firebase in vietnam was overrun while spooky was on deck. I saw pictures of the tracers that came out of the chain gun, while flying in a circle. It looked like a solid cone of light.