As a US USAF veteran, this was my aircraft, I am glad you like it. IT provides the firepower to protect our troops and civilians on the ground. WE are very proud of this aircraft and know that it protects you also.
As an american taxpayer, we are so glad that we were able to give this military to the world. It has not been easy paying for it. Americans work very hard.
Between the A-10 and the AC-130, I have no idea which one saved my life more. You know when the A-10 is around because you can hear the BRRRT but the AC-130 is so far up it kinda takes you by surprise but there is nothing more satisfying than calling for air support and you get one of the two. It's an absolutely amazing feeling to know these men and women are there watching over you on the battlefields. Yes, they do say when the 105mm goes off, it does push it to the side a bit. Its an amazing plane. There are videos that just cover the AC-10 you should check that out. This video was mainly about the plane variants.
I feel with the better sensor package on the AC-130 and that it circles over the battlefield rather then making strafing runs I feel like it would a more efficient air support but I am not in the military just armchair speculating.
@@DivusMagus The A-10 can also circle the battlefield, and has a thermal/IR fire control system allowing it to launch guided munitions from standoff distances. The A-10 doesn't need to do gun runs to kill.
Most other services (ARMY, NAVY, And Marines) Disrespect and do not know the USAF.. they call us "CHAIR FORCE". ...However, as you all did too.... I put in my TIME too... working 50 to 60 hours a week at KUNSAN AIRBASE (WOLFPACK - F-16's) and SUWON AIRBASE. ( A-10s - WARTHOGS) I went to a training area to witness my mission with this Squadron in 1990 on their practice attack runs. I was in the USAF COMMUNICATIONS COMMAND THEN... maintaining the base PHONE systems... for 20 years and in IRAQ for 7 more maintaining communication there too.... during the war and reporting my data and info to an Australian MAJOR working for ARMY HQ in IRAQ. I do not know who controls the world ... if for good or for bad... research the three city states. I did MY 20 YEARS in he USAF and AM Proud of my Effort to do and be the BEST...And Later I was the FOREMAN of a 20,000 line Telephone Network at CAMP VICTORY IRAQ fro US ARMY HQ COMMAND.... for 7 years... almost KILLED 7 times by near misses.... Sniper, Mortar and Rocket Fire.. for 7 Years there... 2004 to 2011.... I ws USAF and WORKING FOR THE US ARMY TOO... But what for? We are all still asking this question... and our ALLIES... FOR WHAT? We can have all this power.. and kill everybody? But who does it serve the most? Our Sacrifices and the fake wars for profits? Just a thought... TALLY HO! I still did my Part with honor regardless if those in power are working for the NEW WORLD ORDER... agenda 21 pushed back to 2030? YOU WILL all be slaves...
This was my dad's favorite airplane. The "Herky Bird" was the last plane he flew as an Air Force pilot. I've ridden in one, catching a "space A" flight from Westover AFB in MA to Robbins AFB in GA to visit my folks when I was an AFROTC cadet. I laugh whenever I see a movie shows a scene with a group of actors ostensibly having conversations in the back of a 130 in flight in normal voices. Not possible.
The ac130 and the warthog are angels of death and protection for us ground troops. We love them. We love our air support. Hands down saved so many of us, more so than I’d really like to think about.
I’ve had the privilege (and misfortune) to have a spooky online. Quite the game changer. And those a-10’s certainly are appreciated. Again, you love to see ‘em, but if you do, you must be in a pretty shitty situation.
I am a combat Marine veteran and c 130s took me to a few zones. The warthog is the best plane around for us grunts and operators on the ground. Best air support ever 😂
Ah one of my favorite birds. I was an Air Force mechanic on the AC-130H/U's for 8 years. Some fun facts about them: 1. C-130's have the largest tires of all US cargo aircraft (not the most, just the largest) 2. Using JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) rockets, C-130's can take off and land from the distance of roughly a football field (100 yards) 3. Yes, the tail of the AC-130 does shimmy sideways a bit when the 105mm goes off, not a lot but you can definitely feel it. and 4. VICE did an interview with Taliban fighters a number of years ago and they said the aircraft they feared most was the AC-130 due to the sheer destruction they are able to dish out. Such an awesome bird, thanks for checking it out!! Love watching your videos, keep 'em coming!
Love your sincerity in reviews. I'm a retired USAF C130 flight mechanic (crew chief) who flew for 24 years. Never assigned to gunships but cargo & Combat Search& Rescue (CSAR) units. So many missions, so many places (way too much desert!). Actually flew training missions with a RNZAF 🇳🇿 C130 in New Mexico in the late 90s. Great bunch of fellows. Hands down the most versatile aircraft ever built. Nothing like the beautiful sound of those propellers, & she always brought us home safe.
The Air Force Med-Evac used the C-130 to transport wounded. It is a historical plane and the lives saved being flown long distances by this plane are just a small part of what the C-130 has accomplished. An amazing plane flown and supported by an incredible military. God bless our troops!!!! Thank you for honoring this great American hero, the C-130. Thank you Air Force members, for your service. You are truly appreciated.
@@bo0tsy1 You are partly correct, the AC-130 is never humanitarian, purely an attack aircraft but plain C-130s can be humanitarian. Plain C-130's on Med-evac missions go in usually carrying cargo and can be a target, but once patients are on-board the mission becomes a medical flight, although this doesn't guarantee you won't be shot at. On missions like these no one except the loadmaster get off the aircraft. The max ground time is 20 minutes, in this time they do a COL (combat off load) to get the cargo off and load the patients, good Med-evac and MASF crews can load over 70 patients in the time leftover after the cargo offload. Also, if there is any incoming fire the aircraft immediately leaves and if you're not on the aircraft, well you just became a ground pounder.
It's a true workhorse, we Brits love it in the RAF too even though some of its tasks are being repaced by the A400M and C-17A it still was invaluable with the UK contribution to the evacuation of Kabul last year.
Built by Lockheed Martin, the C-130 family consists of weapons like the AC-130 “Angel of Death”, C-130 “Hercules”, and other specialized variants. It is armed with Dual 20mm Miniguns, a 40mm Auto-Cannon, and a 105mm Howitzer gun, It is also sometimes equipped with a Laser Guided JDAM bomb to destroy larger moving targets. It can rain down hell from above with ease. Used by the US, NZ, AU, UK, SK, CA, and many others, it is considered to be a world wide death machine.
I maintained AC-130s while serving in the Air Force. An absolute beast of a weapon. As we used to say to our enemies, "You can run but you'll just die tired!"
I’m a retired Air Force crew chief (air craft mechanic) 21 years mastering the C-130 ACFT. I retired from Special Operation AC-130 gunship unit in Hurlbert field Florida. A lot of the footage you watched are ACFT I have actually worked. The large fleet footage took place at Rammstein AB Germany with a combined effort of 2 full squadrons, it was the largest airlift operation in Europe since WW2 (I was third ACFT in line). Fun facts; the C-130 only needs 800ft of flat surface to land and 1600ft to take off. I have witnessed an operation is nicknamed “hell fire” with 2 gunships 180 degrees from each other and open fire on a target, and yes the guns do shift the ACFT and loosen all the hardware on the left side of the plane.
Blessed is he who, shepards the weak throught the valley of darkness,for he is the keeper of his brothers. and YOU will KNOW my name is the LORD when I strike down upon thee with great RAGE and FURIOUS ANGER anyone who attempts ti destroy my brothers.
Another thing to remember when watching videos on military firepower is that when you see the Gatling guns/cannons being fired and there are "Tracer" rounds leaving a streak of light as they fly, it is actually every 5th round that you are seeing! So there are 4 more rounds in between each of those steaks of light that look like they are one after the other and nearly end to end, and sometimes the fire rate is so fast it looks almost like a laser beam going through the night! BTW, That every 5th round number is usually on average that is. They can be spaced out a bit more to conserve the number of tracers fired, and if the gun fires at a very high rate they may move them farther apart in the bullet feed belts if the gun/cannon is being aimed and fired by an operator right behind it instead of being a fixed mount on an aircraft so it's not as blinding to the person shooting and they can see the target easier at night.
No, they're not: The A-E(H) models were originally transports that were converted to gunships, and they'd rattle apart constantly! It wasn't until the U-model, that they were purpose built on Lockheed's production line.
I got a tour of a C-5 with the 167th Airlift Wing in WV and saw a *tiny* C-130J parked next to one. I've also been up in a C-130 as part of the Civil Air Patrol.
@11:59 ... Yes. When the aircraft fires a full salvo it increases in altitude and the air crew have to work to keep the aircraft in position. While the C130 isn't the biggest cargo aircraft in our inventory, it is the most versatile. It actually has a very short take off distance and can operate on anything from a dirt and grass field to hard runways.
In the Army I used to parachute out of them. It's not a big plane as compared to large planes like the C-5 Galaxy. (That's huge) but only takes a couple hundred feet to take off.
I flew C5s for a long time, and yes, she’s a big girl. I’m still impressed with the 130, and especially the gunship. They should check out the C5 as well.
