Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Beam me up Scotty I can't be this old !

Seems like only yesterday I was in R&D testing a new upgraded gun for our AC-47's now we're going to be laser equipped....We are dinosaurs all from that timeline now !

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a32580060/ac-130-gunship-lasers/

old we are my friend.................

And what's with this new-fangled thing they call "air conditioning"?

That's cool. I'm gonna be deeply impressed when they install photon torpedoes.

Remember when bacon, eggs and sunshine were good for you? Times do change, good or bad.

That was a long time ago!!!

While inbound to a fight hooking up with the grunt RO on the ground was always a challenge discerning GI from Gomer so we called for smoke and designated a specific color if possible , GPS or even a sparkle would have been a tremendous asset back then !

Greg night ops was our air conditioning

I'm sure it weren't all that comfortable up there with Gomer taking pot shots at you trying to put your lights out, Woody.

PS- That was a heck of a thing you guys did.

Less than lethal? Meh.
I'm for crispy critters.

Only one thing that keeps you from getting old...



Dyin’ young 😮

Multimillion dollar replacement for a bullet - gotta love high tech. And less lethal? R I G H T It's only retinal destruction and third degree burns over much of your body. Just soldier up and keep going, walk it off.

Still, - - - - - - most impressive.

Thanks.

Flem, I think you misrememberize a bit. We NEVER asked ground to pop a specific color. If you asked for red, there'd quickly be at least three sources of red smoke - all but one from Charlie.

We told them to pop smoke, and after smoke appeared, THEN ask what they'd popped. If the good guys said grape and you saw one purple and one yellow, you smiled because the VC just marked their own position.

Pictures on my wall around my computer station and desk here include KB-50, C-123, T-28D with Laotian markings,C-7A Caribou and EC-121, along with some my friends that I flew with. All in the boneyard and museums or in the ground. Memories all that are left.

Rocky we worked the an lao area for months having had smoke issues with the ground..Charles had bagged enough to have ample supplies on hand, we lost two aircraft just before I arrived that were suckered in because of color alone..that's why we were asking.. Was always up to our right seat to make the call while inbound as we aborted several times before proper measures were taken..Night ops with flares brighter than the sun was the issue with discerning colors..

True enough about night ops. I almost never worked at night, and you almost always did. So, different tactics.

One thing for sure: the NVA/VC had our smoke and our radios - and often our daily frequencies. More security leaks and spies than loyal allies, it seemed.

Exactly ! Our engagement SOP's seem to change daily via our preflight intel briefs which incidentally were about as accurate as the wx forecast

Smoke, vs17, ir strobe, peq2 aiming lasar, viper handheld lasar desiginator.
Good ALO is also a huge asset.
All work when needed.
Code words for smoke.....
Freq hopping radios...
From a guy that was on the ground.
not during you guys timeframe though.
LOL!!!
Apaches, A10,s F 16,s my extent day and night.

We had AC130 in Karbala at Bde/ Bn level.

But as some old Helicopter pilots pointed out to me...these new guys are totally dependent on the technology ...dont know what to do if the system goes down and cant operate by the seat of their pants...