12 Facts About Lockheed AC-130

1.

Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft.

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2.

Lockheed AC-130 has an unpressurized cabin, with the weaponry mounted to fire from the port side of the fuselage.

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3.

The Lockheed AC-130 was later supplemented by the AC-119 Shadow, which later proved to be underpowered.

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4.

Lockheed AC-130 is a heavily armed, long-endurance aircraft carrying an array of antiground-oriented weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, navigation, and fire-control systems.

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5.

On 18 August 1968, an Lockheed AC-130 gunship flying an armed reconnaissance mission in Vietnam's III Corps was diverted to support the Katum Special Forces Camp.

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6.

The Lockheed AC-130 was over Saigon on 30 April 1975 to protect the final evacuation in Operation Frequent Wind.

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7.

The AC-130 aircrew earned the Lieutenant General William H Tunner Award for the mission.

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8.

The Lockheed AC-130 is considered to have hastened the end of the Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s.

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9.

Lockheed AC-130 strikes were directed by special forces on known Taliban locations during the early days of the war in Afghanistan.

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10.

In March 2002, three Lockheed AC-130 Spectres provided 39 crucial combat missions in support of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.

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11.

Night after night, at least one Lockheed AC-130 was in the air to fulfill one or more air-support requests .

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12.

On 3 October 2015, an Lockheed AC-130 mistakenly attacked the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 42 people and injuring over 30.

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