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AC130 action

At the last place I worked at, we had a section that received odds and ends for identification and disposal. The guy pulled out an expended 105mm case like nothing he had ever seen before, the stampings on the base included USAF. It had him completely baffled. He called me over and I even had to think about it for a while. He didn't believe me when I told him what it was, I had to get a pic for him. He also had a 40mm aluminium case.
 
Thanks slick. Brings back some memories. A few years back I took a job as a Colombian Army " advisor" with our DOS,... a USAF C130 gunship dispersed a FARC attack on our FOL,...on the way back home ( passing through Tolemeida) I met them, their C130 was busted, grounded, ...I fixed it for them and the CO gave me a guided tour of the gunship and 2 105 and a complete clip of expended Bofors....from their operation that saved our bacon a few days prior. I took a blank tool chit, hand punched the date, and riveted it onto the case with a challenge coin the crew chief gave me, for memories. I hand carried the cases home and found L60 HEI projectiles for them..that is what got me started in Ordnance. I put a display up for the events I do with those pieces....how cool is that?
 

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Very nice display. And story. I won the shell on an auction a few years back. The letter is basically Proof Of Inert. Except for the mouse piss corrosion, the h/s is legible and busy. The sticker, patch and coin were gifted to me but I have no direct connection or visit with that outfit. Your story is much better.

shell 105mm AC130.jpg shell 105mm AC130 hs.jpg shell 105mm AC130 letter.jpg shell 105mm AC130 swag.jpg
 
Nice, yours being the AC-130H ( Spectre-1972 on)mine the AC-130U ( Spooky-1995 on)...differences, both still used today, the Spectre has a 20mm Vulcan, the Spooky the 25mm GAU. The Spooky I toured, had a huge Kevlar black curtain around the 25mm GAU, due to possibility of cook offs the crew chief said. In any case, only about two dozen total operating. The one that helped us out was flying from Iraq back to Florida when it diverted in flight to Colombia...the crew was anxious to get back to Florida, being stuck in Tolemeida waiting for an MS2000 series bolt was a real downer for them....good deal for me, a .gov bolt got me the 105 and 40mm cases....a few pics for interest, not much is known about the drug/FARC war in Colombia....note the shipping containers we operated out of at various FOL's, DOD would have had a fit in the way we operated.....best of times, we flew around the jungle in everything from M17s, UH1s, Uh60s, Soviet Antonovs, and US two engine transports pulled from the Monthans graveyard.
 

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More, you got me reminiscing....lots of wrecks, those DOS TCNs and LN pilots were not the best....notice the M8 WW2 Greyhound with quad fifties we used at many FOLs, gifted from DOS, reengineered diesels, used for perimeter security...a blast to drive.....the good old days....I always questioned why their Hawks needed .50 cal GAU mini guns ( special made by Dillon-a rarity) and two .50s with API, with 2.75 rockets and .30 mini guns....the Colombian Air Force gifted Hawks were way, way to armed against a bunch of mis-guided commie FARC teen agers and drug cartels.
 

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