Hell in the sky: The AC-130 Hercules - aka 'Angel of Death' fires its deadly load
This is the ‘Angel of Death’, the world’s biggest flying artillery gun – and the latest weapon being used by British and US Special Forces to defeat Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
Our exclusive picture shows the AC-130 Hercules aircraft unleashing its awesome firepower on the enemy 2,000ft below.
From a distance the plane – nicknamed the ‘Angel of Death’ because of the shape that its anti-missile flares take when they are fired – looks like a normal troop carrier.
But the aircraft, which is rarely deployed in daylight, carries a powerful Howitzer 105mm field gun which can ‘vaporise’ targets at a range of 1,200 yards.
Deadly weapon: The artillery gun Special troops call 'Spectre'.
'Fire': Troops load shells and prepare for the recoil
As the Hercules drops from 2,000ft to as low as 80ft above the battlefield, the Howitzer – normally used by ground troops – fires ten rounds a minute and has a back-up of three 25mm Gatling cannons spewing out 7,500 rounds every 60 seconds to produce the ultimate airborne gunship. Once a camera sited under the fuselage has fixed on the target, it sends the co-ordinates to an onboard computer – and the ‘Angel of Death’ is ready to unleash its deadly load.
To dampen the recoil and avoid pushing the Hercules off course as the Howitzer is fired, the gun is set on rollers which run on a small track fixed to the aircraft’s superstructure.
After the fire controller shouts ‘Fire’ the Howitzer leaps back on the track and hits a hydraulic buffer that sends it back to be reloaded. The high explosive 105mm shells, each packed with 5lb of TNT, rocket towards their target at 1,548ft per second.
On contact, the shells can destroy buildings and spread shrapnel over a ‘kill’ area of up to 1,500 yards.
Codenamed ‘Spectre’ by the SAS and SBS in southern Afghanistan, the lethal war machines have been deployed to spread fear among the enemy.
During recent operations, British Special Forces troops have flown alongside American comrades to help pinpoint enemy targets and, in the words of one officer, ‘unleash hell’ against the Taliban.
The gunship is used against what intelligence chiefs list as ‘Tier 1 Taliban’ – top-level fighters, who are constantly hunted down by UK Special Forces units codenamed ‘Task Force 42’ and ‘Task Force 444’.
A Special Forces officer said last night: ‘When a group of key Taliban fighters are taken out it is referred to as ‘‘splashing the target’’ – a crude description, but it works for us.
‘The AC-130 really is the ultimate weapon. It is very accurate and simply vaporises the target and sends a powerful psychological message to the enemy.
‘We have called in Spectre many times and you know the minute it starts to unleash its fury the enemy melt away.
‘We have taken out several high-value targets on the border with Pakistan thanks to the support of the AC-130 crews.’
The ‘Angel of Death’ is operated by a total of 12 crew members. There are five officers – the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, fire control officer and electronic warfare officer. They are aided by seven enlisted staff – a flight engineer, TV operator, infra-red detection set operator, loadmaster and three aerial gunners. Their specially converted aircraft can stay in the skies for 12 hours at a time and is the largest airborne gun in the world.
The crew can carry several thousand 105mm Howitzer rounds, which weigh 40lb each. The Howitzer provides pinpoint accuracy and has top-secret sensors to protect it from missiles.
On operational flights, the plane is loaded with ten tons of ammunition.
Pilots rely on high-tech radar to track targets. It is supported by a top-secret night sensor system.
Further evidence of the plane’s killing power can be seen just behind the cockpit in the form of two 20mm Vulcan rotary cannons, which fire 7,200 rounds per minute.
The gunners who man the weapons are issued with shovels to clear the huge pile of empty ammunition cases as the cannons spew it out.
The artillery gun boasts a pilot-aiming sensor, laser range-finder and a powerful night-vision camera providing real-time information and footage to the gun commander who sits behind the pilots in a fire control centre.
Just in front of the port-side wing, the 105mm artillery gun is mounted alongside a smaller 40mm Bofors cannon.
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