{"id":130133,"date":"2021-06-12T23:35:23","date_gmt":"2021-06-13T03:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=130133"},"modified":"2021-06-12T23:35:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T20:33:01","slug":"seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Seriously Heavy Metal: The A\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Seriously
A dirty little secret is that the massive CH47F is the fastest helicopter in the Army inventory. An Apache and Blackhawk are faster in a dive, but the Chinook walks away from them both in level flight. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

PFC Caesar Martinez was\nutterly terrified. More than at any other time in his short nineteen years on\nthe planet or six weeks in this godforsaken country, Martinez was convinced he\nwas going to die. A rifleman with A Company, 1st<\/sup> Battalion, 27th<\/sup>\nInfantry, Martinez tumbled out of a UH-1 Slick helicopter shortly after noon on\n19 JUL 66 and fell right into hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The Wolfhounds of A-1\/27th<\/sup> Infantry found themselves fighting for their lives near Trang Bang, Vietnam. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This smoking hot LZ near Trang Bang in the Tay Ninh Province of Vietnam had undoubtedly been somebody\u2019s great idea. Martinez was sure there had been a plan, but nobody had bothered to tell him much about it. For now, he cued off of his squad leader and pumped 5.56mm rounds through his M16 rifle eighteen at a time on fully automatic into the surrounding jungle. At this rate, his ammo wouldn\u2019t last long. As his buddies got hit and chaos reigned he felt the terror welling up in his chest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The Viet Cong were skilled jungle fighters who used terrain and stealth to their advantage. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He wanted to run, but\nthere was no place to go. Martinez and his buddies were surrounded by\ngod-only-knew how many VC. Hidden nearby in the thick jungle, the Cong hit the\n1\/27th<\/sup> Infantry Wolfhounds repeatedly with B40 rockets along with suffocating\nAK and SKS rifle fire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The Wolfhounds were in grave danger of being overrun. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The VC pulled close to\nnegate the effectiveness of American fast movers spitting napalm and Snakeye\ngravity bombs. As the Casualty Collection Point grew crowded and their ammo\ndwindled, the situation became desperate for the Wolfhounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The twin-rotor CH-47 makes a unique sound that is fairly easily identified even amidst the chaos of battle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the ear-splitting\ndin of small arms fire both outgoing and incoming, the bone-shaking jolt of\nhand grenades, and the dull crump of 40mm M79 rounds came a familiar rhythmic\nthumping. The heavy throb of massive CH-47 cargo helicopters seemed incongruous\nin the midst of this full-bore firefight. The desperate grunts looked up and wondered\nwhat lunatic had brought Chinooks into this little corner of hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The A\/ACH47\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go opened up on the VC with everything they had. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two enormous gunships\nopened up, and the very sky itself seemed rent asunder. Explosive projectiles\nfrom fast-firing 20mm cannon, clouds of screaming 2.75-inch rockets, the steady\ncadence of explosive automatic 40mm grenade launcher rounds, and a sleeting\nstorm of .50-caliber slugs chewed the nearby jungle to splinters, shredding the\nattacking VC along with it. Thus the Viet Cong received their rude introduction\nto Guns-A-Go-Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combat\nRelativity<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
The Viet Cong were skilled jungle fighters. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Viet Cong were in general dedicated, tough, and capable irregular soldiers. In today\u2019s parlance, we would call them insurgents. In July of 1966, they were utterly ferocious and absolutely everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
VC irregulars were fanatical hard fighters. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Cong looked just like the natives and therein rested the problem. They enforced their own form of oppressive jungle justice as the need arose. They also frequently found support among rural villagers. The ability to melt in and out of the surrounding civilian population made the VC almost impossible to eradicate. In combat, they were single-minded, cunning, and ruthless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The M16 was just finding its legs in Vietnam in 1966. Its introduction into combat was rocky. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
The M79 40mm grenade launcher was often referred to as the \u201cPlatoon Leader\u2019s Artillery.\u201d The Blooper offered responsive indirect fires. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
The M60 General Purpose Machinegun was a monster to hump but provided a large volume of sustained automatic fire. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The American Infantry\ncompany in 1966 was equipped primarily with M16 rifles, M79 grenade launchers,\nand M60 machineguns. These weapons provided American combat formations with an\nunprecedented volume of organic firepower. However, it wasn\u2019t the M16 or the\nThumper or even the Pig that was the greatest threat to the VC. It was the\nman-portable PRC-25 radio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The PRC-25 radio was the most effective weapon wielded by American ground forces in Vietnam. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Using the PRC-25, the individual company commanders had access to the mighty fist of the United States military. On 19 JUL 66 that PRC-25 radio summoned the Go-Go-Birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nMost Powerful Helicopter Gunships Ever Built<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
