AC-130 Spectre (Wallpaper 4) aircraft photo gallery | AirSkyBuster

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AC-130 Spectre (wallpaper 4). AC-130 Spectre aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. AC-130 Spectre airplane pictures and images collection 4. Special Purpose Aircraft. A second AC-130A, AF Serial No. 56-0509, named the Ultimate End, was accepted by the Air Force on 28 February 1957, and modified to the AC-130A configuration on 27 July 1970. The aircraft participated in the Vietnam War and the rescue of the SS Mayaguez. Ultimate End demonstrated the durability of the C-130 after surviving hits in five places by 37 mm anti-aircraft artillery on 12 December 1970, extensive left wing leading edge damage on 12 April 1971 and a 57 mm round damaging the belly and injuring one crewman on 4 March 1972. "Ultimate End" was reassigned to the Air Force Reserve's 919th Special Operations Wing at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3 / Duke Field on 17 June 1975, where it continued in service until retired in the fall 1994 and transferred to Air Force Special Operations Command's Heritage Air Park at Hurlburt Field, FL. While assigned to the 711th Special Operations Squadron, Ultimate End served in Operations JUST CAUSE in Panama, DESERT STORM in Kuwait and Iraq, and UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti. After 36 years and seven months of service, 24 years as a gunship, Ultimate End retired from active service on 1 October 1994. It made its last flight from Duke Field to Hurlburt Field on 20 October 1994. The Spectre Association dedicated "Ultimate End" (which served with the 16 SOS in Vietnam) on 4 May 1995. AC-130 Spectre (wallpaper 4). AC-130 Spectre aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. AC-130 Spectre airplane pictures and images collection 4. Lt Col Michael Byers, then 16 SOS commander, represented the active-duty gunship force and Clyde Gowdy of the Spectre Association represented all Spectre personnel past and present for the unveiling of a monument at the aircraft and the dedication as a whole. Two AC-130U Spooky gunships of the 4th Special Operations Squadron arrived at Taegu Air Base, South Korea on 24 October 1997, following a 36-hour nonstop mission from Hurlburt Field, Florida. The mission brought members of the 4th Special Operation Squadron to participate in Foal Eagle 1997, an annual Joint Chiefs of Staff exercise held throughout South Korea. Members of the 6th Special Operations Squadron, the FID squadron, also participated. In August 1998, elements of the 4th Special Operations Squadron returned from a deployment in the Bosnia-Herzegovina area of operations. During the deployment, the AC-130U Spooky gunships flown by the 4th Special Operations Squadron, completed more than 230 flights, providing close air support, interdiction and reconnaissance for US and NATO troops implementing the Dayton Peace Accords. Throughout 1998, Air Force Special Operations Command maintained a constant CSAR alert posture as part of Operation Joint Guard, with aircraft and personnel rotating from the 16th Special Operations Wing and 352nd Special Operations Group to San Vito, Italy on a routine basis. This role increased significantly in March 1999, during the crisis in Kosovo and Operation Allied Force. Operation Allied Force witnessed the employment of the AC-130U to provide armed reconnaissance. All told, Air Force Special Operations Command's special operators and aircraft played a significant role in bringing the conflict in Kosovo to an end. In March 2011, AC-130U gunships were forward deployed as part of operations to enforce a UN mandated no-fly zone and otherwise protect civilians in Libya as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn. AC-130 Spectre (wallpaper 4). AC-130 Spectre aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. AC-130 Spectre airplane pictures and images collection 4.