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Old February 13, 2013, 03:49 AM   #26
Bud Helms
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 31, 1999
Location: Middle Georgia, USA
Posts: 13,198
Okay, gentlemen.

As a retired member of the USAF Airborne Artillery Brigade (AKA: AC-130 Spectre, the A-model in my case), may I say that for many of us, you guys were the reason for the mission.

I came here to close this thread because it is off topic and not about firearms, but I thought I'd give it one shot to get back on topic.

Here is what I rode when we went "outside the wire".


The First Lady: 53-3129. She gets credit for being the first commissioned C-130 in the USAF. A 1953 tail number.




2 ea 20mm GE Vulcan "Gatlings" up front.




2 ea 40mm Swedish Bofors Cannon in the back.



There were also provisions for 7.62 miniguns (2 ea) over the left wheel well, but with the advent of shoulder-fired SAMs they fell out of use quickly (low altitude and man-portable heat seekers don't mix. ).

Today the configuration of C-130-based side-firing gunships has advanced far beyond the days when I crewed on these. Oct 95 was my last flight.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg A-model 20mms.jpg (15.8 KB, 94 views)
File Type: jpg The First Lady.jpg (4.2 KB, 98 views)
File Type: jpg A-model 40mms.jpg (7.7 KB, 100 views)
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