#REDIRECT AC-130 gunship
__NOTOC__ The AC-130 Gunship is an armed variant of the Lockheed Corporation C-130 Hercules. Manufacturing is a cooperation between Boeing and Lockheed Corporation. 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. ==Equipment== These heavily armed aircraft incorporate side-firing weapons integrated with sophisticated sensor, navigation and fire control systems to provide targeted firepower or area saturation whilst 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 employs 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 1990 in aviation and can attack two targets simultaneously. It also has twice the munitions capacity of the AC-130H. ==History== * First flight: AC-130U: 20 December 1990 in aviation * Entered service: AC-130H: 1972 in aviation (AC-130U: 1995 in aviation) The AC-130 gunship has a combat history dating to the Vietnam War, where it replaced the AC-47 Spooky and the AC-119 gunship. Gunships destroyed more than 10,000 trucks and were credited with many crucial close air support missions. During Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983 in aviation, 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. AC-130s also had a primary role during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 in aviation when they destroyed Military of Panama 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 Continue 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 in aviation, 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 in aviation to convince Iraq to comply with U.N. weapons inspections. Gunships were later used in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 Iraq War. ====Current deployment==== The AC-130H is produced at a cost of $132.4 million US Dollars and the AC-130U is produced at a cost of $190 million US Dollars (fiscal 2001 in aviation constant dollars). Currently there are eight AC-130H and thirteen AC-130U aircraft in Active Duty service. No aircraft of either type is on reserve or National Guard duty. ==Civilian casualties and controversy== The use of gunships in general and the AC-130 in particular has been controversial at times. Although the on-board systems are effective at identifying targets, it is unable to reliably tell whether those targets are civilians or military. Incidents of attacks on, for example weddings, have been explained by celebratory firing of small calibre weapons (e.g. AK-47s in Afghanistan[http://foi.missouri.edu/whistleblowing/uswarned.html]). Further, in combat areas such as Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, fighters tend to be mixed with the local population either since they are part of that population or, according to American Military sources, because they use the local population as "human shields". This intermingling of population with fighters means that air attack by the AC-130 on a "military targets" risks civilian casualties since it is "not possible to distinguish" combatants from non-combatants. The greater accuracy of attacks from the AC-130 has been claimed [http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1019/p3s1-usmi.htm] to reduce accidental casualties compared to high level bombing. ==Specifications (AC-130U)== ===General characteristics=== * Crew: 13 ** 5 Officers: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, fire control officer, electronic warfare officer ** 8 Enlisted: flight engineer, TV operator, infrared detection set operator, loadmaster, four aerial gunners * Length: 97 ft 9 in (29.8 m) * Wingspan: 132 ft 7 in (40.4 m) * Height: 38 ft 10 in (11.9 m) * Wing area: ft² (m²) * Empty: lb ( kg) * Loaded: lb (kg ) * Maximum takeoff: 155,000 lb (69,750 kg) * Powerplant: 4x Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, 4,910 shaft hp (3,700 kW) each ===Performance=== * Maximum speed: 300 mph (483 km/h) Mach .4 * Range: 2,200 nautical miles (4,070 km) (AC-130H: 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km)) * Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,144 m) (AC-130H: 25,000 ft (7,576 m)) * Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min) * Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²) * Power/mass: ===Armament=== * 1x GAU-12 Equalizer 25mm Gatling gun (AC-130H: 2x M61 Vulcan 20 mm Gatling guns) * 1x Bofors 40 mm gun 40 mm rapid-fire single-barrel autocannon * 1x M102 howitzer Note: The two M61 Vulcan cannons were removed from the AC-130H around 2002. They, along with the L60 Bofors are being replaced by two M242 25mm chain guns. The AC-130U is also replacing the GAU-12 and L-60 with two 25mm M-242's. ==External links== * [http://www.spectre-association.org/history/historySpectre.htm The history of the Gunship from the Spectre Association website. * [http://www.spectre-association.org/aircraft/listingsA.htm AC-130A aircraft names, tail numbers and current locations (if applicable) - also from the Spectre Association website. * [http://www.sftt.org/AC130_Gunship.wmv Video] (low resolution) : Actual live-fire combat mission video (Afghanistan). (WMV format) * [http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=71 Air Force Factsheet: the AC-130H/U GUNSHIP] on which this article was originally based. * [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm FAS.org: AC-130H Spectre/AC-130U Spooky] * [http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Reports/Investigation_Oruzgan_Province.htm Executive summary from US investigation exonerating AC-130 crews who caused civilian casualties in Afghanistan] ==Related content== Related development: Lockheed C-130 Hercules Comparable aircraft: A-10 Thunderbolt II Designation series: See also: * List of military aircraft of the United States Vietnam War aircraft U.S. attack aircraft 1960-1969 U.S. attack aircraft 1990-1999
There are a number of inaccuracies on this page. 