The Douglas AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was felt that more firepower than could be provided by light and medium ground-attack aircraft was needed in some situations

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the Vietnam War. They replaced the inadequate AC-47 Spooky and supplemented the newer AC-130. The AC-119 program (Project Gunship III) came after the AC-130, not before. By November 1968, the aircraft had deployed to Vietnam and joined the 14th Special Operations Wing at Nha Trang. The AC-119Gs were placed

Wingspan: 18.75
Length: 14.75

, and psychological warfare missions. The AC-47 "Spooky", a heavily-armed gunship version of the C-47, was equipped with three side-firing 7.62mm Miniguns and was nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon."

Wingspan: 18.62
Length: 14.06

and re-designated the modified aircraft as R4D-8. The C-47 was used by the Americans in the initial stages of the Berlin Airlift and was subsequently replaced by the C-54. The US Air Force continued to use the C-47 for various roles, including the AC-47 gunships - code named Puff the Magic Dragon

Wingspan: 16
Length: 11

the U.S. Navy also structurally modified a number of the early Navy R4D aircraft and re-designated the modified aircraft as R4D-8. The US Air Force continued to use the C-47 for various roles, including the AC-47 gunships - code named Puff the Magic Dragon or Spooky - and the EC-47N for electronic

Wingspan: 16
Length: 11

tested as a floatplane, and as an engineless glider, a task it performed well, but too late in the war to matter. It was also used as a fighting machine as the AC-47D gunship ("Puff, the Magic Dragon") of the Vietnam war, where the plane was equipped with three modernized Gattling guns (General Electric

Wingspan: 18.5
Length: 12.48

as the AC-47D gunship (""Puff, the Magic Dragon"") of the Vietnam war, where the plane was equipped with three modernized Gattling guns (General Electric 7.62mm ""Miniguns,"" each mounted and firing from the port side) for use as a ""target suppressor,"" circling a target and laying down massive fire

and adverse weather operations, and extended loiter time on target in Special Operations Forces (SOF) and conventional roles. The AC-130U is named for the AC-47D and has the "Spooky" nickname rather than the "Spectre" nickname used by all other AC-130 gunships. The AC-130U was armed with a 25mm Gatling

Wingspan: 16
Length: 14