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

by William Walter

Overview

If necessity is the mother of invention, the AC-130 gunship was definitely her offspring.

Ghostriders: Mors De Caelis is a comprehensive history of AC-130 gunship combat operations in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The story begins with the first AC-130 in 1968, and ends in 1975 at the end of the war in Vietnam. It tells the life and death stories of Spectre crews, who faced extreme danger while hunting trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and providing fire support for US and allied ground forces. Though the AC-130 was credited with 10,000 trucks destroyed, this phenomenal achievement came with a hefty price. Fifty-two Spectre crewmen and six AC-130s were lost during combat operations in Laos and Vietnam.

Written in third-person omniscient point of view by an experienced combat veteran and Spectre Historian, all aspects of the story are derived from official declassified records and personal interviews. The level of detail and context figuratively puts the reader in the aircraft as an observer, flying alongside a Spectre crew in combat. Above all, this is the story of Spectre—accurate, detailed, compelling, and unique.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637581568
Publisher:	Knox Press
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Series:	Ghostriders , #1
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	781,841
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Chief Master Sergeant William Walter served as an AC-130 Aerial Gunner from 1978 to 2005. He was inducted into the Air Commando Hall of Fame in 2001 and the USSOCOM Hall of Honor in 2011.

Table of Contents

The AC-130A/E/H Fleet, 1968-1975 11

Foreword 13

Preface 15

Situation Report: Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, 1968-1973 43

Chapter 1 51

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Combat Operations, 1968-1969 51

Chapter 2 125

Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia Operations, 1970-1973 125

Mission Debrief: 1968-1973 283

Situation Report: 1974-1975 289

Chapter 3 293

Recovery of the SS Mayaguez 293

SS Mayaguez Debrief, 1975 307

Ghostriders Mors De Caelis Epilogue, 1968-1975 309

Event Chronology 311

Acknowledgments 325

Glossary 329

References 335

Index 337