SAAF in East Africa WW2

SAAF in East Africa (WW2)

Great Link forwarded to me by Wing Commander John Scrimshaw RNZAF 75 Sqd (ret); one NZ's last fighter squadron commanders (A 4 Skyhawk):

Air War in East Africa (Tinus le Roux)

Thanks for the link, John

Aussie Mirage III's: The Mirage III O

Being a long-time Mirage fan, I was (pleasantly) surprised to learn that Austalia, like South Africa had operated and built Mirages under licence from Dassault in France

A3 Dassault Mirage III

The search for a Sabre replacement began in the 1950s, and when a joint evaluation team from the Departments of Air and Supply visited Europe and North America in 1960, the Dassault Mirage III emerged as their selection over the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

Built by the French firm Generale Aeronautique Marcel Dassault (GAMD), the Mirage I flew on 25 June 1955, followed the following year by the prototype Mirage III. Having selected the Mirage, the RAAF then had to decide on the power plant, and with the Rolls Royce Avon already in service powering both the Sabre and the Canberra, this option was pursued for the Mirage. A French Mirage IIIA, known as 'City of Hobart', was fitted with an RB146 Avon 67 turbojet and flew on 13 February 1961. This was known as a Mirage IIIO, but did not receive a RAAF serial number as, although this modification delivered superior performance, its cost was prohibitive and this project was discontinued.

Having selected the French SNECMA Atar 9C engine, the first RAAF aircraft, numbered A3-1, flew at Bordeaux on 14 March 1963 and was handed over to the RAAF at Villaroche, near Paris, on 9 April. This definitive IIIO was similar to the French Air Force Mirage IIIE. While A3-1 was flown to Australia by Hercules, the second French-built aircraft, A3-2, remained in France until August 1965 to test the various RAAF modifications. Meanwhile, two further aircraft were shipped to Australia as fully-equipped major assemblies and completed at Avalon by the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF), the Australian prime contractor. The first of these, A3-3, was flown by Squadron Leader (later Air Vice Marshal) Bill Collings at Avalon on 16 November 1963.

Gradually the French content was reduced, with GAF subcontracting the wings, tail and engine to the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC), and by aircraft A3-16 the first Australian-built primary parts were incorporated. The first order in December 1960 for 30 aircraft, A3-1 to A3-30, was followed in 1962 by an order for a further 30, A3-31 to A3-60. In 1963 the order was increased by another 40, A3-61 to A3-100, followed by 10 two-seat trainers, similar to the French Mirage IIIB, and designated IIID, A3-101 to A3-110.

Following the two French aircraft, the first 48 Australian-assembled aircraft (A3-3 to A3-50) were built as Mirage IIIO(F) interceptors and No 2 Operational Conversion Unit (2OCU) at Williamtown began receiving deliveries in 1964. No 75 Squadron became the first operational unit to equip in 1965 followed by No 76 Squadron in 1966. The next 50 aircraft (A3-51 to A3-100) were built as IIIO(A) ground attack variants with slightly different radar and the addition of doppler navigation and radar altimeters for low-level operation.

In 1967 No 75 Squadron deployed to Malaysia to replace No 3 Squadron. No 3 Squadron then became the first unit to equip with the ground-attack Mirage under Wing Commander Jake Newham, who was later to be Chief of Air Staff. When No 3 Squadron returned to Butterworth in 1969, No 77 Squadron re-equipped and became the fourth RAAF Mirage squadron.

The first two-seater Mirage IIID, A3-101, flew on 6 October 1966 and was accepted by the RAAF at Avalon on 10 November, followed by a further nine over the next year. The trainer version did not have the Cyrano II nose radar; a second cockpit was added behind the first and the avionics equipment previously stored there was relocated in the nose. The Mirage trainers were assembled by GAF from imported French-built fuselages and CAC-built wings and vertical tail surfaces.

In December 1970 the government approved the procurement of six additional Mirage IIID trainers at a cost of $11 million. These aircraft, A3-111 to A3-116, delivered from August 1973 to January 1974, enabled the retirement of the Sabre from operational fighter training.

An anomaly in Mirage deliveries occurred with A3-26. This aircraft was retained in France by Dassault from 1965 to 1968 as a trials installation for the IIIO(A) standard. The aircraft was finally delivered to 2OCU in November 1968 and the following June it was decided to convert the remaining IIIO(F) aircraft to the IIIO(A) standard for the ground-attack role.

With defence cuts under the Whitlam Government, No 76 Squadron was disbanded amongst much ill feeling in August 1973. The remaining three squadrons continued operating the Mirage in air defence and ground attack, based at Williamtown and Butterworth. Several Mirage aerobatic teams were also formed during its service with No 77 Squadron. Best known were the Deltas in 1971, followed by the Miracles in 1976 and a three-aircraft team of red, white and blue aircraft organised for the 1981 air shows. Basing of aircraft extended to Darwin in 1983 when No 75 Squadron relocated from Butterworth.

