Fairchild AC-119
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The Fairchild AC-119G Shadow and AC-119K Stinger were developed during the Vietnam War. They replaced the inadequate AC-47 Spooky and supplemented the newer AC-130. Contrary to popular opinion, the AC-119 program (Project Gunship III) came after the AC-130, not before.
History
By late 1967, the idea of the fixed wing gunship had been proven so successful that 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 interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Furthermore, the C-130 airframe was in active service as a transport, vital to the war effort in South East Asia. The Air Force desperately needed a new gunship to replace the vulnerable and underpowered AC-47 in supporting "Troops In Contact" (known as TIC), as well as, supplementing the AC-130 in attacking targets on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.The C-119 Flying Boxcar presented an obvious choice, having been phased out of frontline service in favor of the C-123 and C-130, and with the stock of available airframes in US Air Force Reserve being great. In February, under the USAF program Project Gunship III, 26 C-119Gs were converted to AC-119G standard, taking on the name Shadow. These aircraft were primarily intended to replace the AC-47 in the TIC role. In addition, Fairchild-Hiller, which was contracted for all the conversions, converted 26 C-119Ks into AC-119 ks primarily for the "truck hunter" role over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These aircraft were called Stingers primarily in reference to the 2 M61 20 mm cannons they carried in addition to the AC-119Gs 4 GAU-2/A miniguns.
By November 1968, the aircraft had deployed to Vietnam and joined the 14th Special Operations Wing at Nha Trang. The AC-119Gs were formed into the 17th Special Operations Squadron, and the AC-119 ks into the 18th Special Operations Squadron. With the addition of the two types the 14th SOW for a time in 1968 was flying 8 different aircraft from 10 different bases in South Vietnam. The 14th SOW was deactivated in 1971, and subsequently the AC-119 was phased out of the US Air Force. The AC-119G and K continued to serve in extremely small numbers with the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) until the reunification of the country in 1975.
Specifications
Project Gunship III, being a follow on to the success programs surrounding the AC-130 series, meant that the AC-119 was a far more advanced aircraft in both its iterations than the AC-47. Even the TIC AC-119G featured some of the most up to date ECM and radar equipment, as well as, cruder technology including an AVQ-8 Xenon light, a Night Observation Sight (NOS), and a LAU-74/A flare launcher.The AC-119K, designed to hit trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail was significantly more advanced. Included in the conversion was the AN/APN-147 terrain following radar, AN/AAD-4 Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), AN/APQ-133 side-looking beacon tracking radar, and AN/APQ-136 search radar.
The armament scheme for both aircraft was significantly simpler than that of the AC-130. The AC-119G had a total of 4 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 2 M61 20 mm cannons in addition to the 4 Miniguns of the AC-119G.
Specifications (AC-119G)
References
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