Aerial gunships strike fear into the hearts of even the most battle-hardened soldiers. Combat Aircraft sneaks into the Colombian jungle to meet the AC-47T ‘Fantasmas’ that fight the guerrilla groups and drug cartels.
IN THE 1980s, Colombia’s armed forces were battling various heavily armed drug cartels and guerrilla groups in the Andean region — mountainous terrain that is difficult for government troops to use heavy weapons in. The big question was how to provide effective and prolonged artillery support to these ground forces.
The nation’s leaders had seen how effective the US Air Force’s Douglas AC-47 ‘Spooky’ gunships had been over similar landscape in South-east Asia and decided these flying arsenals were the answer.
The AC-47 was developed from the Douglas DC-3/C-47 Skytrain that dates back to 1935. They were rugged, simple to maintain, relatively cheap and available in large numbers. They also had long endurance, an important factor considering how Colombia is a vast country.
The US had developed the AC-47 ‘Spooky’ gunship concept in the early 1960s for use in South-east Asia and by 1965 had some 30 AC-47Ds in service. They were each armed with three 7.62mm General Electric SUU-11A mini-guns, ea…