While I was deployed to Afghanistan, we had a few AC-130's at the base. I had the privilege of going inside one, and seeing the weapon systems from inside, very cool. The best part about this particular AC-130 was that under the pilot's window, where they typically show number of kills, it had the Decepticon logo (from Transformers). It was explained that it was the exact plane that was used in the Transformers movie.
The AC-130 Spector is called the Angel of Death. Because it rains death from above. It has very precise accuracy, and when attacking it does so by flying in a circle to the left at up to 7 miles away from their target. They have onboard imagery that allows them to see target strikes in real time even in the middle of the night.
@@malachivigil9817 Indeed. There are real battle footage that shows how clearly they can see their targets from 7 miles away at night. You can see individuals.
@@CPny65 And there have been people who were being given cover fire by an AC-130, and they said the hits from the thing's Howitzer felt like earthquakes, and they weren't even the ones being shot at....so imagine what the impact is like if you *are* the one being shot at!
In my Army service, I've jumped aka parachuted out of them 138 recorded times and to include the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter 6 parachuted jumps and countless fast rope/rapel drops either on ground or roof tops to conduct training or combat missions. Yall videos are seriously awesomeness to watch and it makes me so proud with how respectful the whole family is to the military and that even though yall are small country, yall can sleep soundly at night that your Big Brother has your back and takes care of family. Cheers yall!!
C-130 rollin' down the strip, Recon daddy gonna take a little trip! Mission top-secret, destination unknown! Don't even know when we're comin' home! Stand up, buckle up, shuffle to the door, Jump right out and shout MARINE CORPS! If that chute don't open wide, I've got a reserve by my side If that one should fail me too, Look out devil I'm a'comin' for you! A kickin' and a jabbin'! Punchin' and a stabbin! Brings back memories for sure.
Y’all need to come to America and see our air shows to see these awesome aircraft. I think y’all would die seeing them! These gunships are so cool! Our military aircraft are so awesome. I’m from Georgia and we have so many military aircraft here and have our air museum in Macon that’s big, highly recommend looking at, and so I see a lot of military aircraft here. I’ve seen the C130 in person and been inside one, they are super cool. My dad jumped from one in the Army, stories there for sure. They can stop on a dime and accelerate quickly. Love that y’all love our military aircraft so much! Love y’all much!
I used to drive down Route 1 through Dover Delaware and you would see these planes. They were so big; it was hard to imagine them flying. Seeing them takeoff and land was equally amazing!
Because of the size and the fact that there are not very many long airstrips throughout the world where these might be needed at a moments notice the propellers can actually go backwards to help with being able to land on shorter runways.
The props do not go backwards, but change pitch so far that they redirect thrust forward so they can reverse on the ground so they can nose in and reverse out in tight places. Hardly any other craft can do that without over heating, juat another advantage of flying Jolly Green..
@@blanc1129 That would make more sense to me. I just remember hearing that the propellers could change direction when I went to an airshow as a kid. One of the very few things that I remember coming over the speaker during the show. But then I have slept several times since then as I'm 48 now and I was around 10-12 when I heard that.
To answer your question on if the plane moves when the cannons shoot, the plane gets pushed back 6 feet when the Howitzer is fired. That is the large cannon on the side of the aircraft. The other question was about the A10 Warthog. The gun was built around the plane and there are only a few seconds that you can pull the trigger before3 running out of ammo. The gun dumps rounds down range extremely fast and during that process the A10 loses speed.
Little known fact, that at the last remodelling of our herc's, our 5 were more advanced than the H models in US service. A full digital flight suite, advanced self protection, so much so that the USAF copied our upgrades into remodelling their own aircraft! GO KIWI!
@@yournewzealandfamily That could be arranged, there is lots of new equipment coming to the RNZAF, P8 Posidens and UCAV'S....how would i contact you outside of youtube? I have a lot of senoir friends in the RNZAF.
Thank you all for showing this gunship, as I have never seen its history or its capability! I love that everyone in your family notices things during your reaction and contributes to our enjoyment of watching these that you all produce!! 😃😃! Keep up your good work!!! From: Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
C-130 is a transport aircraft. Adding the "A" at the beginning designates it as a gunship. It's a great plane but I wish that Redwheel had spent more time on the AC-130 rather than the C-130. It truly is amazing.
A = Attack, B = Bomber, F = Fighter, H = Helicopter, K = Tanker, R = Recon, and many more. Then combine them together and you get something like HAL = Helicopter Attack Light or AC = Attack Cargo.
I imagine that more details are confidential for the AC-130J, hence why it wasn't talked about more. It is currently in the acquisition process for more upgrades, so who knows when any details will be released.
My Dad was a Vietnam veteran and talked about C 130s alot. They brought in men and supplies and also evacuated people. In the Vietnam era the soldiers called the weaponized C 130s "Puff the Magic Dragon". Dad saw one during combat twice....he said it was awe inspiring. He told me that Puff put a bullet in every square inch of ground...nothing survived it! The guys were always grateful to see it flying in to help them. Love the videos and your channel. Y'all are much appreciated for letting us tag along with your adventures! Love and hugs from Georgia, USA!
During my 30 year career in the Army, I was the USAEUR Range Safety Officer on the island of Crete. I would have to fly back and forth between my home base in Germany and the island. This was done on a C130 Transport. I was usually the only passenger so the guys would always let me ride in the Engineers Seat located between the pilot and co-pilot. Really a cool experience. Probably made that trip 12-15 times...always the same.
Actually, most of the largest planes have top-mounted wings, including the C-5, C-17, IL-76, AN-124, and the destroyed AN-225, a one-of-a-kind bird that was the largest airplane in the world. Just to clarify (not sure if you meant this or not), the gunship variants don't haul cargo; the interior is for the guns & ammo supplies. Same airframe design, though.
The AN-225 had size competition with the Hughes H-4 Hercules which has a 30 feet longer wingspan. The AN-225 is, however longer by 57 feet. So in terms of size they are comparable to each other.
C-130's have a choice of what their cargo is. AC-130's, their cargo IS those guns and officers. They're just using a defunked delivery service of sending packages via ballistic propulsion. You know, when you could get you parcel package from your great aunt via a 155mm howizter? The good old days. 🤣
My dad was in the USAF for about 30 years and served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He was a C-130 mechanic. I grew up in NJ near McGuire AFB. I remember visiting him once and seeing the C-130 up close. Plus when they took off they flew low over our house. There was a place on base where people would go sit near the landing field and watch them land and take off. They would practice doing “touch and go” and it was amazing to watch. Long before 9/11. All these bases are on lock down now unless you have military ID. We called them “ The daddy airplane”. I miss my dad. 💔
There's videos of the Blue Angels C-130 " Fat Albert" showing low level maneuvers and short landings and take offs flown by Marine Corps pilots, it's worth a look
I was born in raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Seven miles from NAS JAX, the birthplace of the Blue Angels. We watched them fly at the airshow every year growing up! Both my father and Grandfather (served 32 years) in the Navy.
@@tiahc3 My dad served 20 years as a Navy Seabee chief petty officer I was born on a Navy base I spent my childhood and and early teens living on or near a Navy base, this was in the 60s & 70s I got to see and do some cool stuff as a kid
I always thought it would be nice to fire it’s flares when it’s on final approach to land carrying fallen soldiers. I know it would never be allowed for a myriad of reason, but it would be humbling to see.
@@Ryarios yeah they likely wouldnt do that...burning flares crossing the end of a runway thats likely dry grass in many cases would cause a grass fire.
I live about 13 miles from an air force base. They have so many HUGE planes that come and go all the time. I love your family. I have a friend that is on vacation right now for a whole month, in New Zealand. I shared your channel with her and she loves it too. PLEASE don’t ever stop💋💨🥰
Had a friend who was in the airforce and this is what he road around on. We hardly need troops on the ground with all the crazy stuff we have. Keep up the good work guys
Those are wonderful Aircralt, but we will always need boots on the ground because all though the can help destroy the enemy you still need to take over the territory with ground troops to keep this area secured from being retake by enemy troops.
I hate to be the 4th to jump on Garrett and how his buddy set him up. You need to hold that ground. You can decimate a football field and walk away. Guarantee you that a grunt, marine, seabee, etc. will mine that area after you leave and set an overwatch position if nor just take it back from you.
The last part of my AF career as a Flight Eng on the AC130U with the 4th SOS Ghostriders. Great to see you all covering this beast. It was a fun airframe but I have to say, the regular C130 cargo hauler had a more enjoyable mission in my experience.
You guys mentioned that the guns are strong enough to slide the airframe sideways! True! The rudder has a reverse dampening system while the 105mm is shot. The 40mm and the 25mm don’t require any dampening.