Each A\/ACH-47A (later designated ACH-47A) Chinook carried 3,000 pounds of expendable ordnance and was markedly faster than the Mike-model UH-1 Huey Hog gunships then in use. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These unique helicopter\ngunships began life as A-model CH-47 heavy lift cargo helicopters. They always worked\nin pairs, and there were only four aircraft converted for this mission. Their\nfiery little experiment was to run for six months split between Vung Tau and An\nKhe. The Army roster called them the 53d Aviation Detachment. Everybody else knew\nthese thunderous monsters as Guns-A-Go-Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
Each of the four operational A\/ACH-47A gunships developed its own personality. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three aircraft conducted combat operations in-country while a fourth remained behind in the states for further testing at Edwards Air Force Base. The first three operational A\/ACH-47A (Armored\/Attack Cargo Helicopter) gunships were titled \u201cEasy Money,\u201d \u201cStump Jumper,\u201d and \u201cBirth Control.\u201d The fourth was christened \u201cCo$t of Living.\u201d Each of these massive aircraft was 98 feet from rotor tip to rotor tip and absolutely bristled with weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
The A\/ACH-47A Chinook gunships were heavily modified for their unique mission. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The basic CH-47A was first\nequipped with extra applique armor protecting the crew and vital mechanical\ncomponents. This allowed these tremendous aircraft to take a pounding while\noperating in close proximity to supported troops. Then each aircraft was fitted\nwith five AN\/M3 .50-caliber machineguns. The AN\/M3 is the fast-firing aircraft\nversion of John Moses Browning\u2019s apparently perfect Ma Deuce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The original .50-caliber machinegun came in three broad variants shown here. The subsequent AN\/M3 was optimized for aerial use. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Browning developed the .50-caliber in response to specifications penned by Black Jack Pershing himself, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces fighting in WW1. Originally designed to counter observation balloons, the big .50 went on to become the longest-serving Infantry weapon in American history. The gun soldiers on essentially unchanged atop MRAP vehicles and Abrams tanks even today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The fast-firing AN\/M3 .50-caliber machinegun was a formidable air-to-ground weapon. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The AN\/M3 sported a\nfull-length perforated barrel shroud and a lightened bolt assembly. This\nresulted in an accelerated rate of fire of around 1,100 rounds per minute.\nThese guns were mounted two per side of the A\/ACH-47 firing through the windows\nwith a fifth gun mounted on the aft ramp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
Twin M24A1 automatic cannon offered standoff capabilities against NVA .51-caliber DShK heavy machineguns along with plenty of penetration. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One XM34 M24A1 20mm\nautomatic cannon was mounted on each side of the aircraft in a fixed hardpoint.\nAn evolutionary development of the HS.404 Hispano-Suiza 20mm cannon, this\nweapon fired a 20x100mm high explosive round and cycled at 700 rounds per\nminute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The P38 Lightning mounted a single 20mm automatic cannon similar to the ones used by the Go-Go-Birds along with four .50-caliber machineguns. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These guns were similar to\nthe single 20mm cannon mounted in the nose of the WW2-era P38 Lightning\nfighter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
19-shot rocket pods on each side of the aircraft served as the big gunship\u2019s heavy artillery. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These bilateral sponsons\nalso included mounting points for either 19-shot XM159 2.75-inch rocket\nlaunchers or M18 7.62x51mm Minigun pods. 2.75-inch FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial\nRockets) typically carried either ten or seventeen-pound HE warheads. They\ncould also be fitted with White Phosphorus or Flechette loads as well as smoke\nmarkers or parachute illumination rounds. This system evolved into the Hydra 70\nrockets fired by AH-64 Apache gunships today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The GAU-2\/M134 minigun saw extensive use on a variety of platforms during the Vietnam War. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The GAU-2\/M134 Minigun was\na General Electric contrivance that featured a six-barrel gun system with an\nelectric drive. The gun came in three basic variants, each characterized by\nslightly different rates of fire ranging from 2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute.\nAmerican forces used roughly 10,000 GE miniguns during the course of the\nVietnam war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
Modernized versions of the M134 Minigun are in active service today, particularly among Special Operations units. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An upgraded version of the\nsame system is used by troops operationally today in the form of the Dillon\nAero M134D. Featuring a titanium housing and rotor these new Dillon guns have a\n1.5 million-round lifespan. The US military currently employs M134D\u2019s on\nspecial operations helicopters, small boats, and select terrestrial platforms like\nthe Special Forces GMV (Ground Mobility Vehicle) Humvees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The M5 40mm automatic grenade launcher was ubiquitously known as the \u201cChunker.\u201d The gun gimbled and could therefore be fired off-axis from the aircraft. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M5 automatic grenade\nlauncher fired high-velocity 40x53mm HE grenades that were not interchangeable\nwith the 40x46mm grenades fired by the M79 and M203 launchers. The M5 was an\nair-cooled, electrically-powered gun system driven by aircraft power. The M5\nfeatured a 225rpm rate of fire and a maximum effective range of 1,870 meters.\nToday\u2019s highly-effective Mk19 40mm automatic grenade launcher is a\nrecoil-operated evolution of the same basic concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nRest of the Story<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