'Puff the Magic Dragon' was not the AC-130, but rather the AC-47. Some other stuff here attributed to the AC-130 was actually the work of prior gunships. I'll research and fix. User:Morven 20:46, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- Can we document the various types and nicknames for the gunship? User:Mark Richards 20:44, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- The original material for this page seems to have come from http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=71 which is referenced, but it seems to me it should be credited (if confirmed). Also some of the wording "provide surgical firepower" is non encyclopedic.. :Everything except for the seventh paragraph (which I added just a few days ago) seems to be a direct ripoff from the AF's website. I suppose it's technically okay to do this since the federal government doesn't hold copyrights, but I'm going to start rewording the article anyway. Cut and Pasting is not exactly the sort of behavior we want for an encyclopedia. User:Maclyn611 22:59, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC) _______ I've worked gunships for a long time and still make my living on them. I appreciate the restraint shown in withholding performance data from the page and offer a reminder to both editors and potential contributors: Don't weaken our defense posture by revealing performance data to anyone without a need to know. Thanks. I removed scare quotes from the word "wedding" as they somehow implied that it was not what it was - a wedding--User:FarQPwnsJoo 06:57, 7 May 2005 (UTC) ------- The picture accompanying the text is of an MC-130H Talon II. Gunships have guns.
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Words begining with AC-130_gunship:
AC-130_Gunship
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AC-130 Gunship
#REDIRECT AC-130 gunship
AC-130 gunship
__NOTOC__ The AC-130 Gunship is an armed variant of the Lockheed Corporation C-130 Hercules. Manufacturing is a cooperation between Boeing and Lockheed Corporation. 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. ==Equipment== These heavily armed aircraft incorporate side-firing weapons integrated with sophisticated sensor, navigation and fire control systems to provide targeted firepower or area saturation whilst 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 employs 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 1990 in aviation and can attack two targets simultaneously. It also has twice the munitions capacity of the AC-130H. ==History== * First flight: AC-130U: 20 December 1990 in aviation * Entered service: AC-130H: 1972 in aviation (AC-130U: 1995 in aviation) The AC-130 gunship has a combat history dating to the Vietnam War, where it replaced the AC-47 Spooky and the AC-119 gunship. Gunships destroyed more than 10,000 trucks and were credited with many crucial close air support missions. During Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983 in aviation, 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. AC-130s also had a primary role during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 in aviation when they destroyed Military of Panama 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 Continue 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 in aviation, 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 in aviation to convince Iraq to comply with U.N. weapons inspections. Gunships were later used in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 Iraq War. ====Current deployment==== The AC-130H is produced at a cost of $132.4 million US Dollars and the AC-130U is produced at a cost of $190 million US Dollars (fiscal 2001 in aviation constant dollars). Currently there are eight AC-130H and thirteen AC-130U aircraft in Active Duty service. No aircraft of either type is on reserve or National Guard duty. ==Civilian casualties and controversy== The use of gunships in general and the AC-130 in particular has been controversial at times. Although the on-board systems are effective at identifying targets, it is unable to reliably tell whether those targets are civilians or military. Incidents of attacks on, for example weddings, have been explained by celebratory firing of small calibre weapons (e.g. AK-47s in Afghanistan[http://foi.missouri.edu/whistleblowing/uswarned.html]). Further, in