Afriend was an infantry officer during Operation Just Cause, the 1989 invasion of Panama.
He told me this story as gospel.
He claimed that his unit was tasked to move along a certain road to secure a certain objective.
An AC-130 from the 4th Special Operations Squadron jettisons flares over an area near Hurlburt Field, Florida. Image: Senior Airman Julianne Showalter/U.S.A.F.
Along the way, they encountered a Panamanian unit tasked to secure the road against any American advance.
There resulted a timeless quandary.
An unstoppable force was arrayed against an immovable object.
An AC-130 aircraft banks during a training mission near Hurlburt Field in 1988. Image: Technical Sgt. Lee Schading/U.S.A.F.
Both elements consisted of tooled-up young men with weapons.
The foundation was laid for something truly horrible.
Not wishing to precipitate unnecessary bloodshed, the American commander retrieved a Spanish-speaking troop to act as an interpreter.
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald Murray in the weapons control booth onboard an AC-130 during a familiarization flight. Image: Staff Sgt. Greg L. Davis/U.S.A.F.
He called a confab with his opposite number and explained his predicament.
His Panamanian counterpart felt disinclined to move.
By now, it was getting dark.
A close-up view of a 919th Special Operations Group AC-130 gunship flying combat air support for Honduran and U.S. Army Special Forces, circa 1987. Image: Tech. Sgt. Lou Hernandez/U.S. Air Force
The Panamanian officer purportedly dismantled his roadblock.
The Plane
The AC-130 project began in 1967 as a replacement for theAC-47 Spooky gunship.
The AC-47 was called Project Gunship I.
Sgt. Thomas Hatch of the 1st Special Operation Wing handling ammunition for the 20mm Vulcan cannons on an AC-130 gunship, circa 1983. Image: Staff Sgt. Bill Thompson/U.S.A.F.
The subsequent AC-130 was something altogether new and remarkable.
Aerial gunnery is the very embodiment of physics.
This space was filled with a pair of 40mm L/60 Bofors cannons.
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald Murray loads a 105mm shell into the howitzer on an AC-130 gunship, 4th Special Operations Squadron. Image: Staff Sgt. Greg L. Davis/U.S.A.F.
Ive been told that the most precise weapon on those early variants was the 40mm autocannon.
In the early 1970s, these aircraft were fitted with a 105mm M102 howitzer near the aft ramp.
The aircraft has always carried low-light TV and infrared sensors.
An AC-130 gunship assigned to the 919th Special Operations Group is loaded with ordnance prior to a mission in 1984. Image: Technical Sgt. Ken Hammond/U.S.A.F.
These advanced avionics have been steadily upgraded since the introduction of the platform.
None have been exported.
We are their sole operators.
AC-130 aircrew members load the 40mm Bofors gun (rear) and 105-mm howitzer during a training mission. Image: Staff Sgt. Greg L. Davis/U.S.A.F.
Six AC-130s were brought down during the Vietnam War by hostile action.
Two were lost to surface-to-air missiles, while the remainder fell to anti-aircraft artillery.
An eighth one was brought down 200 meters off the coast of Kenya while supporting combat operations in Somalia.
An air-to-air left front view of an AC-130 aircraft during target practice. Image: NARA
This last aircraft suffered an in-bore detonation of a 105mm round that severely damaged the left wing.
Eight of the fourteen crewmembers aboard survived the crash.
A Most Satisfying Mission
I have a buddy here in town who flew AC-130s operationally.
A left front view of an AC-130A Hercules gunship, followed by the other two AC-130s, during live-fire practice in Exercise Brim Frost ’81. Image: Master Sgt. Bob Wickley/U.S.A.F.
One afternoon after church I asked him to relate his most remarkable combat experience in the plane.
Without hesitation, he said it was one particular mission wherein he fired nary a shot.
I bid him to proceed.
A silhouetted air-to-air view of an AC-130 Hercules from the 16th Special Operations Squadron. Image: Ken Hackman/U.S.A.F.
These poor guys had been awake and on the run for several days.
They were just about spent.
While the AC-130 is an undeniably fearsome weapon platform, it is also quite vulnerable.
A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship during support of Operation United Shield, the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from Mogadishu, Somalia in 1995. Image: Airman 1st Class Randy S. Mallard
The aircraft is not terribly useful in contested airspace.
In Afghanistan, where the primary anti-aircraft threat was MANPADS, that just meant they flew only at night.
There was no need to put out security.
He would take care of that.
Nobody got killed, and the special operators got a good nights sleep.
