combat aircraft

Turboprop conversion

The FAC looked for an alternative to the

AC-47 in the early 1990s, and initially

considered the AC-130. Unfortunately for

the Colombians, the US government

turned down the foreign military sale of

the AC-130H ‘Spectre’ to the embattled

South American country.

With few other options, Colombia

decided to re-engine its AC-47s with

turboprops in a program that would

bring them up to more modern

standards. By 1993, a contract worth

approximately $40 million was signed

with Basler Turbo Conversions of

Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to transform eight

‘Fantasmas’ into more modern and

credible  ghting machines.

The conversion from C-47 to BT-67

included a wide range of changes such as

a fuselage stretch, wing reinforcements

and improved wingtips as well as a better

fuel system with an additional 800-US

gallon capacity. The radial Pratt &

Whitney R-1830s were replaced by Pratt

& Whitney PT6A-67R engines with

composite nacelles and  ve-bladed

aluminum Hartzell propellers. New

cockpit instruments and electrics were

also installed.

The updated ‘Fantasma’ packed a heavy

punch with a General Dynamics GAU-19

0.50in-calibre Gatling gun mounted at an

angle on the port side. The triple-barrel

weapon is operated by the aircraft’s

commander by means of a window-

mounted aim sight and can  re up to

2,000 rounds per minute. For improved

night operations, a nose-mounted  rst-

generation forward-looking infra-red

(FLIR) unit was installed too. By October

1994, two redesignated AC-47Ts, FAC-1681

and FAC-1686, had been delivered back to

the Colombian Air Force for duty.

Counter-insurgency

The AC-47Ts are now assigned to

Escuadrón de Combate Táctico 113 at

Palanquero Air Base with detachments

at four additional bases throughout

Colombia: Apiay, Cali, Gaori and Tres

Esquinas. The aircraft can easily cover all

of Colombia’s territory while operating

from these stations. Missions typically

take around four hours but can last for up

to 10 hours.

Each gunship is operated by a crew of

seven: two pilots, an engineer, a tactical

o cer who operates the FLIR and three

sub-o cials who work the GAU-19. The

two pilots were equipped with night

vision goggles from 1997, a move that

dramatically improved safety, accuracy

and results in after-dark operations. The

AC-47T is truly a do-it-all Swiss army

knife of an aircraft: it’s used for strategic

attack, interdiction, close air support,

reconnaissance and aerial intelligence,

surveillance, and search and rescue.

In the late 1990s, the government

intensi ed its campaign against the

armed Colombian revolutionary forces

D-DAY

VETERAN

Although Colombia’s AC-47Ts are

very capable and have been highly

modi ed over the years, they are

perhaps the oldest aircraft still used

in front-line service anywhere in the

world. One ‘Fantasma’ in Colombian

service was constructed in 1942 and

it is known that another, FAC-1667,

participated in the Allied invasion of

Normandy during 1944.

Above: Low

light catches

an AC-47T as

it patrols the

jungle at dusk.

Left top to

bottom: In

the AC-47T’s

cockpit, the

pilot uses a

gunsight (just

visible on the

left) to aim the

GAU-19.

The triple-

barrel GAU-19

is operated by

the aircraft’s

commander,

but a tactical

offi cer uses the

FLIR.

This image:

A fabulous

night shot of

a ‘Fantasma’

running up its

Pratt & Whitney

PT6A-67R

engines.

http://www.combataircraft.net // August 2018 49

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