From 1964 to 1969, the AC-47s successfully defended 3,926 hamlets, outposts or forts. They fired over 97 million rounds and killed over 5,300 enemy soldiers. No outpost or village under gunship protection was ever lost to the enemy.
AC-47s carried 21,000 rounds and three 7.62mm mini-guns with a fast (6,000 rounds per minute) or slow (3,000 rounds per minute) rate of fire, with 7 crewmembers (2 pilots, 1 navigator, 2 gunners, 1 load master and 1 flight engineer), it operated typically at 3,000 ft., 130 knots airspeed, without armor or escorts and carried 24 to 56 flares, manually thrown out the door.
Later gunships included the Spectre (AC-130), Shadow (AC-119G) and Stinger (AC-119K) with increases in airspeed, armor, altitudes, and computer aided guns. The 57 AC-47s stripped away the enemy's advantage of picking out friendly positions to strike and overrun at night.
