The Fairchild AC-119G Shadow and AC-119K Stinger were twin-engine piston-powered

gunship A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mo ...

s developed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. They replaced the Douglas AC-47 Spooky and operated alongside the early versions of the

AC-130 Spectre The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, naviga ...

gunship.

Design and development

By late 1967, the idea of the fixed-wing gunship had been proven so successful, the United States Air Force was having a difficult time keeping up with demand. The newer AC-130s that had been created under Project Gunship II were effective, but were being mostly used for armed reconnaissance and

interdiction Interdiction is a military term for the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area. A distinction is often made between strategic and tactical interdiction. The former refers to operations whose e ...

of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Furthermore, the

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

airframe was in active service as a transport, vital to the war effort in Southeast Asia. The Air Force desperately needed a new gunship to replace the vulnerable and underpowered

AC-47 The Douglas AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of fixed-wing gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was designed to provide more firepower than light and medi ...

in the close air support role, as well as supplementing the AC-130 in attacking targets on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

presented an obvious choice, having been phased out of front-line service in favor of the

C-123 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Rese ...

and C-130, and with the stock of available airframes in

U.S. Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...

being sufficient. In February 1968, under the USAF program Project Gunship III, 26 C-119Gs were converted to AC-119G standard, initially taking on the name "Creep", but later assigned the callsign "Shadow". In addition, Fairchild-Hiller, which was contracted for all the conversions, converted another 26 C-119Gs into AC-119Ks, primarily for the "truck hunter" role over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These aircraft were called "Stingers" primarily in reference to the two M61 Vulcan 20-mm cannons they carried in addition to the AC-119G's four GAU-2/A miniguns. The AC-119K could be visually distinguished by the addition of two General Electric J85 turbojet engines in underwing pods. The conversions were completed at Fairchild-Hiller's facility in St. Augustine, Florida. Project Gunship III, being a follow-on to the success of the AC-130 series, meant that the AC-119 was a more advanced aircraft in both its iterations than the

. Even the TIC AC-119G featured some of the most up-to-date

electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

and radar equipment, as well as more basic technology, including an AVQ-8 xenon light, a night observation sight, and an LAU-74/A flare launcher. The AC-119K, designed to hit trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, was more advanced. Included in the conversion was the AN/APN-147 Doppler navigation radar, AN/AAD-4 forward looking infrared, AN/APQ-133 side-looking beacon tracking radar and AN/APQ-136 search radar. The armament scheme for both aircraft was simpler than that of the AC-130. The AC-119G had a total of four GAU-2A/A miniguns in SUU-11A/A pods, all on mounts similar to those used on early AC-47s. Like late-model AC-47s, these were soon changed to the purpose-built MXU-470/A minigun modules. The AC-119K, needing a more powerful and longer range "punch" to take out vehicles, featured two M61 20-mm cannons in addition to the four miniguns of the AC-119G.

Operational history

By November 1968, the aircraft had deployed to Vietnam and joined the

14th Special Operations Wing 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 * Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing by Maurice Philippe for use in the season. The cars were powered by ...

at Nha Trang Air Base. The AC-119Gs were placed in the 71st Special Operations Squadron which was formed from the activated 71st Troop Carrier Squadron, of the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

located at

Bakalar Air Force Base Bakalar Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force base located northeast of Columbus, Indiana. During World War II, the base was known as Atterbury Air Field and Atterbury Army Air Base (named in memory of Brigadier G ...

in Columbus, Indiana. When the 71 SOS returned to continental USA in 1969, the gunships were taken over by the newly formed 17 SOS. The AC-119Ks were placed in the

18th Special Operations Squadron 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 (number), 17 and preceding 19 (number), 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1 (number), 1, 2 (number), 2, 3 (number), 3, 6 (number), 6 and 9 (number), 9. Three ...

. With the addition of the two types, the 14 SOW for a time in 1968 was flying eight different aircraft from ten different bases in South Vietnam. The 14 SOW was inactivated in 1971. Limited numbers continued to be operated out of Thailand as late as the fall of 1972, but the AC-119 was phased out shortly after from the US Air Force. The AC-119G and 119K continued to serve with the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) until the Fall of Saigon in 1975. During the Vietnam War, only five AC-119 Gunship IIIs were lost to all causes.

Operators

Vietnamese Air Force Fairchild AC-119K Stinger, in April 1975

; Republic of Vietnam Air Force ;

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

– Nha Trang Air Base,

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

17th Special Operations Squadron The 17th Special Operations Squadron (17 SOS) is an active unit of the United States Air Force, stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. The squadron operates AC-130J Ghostrider aircraft and is assigned to the 27th Special Operations Gro ...

1969–1971 ::

1969–1971 :: 71st Special Operations Squadron 1968–1969 :: (Detachments at Tan San Nhut, Phan Rang and Phu Cat AB) * 56th Special Operations Wing – Nakhon Phanom Air Base,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

:: 18th Special Operations Squadron 1971–1972

Surviving example

* AC-119G Shadow, AF Ser. No. ''53-3144'', is on display at the Air Commando Heritage Park at Hurlburt Field,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

."Hurlburt Field: AC-119 Shadow"
. United States Air Force, 7 July 2008. Retrieved: 8 May 2012.

Specifications (AC-119G)

Gallery

File:Fairchild AC-119G Shadow drawing.jpg, Armament layout of AC-119G ''Shadow''. File:MXU-470.jpg, MXU-470 installed on a AC-47. File:Fairchild AC-119K Stinger drawing.jpg, Armament layout of AC-119K ''Stinger''. File:M18 Components.jpg, SUU-11A/A components.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Hobson, Chris. ''Vietnam Air Losses, USAF/USN/USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961–1973''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. . * Petrie, Bill

AC-119 Gunship Association, updated: 12 January 2006.Retrieved: 11 April 2007. * Petrie, Bill

AC-119 Gunship Association, updated: 27 February 2006. Retrieved: 11 April 2007. * Project CHECO
''Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations: Fixed Wing Gunships in Southeast Asia''
Retrieved: 22 November 2012.

External links

AC-119 Gunship Association web site

Fairchild AC-119K
– National Museum of the United States Air Force * C-119 on display at Former Atterbury AAF/Bakalar AFB/Columbus Municipal Airport, Columbus Indiana www.IndianaMilitary.org {{Authority control C-119, Fairchild Aircraft first flown in 1968 C-119, A High-wing aircraft Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Twin-boom aircraft Gunships