As 2OCU began to work up for the F/A-18 Hornet in 1984, all Williamtown-based Mirages were transferred to No 77 Squadron, with some 40 of the type on strength. This must have made No 77 Squadron the largest fighter squadron ever in the RAAF. No 77 Squadron finally relinquished their Mirages for Hornets in November 1987. In March 1986 No 79 Squadron reformed at Butterworth from No 3 Squadron, as the latter began conversion to the Hornet. No 79 Squadron operated the Mirage until disbanding in April 1988, leaving No 75 Squadron at Darwin and Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) at Edinburgh as the remaining operators. In early September 1988, No 75 Squadron flew a formation of Mirages over the east coast state capitals as a farewell gesture before the aircraft ceased squadron operations on 30 September. In October the remaining No 75 Squadron Mirages were ferried to Woomera and so, appropriately, this squadron, which was the first to equip with the Mirage in 1966, was the last to operate it.

The last RAAF Mirage flight was on 8 February 1989 when A3-101 was flown from ARDU at Edinburgh to Woomera to join 47 of the type in storage pending their disposal. In 1990 Pakistan purchased fifty RAAF Mirages, including two which had been stored at Point Cook, and these have now been delivered to the Pakistan Air Force, where some will undoubtedly fly for many years to come.

The Mirage saw longer service in the RAAF front line than any other fighter. Despite the original estimated design fatigue life of only 1500 hours, some Australian Mirages flew over 4000 hours. Over forty aircraft were lost in flying accidents, but those who flew it held the type in high regard. Although the 'Miracle' has left our skies, many examples remain on display at museums around Australia.

Like so many Mirage IIIs, now designated to the scrapyard:
Death in a Pakistani boneyard for one RAAF Mirage III

TECHNICAL DATA: Dassault/GAF Mirage IIIO

DESCRIPTION:
Single-seat interceptor/ground attack fighter.

POWER PLANT:
One 6200 kg (13 670 lb) thrust SNECMA Atar 9C turbojet with afterburner.

DIMENSIONS:
Length 15.03 m (49ft 4in); wingspan 8.22 m (27 ft); height 4.5 m (14ft 9in).

WEIGHTS:
Empty 7049kg (15 540 lb); max 13 699kg (30 200 lb).

PERFORMANCE:
Max speed Mach 2.2; Mach 1.14 (1390 km/h) at sea level: ferry range 3862 km (2085 nm).

ARMAMENT:
One Matra R530 and either two Sidewinder AIM-9B or two Matra R550 Magic air-to-air missiles and twin 30mm DEFA cannon. Ground attack weapons such as six Mk 82 227 kg (500 lb) bombs or three GBU-12 laser-guided bombs.

Dassault Mirage III A3-92

Selected to replace the Avon Sabre as the RAAF's fighter aircraft in 1960, the Mirage was the first aircraft in RAAF service capable of flying at twice the speed of sound. Entering operational service during 1965, the Mirage served as the front-line fighter until 1988, making the aircraft the longest-serving fighter in RAAF history. Built under licence in Australia by the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF), 100 single-seat and 16 two-seat Mirages were operated by seven RAAF units.

The first Australian-assembled Mirage flew at Avalon airfield in March 1963, and this and the following 48 aircraft were built as Mirage IIIO(F) interceptors. Following aircraft A3-50, production switched to the Mirage IIIO(A) ground attack aircraft with slightly different equipment for this role. In June 1969, the IIIO(F) aircraft were modified to the ground attack standard, to increase commonality within the Mirage fleet.

Now a gate guard at RAAF Wagga Wagga

             
In RAAF service, the Mirage operated with Nos 3, 75, 76, 77 and 79 Squadrons, as well as No 2 Operational Conversion Unit and the Aircraft Research and Development Unit, from bases across Australia and also at Butterworth in Malaysia. With the acquisition of the F/A-18 Hornet in 1985, the Mirage was phased out of service, and in October 1988 the last Mirages of No 75 Squadron were ferried to Woomera for eventual disposal.

After the cessation of Mirage operations, a number of aircraft were retained by the RAAF as training aids. This aircraft, A3-92, was one such aircraft and was used at the RAAF School of Technical Training at Wagga Wagga before transfer to the RAAF Museum for preservation.

Delivered from the GAF airfield at Avalon, Victoria, on 26 July 1968, A3-92 served with Nos 3 and 79 Squadrons at Butterworth, Malaysia, and No 77 Squadron at Williamtown, New South Wales. Withdrawn from service in May 1987, the total airframe time for the aircraft was 4037 hours.

Sources Wikipedia, Net, RAAF website. No copyright infringement intended, merely a fan blog. Happy to credit or remove content at request

Mirage III: More info and SAAF service (Click to follow links)

Mirage III in SAAF Service Part 1
Part 2: Progeny The Cheetah and Kfir

The Mirage F1 (click to follow links) 
Part 1 History of the F1
Part 2 The Border War: F1s in Combat
Part 3 Combat record and First Hand Account (Arthur Piercy)

SAAF C-47 Dakotas -The Early Days: WW2 and Berlin Air Lift

SAAF Dakotas: WW2 and Berlin Air Bridge - The Early Days

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day. 