It is now 09/14/2023 at 0400 hours, I now live in Arizona but grew up in New York on Long Island, where the A-10 Thunderbolt was built was built. On my 18th birthday without giving my age away, I was hired by Fairchild Republic, who was the designer and builder of the A10. My first interview I was brought into a room and had to sign my life stating that I will not disclose anything that I do or any work on the aircraft and if I did I could expect to be imprisoned or face death. They then showed me the film on what the A-10 could do and will do as time went on. My part on the ship was the hydrualics mechanic installing the hydrualics in Aft section, Left and Right Trough areas. At 18 years old and given this great responsibility it made me very proud. Just like your U Tube shows and your families responce it makes me feel great again. I now live in Arizona and just retired from a 34 year career as a Deputy Sheriff. I look foward to watching more of you guys in the future. Keep up the good work. Your Friend SodaStore, the nick name stuck from my New York days.
The C-130 comes in so many more configurations than what they mentioned in this video, there is a squadron of them stationed in my home town and they fly over the house all the time. I fly in one from Colorado to NJ and back to Ohio to get a lift home- very cold in the back when it's flying I will say.
While I was active duty I had to catch a ride on a C-130 from Sigonella, Sicily to just outside Alexandria, Egypt. I can attest to how cold the cargo area gets. I was freezing during the flight and when the door was opened after we landed in Egypt it was like stepping from the freezer directly into the frying pan.
One heck of an aircraft, I jumped out of these back in the day, but also they are designed to go into the eye of a hurricane, made a few max flights home. They fly rough, but they’re pretty darn tough. That’s why they’re still in service.
We had eight of these C-130J's at the base in my hometown in Ohio. They were moved out this month as the base's core mission has changed. The flares are sometimes used during "Angel Flights". When they bring fallen soldiers home.
Homeboy those with were the few upgrades to the ghost rider standard from all the variants those are the most modern to civilians knowledge they carry a hell of a punch
They're not called "Angel Flight" and the flares are not jettisoned when carrying a fallen comrade. That's pure made up stuff. How do I know? I went to Vietnam to start the journey home for one of our fallen. Our call sign was not Angel, it was just a regular call sign. Our day began in U-Tapau, Thailand and we hauled cargo and personnel to Danang, Vietnam in our C-130. On the return flight to U-Tapau we brought back the remains of one of our fallen and some personnel. We did not have any flares or chaff on board because you only carry that on training missions or in a combat zone, so it would have looked pretty suspicious if we did have chaff and flares. From U-Tapau the remains were flown back to Hawaii on a regular rotator C-17, which also wouldn't be carrying chaff or flares since it would never have been in a combat zone. So this doing a mass flare ejection when carrying a fallen comrade is nothing more than a myth with no basis in fact.
I current an a mechanic on the C-130J’s and to answer your question, yes the Gunship pilots do have to compensate for the recoil when the guns are being fired. To show you how versatile the C-130 actually is check out to combat landings they do in war zones.
I was a C-130 mechanic in the Air Force. This air frame is the most reliable, hardest working most bad ass aircraft in existence. Thanks for showing it some love!!!!!
I live between a regional airport and an ANG base. We have a couple of these flying over our house almost every day. Sometimes, they practice evasive flying and go over much lower than usual, swooping from side to side. It shakes the house.
Hi my New Zealand Family...I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for taking the time to keep us entertained with all your fantastic content. Hope you all have a great week.😇
That highway you mentioned as that J model was landing is highway 98. That runs in front of Hurlburt Airfield Special Operations Command. I live less than 5minutes from Hurlburt's back gate.
The cargo and troop carrier versiot are called C-130's...only the Gunship is called an AC-130. I live near a base in America where we see the C-130's fly and land all the time. The scene in the beginning of the video that looked like fire coming from the aircraft were actually JATO units (Jet Assisted Take Off). They are basically booster rockets that fall off after use, allowing the aircraft to take off in an insanely short amount of space. I would encourage you to view other videos showing this aircraft in action...it is truly terrifying.
10:35 I'm a munitions troop in the AF. It's always a factor when it comes to the munitions. But not as much of a threat compared to the flares that aircraft shoot off. If you were to drop the 105, it's more than likely going to be a rejected round. Flares are electronically initiated, we have to be continuously grounded (use a grounding strap on the wrist) when building up the flares. As well as various other safety guidelines for all munitions.
Hi guys! If y'all are interested into looking up the granddad of the AC130 series, look up the AC-47!! A WW2 troopcarrier/cargo plane changed to something dangerous!!
I really enjoy your videos and seeing your reactions to different pieces of equipment used by our military. Greetings from your friends in north Mississippi!
I live in Katy TX but grew up in the center of Texas I have had two up close encounters with military aircraft. First when I was a kid the mid 1960s was with an f-4 phantom. The lady across the street had a grandson that was a pilot in the air force. Several times a year he would say hi to her by passing over her house low level several times. The last pass he would turn his plane straight up and spin his plane till he was out of sight.
They actually do have to constantly re-adjust the airframe as overtime all that firepower from one side does eventually cause stress fractures or even distortions in the airframe. its a constant challenge, because while you do have shock absobers for theses cannons, the sheer vibration energy is dispersed across the airframe, and with time, the airframe will need maintenance.
Flew on the c130 several times in vietnam ,was there from 6-69 to 6-70 , turned 21 in dec. of 69 , also did alot of flying on the hueys with open doors and yes we sat on the edge of the floor with our feet hanging outside , was a crew man on a sheridan tank in the 11th ACR , check them out as well , brings back alot of memories...
I wish they had started with the cargo planes and kept that part a little shorter, and then went to the gunship version, and dove into it a little more Great reaction though!
I imagine more details are unavailable due to that model being active and acquiring new functionality. They probably kept the details confidential and vague on purpose.
C-130 was designed as a cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability and the ability to use rough fields. The C-130 is so good at short takeoffs that one landed on an aircraft carrier with no modifications. The C-130 is very versatile, it can be used as a gunship, air refueling tanker,flying hospital, airborne command post, weather monitoring aircraft (hurricane hunter) comms relay, & fire fighting aircraft.
I serves as Marine Air Crew on the KC-130 in-flight re-fuelers from 1979-1992. We refueled the jets and helicopters in flight as well as hauled troops, paratroopers, and aerial delivery of supplies. Love the C-130 platform. After the Marines I was a Lockheed instructor for the c-130 and worked as a mechanic on the aircraft.
I've seen videos of the C-130's landing on unimproved dirt runways. The dust literally covers the front of the airplane so it can't be seen from the front. The flares on the AC-130 are used to decoy and confuse shoulder launched, heat seeking, missiles from the ground.
I was an Marine I-level avionics tech in the mid-1980s and worked on gear from the C-130, as well as the F-4, A-4 A-6 and F/A-18B. We didn't get to work with the planes (which was the reason I enlisted, really) but just worked in air conditioned buildings with each item on special-built test rigs - poor us, so cool and comfortable in our white "vans" while everyone else was out in the hangar or the field having the real fun - lol. I remember being worried about whether or not I would be able to have kids after working for a while on the AN/APN-59 beacon radar (aka beer keg) from the C-130 - the only device I worked on that actually had vacuum tubes instead of transistors. I do remember how crazy the o-scope traces would go when we triggered the radar beacon while holding the o-scope probe in front of us. No worries - I have successfully had kids since then.🙂 I have heard that people have cooked hotdogs by holding them in front of the antenna with a metal coat hangar while triggering the radar - not sure if that's true. I never saw that myself. I'm sure these types of old school avionics are long gone nowadays. There are many variants of the C-130, and the AC-130 is just one of them - that's the "angel of death" they mentioned in the first part of the video. Thankfully, I have never seen it in action personally.
When I was leaving military high school and the civil air patrol. My fathers oldest brother commanded the US Air Forces AC-130s with 30 years in service. He took me to 919th Special Operations Wing, Duke Airfield near Eglin Air Force Base to take me everywhere including the AC-130 ride. I was trying to get me to finish my PPL and join the air force over the army. I just kept saying how much more I wanted to jump Airborne from these then fly them. However that experience in the plane with him and seeing those crews work diligently to keep our AC-130s going around the glade always stayed with me. These men and women are amazing and truly blessed to work with such outstanding aircraft.
My son is in the Air Force and his previous job was in Special Operations in Special Reconnaissance and flew in an "AC-130J Ghostrider" which is an upgraded/enhanced version of the C-130J gunship that was in your video... and they are quite impressive! I don't know a lot about his job, except that he had to learn 3 languages fluently, as he has a very high security clearance and couldn't tell me much. Love your videos and will continue watching my NZ Fam!
I have lived in Michigan all but about 11 years of 64. One town we lived in here in Michigan, called East Tawas. It was about 10 miles South of a town where there was a air force base. That closed later about into living there. They had B-52 Bombers based there. There were roads that went around the backside of the base. If you got lucky when you were driving those roads, you might get to see one take off or land. They had air shows there too, where public could go. Dad and I even got VIP passes one year when we had a relative stay at our motel of a flight crew member of visiting Blue Angels.
