The AC-5

[pmulcahy11b]

For some reason, I just remembered something from a book I read at one point where the good guys were saved by a C-5 Galaxy kitted out as a gunship. Is this even possible? Does anyone know the book I'm talking about? Is it worth statting out?

[kato13]

I found a reference to the following book series

http://jayfort.hubpages.com/hub/TheWingman

using a AC-5.

I can't resist a Google-fu challenge.

[Canadian Army]

Found this using my Google-fu

http://forums.spacebattles.com/threa...unship.125640/

[Panther Al]

Yep - the wingman series.


A not very good series of pulp mil-fiction that isn't very good, nor very plausible, but it does kill time when you can't do anything else.

Yes, I read them as I kid, but... yeah.

Very Very 70's mil fiction - lots of drugs and sex, that fuels everything.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

The CADS series was like that. I was ... 15? I think? when the books first came out; dad bought one at K-Mart (he'd head straight for the book wall and park himself there while mom shopped for clothes!) and brought it home. I blew through it in a single Friday night. Pretty terrible: lots of sex and violence.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

By the way there was a real AH-47; "Guns-A-Go-Go" I believe it was called. Buncha mini guns, rocket pods, .50 cals. Scary stuff.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Canadian Army

Found this using my Google-fu

http://forums.spacebattles.com/threa...unship.125640/

Boy, those guys really had their propellers on their beanie hats spinning!

[boogiedowndonovan]

Flight of the Old Dog anyone?

this sounds like a knock off of Dale Brown's B-52 Megafortress, which was a tricked out B-52 with AAMs, ASMs, ECM.

Paul, you got stats for the B-52 Megafortress on your site?

[stormlion1]

Funny part about the Old Dog was that plane was a test bed for B-1 upgrades that was eventually used to upgrade the entire B-52 fleet. At least from what I remember from the book series I read a decade ago.
What I want to know is what effect all those guns firing in tandem would have on a C-5's airframe.

[mpipes]

There is now way that the US would ever do this. C-5s are considered strategic assets and are vitally important as strategic airlift. They carry one of the highest priorities for repair in the event of a break down, and they are the only aircraft capable of carrying many cargo loads. There have never been enough airframes as far as many logistic expert believe.

[stormlion1]

There are currently 126 C-5A/B aircraft in service, but they are retiring a number of the C-5A's aircraft, so they can't be that in demand. Probably replacing them with C-17's. Maybe a retired C-5 can be modified into a AC-5?

[Sanjuro]

AFAIK the C5As are being retired because the airframes are approaching the end of their fatigue life- giving them a new role which had a higher level of airframe abuse would be problematic.
As one of the calmer posts on spacebattles said, the advantage of a bigger airframe for gunship use would be in longer loiter time, carrying more ammunition and more fuel. Weapons on both sides would mean that 50% of the weapons would be completely wasted in each engagement, not to mention the extra crew training time required.