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 .

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.

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.

2023年10月20日 · 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 be called a Gunship. It was a modification of the C-47 “Skytrain” which gained a stellar reputation for its reliability and multifunctionality during World War II.

2015年8月7日 · 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 the...

2021年8月20日 · The AC-47 was a repurposed cargo aircraft that became the first fixed-wing gunship operated in Southeast Asia, and it got its nickname, “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” from the glowing red emissions that lit up the sky while the aircraft was in the air.

The AC-119 and the AC-130 succeeded the AC-47 in the gunship role with their greater capacity and better design for gunship use. As it pioneered in cargo and passenger transport, the C-47 also pioneered in development of the gunship, which became so important to special operations.

2024年2月10日 · 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.

2018年5月12日 · 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.

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...