neillaubenthal

IIRC the AC-130 versions with all the cannons for air to ground gunfire support are sometimes painted black for non visibility purposes at night…but I never heard them called a Blackbird…that's the SR-71 which is…unfortunately…gone.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

The C130 Spector gunship was black, so maybe that's why they referred to them as Blackbirds. I call them my favorite aircraft next to the B58 Hustler.

marine73 Loc: Modesto California

C-130s referred to as Blackbirds were used for black ops and if I remember correctly from the unit I was with, they have no identifying markings as to country or service that is flying them, another reason to call them blackbirds.

Amielee Loc: Eastern Washington State

I spent 28 yrs in the Army and never heard of a C130 called a Black Bird. After I retired I was a CAP search pilot and Cadet orientation pilot. During a search mission I and another civilian pilot were waiting for a search grid assignment and while talking together he said he had been a Black Bird pilot in the AF. I said a SR71 pilot and he said no, a C130 black bird pilot. I thought he was lying about his service. Now after all this posting I think I bum beefed the guy. I guess I owe him an apology.

kenJN

1000 flying hours in the C-130 "Herky" (Hercules) in the '60s. Never heard any referred to as Blackbirds. Flew support for the SR-71, the Blackbird. KenJN

Dean Schepis

I worked for Lockheed for 32 years, never heard of a C-130 blackbird....,

Piraterich

I’ve only heard it as Hercules and while touring the Pima Air museum they have an SR-71 on display and it was referred many times as the blackbird

dwmoar Loc: Oregon, Willamette Valley

not only did Puff have a 4 - 7.62 mm miniguns (6,000 rounds per minute) they also had 4 - 20 mm Vulcan cannons (2,500 rounds per minute) some even had a 155mm howitzer being tested.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

That is the AC-130 with that much armament, and the ones I remember in Nam had a 105, not a 155. two 20 mm Vulcan and a 40 mm Bofors. They also tried 25 mm and 30 mm guns. The AC-130s often had no 7.62 mini-guns. Over the years they have modified the armament, trying several different configurations.
Puff the Magic Dragon was one of the first generation AC-47s, and they had three 7.62 Mini-guns firing out the left side. The pilot had a simple wire frame sight on the cockpit glass by his left shoulder and aimed by tilting the left wing down and flying along the target or going in a circle around the target area. I watched them working over targets at night several times. They very seldom flew in daylight because they were such large, slow, relatively low targets if the VC/NVA had any anti-aircraft capability.

In Nam they also used rear ramp cargo planes to drop pallets of C4 or similar with heavy steel plates on top and bottom to force the blast into a flat circular pattern that would be rolled off the ramp with heavy cargo parachutes and set to go off just above the ground. Most called them "Daisy Cutters" and they would turn a small clearing into an instant LZ capable of taking copters dropping off troops or supplies.

lmTrying Loc: WV Northern Panhandle

Thank you for the link. That was a very interesting and informative read.

My mantra: SR-71s, V-12 Peterbilts, and 427 Novas!

lmTrying Loc: WV Northern Panhandle

Thanks for the reply.

I've heard that story before, but you supplied more facts and figures. I was under the impression that the US was 3,000 miles across. I guess that would be ground miles over not straight roads. Still, 2242 MPH is in that Mach 3 vicinity. Impressive, anyway you look at it.

The contrail I witnessed on the way home did not develop as fast as you indicated, but it was the fastest I have ever witnessed.

I've heard this story from several sources, that when the first space shuttle went up and lost tiles, they suddenly come up with photos of the underside of the shuttle and the missing tiles. Of course, NASA did not say how the photos were produced. It's my understanding that they sent an SR-71 up to 125,000 feet, rolled over on its back, and clicked away. The first person to tell me this started with, you know that all SR-71 pilot's suits have astronaut patches.

On another note, I think it was the summer of 1960, I was 9 years old, and standing in the front door of my aunt and uncle's home in Champaign, Illinois when a double boom boom made me jump! My aunt said it was an Air Force plane breaking the sound barrier. Dang thing must have been close cause it was LOUD and rattled the storm door.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

The 3000 is westernmost of the 48 to easternmost of the 48. So roughly CA central coast to New England tip or Florida tip.
The SR-71 was flying along a line of latitude in a straight West to East path.

Sonic booms, I grew up in Western Kentucky about 20 miles from one of the US's uranium refineries and back in the 50s and 60s they often used the plant as a "target" for practice bombing runs and interceptor defense practice as well as airborne attacks practice, so we used to hear a lot of sonic booms and see fleets of every type of plane the Airborne used in those days for drops going over pretty low as they lined up on the refinery and the surrounding area. My Aunt, an RN, was head of health and safety there for several years and her husband was the head diesel mechanic for several years.

rtk823

Yes, your buddy in Germany is correct. The USAF MC-130s were called Blackbirds. In fact that name was on our squadron patch. If you want the full story, I recommend a wonderful historical video produced by a former Blackbird aviator on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_axy1PDb48. At 12:21 you will see the sq patch. I flew on these special operations aircraft for several tours so I hope this clarifies much of the feedback that has been posted by others.

ntonkin Loc: western Upper Peninusla of Michigan

I say again; "Blackbird" has never been an official U.S. Air Force nickname for any MC-130. One squadron called themselves the "Blackbirds" - - this does not make "Blackbird" the nickname for any of the many permutations of the MC-130. See the below links - - there were a number of nicknames considered by the Air Force for the various models of the MC-130 and not one of them was "Blackbird". Squadrons are free to use any nickname they want for their squadron or the aircraft they fly - - that doesn't make it the official "nickname" for the aircraft. Only big Air Force can do that.

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/heres-the-real-story-about-how-the-air-forces-mc-130j-got-its-name/

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Lockheed_MC-130

ntonkin Loc: western Upper Peninusla of Michigan

I watched the entire video and did not see or hear "Blackbird" mentioned anywhere.