WW2 SAAF and The Dak - The love affair starts:

The East African Campaign led to the creation of the Shuttle Service operated by 50 (TS) Squadron under the control of 1 Bomber Transport Brigade. The latter unit became 5 Wing in February 1941 and was responsible for the ferrying of troops and supplies to the war front and bringing back wounded. The service was extended to Cairo as the war progressed and eventually through the north of Africa to Bari and Rome by which time Dakotas were in use.

The Shuttle Service was greatly expanded at the war’s end, the intention being the return of all South African troops by Christmas 1945. The Dakotas of 5 Wing were joined by Venturas withdrawn from coastal operations, modified as transports and put into service with 10 Wing at Pietersburg. These two units were assisted by 35 Sqn’s Sunderlands which were also fitted out as transports. Additional Dakotas were provided by 28 Sqn when it returned home from the war zone. By 25 January 1946 some 101 676 passengers had been carried.

The first SAAF Transport squadron in the Mediterranean - 28 Sqn - was formed in May 1943 operation from Tripoli and later Algiers. The second squadron - 44 Sqn - was established in March 1944 and operated from Cairo.

Both units operations Douglas Dakotas as standard equipment although a small number of Wellingtons, Ansons and Beech Expediters were also used.

In October 1945, 28 Sqn was absorbed into the Shuttle Service while 44 Sqn was disbanded in December 1945, and its Dakotas were returned to the RAF.

The first Douglas C-47 Dakota to serve with the SAAF was delivered to 44 Squadron in Cairo on 27 April 1944 and served with the squadron until 1992 when they were replaced by converted C-47TP versions. 

WW2 North Africa/Med Camo SAAF C-47

SAAF Dak in East Africa

Troups enroute back to SA

Curiosity: Not a Dak, but a Captured JU 52 in SAAF colours

6856

Distinguished SAAF Dakota passengers: 

Prof JLB Smith, Mr Lattimer and the Coelecanth

More about the Coelecanth: Old Four-Legs

The Berlin Air Lift

In 1948, the relations between the Western Allies and their Soviet counterparts had deteriorated to such a degree that the Soviets instituted a blockade on all rail, road and water canal links into West Berlin, situated 177 km (110 miles) into Soviet occupied Germany. The only way into Berlin was via three air corridors agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference in 1945.

The Berlin Wall being built

 It was decided to sustain the population of West Berlin by air, a feat that the Soviet Union had never anticipated. Thus, the Berlin airlift began on 24 June 1948.

The SAAF supplied 20 aircrews for the Berlin Airlift, with the crews flying to Britain in Dakotas via east Africa, Egypt and Malta, a journey that took five days. They then joined the Royal Air Force in flying sorties into Berlin. The SAAF crews flew 2 500 sorties and carried a total of 8 333 tons of humanitarian aid while flying RAF Dakotas.

The sorties were flown from Lubeck in West Germany into RAF Gatow in West Berlin. In addition to this, civilian members in need of evacuation from occupied Berlin were carried on return trips to Lubeck, especially orphaned children who were placed with families in the West. It was here that modern air traffic control procedures were developed.

In all, during the 406 days of the Berlin Airlift, American, British and Commonwealth air crews carried out 300 000 flights and transported two million tons of supplies.

The Soviet blockade Berlin was lifted at one minute after midnight, on 12 May 1949.

Flights continued for some time, though, to build a comfortable surplus. By 24 July 1949, a three-month surplus was built-up, ensuring that the airlift could be re-started with ease if needed. The Berlin Airlift officially ended on 30 September 1949, after fifteen months.

Communications
There were four different means of entering Berlin from the West: by river and canal barges; road transport; the railways; and three air corridors which traversed the Soviet zone of occupation. While there was a written agreement with the Soviets regarding the use of the air corridors, nothing existed in writing about access to Berlin by any of the surface routes.

The central air control zone for Berlin covered a 20 mile (32 km) radius from the centre of the city and was under Four Power control. Most air routes into the city's existing airfields required some flying over the Soviet Sector of Berlin, as well as traversing well over 100 miles (160 km) of Soviet-occupied Germany. The North and Central Air Corridors came from the British zone of occupation and the South Air Corridor from the American zone.


Air communications with Berlin 1948-9
High resolution pdf version of map

At the start of the airlift, West Berlin had two airfields which were situated twelve kilometres apart: Tempelhof (in the American Sector) was the original aerodrome of Berlin; and Gatow (in the British Sector) was a grass airfield which had originally been used for training and had a short runway of perforated steel planking (PSP). To augment these rather inadequate facilities, a third airfield, Tegel, was built in the French Sector during the Airlift by some 19 000 Berliners using rubble from bombed buildings. The necessary heavy construction machinery was transported into Berlin in small pieces in an unusual-looking aircraft, the Bristol Wayfarer. These aeroplanes were designed to carry cars across the English Channel and had an elevated cockpit situated above large doors in the nose, through which the parts of these heavy machines were able to pass. The appearance of these ungainly-looking aircraft with their fixed undercarriages led to many jokes amongst the American airlift aircrews, who nicknamed them the 'Mayflowers'.

