Lockheed AC-130 Gunship

Lockheed · United States · first flew 1967 · transport aircraft

A heavily armed gunship conversion of the C-130 Hercules, carrying side-firing cannon for prolonged close air support.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	4 × turboprop, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Side-firing guns and sensor blisters along the port fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

C-130 Hercules airframe: high straight wing with four turboprops
Side-firing guns and sensor blisters along the port fuselage
Slab-sided transport fuselage with a rear loading ramp

Externally a Hercules — four-engine high-wing transport with a rear ramp — but betrayed by the side-firing gun barrels, sensor turrets and blisters concentrated along the left fuselage.

Specifications

The Lockheed AC-130 Gunship has a length of 29.8 m (98 ft).
It has a wingspan of 40.4 m (133 ft).
Its maximum speed is 480 km/h (298 mph).
Typical crew: Variable (multiple gunners and operators).

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

History

First flown in gunship form in 1967, the AC-130 grew from Project Gunship II into a series of progressively more capable models serving from Vietnam to the present. It orbits a target firing trainable guns through the port side of the fuselage.

Variants

Versions run from the AC-130A Spectre through the H, the AC-130U Spooky, the AC-130W Stinger II and the current AC-130J Ghostrider.

Where you'll see it

A US special-operations type not UK-based, though AC-130s have deployed through RAF Mildenhall and the airframe shares its silhouette with the RAF's now-retired Hercules fleet.

Related aircraft

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