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Phi Vụ AC-47 (Hỏa Long) Yểm Trợ Chiến Trường Vùng 3&4 Chiến Thuật

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Phi Vụ AC-47 (Hỏa Long) Yểm Trợ Chiến Trường Vùng 3&4 Chiến Thuật

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  • Phi Vụ AC-47 (Hỏa Long) Yểm Trợ Chiến Trường Vùng 3&4 Chiến Thuật




    Phi đoàn 817 Hỏa Long, thành lập vào tháng 2/1969, trang bị bằng các AC 47

    GUN SHIP
    On Dec. 15, 1964, an entirely new weapons system was introduced into combat in Vietnam. The first AC-47 gunship took to the air from Bien Hoa Air Base carrying an armament of three 7.62mm General Electric SUU-11A miniguns, each capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute. The "Spooky" was an instant success in breaking up enemy attacks on hamlets and other defensive positions, and within a year substantial numbers of rehabilitated "Gooney Birds" were in action throughout the combat area.

    In September 1967, the USAF's prototype AC-130A gunship was sent to South Vietnam for combat tests; however, its commercially-built fire control computer failed almost immediately so an urgent telegram was sent to the United States for a replacement. It was needed for installation in the AC-130A at Okinawa within 10 days.

    DOUGLAS AC-47D "SPOOKY & HOA LONG"
    The AC-47D combat test program was very successful and the Air Force created the 4th Air Commando Squadron in August 1965 as the first operational unit equipped with the "Spooky" gunship. Although the 4th ACS was based at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, it operated several forward operating locations throughout South Vietnam (Bien Hoa, Pleiku, Na Trang, Da Nang and Can Tho). In November 1965, the 4th ACS was assigned 16 operational aircraft with four more assigned as "advanced attrition" aircraft. Because of a shortage of SUU-11A gun pods, the AC-47Ds were fitted with only two miniguns rather than three. A few aircraft were temporarily fitted with 8 or 10 .30-cal. M2 machine guns, but all were later refitted with miniguns. By early 1966, production of the minigun increased so each of the 16 AC-47Ds was equipped with all three guns.

    With the success of the AC-47 gunship, two more squadrons were created: the 3rd and 5th ACS, all under the 14th Air Commando Wing. In August 1968, the unit designations were changed from Air Commando to Special Operations.

    The USAF converted 53 C-47s for use as gunships during the Vietnam War. Although the AC-47 was an effective attack system, it was also vulnerable to enemy fire. Fifteen aircraft were lost between Dec. 17, 1965, when the first AC-47 was lost due to ground fire and Sept. 5, 1969, when an VNAF AC-47D crashed due to pilot error. In 1969 the USAF turned over its AC-47Ds to the VNAF under the "Vietnamization" program.

    The lessons learned with the AC-47D Gunship I program were used to design an improved version in the Gunship II program using the Lockheed C-130 as the base platform. Later, the Gunship III program converted Fairchild C-119s into side-firing gunships.
    (Source: U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet)

    DOUGLAS C-47
    SPECIFICATIONS :

    •Span: 95 ft.
    •Length: 64 ft. 5 in.
    •Height: 16 ft. 11 in.
    •Weight: 33,000 lbs. loaded
    •Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-1830s of 1,200 hp each
    •Armament: Three SUU-11A 7.62mm miniguns firing at up to 6,000 rpm. The AC-47D typically carried about 16,500 rounds of ammunition. Note: Three aircraft initially equipped with 8 or 10 .30-cal. machine guns and others had just two SUU-11A miniguns (due to lack of availability from the manufacturer). Later, the SUU-11As were replaced by specially designed General Electric MXU-470/A 7.62mm miniguns. 48 MK-24 Mod 3 flares with 2 million candlepower and a 3-minute maximum burn duration. Note: Initially (in 1964 and early 1965) 30 MK-6 flares of 750,000 candlepower were carried before the MK-24 flares were available. Later in the war, several replacements for the MK-24 flares were proposed including the MK-33 one million candlepower rocket and MLU-32/B99 "Briteye" 5 million candlepower flare

    PERFORMANCE:

    •Maximum speed: 232 mph
    •Cruising speed: 175 mph
    •Attack speed: 120 knots
    •Range: 1,513 miles
    •Serv


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