I was a HC-130P crew chief, our aircraft worked in combat search and rescue. The c-130 only needs a very small runway to land and takeoff because the props can be run in reverse to slow down very quickly. The Air Force did an experiment with the Navy a long time ago and could actually land and takeoff from an aircraft carrier. There is a video of it on TH-cam.
What a great channel... FYI if you come near Stanley, Idaho I will take your family out with my family (we have a daughter and son as well) for dinner at redfish lodge. We live in a light preserve in the Sawtooth National Forrest.
We have a small grass strip airport. Ever fall there’s a fly in fundraiser to keep up the airport. For a few years we had a marine C130 that would would land and give tours. This airport is meant for single engine Cessnas things like that. Every so often you might get a twin engine. The C130 landed and took off with runway left over. Very impressive
In 1981, our Infantry Unit was deployed to Panama as a Rapid Response Unit. We flew in the C-130, known as a troop carrier type. We were stationed at Fort Ord, CA so the flight was about 5 hours long and very uncomfortable.
@ 2:35 mark. The night vision footage of them firing the 25mm Gatling gun. Each one of those green streaks is a tracer round. For every one of those you see. There is about 5 - 10 rounds or more that you don't see. I am not sure how many rounds there are between tracer rounds these days. But back in the day they used to be about every 5th round. For any machine gun, that used to use the tracer too be able to track where your firing. That machinegun is able to fire on average 3,000 rounds per minute.
@11:50 It does get pushed a bit when firing the 105mm, now in that video they showed both the AC-130 which has all the guns and the C-130 transport plane which does not have.
One of my friends was one of the first crew chiefs on a C-130. Even with a full load the C-130 can takeoff on very short runways. Yes it does move sideways when the 105mm is fired. Troop, gunship, spy aircraft, cargo etc… air the many thing this amazing plane can do.
In Iraq, we were in a close firefight with Iraqis. We most likely would not have made it home had an AC130 gunship not devastated them with a single pass..after they flew over and unleashed he double l the enemy vanished as quickly as they attacked.......the next day we found dozens of the enemy that died in place. Thank the maker we had these, they saved my hide.
I just wanna add a piece of information. At 2:27 when it fires its minigun, every 5th round is a tracer and those are the ones you see. So for every round you see, 4 have already been fired.
Spent the first part of the 70s in the cockpit of a C130 as a radioman flying out of Subic Bay mainly into Danang. Lots of rebuilt engines for the F4. Some videos of the 130 you may want to check out is one of a 130 landing on an aircraft carrier and there is another with the plane outfitted with skis for snow landing and taking off with rocket or jet assist.
The gunship is a specific variant. It can only do attack. But the basic version is highly versatile. 6 pallet capacity, and the pallets are on a roller track. You have pallets with seats for humans, but when your daughter asked "are those people?", No. Those were cargo pallets. Each rated to carry up to 10,000 pounds. You just open the back and release when you can't land but must deliver. Ideal for disaster relief if you have a recovery team on the ground. Switching out cargo to passenger is a breeze with the rollers.
I used to work on C-130s for a civilian contractor back in the early '70s. At that time there was also a communications variant filled with electronic gear and operating consoles in addition to a huge spool of copper cable that could be reeled in and out of an aperture in the rear in flight which served as an antenna. Not sure what its mission was but I'd guess either long range relay of comms or monitoring of others' comms. As an aside, you might be interested in looking up the Skyhook Aerial Retrieval System, equipment that allowed these C-130s to pluck a passenger off the ground while in flight. There are several videos of it available on YT, though I think the program was discontinued in 1993.
My cousin, Major General Richard S Haddad (retired) flew the following C-130E/H, AC- 130H, C-130A and well as other aircraft. He flew missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan as well. He said flying the C-130 was truly an honor. If you get a chance, google his name and you’ll see his various assignments he had.
Yes. Rode on them regularly during my time in the Marines. Nickname for the C-130. Herky. Herky is the mascot name for the Univ of Iowa Hawkeye football team.😀
I’ve jumped out of the C130 8 times. 5 of those were in jump school. I loved jumping out of these planes. The C141 jet engines sounded like a scream when the doors opened. During IOF 06 we took this to land in Talafar. We corkscrewed in and landed within 2 or 3 football fields. This aircraft in this configuration would only carry extra personnel. The rest of the.storage would be for ammo.
To the N.Z. Family you all are in for a treat. A version of this has been around since we were in Vietnam. FYI I think the famous Hurricane Hunters fly a modified version of C-130 into & thru hurricanes. Is that unreal or what? On a side note my youngest son works for Locheed Martin. He builds and installs the ramps. Sam I agree with you that this is a flying tank!! For the people in contact on the ground this bird id their savior!! Thanks
What a great airplane, my father was a crew chief on one in the 60’s and early 70’s till the AF transitioned him to the C-5 when it came online. I followed his footsteps in the AF in the 80’s and 90’s and worked in the Aerial Port unloading cargo on the Hercs. I flew many times in one TDY status and to this day it’s one of my favorite airplanes.
Live in northwest Florida where they train AC130 crews. Hear them almost every night firing their guns. When I first moved here I would notice the noise more, but now I hardly notice it.
two reasons to have the wings on top, one the engines are further from the ground, making them less like to take damage from poor runways 2) By putting the weight of the aircraft below the center of lift makes the aircraft stable, also in flight the wings will flex up making a slight U shape. this shape will naturally level the plane on the Lateral/roll axis.
I built the C-5 Galaxy in Marietta, Georgia. The C-130 was built at the other end of the same building. While standing on the C-5 line it was impossible to see the entire length of the building. All you could see was an endless line of lights in the ceiling. It was that big. The C-130 has been in continuous production since 1953. It's also possible to remove the wings from a C-130 and carry it inside of a C-5.
As a US USAF veteran, this was my aircraft, I am glad you like it. IT provides the firepower to protect our troops and civilians on the ground. WE are very proud of this aircraft and know that it protects you also.
I was a helo mechanic on MH-53H Pavelow IIIs at Hurlburt Field back in the 80s.
doesnt protect middle eastern civlians tho
As an american taxpayer, we are so glad that we were able to give this military to the world. It has not been easy paying for it. Americans work very hard.
Isn't the ac-130 able to fly with only one engine when the three out four engines?
@@williambohn4082 yes, but so is every 4 jet engined aircraft...
Between the A-10 and the AC-130, I have no idea which one saved my life more. You know when the A-10 is around because you can hear the BRRRT but the AC-130 is so far up it kinda takes you by surprise but there is nothing more satisfying than calling for air support and you get one of the two. It's an absolutely amazing feeling to know these men and women are there watching over you on the battlefields. Yes, they do say when the 105mm goes off, it does push it to the side a bit. Its an amazing plane. There are videos that just cover the AC-10 you should check that out. This video was mainly about the plane variants.
Yes sir! The warthog is badass!
I feel with the better sensor package on the AC-130 and that it circles over the battlefield rather then making strafing runs I feel like it would a more efficient air support but I am not in the military just armchair speculating.
Thank you for your service! 🇺🇸
@@DivusMagus The A-10 can also circle the battlefield, and has a thermal/IR fire control system allowing it to launch guided munitions from standoff distances. The A-10 doesn't need to do gun runs to kill.
Most other services (ARMY, NAVY, And Marines) Disrespect and do not know the USAF.. they call us "CHAIR FORCE". ...However, as you all did too.... I put in my TIME too... working 50 to 60 hours a week at KUNSAN AIRBASE (WOLFPACK - F-16's) and SUWON AIRBASE. ( A-10s - WARTHOGS) I went to a training area to witness my mission with this Squadron in 1990 on their practice attack runs. I was in the USAF COMMUNICATIONS COMMAND THEN... maintaining the base PHONE systems... for 20 years and in IRAQ for 7 more maintaining communication there too.... during the war and reporting my data and info to an Australian MAJOR working for ARMY HQ in IRAQ. I do not know who controls the world ... if for good or for bad... research the three city states. I did MY 20 YEARS in he USAF and AM Proud of my Effort to do and be the BEST...And Later I was the FOREMAN of a 20,000 line Telephone Network at CAMP VICTORY IRAQ fro US ARMY HQ COMMAND.... for 7 years... almost KILLED 7 times by near misses.... Sniper, Mortar and Rocket Fire.. for 7 Years there... 2004 to 2011.... I ws USAF and WORKING FOR THE US ARMY TOO... But what for? We are all still asking this question... and our ALLIES... FOR WHAT? We can have all this power.. and kill everybody? But who does it serve the most? Our Sacrifices and the fake wars for profits? Just a thought... TALLY HO! I still did my Part with honor regardless if those in power are working for the NEW WORLD ORDER... agenda 21 pushed back to 2030? YOU WILL all be slaves...
This was my dad's favorite airplane. The "Herky Bird" was the last plane he flew as an Air Force pilot. I've ridden in one, catching a "space A" flight from Westover AFB in MA to Robbins AFB in GA to visit my folks when I was an AFROTC cadet. I laugh whenever I see a movie shows a scene with a group of actors ostensibly having conversations in the back of a 130 in flight in normal voices. Not possible.
