AC-47 SPOOKY ,AC-119 SHADOW GUNSHIP III, AC-130H SPECTRE (Segunda Parte)
The C-130 Hercules was selected as the new base aircraft gunner project to replace the AC-47 Gunship I known as "Spooky" or "Puff the Magic Dragon" (the title track by folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary ) during the Vietnam War, to improve the resistance as a gunboat and increase transport capacity of weapons. In 1967, the JC-130A USAF aircraft 54-1626 was chosen to become the prototype AC-130A. The changes were made that year in the Air Force Base Wright-Patterson, the Aeronautical Systems Division. A direct night vision telescope was installed at the front door, near infrared viewer. The prototype of analogue control computer fire was handmade by the RAF Commander Tom Pinkerton, in the laboratory of USAF aircraft. Flight tests of the prototype were conducted at Eglin base, followed by further testing and modifications. In September 1967, the aircraft was certified and ready for combat testing and taken to the air base at Nha Trang, South Vietnam for a test program of 90 days. As a result of the successes, a few AC-130A were constructed using similar equipment and analogue computers. The original 54-1626 Gunship is exposed in the Museum of the USAF. The AC-130 was the replacement for the AC-119 Gunship Shadow III during the Vietnam War, who later showed his little power and payload in wartime. In 1970, an additional dozen AC-130As were acquired under the "Pave Pronto". Despite the name of the project, the aircraft was commonly called by the squad as a Spectre.