The airlift begins
On 26 June, the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force (RAF) began the Airlift, using a few DC3 Dakota aircraft (known in the US Air Force as the C47). These aeroplanes were capable of lifting only three tons on each flight and, on the first day of operations, only eighty tons of supplies arrived in Berlin. (The minimum amount required to sustain the city was initially calculated at 5 000 tons per day, 150 000 tons per month). Fortunately the Western powers in Berlin had begun stockpiling when the Soviets had commenced their harrassing tactics and therefore, when the blockade began, there were sufficient supplies in Berlin to last, on average, six to eight weeks.
Civilian rations were reduced to 1 000 calories per person per day

The American airlift was called 'Operation Vittles' (after an old English word for 'food') and they provided the lion's share of the aircraft. Some 441 American aircraft were used in total and they carried over three-quarters of the entire load into Berlin. British and Commonwealth air forces supplied 147 aircraft and carried 17% of the load, whilst British civil operators provided a further 104 aircraft and lifted just over six per cent of the load. At the commencement of the Airlift, many countries of the British Commonwealth, including South Africa, offered their assistance. With the exception of the Canadians, these Commonwealth countries provided crews to fly RAF aircraft. South Africa sent ten complete Dakota crews, who flew for almost the whole period of the Airlift alongside their RAF colleagues.
In the first month of the Airlift, a total of 70 241 tons of supplies was flown in to Berlin, just under half of the minimum needs of the city. By the end of the Airlift, the monthly total had risen to over 250 000 tons and this was probably one of the main contributing factors that convinced the Soviets that there was no future in maintaining the blockade. Compared with the amount of cargo which had to be moved, the capacity of the aircraft used in the Airlift necessitated a staggering number of flights. The Dakotas could carry only three tons, the Wayfarers five and a half tons and the Yorks, Skymasters, Hastings, Tudors and flying boats between eight and ten tons each. The aircrews themselves made a number of recommendations regarding the removal of standard fittings like oxygen equipment and dinghies, which were not considered necessary.

During the Airlift, the British and the Americans shared the three air corridors permitted under the original four-power agreement. Aircraft based in the British zone entered Berlin along the Northern Air Corridor and the American aircraft came in along the Southern Corridor. Aircraft leaving Berlin generally used the Central Corridor. However, some British aircraft that were based very far north in their zone, also left along the Northern Corridor. Since the Americans provided the largest number of the aircraft and their bases were the furthest from Berlin, the British made two of their airfields at Celle and Fassburg in the centre of Germany available for use by the Americans, thereby greatly reducing their flying time, and also allowed them to share the Northern Corridor.

Flying boats
A unique aircraft type, probably unknown to most people today, were the 'flying boats' which were also used during the Airlift. These aircraft were once a familiar sight to South Africans - operating on the air routes between the Union and Britain before and immediately after the Second World War. During the Airlift, flying boats operated from the marine base of Finkenwerder on the River Elbe on the outskirts of Hamburg to a base on the Havel See (Havel Lake) in Berlin. Apart from increasing the number of available aircraft, the flying boats were also used to carry most of the salt supplies, as their hulls had been treated against the corrosive effects of the salt water on which they normally landed.

 (Land-based aircraft, lacking this anti-corrosion treatment, soon showed dangerous levels of corrosion due to salt cargo spillages and seepage. Having no night landing aids the flying boats operated only in the daytime from July until December 1948, when the Havel See became covered with ice. They did not resume operation after the Spring thaw.

Harrassment
Throughout the Airlift, the Soviets used a variety of means to harrass the air crews and to work on their fatigued nerves. For example, Soviet fighter aircraft played 'chicken' with the heavily-laden transports and carried out air-to-ground firing exercises with live ammunition very close to the corridors. The Soviet Army's anti-aircraft batteries also used live ammunition in exercises which took place as close as possible to the boundaries of the corridors and they flew barrage balloons alongside the corridors and held seeming endless conversations on the radio frequencies allocated to the Allied aircraft.

Discomfort of the crews
Apart from the fatigue caused by flying a number of operations daily under the most arduous of conditions, the crews lived in great discomfort. Their accommodation was either close to the airfields where the noise of the continuous flying operations made rest and sleep difficult, or they lived some distance away, requiring travelling between airfield and base which cut badly into their rest intervals. Furthermore, coal (the major cargo item) and flour produced prodigious quantities of dust which clogged flying controls and permeated the clothes of the air crews.

