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Description
| Notes: C-130A modified as gunship. | ||
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed | |
| Base model: | C-130 | |
| Designation: | AC-130 | |
| Version: | A | |
| Nickname: | Hercules | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | |
| Designation Period: | 1925-1962 | |
| Basic role: | Transport | |
| Modified Mission: | Tactical support | |
| See Also: | ||
Specifications
| Length: | 97' 8" | 29.7 m | |
| Height: | 38' 5" | 11.7 m | |
| Wingspan: | 132' 6" | 40.3 m | |
| Wingarea: | 1,745.5 sq ft | 162.1 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 59,328 lb | 26,906 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 108,000 lb | 48,979 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 124,200 lb | 56,326 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 4 | ||
| Powerplant: | Allison T56-A-11 | ||
| Horsepower (each): | 4050 | ||
Performance
| Range: | 2,090 miles | 3,365 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 328 mph | 528 km/h | 285 kt |
| Max Speed: | 383 mph | 616 km/h | 332 kt |
| Climb: | 2,570 ft/min | 783 m/min | |
| Ceiling: | 41,300 ft | 12,588 m | |
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Museum of Aviation | Warner Robins AFB | Georgia |
| USAF Armament Museum | Eglin AFB | Florida |
| United States Air Force Museum | Wright-Patterson | Ohio |
AC-130A on display
Museum of Aviation | United States Air Force Museum | USAF Armament Museum |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Jeff Noecker , NY | For more info on the AC-130A and the follow-on models, please visit the Spectre Web Site at http://www.spectre-association.org/ There, you will find more gunship photos, history, and war stories than you can shake a stick at. 11/30/2009 @ 14:24 [ref: 25359] |
| Morrison, Bobby Ft. Myers, FL | AC-130's, what a pain in the butt. Every time one of them would land at Nha Trang, VN1968, we would get hit that night. I worked on "Black" C-123's of Operation Duck Hook for the first 6 months or so of "68". We flew only at night and flew several TDY's to NKP, Thailand. I was transferred to the transient alert on base, due to a personality conflict, and refueled the AC-130's quite a few times. I remember there was a large foldour picture on the inside of the refueling door on the right side of the acft. She was one of the most beautiful natural redheads I had ever seen. 07/06/2005 @ 17:16 [ref: 10686] |
| donald Branscom Guerneville,, CA | I was a jet engine mechanic in the 374th field maintence squadren at Naha AFB Okinawa.
1969-1971. If any of you remember that Plane 0516 that went down near Okinawa and 14 airmen were lost- NTSB (says11) let me know thanks. Like to know what really happened. 07/01/2005 @ 02:02 [ref: 10637] |
| John L. Stroud Birmingham, AL | I worked along side with Alexander Cilli over in Ubon Thailand from 1969 to 1970 on sister gunship 54-1627 (known as Gomer Grinder) under crew chief Joseph C. Hughes. I also worked on 54-1627 and the other gunships (AC-130 & AC-119 models) in the 1st SOW (415th SOTS) st Hurlburt Field (Eglin Aux Field 9), Florida from 1971 to 1973. I again worked the Gunships as an Air Reserve Technican at Duke Fld, Fl (Eglin Aux Fild 3) in 919 CAMS from 1975 to 1985. The AC-130A's were converted from Aeroproduct propellers (3 blades) to Hamilton Standard propellers (4 blades) around 1980 due to the shortage of Aeroproduct Propellers. The AC-130 gunship airplane was at the top of the line for its conventional battlefield platform package & orbiting capabilities. The AC-130 was also easy to maintain. 11/13/2002 @ 14:08 [ref: 6067] |
| Alex Cilli Rockaway,, NJ | I crewed on an AC-130 in Thialand. It was 53-3129. The AC-130A in the Photo was also in our squadron. I'm glad to see it preserved along with 53-3129. 11/28/2001 @ 18:07 [ref: 3732] |
| John Lameck Windsor, ON | Yes there are versions primarily the E-130E/H and MC-130E/H which are equipped for aerial refueling. These can be refueled in flight by either the KC-135 or KC-10 aircraft.
If what I've heard is right, all Special Operations AC/MC-130 are aerial refuelable as well. One 193 Special Operations Wing [PA ANG] EC-130E flew competely around the world during the War in the Gulf in 1991. 08/30/2000 @ 18:38 [ref: 685] |
| A Enriquez , OR | Were any of the C-130 models ever equipped for aerial refueling? If so, could they be refueled by a KC-135? 06/09/2000 @ 02:22 [ref: 291] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
