Farewell to the AC-130H

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 06/03/2015 at 13:17 • Filed to: planelopnik

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On May 26, the last AC-130H Spectre gunship was retired in a ceremony at Cannon AFB in New Mexico, the home of the 16th Special Operations Squadron. The AC-130H has served for 46 years, beginning with operations during the Vietnam War, and as recently as Iraq and Afghanistan. Capt. Aaron Magger, 16th SOS navigator, had this to say about the AC-130H:

“Over the last 12 years, the 16th SOS has flown over 6,500 combat sorties, 26,000 combat hours and has been responsible for over 4,600 enemies killed in action, along with over 5,200 enemy captures. As the AC-130H chapter of gunship evolution comes to a close, the AC-130H is the single deadliest aircraft and flying squadron in the war on terrorism.” ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

The retirement of the AC-130H doesn’t mean that the flying arsenal is going away. There are still seventeen upgraded AC-130U Spooky II aircraft in operation, and the latest Hercules, the J model, will see a conversion to the AC-130J Ghostrider, with delivery expected in 2017.

JR1 > ttyymmnn 06/03/2015 at 13:34

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One of my all time favorite aircraft

Ash78, voting early and often > ttyymmnn 06/03/2015 at 13:47

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This is the first airplane I learned about as a kid where I honestly thought my dad was bullshitting me. Then he pulled out his extensive collection of books and took me to school.

And when I got home from school, he opened the books and showed me the AC.

ReaperChief > ttyymmnn 06/03/2015 at 14:52

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The only things that are missing are some WW2 style anti-air turrets and the it would be a real fortress..