Posted on 03/03/2006 10:41:34 AM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
AN AIR BASE IN IRAQ - The U.S. Air Force has begun moving heavily armed AC-130 airplanes — the lethal "flying gunships" of the Vietnam War — to a base in Iraq as commanders search for new tools to counter the Iraqi resistance, The Associated Press has learned.
An AP reporter saw the first of the turboprop-driven aircraft after it landed at the airfield this week. Four are expected.
The Iraq-based special forces command controlling the AC-130s, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, said it would have no comment on the deployment. But the plan's general outline was confirmed by other Air Force officers, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Military officials warned that disclosing the location of the aircraft's new base would violate security provisions of rules governing media access to U.S. installations.
The four-engine gunships, whose home base is Hurlburt Field in Florida, have operated over Iraq before, flying from airfields elsewhere in the region. In November 2004, air-to-ground fire from AC-130s supported the U.S. attack that took the western city of Fallujah from insurgents. Basing the planes inside Iraq will cut hours off their transit time to reach suspected targets.
The left-side ports of the AC-130s, 98-foot-long planes that can slowly circle over a target for long periods, bristle with a potent arsenal — 40 mm cannon that can fire 120 rounds per minute, and big 105 mm cannon, normally a field artillery weapon. The plane's latest version, the AC-130U, known as "Spooky," also carries Gatling gun-type 20 mm cannon.
The gunships were designed primarily for battlefield use to place saturated fire on massed troops. In Vietnam, for example, they were deployed against North Vietnamese supply convoys along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, where the Air Force claimed to have destroyed 10,000 trucks over several years.
The use of AC-130s in places like Fallujah, urban settings where insurgents may be among crowded populations of noncombatants, has been criticized by human rights groups.
The slow-moving AC-130s also offer an intelligence gathering advantage in the Iraq fight: sophisticated long-range video, infrared and radar sensors.
American commanders are marshaling all available tools to detect the Iraqi insurgents' stealthy operations, especially at night, when they plant roadside bombs targeting American road patrols and convoys.
The Air Force's senior tactical commander in Iraq said the AC-130 can be both a high-intensity and low-intensity weapon.
"It's got tons of guns, and it's got all kinds of stuff on it that can be applied to the problems you have," Brig. Gen. Frank Gorenc, who refused to discuss the current AC-130 deployment, said in an AP interview.
That "stuff" includes "the ability to take these high-tech pods and to use them to find guys planting (bombs) and to find other nefarious activity," he said.
The Predator drone — the MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicle — has been a reconnaissance workhorse in Iraq, but Air Force officers say they don't have enough to meet demand for missions. The fiscal 2007 Defense Department budget proposed last month by the Bush administration envisions spending $1.6 billion on additional reconnaissance drones.
Correction - the AC-47D's actual nickname or call-sign was "Spooky".
http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/ac47.asp
No outpost, village, or position under Spooky's protection was ever lost to the enemy.
ac130 short vid here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/67890/ac130_hercules_gunship/?itemID=67890&referrerID=&langID=en
I thought that the first of the AC-130s was introduced during the Vietnam war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,575181,00.html
Sorry, I don't know how to post a link. This URL has
an intersting graphic showing the firepower.
Could throw a rock in it..........
I was just down at Hurlburt Field recently on C130 business, as a matter of fact. Iraqi insurgents probably will need several additional changes of underwear.
Thank goodness the Associated Press continues to do free intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance work for the enemy.
Man, it sucks that The Army no longer has any decent ocean-view bases. Must be nice ;)
When I was growing up, we called it field 9, some locals still do.
Does anyone anticipate more "shock and awe" to try to finish this off and begin troop withdrawal in a few months?
I don't think it's too far fetched considering the approaching elections.
What, you don't think sending someone who's planting an IED a 105mm greeting card is a good idea?
The best part is that Spectre or Spooky can hang around for *hours*. Long endurance platform, baby. :)
Oh I understand. Just saying in the 70's many refered to the two as puff and super puff.
Nothing is more beautiful in a dark sky than an AC-130 in action destroying an enemy.
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mwherold/AC130_Gunship.wmv
Video of an AC-130 inviting a bunch of bad guys to the dirt nap party. I like the one guy who thinks he's hiding in the field, but when they're done, they go back to "collect" him.
The Army has a Ranger Camp here and they have something in Destin, too.....
IOW, leak this you media maggots, and you'll be treading water all the way back to the States.
The press shouldn't even have to be told this, damnfools...!
My neighbor is an AC-130 gunship captain, based out of Hurlburt Field. He just returned from a 90-day TDY in Iraq, and he's involved in the base transfer discussed in the article. 130's fly out of Hurlburt field, along with MH-53 Pave Low helicopters (special ops). Eglin is mostly fighter jets (F16, F18, F14, etc.). Our house sits about 3 miles from Eglin's southern bombing range, where the 130's practice. We can see as many as 3 different gunships circling and firing at the same time from our front yard. It's really cool when they drop flares and shoot the big guns.
The 3" scar on my lower back reminds me well ...
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