The ac130 and the warthog are angels of death and protection for us ground troops. We love them. We love our air support. Hands down saved so many of us, more so than I’d really like to think about.
Thank you for your service sir.
I’ve had the privilege (and misfortune) to have a spooky online. Quite the game changer. And those a-10’s certainly are appreciated. Again, you love to see ‘em, but if you do, you must be in a pretty shitty situation.
I am a combat Marine veteran and c 130s took me to a few zones. The warthog is the best plane around for us grunts and operators on the ground. Best air support ever 😂
Ah one of my favorite birds. I was an Air Force mechanic on the AC-130H/U's for 8 years. Some fun facts about them: 1. C-130's have the largest tires of all US cargo aircraft (not the most, just the largest) 2. Using JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) rockets, C-130's can take off and land from the distance of roughly a football field (100 yards) 3. Yes, the tail of the AC-130 does shimmy sideways a bit when the 105mm goes off, not a lot but you can definitely feel it. and 4. VICE did an interview with Taliban fighters a number of years ago and they said the aircraft they feared most was the AC-130 due to the sheer destruction they are able to dish out. Such an awesome bird, thanks for checking it out!! Love watching your videos, keep 'em coming!
Thank you for your service.
Love your sincerity in reviews. I'm a retired USAF C130 flight mechanic (crew chief) who flew for 24 years. Never assigned to gunships but cargo & Combat Search& Rescue (CSAR) units. So many missions, so many places (way too much desert!). Actually flew training missions with a RNZAF 🇳🇿 C130 in New Mexico in the late 90s. Great bunch of fellows. Hands down the most versatile aircraft ever built. Nothing like the beautiful sound of those propellers, & she always brought us home safe.
The Air Force Med-Evac used the C-130 to transport wounded. It is a historical plane and the lives saved being flown long distances by this plane are just a small part of what the C-130 has accomplished. An amazing plane flown and supported by an incredible military. God bless our troops!!!! Thank you for honoring this great American hero, the C-130. Thank you Air Force members, for your service. You are truly appreciated.
Spent 10 years doing Med-evac on C-130H's. Even got 15 combat sorties in Bosnia. Love the Herky Bird.
In a warzone, it's humanitarian, and can be lethal. Its a platform idea that has been used since vietnam. Puff the magic dragon.
@@bo0tsy1 You are partly correct, the AC-130 is never humanitarian, purely an attack aircraft but plain C-130s can be humanitarian. Plain C-130's on Med-evac missions go in usually carrying cargo and can be a target, but once patients are on-board the mission becomes a medical flight, although this doesn't guarantee you won't be shot at. On missions like these no one except the loadmaster get off the aircraft. The max ground time is 20 minutes, in this time they do a COL (combat off load) to get the cargo off and load the patients, good Med-evac and MASF crews can load over 70 patients in the time leftover after the cargo offload. Also, if there is any incoming fire the aircraft immediately leaves and if you're not on the aircraft, well you just became a ground pounder.
It's a true workhorse, we Brits love it in the RAF too even though some of its tasks are being repaced by the A400M and C-17A it still was invaluable with the UK contribution to the evacuation of Kabul last year.
@@G1NZOU Gotta love the Herky Bird as it loves to get down and dirty and goes where others can't.
Built by Lockheed Martin, the C-130 family consists of weapons like the AC-130 “Angel of Death”, C-130 “Hercules”, and other specialized variants. It is armed with Dual 20mm Miniguns, a 40mm Auto-Cannon, and a 105mm Howitzer gun, It is also sometimes equipped with a Laser Guided JDAM bomb to destroy larger moving targets. It can rain down hell from above with ease.
Used by the US, NZ, AU, UK, SK, CA, and many others, it is considered to be a world wide death machine.
I maintained AC-130s while serving in the Air Force. An absolute beast of a weapon. As we used to say to our enemies, "You can run but you'll just die tired!"
Thank you for your service sir!🇺🇸
I’m a retired Air Force crew chief (air craft mechanic) 21 years mastering the C-130 ACFT. I retired from Special Operation AC-130 gunship unit in Hurlbert field Florida. A lot of the footage you watched are ACFT I have actually worked. The large fleet footage took place at Rammstein AB Germany with a combined effort of 2 full squadrons, it was the largest airlift operation in Europe since WW2 (I was third ACFT in line). Fun facts; the C-130 only needs 800ft of flat surface to land and 1600ft to take off. I have witnessed an operation is nicknamed “hell fire” with 2 gunships 180 degrees from each other and open fire on a target, and yes the guns do shift the ACFT and loosen all the hardware on the left side of the plane.
If you're interested in more history of "Spooky" gunships, the granddaddy, the first "Spooky" was an AC-47 called "Puff the Magic Dragon" 😜👍
"Spooky, bring the rain."
“Puff, let it pour down, let it bleed from the heavens, bathe me in red.
Actually, the Great-Granddaddies of all gunships were variants of the B-25 Mitchell and B-17 Flying Fortress, used in WWII.
Blessed is he who, shepards the weak throught the valley of darkness,for he is the keeper of his brothers. and YOU will KNOW my name is the LORD when I strike down upon thee with great RAGE and FURIOUS ANGER anyone who attempts ti destroy my brothers.
There were two versions the dc variant which was used for Paratroopers and the ac variant used for air support
Another thing to remember when watching videos on military firepower is that when you see the Gatling guns/cannons being fired and there are "Tracer" rounds leaving a streak of light as they fly, it is actually every 5th round that you are seeing! So there are 4 more rounds in between each of those steaks of light that look like they are one after the other and nearly end to end, and sometimes the fire rate is so fast it looks almost like a laser beam going through the night! BTW, That every 5th round number is usually on average that is. They can be spaced out a bit more to conserve the number of tracers fired, and if the gun fires at a very high rate they may move them farther apart in the bullet feed belts if the gun/cannon is being aimed and fired by an operator right behind it instead of being a fixed mount on an aircraft so it's not as blinding to the person shooting and they can see the target easier at night.
The C-130 gunships are unique hulls, different from the transport versions. If you think the C-130 is big you need to see the C-5.
Galaxies are amazing!
@@slate613 They're terrible. I'll take a C17 or C130 every day. The next time I ride on C5s is a day too soon.
@@niallk9336 Yeah, the C-17s are massive, and it's really cool to watch them fly. 🙂👍
No, they're not:
The A-E(H) models were originally transports that were converted to gunships, and they'd rattle apart constantly!
It wasn't until the U-model, that they were purpose built on Lockheed's production line.
I got a tour of a C-5 with the 167th Airlift Wing in WV and saw a *tiny* C-130J parked next to one.
I've also been up in a C-130 as part of the Civil Air Patrol.
@11:59 ... Yes. When the aircraft fires a full salvo it increases in altitude and the air crew have to work to keep the aircraft in position.
While the C130 isn't the biggest cargo aircraft in our inventory, it is the most versatile. It actually has a very short take off distance and can operate on anything from a dirt and grass field to hard runways.
In the Army I used to parachute out of them. It's not a big plane as compared to large planes like the C-5 Galaxy. (That's huge) but only takes a couple hundred feet to take off.
Thank you for your service.🎖️🎗️
I flew C5s for a long time, and yes, she’s a big girl. I’m still impressed with the 130, and especially the gunship. They should check out the C5 as well.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service! 🇺🇸
I worked at an airport where they would do touch and go practice, it's amazing to watch.
While I was deployed to Afghanistan, we had a few AC-130's at the base. I had the privilege of going inside one, and seeing the weapon systems from inside, very cool. The best part about this particular AC-130 was that under the pilot's window, where they typically show number of kills, it had the Decepticon logo (from Transformers). It was explained that it was the exact plane that was used in the Transformers movie.
That’s so cool! The scene from that movie was actually shown in the video.
The AC-130 Spector is called the Angel of Death. Because it rains death from above. It has very precise accuracy, and when attacking it does so by flying in a circle to the left at up to 7 miles away from their target. They have onboard imagery that allows them to see target strikes in real time even in the middle of the night.
Terrifying
@@malachivigil9817 Indeed. There are real battle footage that shows how clearly they can see their targets from 7 miles away at night. You can see individuals.
@@CPny65 And there have been people who were being given cover fire by an AC-130, and they said the hits from the thing's Howitzer felt like earthquakes, and they weren't even the ones being shot at....so imagine what the impact is like if you *are* the one being shot at!
It's not spelled Spector Its Spelled Spectre And I was Airforce Security Police Security Specialist stationed with a Spectre Wing for 2 years
up to 7 miles are you sure? that's pretty impressive
In my Army service, I've jumped aka parachuted out of them 138 recorded times and to include the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter 6 parachuted jumps and countless fast rope/rapel drops either on ground or roof tops to conduct training or combat missions. Yall videos are seriously awesomeness to watch and it makes me so proud with how respectful the whole family is to the military and that even though yall are small country, yall can sleep soundly at night that your Big Brother has your back and takes care of family. Cheers yall!!