Berlin children
Conditions in occupied Germany were very severe and many people were reduced to begging. This was especially true of the children, who would follow the servicemen, calling out 'Got any gum, chum?' (probably the first words of English that they learned). A young American pilot, Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen, was sent on a familiarisation flight to Templehof and went on foot around the airfield to learn the approaches. He noticed a group of children who were standing at the fence close to the end of the runway and who were watching the aircraft coming in to land. Strangely, they did not beg when they saw him. Searching his pockets, Halvorsen found a few sticks of gum and a chocolate bar which he divided amongst some of them and promised that, if they were there the next day, he would drop some candy to them when he came in to land. When the children asked how they would know his aircraft, he told them that he would waggle his wings during his approach.

Returning to his base, Lt Halvorsen made several small parachutes out of a large supply of handkerchiefs which he had bought for a heavy cold. To each he attached a chocolate bar. On reaching Berlin the next morning he found the end of the runway crowded with children. His flight engineer dropped the little parachutes out of the flare chute and they were eagerly grabbed by the waiting children. This procedure was repeated every day and soon many Airlift crews joined in what became known as 'Operation Little Vittles'.

Der Schokoladenflieger
Halvorsen received two nicknames - 'Der Schokoladenflieger' (the chocolate pilot) and 'Uncle Wigglywings' - and German children sent him so much fan mail that his commanding officer had to provide him, a junior officer, with a German-speaking secretary to handle the replies. At Christmas Halvorsen received over 4 000 Christmas cards!

 Halvorsen meeting the kids for the first time

When children from the Soviet Sector of Berlin wrote and complained that they were being left out, Halvorsen and his comrades started dropping chocolates over the eastern sector as well, until the Soviet authorities ordered this to cease. The trail of little parachutes eventually became a danger to approaching aircraft and an official 'dropping zone' was established over open ground in the Tiergarten Park.

The Air Police at the US bases began to offer minor offenders the choice of a fine or a contribution of chocolate for 'Operation Little Vittles'. Halvorsen himself was sent back to the USA on a public relations tour. He received thousands of handkerchiefs in the post, some with lace edges, drenched with perfume and with the donors' telephone numbers on them.

In May 1998, the US Air Force sent one of its few surviving C54 Skymaster aircraft to Berlin to take part in the 50th anniversary celebrations. Gail Halvorsen was a member of the crew for this flight.

Reducing weight
Various measures were taken to reduce the mass of the supplies which were being flown into Berlin during the Airlift. Known for their great love of potatoes, which they served up in a large variety of ways, the Berliners did not much like the dehydrated potato powder called 'Pom', with which they were supplied. However, as this cut down some 780 tons daily, the housewives of Berlin made the best of the situation with a saying: 'Better Pom than Frau komm!' As water makes up a quarter of the weight of bread, the ingredients were flown in and the bread was baked inside Berlin, while meat was de-boned to reduce its weight by 25%. In this way, Berlin's food requirements were successfully reduced from 2 000 tons to 1 000 tons a day.

The end of the blockade
The Soviets realised that they were neither going to be able to drive the Allies out of Berlin nor stop the Airlift. Tunner's Easter Parade demonstration had coincided with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty which bound twelve countries together in a defence pact. In addition, the Allies had started turning back all trucks passing through the western zones of Germany, which were destined for the East, and so the Soviet zone was being starved of essential raw materials like coal and iron from the Ruhr.

On 12 May 1949, the blockade of Berlin was finally lifted. The Soviets tried to impose farther technical restrictions on movements from the West into Berlin but these were soon brushed aside by the Allies. In order to rebuild the stockpiles in West Berlin, the airlift continued for several months. British civil aircraft were finally withdrawn on 16 August and the RAF on 23 September, a few days after the SAAF crews had returned home.

Statistics
The statistics of the Airlift are as follows:
Estimated cost: US$ 200 million (For a reasonable present day comparison, this figure should be multiplied by at least 100)
Total number of aircraft used: 692
Total distance flown: 124 420 813 miles (equivalent to thirteen round trips to the moon or 4 000 times around the world)
Total number of flights: 277 804
Total tonnage into Berlin: 2 352 809
Coal: 1 586 530 tons (67%)
Food: 538 016 tons (23%)
Liquid fuel: 92 282 tons (4%)
Casualties: 65 men lost their lives -

31 Americans
8 RAF
11 British civilian crew
5 Germans

A monument representing the Air Bridge stands in the west of Berlin and is inscribed with the names of those who died. In addition, the people of Berlin raised a fund to secure the education and the futures of all the children of those who gave their lives for their city.

The last RAF flight
The last RAF flight from Lübeck landed at Gatow at 19.22 on 23 September 1949. The Dakota, appropriately carrying a load of coal, was inscribed with the following words:
'Positively the last load from Lübeck - 73 705 tons - Psalm 21 verse 11'. (In the King James version of the Bible, this verse reads: 'For they intended evil against thee, they imagined a mischevious device which they were not able to perform' - perhaps a suitable epitaph for the Berlin Airlift).

