The Douglas AC-47 ("Puff, the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of fixed-wing gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was designed to provide more firepower than light and medium ground-attack aircraft in certain situations when ground forces called for close air support .

Aug 7, 2015 · The AC-47 gunship, commonly referred to as Spooky, packed a trio of miniguns in the cargo hold of a WWII transport and could churn out 6,000 rounds per minute, with spent brass streaming out...

Spooky -- the first operational Air Force gunship -- was based on the World War II-era Douglas C-47 cargo aircraft. Armed with three side-firing 7.62mm miniguns, Spooky gunships dropped flares and stopped enemy ground attacks against airfields, bases and villages.

The AC-47, affectionately known by U.S. troops as “Spooky,” was the aircraft that proved the concept of the aerial fixed-wing gunship as a close air support weapon. Fixed wing refers to a standard airplane as opposed to a helicopter or rotary wing aircraft.

Oct 25, 2024 · A time lapse image of a night air assault by an AC-47 filling the dark skies with thousands of tracer rounds, demonstrating the firepower this aircraft could bring to bear against a large enemy...

Feb 10, 2024 · Will Dabbs, a former U.S. Army aviator, examines the Douglas AC-47 Spooky. The first in a series of fixed wing planes developed by the U.S. Air Force to be used as gunships, the aircraft brought a lot of firepower to Americans with an urgent need in the Vietnam War.

Oct 20, 2023 · The AC-47 was designed for use in defense of Special Forces Camps and hamlets where it could provide close air support against enemy invaders and assist in counterinsurgency by dropping flares and breaking up Viet Cong attacks.

US Air Force innovated a solution, the AC-47. The AC-47 goes by many names, originally the FC-47, more famously “Puff the Magic Dragon” or “Spooky” but, was the first in a line of aircraft to...

May 12, 2018 · On 15 December 1964, the AC-47D, using the call sign “Spooky”, was introduced into combat in Southeast Asia. It was an instant success in breaking up enemy attacks on hamlets and other defensive positions, and within a year, substantial numbers of the rehabilitated “Gooney Birds” were in action throughout the region.

The Douglas AC-47 Spooky was developed by the United States Air Force as a ground attack aircraft and close air support gunship. It was a modification of the C-47 and was the first in a family of fixed-wing gunships throughout the Second Indochina War.