C-130 rollin' down the strip,
Recon daddy gonna take a little trip!
Mission top-secret, destination unknown!
Don't even know when we're comin' home!
Stand up, buckle up, shuffle to the door,
Jump right out and shout MARINE CORPS!
If that chute don't open wide,
I've got a reserve by my side
If that one should fail me too,
Look out devil I'm a'comin' for you!
A kickin' and a jabbin'!
Punchin' and a stabbin!
Brings back memories for sure.
How many unrecorded times did you jump? 😂 thank you for your service.
Y’all need to come to America and see our air shows to see these awesome aircraft. I think y’all would die seeing them! These gunships are so cool! Our military aircraft are so awesome. I’m from Georgia and we have so many military aircraft here and have our air museum in Macon that’s big, highly recommend looking at, and so I see a lot of military aircraft here. I’ve seen the C130 in person and been inside one, they are super cool. My dad jumped from one in the Army, stories there for sure. They can stop on a dime and accelerate quickly. Love that y’all love our military aircraft so much! Love y’all much!
I used to drive down Route 1 through Dover Delaware and you would see these planes. They were so big; it was hard to imagine them flying. Seeing them takeoff and land was equally amazing!
Because of the size and the fact that there are not very many long airstrips throughout the world where these might be needed at a moments notice the propellers can actually go backwards to help with being able to land on shorter runways.
The props do not go backwards, but change pitch so far that they redirect thrust forward so they can reverse on the ground so they can nose in and reverse out in tight places. Hardly any other craft can do that without over heating, juat another advantage of flying Jolly Green..
@@blanc1129 That would make more sense to me. I just remember hearing that the propellers could change direction when I went to an airshow as a kid. One of the very few things that I remember coming over the speaker during the show. But then I have slept several times since then as I'm 48 now and I was around 10-12 when I heard that.
I know at one point they landed one of these on a carrier as a test, and successfully took off. No hook or catapult either
@@potatoplant9943 With jato, they can practically take off from a rowboat,lol.
To answer your question on if the plane moves when the cannons shoot, the plane gets pushed back 6 feet when the Howitzer is fired. That is the large cannon on the side of the aircraft. The other question was about the A10 Warthog. The gun was built around the plane and there are only a few seconds that you can pull the trigger before3 running out of ammo. The gun dumps rounds down range extremely fast and during that process the A10 loses speed.
Hey family, we have 5 C130 H models, modernized in the RNZAF which are about to be replaced with 6 brand new C130J 'super hercules' aircraft.
Wow thats cool! We would love to go and see them
Little known fact, that at the last remodelling of our herc's, our 5 were more advanced than the H models in US service. A full digital flight suite, advanced self protection, so much so that the USAF copied our upgrades into remodelling their own aircraft! GO KIWI!
@@yournewzealandfamily That could be arranged, there is lots of new equipment coming to the RNZAF, P8 Posidens and UCAV'S....how would i contact you outside of youtube? I have a lot of senoir friends in the RNZAF.
Thank you all for showing this gunship, as I have never seen its history or its capability! I love that everyone in your family notices things during your reaction and contributes to our enjoyment of watching these that you all produce!! 😃😃! Keep up your good work!!!
From: Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
C-130 is a transport aircraft. Adding the "A" at the beginning designates it as a gunship. It's a great plane but I wish that Redwheel had spent more time on the AC-130 rather than the C-130. It truly is amazing.
A = Attack, B = Bomber, F = Fighter, H = Helicopter, K = Tanker, R = Recon, and many more. Then combine them together and you get something like HAL = Helicopter Attack Light or AC = Attack Cargo.
I imagine that more details are confidential for the AC-130J, hence why it wasn't talked about more. It is currently in the acquisition process for more upgrades, so who knows when any details will be released.
"C" means cargo, the original purpose. a flying box car, configure it anyway wanted. The "A" in 'AC' means artillery.
@@bigboycombo6342 There are a bunch more, you should look at the variants listed on the C-130 wiki page.
@@bigboycombo6342 there is also an M = Mission.
My Dad was a Vietnam veteran and talked about C 130s alot. They brought in men and supplies and also evacuated people. In the Vietnam era the soldiers called the weaponized C 130s "Puff the Magic Dragon". Dad saw one during combat twice....he said it was awe inspiring. He told me that Puff put a bullet in every square inch of ground...nothing survived it! The guys were always grateful to see it flying in to help them.
Love the videos and your channel. Y'all are much appreciated for letting us tag along with your adventures! Love and hugs from Georgia, USA!
During my 30 year career in the Army, I was the USAEUR Range Safety Officer on the island of Crete. I would have to fly back and forth between my home base in Germany and the island. This was done on a C130 Transport. I was usually the only passenger so the guys would always let me ride in the Engineers Seat located between the pilot and co-pilot. Really a cool experience. Probably made that trip 12-15 times...always the same.
The cock pit is huge.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service sir! 🇺🇸
Actually, most of the largest planes have top-mounted wings, including the C-5, C-17, IL-76, AN-124, and the destroyed AN-225, a one-of-a-kind bird that was the largest airplane in the world.
Just to clarify (not sure if you meant this or not), the gunship variants don't haul cargo; the interior is for the guns & ammo supplies. Same airframe design, though.
Doesnt the B-52 have top mounted wings as well as the Hecules?
@@robreesor5011 Yup.
The AN-225 had size competition with the Hughes H-4 Hercules which has a 30 feet longer wingspan. The AN-225 is, however longer by 57 feet. So in terms of size they are comparable to each other.
I got to be next to an AN-225. That was an amazing experience. It’s so sad she was destroyed. I hope she’ll fly again soon.
C-130's have a choice of what their cargo is. AC-130's, their cargo IS those guns and officers. They're just using a defunked delivery service of sending packages via ballistic propulsion. You know, when you could get you parcel package from your great aunt via a 155mm howizter? The good old days. 🤣
My dad was in the USAF for about 30 years and served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He was a C-130 mechanic. I grew up in NJ near McGuire AFB. I remember visiting him once and seeing the C-130 up close. Plus when they took off they flew low over our house. There was a place on base where people would go sit near the landing field and watch them land and take off. They would practice doing “touch and go” and it was amazing to watch. Long before 9/11. All these bases are on lock down now unless you have military ID. We called them “ The daddy airplane”. I miss my dad. 💔
There's videos of the Blue Angels C-130 " Fat Albert" showing low level maneuvers and short landings and take offs flown by Marine Corps pilots, it's worth a look
Fat Albert also is equipped with JTOL.
I was born in raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Seven miles from NAS JAX, the birthplace of the Blue Angels. We watched them fly at the airshow every year growing up! Both my father and Grandfather (served 32 years) in the Navy.
@@tiahc3 My dad served 20 years as a Navy Seabee chief petty officer I was born on a Navy base I spent my childhood and and early teens living on or near a Navy base, this was in the 60s & 70s I got to see and do some cool stuff as a kid
The C-130 is a game changer for boots on the ground. It's the Queen of battle, while heavy artillery is King.
Fun fact.if you see a picture of it from the front while it's deploying flairs it resembles an angel shape aka the nick name
That view in low light is even more spectacular with the flares going off.
I always thought it would be nice to fire it’s flares when it’s on final approach to land carrying fallen soldiers. I know it would never be allowed for a myriad of reason, but it would be humbling to see.
@@Ryarios yeah they likely wouldnt do that...burning flares crossing the end of a runway thats likely dry grass in many cases would cause a grass fire.
@@Ryarios that would look great, though, I agree
I live about 13 miles from an air force base. They have so many HUGE planes that come and go all the time. I love your family. I have a friend that is on vacation right now for a whole month, in New Zealand. I shared your channel with her and she loves it too. PLEASE don’t ever stop💋💨🥰
Had a friend who was in the airforce and this is what he road around on. We hardly need troops on the ground with all the crazy stuff we have. Keep up the good work guys
Bro you always need boots on the ground. No matter what the chair force says. You will always need soldiers, and crayon eaters.😉
Those are wonderful Aircralt, but we will always need boots on the ground because all though the can help destroy the enemy you still need to take over the territory with ground troops to keep this area secured from being retake by enemy troops.
Lol people who have never been in combat have been saying the same thing for hundreds of years
I hate to be the 4th to jump on Garrett and how his buddy set him up. You need to hold that ground. You can decimate a football field and walk away. Guarantee you that a grunt, marine, seabee, etc. will mine that area after you leave and set an overwatch position if nor just take it back from you.
@@kennethberry3687 reread what I said
The Ammount of Appreciation I have For You New Zealand Family is immense ...I enjoy spending time with you on your videos
The last part of my AF career as a Flight Eng on the AC130U with the 4th SOS Ghostriders. Great to see you all covering this beast. It was a fun airframe but I have to say, the regular C130 cargo hauler had a more enjoyable mission in my experience.
