Douglas AC-47 Spooky

Douglas · United States · first flew 1964 · transport aircraft

The AC-47 Spooky was a fixed-wing gunship conversion of the Douglas C-47/DC-3, armed with three side-firing miniguns for close air support and perimeter defense.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	three side-firing minigun barrels along the left fuselage windows
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

twin radial engines with round cowlings
three side-firing minigun barrels along the left fuselage windows
classic DC-3/C-47 tapered low-wing silhouette

The unmistakable DC-3 tapered low wing and twin radial cowlings, combined with gun barrels protruding from three window ports along the rear left fuselage, set it apart from an unarmed C-47.

Specifications

The Douglas AC-47 Spooky has a length of 19.63 m (64 ft).
It has a wingspan of 28.96 m (95 ft).
Its maximum speed is 370 km/h (230 mph).
Typical crew: 5 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, plus gunners).

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Developed by the US Air Force in the early 1960s as Project Gunship I, it added three 7.62mm minigun pods firing out the left side while the aircraft flew a pylon turn over the target, seeing extensive combat over Vietnam and Laos and earning the nickname 'Puff the Magic Dragon' for its tracer stream at night.

Variants

Later gunships in the same lineage, the AC-119 and AC-130, scaled the concept up onto larger transports; the AC-47 itself remained in limited foreign service for decades after Vietnam.

Where you'll see it

Retired from US service after Vietnam, though operators such as El Salvador and Colombia flew AC-47 gunships long afterward; it has no UK service history.

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