SOURCES
Collier, R, Bridge across the Sky (Macmillan, London, 1978)
Jackson, R, The Berlin Airlift (Patrick Stephens, Wellingborough, 1988)
Maree, B, 'The Berlin Airlift' in South African Panorama, December 1988, pp 14-18.
Morris, E, Blockade, Berlin & the Cold War (Military Book Society, London, 1973)
Personal reminiscences of Maj Gen Duncan Ralston; Col Peter MacGregor; and Capt Anthony Speir.

AC-47 Dakota Gunship: Spooky and Puff The Magic Dragon SAAF and USA

Dakota Part 5: 

Douglas AC-47 Spooky / Puff, the Magic Dragon / Dragon Dak

The Douglas AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. More firepower than could be provided by light and medium ground-attack aircraft was thought to be needed in some situations when ground forces called for close air support.

British "Waist-gunners" using Lewis Guns in WW2, 

mostly for anti-aircraft purposes rather than ground attack

Late in World War II, an Army Air Force lieutenant named Gilmour C. MacDonald had come up with the idea of mounting side-firing weapons in aircraft for the ground attack mission. The pilot of a conventional attack aircraft had to make a pass on a target and fire his weapons, then come around for another pass. The pilot of an attack aircraft with side-firing weapons could simply perform a banking "pylon turn" around a target, line up the target along his wingtip, and then hose it down with a "cone of fire" for as long as ammunition held out.

Nothing came of the idea until 1961, when MacDonald, by then a USAF lieutenant colonel, brought it up again and managed to inspire a set of shoestring demonstrations of the concept. By 1964, it was the right idea in the right place. The USAF was trying to come to grips with the difficulties of fighting the growing jungle war in Southeast Asia, in particular casting about for a way to perform effective close air support for ground operations. 

In August of that year, the war had undergone a drastic escalation with the the Tonkin Gulf incident. In November, a USAF captain named Ronald W. Terry sold the idea of a gunship to the brass, and was authorized to put together two gunships quickly for a combat evaluation. MacDonald was the father of the idea of the side-firing gunship, but Terry was the one who would make it work.

The initial two Dakota gunships were in Vietnam by December and in combat before the end of the year. The gunships were originally given the designation of "FC-47D", but this was quickly changed to "AC-47D" in response to loud complaints by fighter pilots that calling any kind of a C-47 a "fighter" was really stretching the definition of the term.

The AC-47Ds was fitted with three 7.62 millimeter (0.30 caliber) Gatling-style Miniguns firing out the left side of the aircraft. The Miniguns had a selectable rate of fire of 3,000 or 6,000 rounds per minute, and the gunship typically carried about 24,000 rounds of ammunition. Early gunships used improvised cargo-hold mounts for standard SUU-11A/A Minigun pods, the pod having been designed as an underwing store. Later gunships carried GAU-2B/A Miniguns more specifically rigged for the task, and then the far more satisfactory MXU-470/A Miniguns, which used an ammunition drum instead of a belt-feed from ammunition cans, with great improvement in convenience and reliability. After some experience, the guns would be fixed pointing 12 degrees downward, reducing the aircraft bank angle required for attacks.

Electrically operated miniguns

Ballistic armor curtains were fitted to the left side of the aircraft to protect crew and systems; new radio and navigation equipment were installed; a Mark 20 gun sight salvaged from the Douglas A-1 Skyraider attack aircraft was fitted to the cockpit left-side window; and a trigger button from the same source was attached to the pilot's control wheel. The AC-47Ds also carried a bin of illumination flares for night fighting next to the cargo door, with the flares tossed out of the aircraft by the flight crew by hand. The bin was later armored to prevent the flares from being set off by ground fire.

Vietnamese who observed attacks by the gunships compared them to roaring, fire-spouting dragons, and so the gunships acquired the name "Puff", after a contemporary pop tune, "Puff the Magic Dragon". They were more informally called "Spooky" after their radio call-sign, and were well-liked by US ground forces for their ability to literally rip enemy assaults to shreds.

The modified craft's primary function was close air support for ground troops. Other armament configurations could also be found on similar C-47-based aircraft around the world. The guns were actuated by a control on the pilot's yoke whereby he could control the guns either individually or together, although gunners were also among the crew to assist with gun failures and similar issues. It could orbit the target for hours, providing suppressing fire over an elliptical area approximately 52 yd (47.5 m) in diameter, placing a round every 2.4 yd (2.2 m) during a three-second burst. The aircraft also carried flares it could drop to illuminate the battleground.

Spent casings after a Vietnam mission

The AC-47 had no previous design to gauge how successful it would be because it was the first of its kind. The USAF found itself in a precarious situation when requests for additional gunships began to come in because it simply lacked miniguns to fit additional aircraft after the first two conversions. The next four aircraft were equipped with 10 .30 caliber AN/M2 machine guns. However, these weapons, using World War II and Korean War ammunition stocks, were quickly discovered to jam easily, produce large amounts of gases from firing, and, even in 10-gun groups, only provide the density of fire of a single minigun. All four of these aircraft were retrofitted to the standard armament configuration when additional miniguns arrived.