combat areas such as Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, fighters tend to be mixed with the local population either since they are part of that population or, according to American Military sources, because they use the local population as "human shields". This intermingling of population with fighters means that air attack by the AC-130 on a "military targets" risks civilian casualties since it is "not possible to distinguish" combatants from non-combatants. The greater accuracy of attacks from the AC-130 has been claimed [http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1019/p3s1-usmi.htm] to reduce accidental casualties compared to high level bombing. ==Specifications (AC-130U)== ===General characteristics=== * Crew: 13 ** 5 Officers: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, fire control officer, electronic warfare officer ** 8 Enlisted: flight engineer, TV operator, infrared detection set operator, loadmaster, four aerial gunners * Length: 97 ft 9 in (29.8 m) * Wingspan: 132 ft 7 in (40.4 m) * Height: 38 ft 10 in (11.9 m) * Wing area: ft² (m²) * Empty: lb ( kg) * Loaded: lb (kg ) * Maximum takeoff: 155,000 lb (69,750 kg) * Powerplant: 4x Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, 4,910 shaft hp (3,700 kW) each ===Performance=== * Maximum speed: 300 mph (483 km/h) Mach .4 * Range: 2,200 nautical miles (4,070 km) (AC-130H: 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km)) * Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,144 m) (AC-130H: 25,000 ft (7,576 m)) * Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min) * Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²) * Power/mass: ===Armament=== * 1x GAU-12 Equalizer 25mm Gatling gun (AC-130H: 2x M61 Vulcan 20 mm Gatling guns) * 1x Bofors 40 mm gun 40 mm rapid-fire single-barrel autocannon * 1x M102 howitzer Note: The two M61 Vulcan cannons were removed from the AC-130H around 2002. They, along with the L60 Bofors are being replaced by two M242 25mm chain guns. The AC-130U is also replacing the GAU-12 and L-60 with two 25mm M-242's. ==External links== * [http://www.spectre-association.org/history/historySpectre.htm The history of the Gunship from the Spectre Association website. * [http://www.spectre-association.org/aircraft/listingsA.htm AC-130A aircraft names, tail numbers and current locations (if applicable) - also from the Spectre Association website. * [http://www.sftt.org/AC130_Gunship.wmv Video] (low resolution) : Actual live-fire combat mission video (Afghanistan). (WMV format) * [http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=71 Air Force Factsheet: the AC-130H/U GUNSHIP] on which this article was originally based. * [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm FAS.org: AC-130H Spectre/AC-130U Spooky] * [http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Reports/Investigation_Oruzgan_Province.htm Executive summary from US investigation exonerating AC-130 crews who caused civilian casualties in Afghanistan] ==Related content== Related development: Lockheed C-130 Hercules Comparable aircraft: A-10 Thunderbolt II Designation series: See also: * List of military aircraft of the United States Vietnam War aircraft U.S. attack aircraft 1960-1969 U.S. attack aircraft 1990-1999
AC-130 gunship
There are a number of inaccuracies on this page. 'Puff the Magic Dragon' was not the AC-130, but rather the AC-47. Some other stuff here attributed to the AC-130 was actually the work of prior gunships. I'll research and fix. User:Morven 20:46, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- Can we document the various types and nicknames for the gunship? User:Mark Richards 20:44, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- The original material for this page seems to have come from http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=71 which is referenced, but it seems to me it should be credited (if confirmed). Also some of the wording "provide surgical firepower" is non encyclopedic.. :Everything except for the seventh paragraph (which I added just a few days ago) seems to be a direct ripoff from the AF's website. I suppose it's technically okay to do this since the federal government doesn't hold copyrights, but I'm going to start rewording the article anyway. Cut and Pasting is not exactly the sort of behavior we want for an encyclopedia. User:Maclyn611 22:59, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC) _______ I've worked gunships for a long time and still make my living on them. I appreciate the restraint shown in withholding performance data from the page and offer a reminder to both editors and potential contributors: Don't weaken our defense posture by revealing performance data to anyone without a need to know. Thanks. I removed scare quotes from the word "wedding" as they somehow implied that it was not what it was - a wedding--User:FarQPwnsJoo 06:57, 7 May 2005 (UTC) ------- The picture accompanying the text is of an MC-130H Talon II. Gunships have guns.
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