Night Hunters: The AC-130s and Their Role in US Airpower

6. Development and Deployment of the New AC-130s

94 Before the story of the AC-130s moves on to the final years of the war and the important air operations that made up those days, it is critical to examine in detail the production of the AC-130As and Es. This is particularly true since, unlike the AC-47s and AC-119s, the AC-130s would continue to serve the national defense for many years after the end of the Vietnam War in 1973. Thus, the following pages focus on the actual work done on the Surprise Package, Pave Pronto, Plain Jane, and other unique AC-130 designs that followed. The original production run of AC-130As had produced six aircraft—a total of seven with the original prototype. The loss of T/N 1629 left six. Surprise Package returned that number to seven and led to the approval to begin the production of six and later nine more Surprise Package aircraft under the Pave Pronto program. Having allowed the first one of these aircraft to be modified organically, in early 1971 the Air Force contracted with LTVE to reconfigure the last five as Pave Pronto gunships. Ultimately, LTVE and ASD modified eighteen C-130 airframes into AC-130As and Es between 1967 and 1971. Ultimately, two aircraft were lost in combat, and the original prototype was placed in a limited war testbed category and taken out of combat for both research and public relations reasons. Originally officials considered calling the aircraft from this second run of AC-130As Surprise Package after the prototype ; however, by the time they reached Southeast Asia their paint scheme had changed from that of Surprise Package and was deep black and dark green, which distinguished it from other gunships. The original AC-130A production models were also retrofitted to assume this same appearance and carry most of the same equipment. As a result, 6 Development and Deployment of the New AC-130s DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT | 95 they became known more often than not as Plain Jane, or, by the 16th SOS’s call sign for all the AC-130s, Spectre. Thus was the situation with the AC-130 fleet when the Air Force refocused on the Pave Spectre program that involved the conversion of C-130Es into gunships.1 Introduction of the AC-130E/H It is important to realize that between late 1969 and early 1971 the gunship world made a major advance in both technology and airframe quality. As we have seen briefly in the previous chapter, the A models were not in the same ballpark as the E model C-130s. The As’ gross weight limit was 124,200 pounds, and even upgrading their sensors and weapon systems only provided a limited enhancement of the gunship fleet. Thus, not much more could be done with the A-model airframe, and officials decided to build an E-model gunship with a gross weight of 155,000 pounds that allowed it to carry more equipment, more fuel, and more ammunition. All together, eleven C-130Es were converted, featuring the same equipment and armament as those of the Pave Pronto AC-130A, and become known as the Pave Spectre AC-130E. The first aircraft arrived at Ubon RTAFB on October 25, 1971.2 The first two E models converted into gunships were T/Ns 69–6566, which served until February 2003 before being sent to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, and 69–6567, later upgraded to an H model, named Ghost Rider, and lost with all aboard over Kuwait during Desert Storm on January 31, 1991. The remaining three are still in the Air Force inventory and include T/Ns 69–6568, Bad Company; 69–6569, Fatal Attraction; and 69–6570, Hussie, all of which have been converted to H models. Tail number 69–6571 was converted to AC-130E, designated Spectre 22. It was damaged by AAA on March 30, 1972, near An Loc, Vietnam, and the pilot flew the aircraft back over friendly territory, where the crew parachuted to safety. Although the aircraft was severely damaged, all those on board survived and were rescued. Tail numbers 69–6572, Gravedigger; 69–6573, Nightstalker; 69–6574, Iron Maiden; and 69–6575, Wicked Wanda, were later enhanced to be H models and are still serving with the 16th SOS. Tail number 69–6576, Hell Raiser, was also upgraded to an H model, but it crashed in Kenya on March 14, 1994, as a result of the accidental explosion of ammunition on board...