The AC-47 initially used SUU-11/A gun pods that were installed on locally fabricated mounts for the gunship application. Emerson Electric eventually developed the MXU-470/A to replace the gun pods, which were also used on subsequent gunships.

Miniguns at the ready

Flare canister

In August 1964, years of fixed-wing gunship experimentation reached a new peak with Project Tailchaser under the direction of Capt. John C. Simons. This test involved the conversion of a single Convair C-131B to be capable of firing a single GAU-2/A Minigun at a downward angle out of the left side of the aircraft. Even crude grease pencil crosshairs were quickly discovered to enable a pilot flying in a pylon turn to hit a stationary area target with relative accuracy and ease. The Armament Development and Test Center tested the craft at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, but lack of funding soon suspended the tests. In 1964, Capt. Ron W. Terry returned from temporary duty in Vietnam as part of an Air Force Systems Command team reviewing all aspects of air operations in counter-insurgency warfare, where he had noted the usefulness of C-47s and C-123s orbiting as flare ships during night attacks on fortified hamlets. He received permission to conduct a live-fire test using the C-131 and revived the side-firing gunship program.

Minigun in action

By October, Capt. Terry's team under Project Gunship provided a C-47D, which was converted to a similar standard as the Project Tailchaser aircraft and armed with three miniguns, which were initially mounted on locally fabricated mounts—essentially strapped gun pods intended for fixed-wing aircraft (SUU-11/A) onto a mount allowing them to be fired remotely out the port side. Captain Terry and a testing team arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, on 2 December 1964, with equipment needed to modify two C-47s. The first test aircraft (43-48579, a C-47B-5-DK mail courier converted to C-47D standard by removal of its superchargers) was ready by 11 December, the second by 15 December, and both were allocated to the 1st Air Commando Squadron for combat testing. The newly dubbed "FC-47" often operated under the radio call sign "Puff". Its primary mission involved protecting villages, hamlets, and personnel from mass attacks by VC guerrilla units.

Spooky in Vietnam

Puff's first significant success occurred on the night of 23–24 December 1964. An FC-47 arrived over the Special Forces outpost at Tranh Yend in the Mekong Delta just 37 minutes after an air support request, fired 4,500 rounds of ammunition, and broke the Viet Cong attack. The FC-47 was then called to support a second outpost at Trung Hung, about 20 miles away. The aircraft again blunted the VC attack and forced a retreat. Between 15 and 26 December, all the FC-47's 16 combat sorties were successful. On 8 February 1965, an FC-47 flying over the Bong Son area of Vietnam’s Central Highlands demonstrated its capabilities in the process of blunting a Viet Cong offensive. For over four hours, it fired 20,500 rounds into a Viet Cong hilltop position, killing an estimated 300 Viet Cong troops.

Twin Browning arrangement

Gatling Minigun replacement

The early gunship trials were so successful, the second aircraft was returned to the United States early in 1965 to provide crew training. In July 1965, Headquarters USAF ordered TAC to establish an AC-47 squadron. By November 1965, a total of five aircraft were operating with the 4th Air Commando Squadron, activated in August as the first operational unit, and by the end of 1965, a total of 26 had been converted. Training Detachment 8, 1st Air Commando Wing, was subsequently established at Forbes AFB, Kansas. In Operation Big Shoot, the 4th ACS in Vietnam grew to 20 AC-47s (16 aircraft plus four reserves for attrition).

Spooky inbound

The 4th ACS deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam, on 14 November 1965. Now using the call sign "Spooky", each of its three 7.62 mm miniguns could selectively fire either 50 or 100 rounds per second. It can be seen in action here. Cruising in an overhead left-hand orbit at 120 knots air speed at an altitude of 3,000 ft, the gunship could put a bullet or glowing red tracer (every fifth round) bullet into every square yard of a football field-sized target in potentially less than 10 seconds.[dubious – discuss] And, as long as its 45-flare and 24,000-round basic load of ammunition held out, it could do this intermittently while loitering over the target for hours.

On the ground with an early model Hercules C130 A (note the short nose)

In May 1966, the squadron moved north to Nha Trang Air Base to join the newly activated 14th Air Commando Wing. The 3rd Air Commando Squadron was activated at Nha Trang on 5 April 1968 as a second AC-47 squadron, with both squadrons re-designated as Special Operations Squadrons on 1 August 1968. Flights of both squadrons were stationed at bases throughout South Vietnam, and one flight of the 4th SOS served at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base with the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. The superb work of the two AC-47 squadrons, each with 16 AC-47s flown by aircrews younger than the aircraft they flew, was undoubtedly a key contributor to the award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the 14th Air Commando Wing in June 1968.

