Declassified C130 vid

[cphilip]

Originally posted by Steelrat
"Puff the Magic Dragon" was the name given to C47s fitted with a few miniguns in the side. Those were the first gunships of that type, and were used in Vietnam. The current AC130s have much heavier armament, and much more sophisticated sensors.

Ah yes. Thanks for bringing it all back to me now Steel.

[Wes Janson]

The very large explosions were from the 105 howitzer. The smaller explosions were HE 40mm rounds, I believe. All I feel was pity for the poor bastards down there, because they never had a chance. Imagine running around trying to stay alive while a giant unseen hand is raining down artillery shells aimed at you, and can see everything you do. Considering the number of accidental friendlies killed...there's no way of telling who that was they just greased. How does a friendly tell them not to shoot? Intel screws up and people are doomed to a very frightening and helpless end. It's efficient and damned effective, but still seems almost unfair.

[fire1811]

i have heard many stories from vietnam vets of puff
said they would just use there becon and it would just work its way out in a circle pattern from there position.

also said the brass was just unreal shoulded like it was a full on downpour.

[impostal22]

Originally posted by lopxtc
All on the left ... for those not familiar all the weapons are on the left side of the plance ... which is why it flies in circular patterns around a target ...

Sample pic ..


Aaron

if *all* of the weapons are on teh left side of the plane...wouldn't that make it EXTREMELY vulnerable on the right?

not to mention it wouldn't be balanced on both sides..

[lopxtc]

Yes it does, the pilots are trained compensate for the differences in weight as the plane flys ... and also as it gets lighter when the ammo starts running out.


Aaron

Originally posted by impostal22


if *all* of the weapons are on teh left side of the plane...wouldn't that make it EXTREMELY vulnerable on the right?

not to mention it wouldn't be balanced on both sides..

[penguinpunk555]

Dude,this video just gave me a realy warm feeling knowing that we are getting the bad guys.

[Gunga]

Originally posted by impostal22


if *all* of the weapons are on teh left side of the plane...wouldn't that make it EXTREMELY vulnerable on the right?

not to mention it wouldn't be balanced on both sides..

Well, it's not designed to do air to air combat or anything. It just pounds the ground. The AC-130 starts life as a cargo plane after all. If it were to go into an area where the enemy had some air power, it'd be escorted by some fighters.

When they're unleashing hell upon whatever poor saps they've got in their sights, they do what's called a 'turn around a point'. Basically, they fly a circular pattern around their target.

The pilot in command is in the left seat in the cockpit. Being on the left side of the cockpit, you have better visibility to the left side of the plane, thus making it a lot easier to circle around a point/target. Easier maneuvering = smoother ride = better accuracy. That's why the weapons are on the left side.

[Steelrat]

Talk about a bad day. Having a AC130 firing 40mm and 105mm shells at YOU, and YOU ALONE, is as bad as it gets. Those guys on the ground never even saw the plane shooting at them. Unfair? If they had the gunship, theyd be doing it to our people without hesitation. And as far as friendlies vs. unfriendlies, the friendlies have a certain responsibility to distance themselves from known combatants. The fact that they went to great lengths to spare the mosques shows how concerned the crew was with collateral damage.

[impostal22]

Originally posted by penguinpunk555
Dude,this video just gave me a realy warm feeling knowing that we are getting the bad guys.

heh heh.

i'd argue this would be known as terrorism

don't bother arguing that bombing is a war tactic and terrorism is a war crime. i bet to those people being bombed from thousands of feet up by something they can't even see would argue that it's a cowardly, terrorist act. while we would argue taking a 747 into a tower is terrorism. all about perspective. the 9/11 bombers would say they were killing the bad guys. we argue we're killing the bad guys.

hence, the ultimate idiocy of war. god is on both sides, and both sides are right. weeeeeeeeeeeeee.

watching that turned my stomach. i'd be afraid of myself if it gave me a warm feeling watching others die like that.

anyone ELSE notice that the guy at control gave permission to engage the moving vehicle and then cancelled that permission 15-20 seconds later (enough time for the guy to effectively kill whoever was driving it). he did receive permission again later, but what if he hadn't? such are the dangers of doing this. we don't know for sure who we are killing. people were running around..right outside of a MOSQUE! you can't tell who's civilian and not from up there. not to mention, as we can clearly see, the weapons are not always super accurate.

ABOUT the video itself...why don't we hear any of the guns firing?

[impostal22]

Originally posted by Steelrat
Talk about a bad day. Having a AC130 firing 40mm and 105mm shells at YOU, and YOU ALONE, is as bad as it gets. Those guys on the ground never even saw the plane shooting at them. Unfair? If they had the gunship, theyd be doing it to our people without hesitation. And as far as friendlies vs. unfriendlies, the friendlies have a certain responsibility to distance themselves from known combatants. The fact that they went to great lengths to spare the mosques shows how concerned the crew was with collateral damage.

let's see how easily you avoid getting shelled next time you're around some marines being slaughtered...but wait, that'll never happen. we KNOW that'll never happen.

obviously they'd be doing it to us if they had a gunship. but does that make it any more right? only if you don't think about it. apply the same logic to anything in your life, and you'll see it quickly loses its moral value.

[Beemer]

Heres some pics CPhilip

have heard many stories from vietnam vets of puff
said they would just use there becon and it would just work its way out in a circle pattern from there position

Heres some pics

[Beemer]

another

[Beemer]

The 'Dragon's Breath'

Photographers using time lapse exposure techniques could really capture
the concentration of firepower from an AC-119 as it pours out
the "dragon's breath" on enemy positions in Vietnam.
Note: As the aircraft banks left over the target area,
tracer bullets and the aircraft's rotating beacon create a phenomena
known as the "Cone of Fire", a very awesome and disturbing site!




This is the cone of fire created by an AC-130 Spectre ship's laser
guided, computer controlled cannon. It is visible because every
fifth shell is a tracer round. An AC-130 gunship was requested by
the U.S. military in Mogadishu, Somalia, along with Bradley armored
personnel carriers, for use in the October 2, 1993, raid to capture
lieutenants of Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The request was turned down by
then Secretary of Defense Les Aspin and President Bill Clinton.
The result was Blackhawk Down and the needless death of eighteen of
America's finest.

[Beemer]

last 1

[Wes Janson]

My point exactly, impostal. He gave permission and then rescinded it probably a split second before they were about to fire. Who knows who the hell was down there...some of them went running for the mosque. Only one person in the entire video attacked by the gunship escaped, and that was because he ran into the mosque. How do we know he (or she?) was a combatant? Why did he run for the mosque if he was a Taliban soldier, and not for the caves or for a vehicle? Keep in mind that we've killed hundreds of innocents in Afghanistan from friendly fire, including entire weddings. Why? Because the people celebrating fire some AKs up into the air, and someone upstairs interprets that as a hostile act, and unloads an airstrike-without confirming the target. In one incident, dozens of innocent people were killed when an AC-130 opened up on a wedding in Afghanistan. The problem with that method of attack is that there's no way for the gunners to verify the identity of who they attack...and us paintballers especially should know how frigging confused things can get out on the battlefield.