You guys mentioned that the guns are strong enough to slide the airframe sideways! True! The rudder has a reverse dampening system while the 105mm is shot. The 40mm and the 25mm don’t require any dampening.
Thank you for your service sir! 🇺🇸
It is now 09/14/2023 at 0400 hours, I now live in Arizona but grew up in New York on Long Island, where the A-10 Thunderbolt was built was built. On my 18th birthday without giving my age away, I was hired by Fairchild Republic, who was the designer and builder of the A10. My first interview I was brought into a room and had to sign my life stating that I will not disclose anything that I do or any work on the aircraft and if I did I could expect to be imprisoned or face death.
They then showed me the film on what the A-10 could do and will do as time went on. My part on the ship was the hydrualics mechanic installing the hydrualics in Aft section, Left and Right Trough areas. At 18 years old and given this great responsibility it made me very proud. Just like your U Tube shows and your families responce it makes me feel great again. I now live in Arizona and just retired from a 34 year career as a Deputy Sheriff. I look foward to watching more of you guys in the future. Keep up the good work. Your Friend SodaStore, the nick name stuck from my New York days.
The C-130 comes in so many more configurations than what they mentioned in this video, there is a squadron of them stationed in my home town and they fly over the house all the time. I fly in one from Colorado to NJ and back to Ohio to get a lift home- very cold in the back when it's flying I will say.
While I was active duty I had to catch a ride on a C-130 from Sigonella, Sicily to just outside Alexandria, Egypt. I can attest to how cold the cargo area gets. I was freezing during the flight and when the door was opened after we landed in Egypt it was like stepping from the freezer directly into the frying pan.
I’ve been a crew chief on this plane for 6 years now, first the U model now the J model and I gotta say I love everything about the bird!
The C130 is most known for transporting paratroopers. 90% of my jumps as a paratrooper was from a C130. It’s the workhorse of the Military.
ty for your service
Thank you for your service.
C130 rolling down the strip, Airborne Daddy gonna take a little trip
NOTHING LIKE A STATIC JUMP...LOL
Been there done that! HOOAH!
One heck of an aircraft, I jumped out of these back in the day, but also they are designed to go into the eye of a hurricane, made a few max flights home. They fly rough, but they’re pretty darn tough. That’s why they’re still in service.
We had eight of these C-130J's at the base in my hometown in Ohio. They were moved out this month as the base's core mission has changed. The flares are sometimes used during "Angel Flights". When they bring fallen soldiers home.
Angel wing flares are defense.
Homeboy those with were the few upgrades to the ghost rider standard from all the variants those are the most modern to civilians knowledge they carry a hell of a punch
They're not called "Angel Flight" and the flares are not jettisoned when carrying a fallen comrade. That's pure made up stuff. How do I know? I went to Vietnam to start the journey home for one of our fallen. Our call sign was not Angel, it was just a regular call sign. Our day began in U-Tapau, Thailand and we hauled cargo and personnel to Danang, Vietnam in our C-130. On the return flight to U-Tapau we brought back the remains of one of our fallen and some personnel. We did not have any flares or chaff on board because you only carry that on training missions or in a combat zone, so it would have looked pretty suspicious if we did have chaff and flares. From U-Tapau the remains were flown back to Hawaii on a regular rotator C-17, which also wouldn't be carrying chaff or flares since it would never have been in a combat zone. So this doing a mass flare ejection when carrying a fallen comrade is nothing more than a myth with no basis in fact.
@@Maeshalanadae Correct.
I current an a mechanic on the C-130J’s and to answer your question, yes the Gunship pilots do have to compensate for the recoil when the guns are being fired. To show you how versatile the C-130 actually is check out to combat landings they do in war zones.
I was a C-130 mechanic in the Air Force. This air frame is the most reliable, hardest working most bad ass aircraft in existence. Thanks for showing it some love!!!!!
Thank you for your service!🇺🇸
I live between a regional airport and an ANG base. We have a couple of these flying over our house almost every day. Sometimes, they practice evasive flying and go over much lower than usual, swooping from side to side. It shakes the house.
Hi my New Zealand Family...I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for taking the time to keep us entertained with all your fantastic content. Hope you all have a great week.😇
That highway you mentioned as that J model was landing is highway 98. That runs in front of Hurlburt Airfield Special Operations Command. I live less than 5minutes from Hurlburt's back gate.
The cargo and troop carrier versiot are called C-130's...only the Gunship is called an AC-130. I live near a base in America where we see the C-130's fly and land all the time.
The scene in the beginning of the video that looked like fire coming from the aircraft were actually JATO units (Jet Assisted Take Off). They are basically booster rockets that fall off after use, allowing the aircraft to take off in an insanely short amount of space.
I would encourage you to view other videos showing this aircraft in action...it is truly terrifying.
Not sure what your talking about man...pretty sure those are flares in the opening shots of the video.
they don't use jato any more
@@robreesor5011 definitely flares.
@@robreesor5011 ...most of them were. The fire flowing straight back was something else.
@@The65Paul ...when did they stop?
10:35 I'm a munitions troop in the AF. It's always a factor when it comes to the munitions. But not as much of a threat compared to the flares that aircraft shoot off.
If you were to drop the 105, it's more than likely going to be a rejected round.
Flares are electronically initiated, we have to be continuously grounded (use a grounding strap on the wrist) when building up the flares. As well as various other safety guidelines for all munitions.
Hi guys! If y'all are interested into looking up the granddad of the AC130 series, look up the AC-47!! A WW2 troopcarrier/cargo plane changed to something dangerous!!
Aka: Puff the Magic Dragon
The old Sky trains
YOUR FAMILY IS AWESOME! Love watching your video’s! GREETINGS FROM INDIANA, USA! USAF VETERAN🇺🇸
i love the military series, its so entertaining
I really enjoy your videos and seeing your reactions to different pieces of equipment used by our military. Greetings from your friends in north Mississippi!
Time to rewatch, "Top Gun, 1986."
I saw Top Gun: Maverick before the first one. Doing it Star Wars style. 😅 lol
The side builets only 1 out of 5 is a tracer. The ones you can see when it is fired.
I'm a U.S.A.F Retired 22years Active Duty Veteran ! Worked on these alot from Hurlbert Field , Pensacola, Florida !
I think you meant Mary Ester or Fort Walton Beach Fl.
I live in Katy TX but grew up in the center of Texas I have had two up close encounters with military aircraft. First when I was a kid the mid 1960s was with an f-4 phantom. The lady across the street had a grandson that was a pilot in the air force. Several times a year he would say hi to her by passing over her house low level several times. The last pass he would turn his plane straight up and spin his plane till he was out of sight.
They actually do have to constantly re-adjust the airframe as overtime all that firepower from one side does eventually cause stress fractures or even distortions in the airframe.
its a constant challenge, because while you do have shock absobers for theses cannons, the sheer vibration energy is dispersed across the airframe, and with time, the airframe will need maintenance.
Its on MW2 if you didn't know. It's on the mission Death From Above. Seeing it in action is just beauty within itself.
One of my favorite killstreaks/scorestreak, unless its on enemy team in which case i seem to die even when i make it inside a building
Flew on the c130 several times in vietnam ,was there from 6-69 to 6-70 , turned 21 in dec. of 69 , also did alot of flying on the hueys with open doors and yes we sat on the edge of the floor with our feet hanging outside , was a crew man on a sheridan tank in the 11th ACR , check them out as well , brings back alot of memories...
I wish they had started with the cargo planes and kept that part a little shorter, and then went to the gunship version, and dove into it a little more
Great reaction though!
I imagine more details are unavailable due to that model being active and acquiring new functionality. They probably kept the details confidential and vague on purpose.
C-130 was designed as a cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability and the ability to use rough fields. The C-130 is so good at short takeoffs that one landed on an aircraft carrier with no modifications. The C-130 is very versatile, it can be used as a gunship, air refueling tanker,flying hospital, airborne command post, weather monitoring aircraft (hurricane hunter) comms relay, & fire fighting aircraft.
IT'S GRANDFATHER DURING THE VIETNAM WAR WAS THE DOUGLAS AC47 SPOOKY. AKA...... PUFF, THE MAGIC DRAGON
I serves as Marine Air Crew on the KC-130 in-flight re-fuelers from 1979-1992. We refueled the jets and helicopters in flight as well as hauled troops, paratroopers, and aerial delivery of supplies. Love the C-130 platform. After the Marines I was a Lockheed instructor for the c-130 and worked as a mechanic on the aircraft.
I've seen videos of the C-130's landing on unimproved dirt runways. The dust literally covers the front of the airplane so it can't be seen from the front. The flares on the AC-130 are used to decoy and confuse shoulder launched, heat seeking, missiles from the ground.
I was an Marine I-level avionics tech in the mid-1980s and worked on gear from the C-130, as well as the F-4, A-4 A-6 and F/A-18B. We didn't get to work with the planes (which was the reason I enlisted, really) but just worked in air conditioned buildings with each item on special-built test rigs - poor us, so cool and comfortable in our white "vans" while everyone else was out in the hangar or the field having the real fun - lol.
