Boeing Vertol ACH-47 Chinook Gunship "Guns A Go-Go"

[discofishing]

132mph? That's it?!? Mod a Ch-47F like this and you'd probably get WAY better performance.

[wrtwa1]

In 1967, about 0900, I, an Army DOD civilian, and a Boeing rep, were airlifted into an area in Bong Son to determine the cause of a Go Go that went down during a fire fight around 0600 hours. A LRP (long range patrol) reported seeing something floating off of the aircraft during a straffing run. Along the flight path I found a piece of a rotor blade pocket. The up stop on the 20 mm broke and he shot himself down. I personally retrieved the IDs of all 8 on board. Its still a bad memory.

[offamychain]

Picture #2 is 90 minutes later. 8 men are walking away from the airport, now smoking, but secured. Exhausted, filthy, bleeding, & out of ammo, yet you see none of the fright in the earlier picture, nor the youngness. We matured years in that 90 minutes. An AC-130 (Puff the Magic Dragon) had appeared overhead the very minute we needed it most, giving the guys who wanted to kill us something else to worry about while we did what we came there to do. I know how they felt .... extremely grateful.

[dbatesphoto]

Just visited Easy Money today on Redstone she is still gorgeous. Can only imagine how it felt for the troops to see her coming to help and how she scared the .... out of the enemy when she started making a run.

[offamychain]

@dbatesphoto I can tell you precisely how they felt. I've 2 pictures of action in Panama during Just Cause on my desk. The first shows 8 frightened young guys crouched behind a 24" concrete dividing wall. House behind them has dozens of bullet marks & countless shell casings at their feet. The target, Punta Patilla Airport's tower, is in the background, unreachable because of 2 snipers & a well protected Mini-Gun, which had found 3 of the soldiers, including the Platoon Sergeant, being myself.

[bluballzzz]

outdated, that thing wouldn't last 5 mins in a modern fight

[hlcom30]

Fascinating!!

[peeeveli]

Interesting concept, sad thing they never took it further.

[wjoconnor]

Was kinda neat seeing this. Back in the day, we took it as an article of faith, the 47 would fall apart from the vibrations of multiple 50s firing. 67-18537, 1970.

[Yayo015]

Lol, the interior is like the B-17 all over again.

[3A7C]

So, this was where George Lucas got his idea for the Millennium Falcon: originally a cargo ship, but it can go really, really fast, and is loaded with a few surprise weapons.

[nitewaif]

My dad was a mechanice for Easy Money in Vietnam. Impressive to see video.

[triathlete77]

From inside, it kinda looks like a B-17 with all the gunners and their .50 Cal's

[Diemorder]

das uh real gunship

[choprjock]

A little more info on the Go-Go's armaments. All the ones I saw were armed with 5 - 50 cal. machine guns, 2 - 20mm cannons, 2 - 19 round 2.75" rocket pods, and a 40mm belt fed grenade launcher. They were flying arsenals, but also bullet magnets. I believe only one of their aircraft survived the VN war, the rest being lost to gunfire and accidents. The surviving aircraft, "Easy Money", I believe is on static display in Ala.

[TheGroutman]

I showed my father this video and he said they always called it "Puff the Magic Dragon"

[2dazed]

"Puff the magic dragon" was what the nickname for the old first ere C-130 gunships .

[scallywag86]

With the C-130 converted to a gunship role in the Spectre/Spooky, this does seem like a great idea. A massive armament on a massive helicopter. Employed properly, it wouldn`t have to worry much about ground fire but the options for armament, even back in the 60`s were and are very broad.

[kurtw71]

They should have added the Automatic Grenade Launchers, weight I know was a factor.

[choprjock]

I saw these in action when I flew for the 1st Cav. They were awesome! Sadly, I was also an eyewitness to the "Co$t of Living" accident on 5/5/67. One of the best nicknames I ever saw on an aircraft was a Guns a Go-Go ship named "Birth Control". I have a picture of it on my desk. It still cracks me up. :-)

[beepandbop]

thanks for your service

[237th]

I remember seeing a picture of a guntruck named "The Abortion"

[sonofrattler]

Thank you for your service and WELCOME HOME. From the proud son of a US Army Aviator that flew a tour in Vietnam as a 'Slick' pilot.

[choprjock]

Thanks for the "Welcome Homes". I appreciate them. Check out a VN book about flying slicks, titled "Rotors", by Roger Gallagher. I flew slicks with him in B/227th AHB. It's very good read and a true representation of what life was like for a slick pilot in VN.

[m4ace]

The Army would have kept this aircraft for sure if it carried 5 miniguns and a howitzer in the rear, intsead of the 5 50 cals.

[petethebastard]

Great vid, thnx mate!

[dngrdave2000]

Too bad they never made a dedicated attack 'hook, like they did with the huey/cobra blackhawk/apache it would have been one bad mo fo.

[lurch228gogo49]

they did they are part of the Army's Aviation Special Ops in Operation Freedom THEY ARE THE NEW Guns A GO GO I am one of the crew of the first ones from Vietnam

[dngrdave2000]

I mean tandem pilots, wings for arms, etc. I was turbine surgeon for 7/101st in Desert storm... I always thought the Russians has the right idea with the Hind, attack with the capacity to carry troops.

Chinook would be the perfect platform, not to mention it lifts more and flys faster than anything in the inventory.

[437thx1138]

I read and saw pics of this mod but the 1st video I've seen. I guess the specs stated were comparing to an unloaded '47. They are fast choppers. Thanks for the post.

[peepeevagi]

It's like when you fight zombies, you get a bus, and arm it up.

It's the same thing, but across the skies.