Built on the airframe of the C-47 "Dakota" transport, the AC-47 was the first-ever fixed-wing gunship to employ fixed-mount, rapid-fire, side-firing weapons to attack ground targets while orbiting them. Originally given the designation FC-47, but the fighter pilot community strongly objected to a two-engine transport being called a fighter aircraft, so the attack designation that had been last used in WW-II was resurrected and the aircraft became the AC-47. Just as the official name was cause for some confusion, the AC-47 had a number of nicknames. Officially it was Spooky, but unofficially it was "puff the magic dragon" or just "puff". Among ground forces in Vietnam, all gunships came to be called "puff". A total of 57 aircraft were converted into AC-47s during the Vietnam conflict, and it is believed that some are still in operation today in Africa and Central America.
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- AC-47 (Spooky and Puff The Magic Dragon) Photos of aircraft on the ground and during a fire mission.
- AC-47 with miniguns. Operational history of the aircraft.
- Spooky First-person narrative of a pilot getting qualified, in 2002, to fly a restored AC-47 gunship. Includes a number of interior and exterior photographs of the aircraft.
- Global Security: AC-47 Describes the history and configuration of the aircraft beginning with its service in Vietnam through its deployment with the Columbian Air Force.
- Wikipedia: AC-47 Spooky History and configuration of the aircraft with relevant links.