William Walter - Ghostriders 1968-1975: Mors De Caelis Combat History of the AC-130 Spectre Gunship, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia

Advance Praise for
Ghostriders 1968-1975

Ghostriders 1968-1975 provides the final word on the birth and Vietnam years of the AC-130 Spectre gunship. Bill Walter nails the legends and the everyday activities of the aircrafts developers and crewmen with uncanny accuracy. His accounts fulfill the highest standards of research. Reading took me back to the early 70s when I crewed with Spec and his facts filled a few gaps in my knowledge of the time. The book is a valuable addition to USAF history.

Lt Col Hank Zeybel, USAF (Retired)

The AC-130 Spectre gunship is without equal on the battlefield. It is the most precise and lethal form of combat airpower in the world.

During the time that I had the privilege to serve as the AFSOC Commander, one generation of aging Spectres was preparing to leave the inventory as they were replaced with a newer generation of AC-130 gunships. The tremendous history and heroic actions of the crews who flew them and the maintainers who pushed them into the air deserved to be captured for posterity. We contracted an author to collect and publish this amazing history and were disappointed at the low quality of his output. Thats when CMSgt Bill Walter stepped in to take over this important and historical project. His diligence to get it right involved countless hours of interviews with both the crews and the soldiers on the ground, many of which would not be alive today, if not for the gunship. Every story herein is absolutely true, as told by those who were on scene. Multiple sources were confirmed for the details of every harrowing mission, and every dangerous engagement of the enemy.

The orchestrated efforts of more than a dozen crewmembers to deliver lethal fires to destroy enemy targets or to protect the lives of American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines on the ground is without equal. There are literally thousands of our combatants who owe their lives directly to the professionalism and skills of AC-130 Spectre gunships.

My father is one of them. The very first AC-130 saved his life when the Spectre responded to a camp in Vietnam as it came under attack by two Viet Cong battalions. The heroism of the Spectre crew that night is the only reason my father survived. When I took command of the Special Operations wing at Hurlburt Field, thirty years later, my parents came to attend. The wing put all of the aircraft on display for the guests. Following the ceremony, I asked my dad if he would like to go see the MH-53J Pave Low helicopter that I flew as a special operations pilot. He said, I want to go see the gunship. Like so many others who will never forget that night that an AC-130 Spectre was overhead raining death on enemy forces to save their lives, he remembered those events for the rest of his life. Stories like that are legion. In the official Air Force records, the post-mission reports read something like, Responded to TIC (troops in contact). Fired 80 rounds 20 millimeter, 32 rounds of 40 mm, and 18 rounds of 105 mm. But the people on the ground will tell an entirely different and desperate tale. This book captures those stories, as told by those who l ived them.

This will be the most popular book ever written regarding the aircraft and crews of our special operations forces. The culture and warrior ethos of the Spectre community is one of the strongest in Air Force history. You will be amazed and proud that such Americans serve to protect our freedoms.

Lt Gen Donny Wurster, U SAF (Ret.)

A KNOX PRESS BOOK

An Imprint of Perm uted Press

ISBN: 978-1-6 3758-155-1

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-6 3758-156-8

Ghostriders 1968-1975:

Mors De Caelis Combat History of the AC-130 Spectre Gunship, Vietnam, Laos , Cambodia

2021 by William Walter

All Right s Reserved

Cover art by Cod y Corcoran

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Permuted Press, LLC

New York Nashville

permute dpress.com

Published in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to the unsung professionals who operated, maintained, and supported the AC-130 gunship mission from 1968 through 1975.

The first production AC-130A Gunship to arrive for combat duty in Southeast Asia was tail number 54-1630, named Mors De Caelis (Latin translation Death From Heaven). Upon retirement in 1995, 54-1630 was inducted into the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It is currently on display under the name Azrael, Angel of Death.

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