The heavily-armed A\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go saved the day for the Wolfhounds during their operation near Trang Bang. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Guns-A-Go-Go turned the tide\nfor the Wolfhounds that fateful day in July of 1966. Despite such overwhelming\nfirepower this single company still suffered a horrific 26 KIA and 34 WIA out\nof a total of 98 troops that hit the LZ. Survivors freely acknowledge that the\nbutcher\u2019s bill would have been massively worse had it not been for the big\nGo-Go-Birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
\u201cStump Jumper\u201d succumbed to a ground taxi accident with another CH-47. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Helicopter gunship\noperations were in their infancy during this time, and the learning curve was\nsteep. In August of that year \u201cStump Jumper\u201d was destroyed in a ground taxi\naccident with another Chinook. This event drove the Army to retrieve \u201cCo$t of\nLiving\u201d from California and deploy it as a replacement to Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
\u201cCo$t of Living\u201d fell to a catastrophic mechanical failure during a combat mission in the spring of 1967. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In May of 1967, one of the M24 20mm guns on \u201cCo$t of Living\u201d vibrated loose on its mount during a fire support mission and rotated upward to discharge into the rotor system. These high explosive rounds struck the forward rotors and the rotor system disintegrated. The subsequent crash tragically killed all eight crewmembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
\u201cBirth Control\u201d was shot down on a fire support mission near Hue during the Tet Offensive in 1968. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In February of 1968, \u201cBirth Control\u201d was badly shot up during a gun run and autorotated into a dry rice paddy outside Hue. \u201cEasy Money\u201d flew in and positioned herself between the disabled aircraft and attacking enemy, providing heavy cover fire so that the crew of \u201cBirth Control\u201d could exit the disabled aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
This is all that was left of \u201cBirth Control\u201d after NVA mortars found their range. You can see the craters where the NVA gunners presumably walked their rounds on target. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Badly overloaded with the\ncrews and weapons from both helicopters, \u201cEasy Money\u201d fought to remain airborne\nbut still successfully landed at Camp Evans despite damage from ground fire.\nNVA mortars destroyed \u201cBirth Control\u201d before it could be salvaged, and the\nGuns-A-Go-Go project was abandoned. AH-1G Cobras assumed the aerial fire\nsupport mission, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
The A\/ACH-47A was later designated the ACH-47A. \u201cEasy Money,\u201d the last remaining ACH-47A Chinook gunship, is on static display at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the Vietnam War, \u201cEasy Money\u201d returned to Fort Eustis in Virginia and was used as a sheet metal trainer. In the late 1990\u2019s she was restored to her combat configuration and in 2000 placed on permanent display at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. She remains there to this day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seriously
In 2006 Alpha Company, 4th<\/sup> Battalion, 160th<\/sup> Special Operations Aviation Regiment stood up at Ft. Lewis, Washington flying MH-47G Chinooks. With much fanfare, they adopted the \u201cGuns-A-Go-Go\u201d unit designation and insignia for their own. Crewed by the Night Stalkers these new Go-Go-Birds are flying operationally today. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
Guns-A-Go-Go played a unique role in the development of Army Aviation combat tactics during the war in Vietnam.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seriously
I include this picture of an M134 minigun mounted atop an M113 ACAV (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle) in Vietnam just because I thought it was cool. The M134 could be used anyplace there was a sturdy pintle and 24V DC power. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most powerful helicopter gunships ever built. The Army roster called them the 53d Aviation Detachment. Everybody else knew these thunderous monsters as Guns-A-Go-Go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":130155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[257,772],"tags":[132,102,752],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-130133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical-guns","8":"category-will-dabbs","9":"tag-buzz","10":"tag-feature-articles","11":"tag-historical-guns"},"yoast_head":"\nSeriously Heavy Metal: The A\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Seriously Heavy Metal: The A\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seriously Heavy Metal: The A\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The most powerful helicopter gunships ever built. The Army roster called them the 53d Aviation Detachment. Everybody else knew these thunderous monsters as Guns-A-Go-Go.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/will.dabbs.9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-13T03:35:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-06T20:33:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/go-go-dabbs-22.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"859\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Will Dabbs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Will Dabbs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b818f415191c071a88bdc0d8cb33eca\"},\"headline\":\"Seriously Heavy Metal: The A\\\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-13T03:35:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T20:33:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2153,\"commentCount\":10,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/go-go-dabbs-22.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Buzz\",\"Feature Articles\",\"Historical Guns\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Historical Guns\",\"Will Dabbs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/\",\"name\":\"Seriously Heavy Metal: The A\\\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/seriously-heavy-metal-the-a-ach-47as-of-guns-a-go-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/go-go-dabbs-22.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-13T03:35:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T20:33:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"Seriously Heavy Metal: The A\\\/ACH-47A\u2019s of Guns-A-Go-Go - 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