Ghostriders 1976-1995: "Invictus" Combat History of the AC-130 Spectre Gunship, Iran, El Salvador, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia
Resistance is futile. You can run, but you’ll only die tired.

The AC-130 Gunship was quickly developed in 1968 to provide fire support for ground forces in Vietnam. Twenty-eight C-130 cargo aircraft were converted into AC-130s for night attack operations. The AC-130 was crude, ugly, ad hoc, and detested by many within the USAF...but it worked, and it worked well. Likewise, AC-130 crews were deemed unruly “biker gangs,” but performed magnificently in every major US military operation from 1976 to 1995. Most of these combat operations were cloaked in secrecy, but records once classified for up to twenty years have now been opened. Based on this newly declassified information and hundreds of interviews with SOF veterans, Ghostriders 1976-1995 is the first authoritative historical account of the AC-130 operations, written by an AC-130 Aerial Gunner who participated in every AC-130 combat operation from 1980 through 1994.
"1139746497"
Ghostriders 1976-1995: "Invictus" Combat History of the AC-130 Spectre Gunship, Iran, El Salvador, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia
Resistance is futile. You can run, but you’ll only die tired.

The AC-130 Gunship was quickly developed in 1968 to provide fire support for ground forces in Vietnam. Twenty-eight C-130 cargo aircraft were converted into AC-130s for night attack operations. The AC-130 was crude, ugly, ad hoc, and detested by many within the USAF...but it worked, and it worked well. Likewise, AC-130 crews were deemed unruly “biker gangs,” but performed magnificently in every major US military operation from 1976 to 1995. Most of these combat operations were cloaked in secrecy, but records once classified for up to twenty years have now been opened. Based on this newly declassified information and hundreds of interviews with SOF veterans, Ghostriders 1976-1995 is the first authoritative historical account of the AC-130 operations, written by an AC-130 Aerial Gunner who participated in every AC-130 combat operation from 1980 through 1994.
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Ghostriders 1976-1995:

Ghostriders 1976-1995: "Invictus" Combat History of the AC-130 Spectre Gunship, Iran, El Salvador, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia

by William Walter
Ghostriders 1976-1995:

Ghostriders 1976-1995: "Invictus" Combat History of the AC-130 Spectre Gunship, Iran, El Salvador, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia

by William Walter

Hardcover

$38.00 
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Overview

Resistance is futile. You can run, but you’ll only die tired.

The AC-130 Gunship was quickly developed in 1968 to provide fire support for ground forces in Vietnam. Twenty-eight C-130 cargo aircraft were converted into AC-130s for night attack operations. The AC-130 was crude, ugly, ad hoc, and detested by many within the USAF...but it worked, and it worked well. Likewise, AC-130 crews were deemed unruly “biker gangs,” but performed magnificently in every major US military operation from 1976 to 1995. Most of these combat operations were cloaked in secrecy, but records once classified for up to twenty years have now been opened. Based on this newly declassified information and hundreds of interviews with SOF veterans, Ghostriders 1976-1995 is the first authoritative historical account of the AC-130 operations, written by an AC-130 Aerial Gunner who participated in every AC-130 combat operation from 1980 through 1994.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781637581575
Publisher: Knox Press
Publication date: 05/31/2022
Series: Ghostriders , #2
Pages: 496
Sales rank: 1,106,432
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Chief Master Sergeant William Walter served as an AC-130 Aerial Gunner from 1978 to 2005. He was inducted into the Air Commando Hall of Fame in 2001 and the USSOCOM Hall of Honor in 2011.

Table of Contents

The AC-130 Fleet, 1976-1995 11

Preface 13

Prologue 17

Situation Report: 1976-1980 26

Chapter 1 Operations Rice Bowl, Eagle Claw, and Honey Badger, 1979-1980 29

Situation Report: 1981-1986 80

Chapter 2 Operations Bield Kirk, Blue Flame, and Blinking Light, El Salvador, 1983-1990 82

Chapter 3 Operation Urgent Fury, October-November 1983 97

Situation Report: 1987-1990 163

Chapter 4 Operations Elaborate Maze, Nimrod Dancer, Blue Spoon, Just Cause, and Promote Liberty, 1987-1990 167

Situation Report: August 1990 293

Chapter 5 Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1990-1991 302

Situation Report: 1991-1995 369

Chapter 6 UNOSOM II Operations, Somalia, 1993-1994 372

Chapter 7 Operations Deny Flight and Deliberate Force, 1993-1995 425

Epilogue 445

Event Chronology 446

Acknowledgments 460

Glossary 465

References 476

Index 481

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