One of the most publicized battles of the Vietnam War was the siege of Khe Sanh in early 1968, known as "Operation Niagara". More than 24,000 tactical and 2700 B-52 strikes dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance in attacks that averaged over 300 sorties per day. During the two and a half months of combat in that tiny area, fighters were in the air day and night. At night, AC-47 gunships kept up a constant chatter of fire against enemy troops. During darkness, AC-47 gunships provided illumination against enemy troops.

Gunships pouring fire onto the enemy

An open shutter shows how an eliptical fly path allowed massive fire-power

 to be unleashed on a relatively small (ca 50 sq metre target)

The AC-47D gunship should not be confused with a small number of C-47s which were fitted with electronic equipment in the 1950s. Prior to 1962, these aircraft were designated AC-47D. When a new designation system was adopted in 1962, these became EC-47Ds. The original gunships had been designated FC-47D by the United States Air Force, but with protests from fighter pilots, this designation was changed to AC-47D during 1965. Of the 53 aircraft converted to AC-47 configuration, 41 served in Vietnam and 19 were lost to all causes, 12 in combat. Combat reports indicate that no village or hamlet under Spooky Squadron protection was ever lost, and a plethora of reports from civilians and military personnel were made about AC-47s coming to the rescue and saving their lives.

As the United States began Project Gunship II and Project Gunship III, many of the remaining AC-47Ds were transferred to the Vietnam Air Force, the Royal Lao Air Force, and to Cambodia, after Prince Sihanouk was deposed in a coup by General Lon Nol.

A1C John L. Levitow, an AC-47 loadmaster with the 3rd SOS, received the Medal of Honor for saving his aircraft, Spooky 71, from destruction on 24 February 1969 during a fire support mission at Long Binh. The aircraft was struck by an 82-mm mortar round that inflicted 3,500 shrapnel holes, wounding Levitow 40 times, but he used his body to jettison an armed magnesium flare, which ignited shortly after Levitow ejected it from the aircraft, allowing the AC-47 to return to base.

Demand for the Spooky was so high that availability of Miniguns became a problem, so four of the AC-47Ds were put together using a stockpile of old Browning 7.62 millimeter (0.30 caliber) machine guns found in a warehouse in California, with each aircraft carrying ten side-firing machine guns each.

About 47 AC-47Ds were produced, with 12 lost in combat, particularly as enemy air defenses improved. A more capable platform -- in particular equipped with sophisticated sensor system to permit it to perform "search and destroy" missions instead of simply performing fire support -- was obviously needed. The AC-47Ds were replaced by the Fairchild AC-119G Boxcar gunship, with an electronic sensor system, for fire support missions, with the search and destroy mission farmed out to the highly sophisticated and completely fearsome Lockheed AC-130A Hercules / Spectre gunship.

Other air forces
In 2006, Colombia started operating retrofitted AC-47s, where they are known by civilians as Avion Fantasma (ghost plane). They are successfully operated by the Colombian Air Force in counter-insurgency operations in conjunction with AH-60 Arpia helicopters (an armed variant of the UH-60) and Cessna A-37 Dragonflys against local illegally armed groups. These are five Basler BT-67s purchased by Colombia with .50 cal (12.7 mm) GAU-19/A machine guns slaved to a forward looking infrared (or FLIR) system. They also have the ability to carry bombs. At least one has been seen fitted with one GAU-19/A and a 20 mm cannon, most likely a French made M621. The BT-67 is a variant of the C-47/DC-3 modified by the Basler Corporation of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

In 1970, the Indonesian Air Force converted a former civilian DC-3. The converted aircraft was armed with three .50 cal machine guns. During 1975, the Indonesian Air Force used its "AC-47" in the Indonesian invasion of East Timor to attack the city of Dili. Later, the aircraft was used in Indonesian military close air support missions in East Timor. A retirement date is unknown.

In December 1984 and January 1985, the United States supplied two AC-47D gunships to the El Salvador Air Force and trained aircrews to operate the system. The AC-47 gunship carried three .50 cal machine guns and could loiter and provide heavy firepower for army operations. As the FAS had long operated C-47s, it was easy for the United States to train pilots and crew to operate the aircraft as a weapons platform. By all accounts, the AC-47 soon became probably the most effective weapon in the FAS arsenal.

Variants of the AC-47 based on various iterations of the airframe including the BT-67, have been used by Laos, Cambodia, South Africa, El Salvador, and Rhodesia, to name just a few, and with a variety of weapons configurations including Gatling guns of numerous types, various medium and heavy machine guns, and larger auto cannon (South African "Dragon Daks" were known to fit 20 mm cannons). The Republic of China Air Force (Taiwanese Air Force) also converted some of its C-47s to gunships. These machines were armed with M2 machine guns.

.50 cal vs 20 mm rounds for comparison

South African Air Force "Dragon Daks"

The Dak was often used for Paratroop drops

SAAF Gunships mounted either 20mm cannon or HMGs

Different arrangements were tested:

 John Vorster, later Prime Minister, inspecting a twin  HMG system

The single 20mm gun

SA Dragon Dak Gunner in action