04/22/2025
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EUckw6sXh/
“Puff the Magic Dragon” wasn’t a fairy tale in Vietnam—it was death from above.
The AC-47 Spooky, the first of America’s fixed-wing gunships, brought an entirely new kind of firepower to the skies of Southeast Asia. Based on the old reliable C-47 Dakota from WWII, this beast was reborn with teeth—three side-mounted 7.62mm miniguns capable of raining down up to 6,000 rounds per minute each.
Flying slow and low over the battlefield, the AC-47 could loiter for hours, circling enemy positions like a bird of prey. The fire from its guns stitched glowing red lines into the night—a continuous, searing stream of tracer rounds that earned it the nickname: “Puff the Magic Dragon.” To enemy fighters below, it was a nightmare in the sky. To friendly troops on the ground, it was salvation.
Whether defending a Special Forces outpost, lighting up an enemy ambush, or circling a village under siege, the AC-47 became a symbol of overwhelming American firepower. It could place a bullet in every square yard of a football field-sized target in just seconds—and then do it again... and again.
The Spooky’s success led to the evolution of even deadlier successors, like the AC-119 and the infamous AC-130 Spectre. But it all started with this retrofitted cargo bird turned guardian angel.
Tonight, we remember the roar, the fire, and the legend of Puff.