March 2018 FLYPAST 37of his tour. Synchronising such a
large group was critical because
knowing who you were dealing with
and understanding how to work
together helped ensure success.
Batie said: “When you went up
with a different crew, you weren’t
quite sure how they did things.”
Crews were typically formed at the
start of training back at Hurlburt
Field, and they stayed together in
Thailand.
Grossed out
A typical duty day would start late
in the afternoon at the squadron
building where the crew was
assigned an aircraft and mission.
The officers would do preliminary
planning by reviewing threat
updates as well as any intel on
where the enemy may be moving
that night.
The main concern was anti-
aircraft artillery (AAA) fire; even
though SAMs and MiGs were
dangerous. Knowledge of the day-
to-day movement of guns was vital
because the PAVN had started to
lay AAA traps for the gunships.
“By the late spring of 1972 Laos
had changed from basically being
covered with 37mm to being
plastered with 57mm guns and
having quite a few 100mm guns.”
After planning and a quick meal
at the officers’ club, the crew met
in a conference room for a pilot-led
briefing before heading out. Take-
off was anything but standard:
“The airplanes climbed very slowly
because they were grossed out [at
maximum overload weight] plus
you had the crew entrance door
removed for the LLTV [low-light
level television].
“You [also] had the door open
in the aft end, so you had a lot of
wind blowing through. [There
was] a lot of drag from the guns,
from the Black Crow system, from
the jammers out under the wings.
Plus, you were weighed down with
armour plate.”
The drag and weight of armour
and guns impacted not only onthe climb performance, but it
also influenced mission duration.
Typically, it could involve six or
seven hours of flying time, although
many times the sorties lasted just
five hours.
As the gunship circled Ubon
gaining altitude, the crew aligned
sensors to a shack next to the
runway. Atop this structure was
a laser receiver connected to an
infrared (IR) light that flashed
when a laser designator was
‘painting’ it. This alignment
process was critical because at this
stage in the war the interdiction
effort included laser-guided bombs
(LBGs) dropped by F-4 Phantoms
and Martin B-57Gs (licence-built
Canberras).
Next the guns were aligned with
the sensors by firing at a designated
location over Laos. Finally, the
gunship transited to its assigned
sector.Close call
Deconfliction of ‘blue’ forces
proved to be a major challenge.
“You’d check in with ABCCC.
They would attempt to provide
some measure of air traffic
control.” (ABCCC: another
Hercules variant, the EC-130
Airborne Battlefield Command and
Control Centre.)
“But you had the Central
Intelligence Agency flying in and
out of there too, along with theLeft
The port side of an AC-
130E fuselage showing
original armament of two
20mm and two 40mm
cannon. Under the wing
are two of the four ALQ-
87 jamming pods.Below left
AC-130E 69-6569 posed
with squadron ‘No.1 Truck
Killer’ of the month fl ag.