I remember being worried about whether or not I would be able to have kids after working for a while on the AN/APN-59 beacon radar (aka beer keg) from the C-130 - the only device I worked on that actually had vacuum tubes instead of transistors. I do remember how crazy the o-scope traces would go when we triggered the radar beacon while holding the o-scope probe in front of us. No worries - I have successfully had kids since then.🙂
I have heard that people have cooked hotdogs by holding them in front of the antenna with a metal coat hangar while triggering the radar - not sure if that's true. I never saw that myself. I'm sure these types of old school avionics are long gone nowadays.
There are many variants of the C-130, and the AC-130 is just one of them - that's the "angel of death" they mentioned in the first part of the video. Thankfully, I have never seen it in action personally.
If we had just one of these during WW2, we could have ended the war in a matter of weeks.
When I was leaving military high school and the civil air patrol. My fathers oldest brother commanded the US Air Forces AC-130s with 30 years in service. He took me to 919th Special Operations Wing, Duke Airfield near Eglin Air Force Base to take me everywhere including the AC-130 ride. I was trying to get me to finish my PPL and join the air force over the army. I just kept saying how much more I wanted to jump Airborne from these then fly them. However that experience in the plane with him and seeing those crews work diligently to keep our AC-130s going around the glade always stayed with me. These men and women are amazing and truly blessed to work with such outstanding aircraft.
Fun Fact: The 105mm Cannon on the AC-130 shoots with a recoil force equivalent to that of a 20,000 pound bench press!
My son is in the Air Force and his previous job was in Special Operations in Special Reconnaissance and flew in an "AC-130J Ghostrider" which is an upgraded/enhanced version of the C-130J gunship that was in your video... and they are quite impressive! I don't know a lot about his job, except that he had to learn 3 languages fluently, as he has a very high security clearance and couldn't tell me much. Love your videos and will continue watching my NZ Fam!
"Dad, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
His security clearance was for stuff classified "burn before reading."
I have lived in Michigan all but about 11 years of 64. One town we lived in here in Michigan, called East Tawas. It was about 10 miles South of a town where there was a air force base. That closed later about into living there. They had B-52 Bombers based there. There were roads that went around the backside of the base. If you got lucky when you were driving those roads, you might get to see one take off or land. They had air shows there too, where public could go. Dad and I even got VIP passes one year when we had a relative stay at our motel of a flight crew member of visiting Blue Angels.
I was a HC-130P crew chief, our aircraft worked in combat search and rescue. The c-130 only needs a very small runway to land and takeoff because the props can be run in reverse to slow down very quickly. The Air Force did an experiment with the Navy a long time ago and could actually land and takeoff from an aircraft carrier. There is a video of it on TH-cam.
What a great channel... FYI if you come near Stanley, Idaho I will take your family out with my family (we have a daughter and son as well) for dinner at redfish lodge. We live in a light preserve in the Sawtooth National Forrest.
We have a small grass strip airport. Ever fall there’s a fly in fundraiser to keep up the airport. For a few years we had a marine C130 that would would land and give tours. This airport is meant for single engine Cessnas things like that. Every so often you might get a twin engine. The C130 landed and took off with runway left over. Very impressive
In 1981, our Infantry Unit was deployed to Panama as a Rapid Response Unit. We flew in the C-130, known as a troop carrier type. We were stationed at Fort Ord, CA so the flight was about 5 hours long and very uncomfortable.
@ 2:35 mark. The night vision footage of them firing the 25mm Gatling gun.
Each one of those green streaks is a tracer round. For every one of those you see. There is about 5 - 10 rounds or more that you don't see.
I am not sure how many rounds there are between tracer rounds these days. But back in the day they used to be about every 5th round.
For any machine gun, that used to use the tracer too be able to track where your firing.
That machinegun is able to fire on average 3,000 rounds per minute.
Thanks for sharing this video with us I got to see it for the first time with y'all.
@11:50 It does get pushed a bit when firing the 105mm, now in that video they showed both the AC-130 which has all the guns and the C-130 transport plane which does not have.
This is freaking awesome. I’m a crew chief for C-130’s so a bit biased but the best aircraft
Strikes fear in your heart doesn’t it? It’s amazing!!
One of my friends was one of the first crew chiefs on a C-130. Even with a full load the C-130 can takeoff on very short runways. Yes it does move sideways when the 105mm is fired.
Troop, gunship, spy aircraft, cargo etc… air the many thing this amazing plane can do.
Loved the opening such great locations. Really enjoy watching people who have never looked at equipment the us military has and be amazed
In Iraq, we were in a close firefight with Iraqis. We most likely would not have made it home had an AC130 gunship not devastated them with a single pass..after they flew over and unleashed he double l the enemy vanished as quickly as they attacked.......the next day we found dozens of the enemy that died in place. Thank the maker we had these, they saved my hide.
There was something left of them?
I just wanna add a piece of information. At 2:27 when it fires its minigun, every 5th round is a tracer and those are the ones you see. So for every round you see, 4 have already been fired.
Spent the first part of the 70s in the cockpit of a C130 as a radioman flying out of Subic Bay mainly into Danang. Lots of rebuilt engines for the F4. Some videos of the 130 you may want to check out is one of a 130 landing on an aircraft carrier and there is another with the plane outfitted with skis for snow landing and taking off with rocket or jet assist.
US Marine here... that aircraft saved our lives. It has incredible power.
The gunship is a specific variant. It can only do attack. But the basic version is highly versatile. 6 pallet capacity, and the pallets are on a roller track. You have pallets with seats for humans, but when your daughter asked "are those people?", No. Those were cargo pallets. Each rated to carry up to 10,000 pounds. You just open the back and release when you can't land but must deliver. Ideal for disaster relief if you have a recovery team on the ground. Switching out cargo to passenger is a breeze with the rollers.
I used to work on C-130s for a civilian contractor back in the early '70s. At that time there was also a communications variant filled with electronic gear and operating consoles in addition to a huge spool of copper cable that could be reeled in and out of an aperture in the rear in flight which served as an antenna. Not sure what its mission was but I'd guess either long range relay of comms or monitoring of others' comms. As an aside, you might be interested in looking up the Skyhook Aerial Retrieval System, equipment that allowed these C-130s to pluck a passenger off the ground while in flight. There are several videos of it available on YT, though I think the program was discontinued in 1993.
My cousin, Major General Richard S Haddad (retired) flew the following C-130E/H, AC- 130H, C-130A and well as other aircraft. He flew missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan as well. He said flying the C-130 was truly an honor. If you get a chance, google his name and you’ll see his various assignments he had.
Yes. Rode on them regularly during my time in the Marines. Nickname for the C-130. Herky. Herky is the mascot name for the Univ of Iowa Hawkeye football team.😀
I was a USAF Combat Security Specialist. The C-130 was the way we got to work when we did Air Base Ground Defense!!
I’ve jumped out of the C130 8 times. 5 of those were in jump school. I loved jumping out of these planes. The C141 jet engines sounded like a scream when the doors opened. During IOF 06 we took this to land in Talafar. We corkscrewed in and landed within 2 or 3 football fields. This aircraft in this configuration would only carry extra personnel. The rest of the.storage would be for ammo.
You've got a beautiful family, glad our countries are friends
I used to stand on top of the floating dry dock in Norfolk,Va. and watch these fly into the air station. They are massive.
To the N.Z. Family you all are in for a treat. A version of this has been around since we were in Vietnam. FYI I think the famous Hurricane Hunters fly a modified version of C-130 into & thru hurricanes. Is that unreal or what?
On a side note my youngest son works for Locheed Martin. He builds and installs the ramps. Sam I agree with you that this is a flying tank!! For the people in contact on the ground this bird id their savior!! Thanks
Firing of the 105mm gun can kick the tail of the aircraft 8-10 feet to starboard.
What a great airplane, my father was a crew chief on one in the 60’s and early 70’s till the AF transitioned him to the C-5 when it came online. I followed his footsteps in the AF in the 80’s and 90’s and worked in the Aerial Port unloading cargo on the Hercs. I flew many times in one TDY status and to this day it’s one of my favorite airplanes.
Live in northwest Florida where they train AC130 crews. Hear them almost every night firing their guns. When I first moved here I would notice the noise more, but now I hardly notice it.
two reasons to have the wings on top, one the engines are further from the ground, making them less like to take damage from poor runways
2) By putting the weight of the aircraft below the center of lift makes the aircraft stable, also in flight the wings will flex up making a slight U shape. this shape will naturally level the plane on the Lateral/roll axis.
I built the C-5 Galaxy in Marietta, Georgia. The C-130 was built at the other end of the same building. While standing on the C-5 line it was impossible to see the entire length of the building. All you could see was an endless line of lights in the ceiling. It was that big. The C-130 has been in continuous production since 1953. It's also possible to remove the wings from a C-130 and carry it inside of a C-5.