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For a similiar variant, see C-47 Skytrain

AC-47

An AC-47 in real life.

The AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed as Puff the Magic Dragon after a 1963 song of the same name) is a modified C-47 Skytrain built by Douglas Aircraft Company who later became McDonnell Douglas. Introduced in January 1965, it was the first of the series of gunships in the Vietnam War. The AC-47 is equipped with three M134 Miniguns mounted in three spots along the left side of the plane providing close air support and suppressing fire.

After initial trials, the plane was so successful in its role that a whole squadron of five planes built, and by the end of August after its introduction, at least 26 C-47's were converted to AC-47's. The Spooky is still service with the Colombian Air Force in modern times.

Battlefield Vietnam[]

"AC-47 Gunship. Heavy transport/gunship with coaxial chain guns out the left side. The pilot can drop bombs with primary fire."

— 1.2 patch notes

In Battlefield Vietnam the AC-47 Gunship is issued to the ARVN and appears exclusively on Fall of Saigon. It spawns at the main ARVN base.

Tactics[]

While slow and bulky, the AC-47 Gunship can rain death upon ground troops and vehicles alike. The pilot is armed with unguided bombs that can be dropped in groups of five. A total of twenty-five bombs are supplied. One bomb will destroy light vehicles, APCs, sampans, and light tanks. Two bombs will destroy an MBT. The bomb's blast radius is large and can be highly effective when bombarding enemy troops and bases.

Its secondary armament consists of two M134 Miniguns. These have a total of five-hundred rounds and can take down troops in about four to five hits. The miniguns can destroy vehicles such as sampans and jeeps in about eight or twelve hits, however, they cannot destroy APC's and MBTs. Caution should be used when firing horizontally to the aircraft as the guns can hit the left wing and damage the aircraft.

The fourth, fifth, and sixth spots are the passenger seats. The passengers cannot use their weapons or equipment (like wrenches). The passengers can, however, jump out of the aircraft and parachute down to an enemy base.

Despite its array of weapons, the AC-47 Gunship has its flaws. Its speed is unusually low, and this can lead to it being shot down as soon as it is spotted. Moreover, both of the Miniguns point to the left of the aircraft, creating a weak point on its right. On the bright side, it can take more punishment than any other aircraft in the game.

Trivia[]

It was intended that the AC-47 Gunship would have "motion sensing mines" instead of, or in addition to, the bombs. This can be seen when patch 1.2 is installed for the first time, where the ReadMe file that opens immediately has a different description:

"AC-47 Gunship. Heavy transport/gunship with coaxial chain guns out the left side. The pilot can drop motion sensing mines. All players on his team will see the Mines once they are dropped, and will spot enemies on their mini-map if they are within detection range of the mines."

— 1.2 patch installation ReadMe

This file is never accessible again, and the description is changed to its current form in the notes included with the patch.

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