Spooky Gunship - Patch - USAF - 4th AIR COMMANDOS - Ghosts - Vietnam War - B.638

Description

USAF Patch Flight Jacket Patch AC-47 - Douglas Spooky Gunship
GHOST RIDERS - Ghostriders - 4th Special Operations Squadron
4th Air Commando Squadron - Vietnam War
Measures - 3.2 x 3.2 inches (8 x 8 cms)
GHOSTRIDERS – 4
th
Special Operations Squadron – USAF – Spooky Gunships
The squadron was activated in August 1965 as the 4th Air Commando Squadron.
Stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, South Vietnam, it flew night combat missions in South Vietnam manning the Douglas AC-47 Spooky gunship beginning in November 1965.
By year's end, the 4th had flown 277 combat sorties, used 2,458 illumination flares, and expended 137,136 rounds of ammunition in support of friendly positions under attack.
In February 1966, four of the squadron's gunships were moved to Thailand to operate against the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
There they would serve several roles. They were equipped to assume Airborne Command and Control Center duties in lieu of Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. They both struck and directed forward air control in the Operation Barrel Roll area of Laos. They also hunted supply trucks along the Trail. Between December 1965 and July 1966, they were credited with destroying 243 trucks.
However, they lost four AC-47s and 26 air crew members in the process, as enemy anti-aircraft fire became steadily more effective. The 4th was then assigned solely to defense of hamlets and troops under attack.
Douglas AC-47 Spooky, Magic Dragon - Patch - Vietnam.
Utilsing flares that the aircraft dropped to light up battlegrounds, the AC-47 was a gunship of the USAF operating out of Udorn Air Base Thailand and Tan Son Nhut, Saigon and Nha Trang.
It carried over 25,000 rounds of ammunition delivered across 360 degrees of a combat zone.
The AC-47, Spooky operated in Vietnam from 1964 through 1971.
The Cambodian Air Force continues to operate AC-47 which they have named 'Ghost Planes'.
USAF - Flight Jacket Patch
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Post on patches is .99 for first item and 30c postage for additional patches posted in same order. If you have any question’s please contact me. I post daily. Many thanks.
Cheesecloth backed Vietnam War patch - Filler - made for collecting, swapping, made during conflict and through to mid-late 1980's in Vietnam - Pieces were made in Vietnam.
More recent, similar pieces are felt backed (I do not sell felt back) - if you have any questions about anagrams used, translations, unit location etc please ask – I am always happy to answer.
Command Control, North, South, Central, MACV, Special Forces, SOG, Special Op’s, Special Operations Group, 5 th Special Forces, Army Security Agency, Military Intelligence, Psy-Ops, US Army, De Oppresso Liber, Airborne, 1 st Special Forces, CIDG, Mike Force, Mobile Guerrilla Force, Mobile Strike Force, Operations Detachment, Provincial Recon Unit, Recon Teams, RT, USMC, United States Marine Corps, Vietnam War, WWII, WWI, French Indochine War, French Foreign Legion, Legion Etrange, Project Omega, Recondo School, Rapid Fire, Project Delta, Special Missions Advisory Force, Project Gamma, Project Sigma, Indigenous Troops, MACV-SOG, CCC, CCS, CCN, USARV, SMAG, TAG, Field Training Command, Recon Team Leader, US Navy, Air Force, AATTV, Long Tan, Nui Dat, AAFV, ATF, New Zealand V Force, Big Red One, 1st Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division, Tropic Lightning, 25th Infantry Division, Subdued, Patch, Patches, Uniform, Helmet, Flash, Beret, Arc, Tab, 101 st Airborne Division,
Command Control, North, South, Central, MACV, Special Forces, SOG, Special Op’s, Special Operations Group, 5 th Special Forces, Army Security Agency, Military Intelligence, Psy-Ops, US Army, De Oppresso Liber, Airborne, 1 st Special Forces, CIDG, Mike Force, Mobile Guerrilla Force, Mobile Strike Force, Operations Detachment, Provincial Recon Unit, Recon Teams, RT, USMC, United States Marine Corps, Vietnam War, WWII, WWI, French Indochine War, French Foreign Legion, Legion Etrange, Project Omega, Recondo School, Rapid Fire, Project Delta, Special Missions Advisory Force, Project Gamma, Project Sigma, Indigenous Troops, MACV-SOG, CCC, CCS, CCN, USARV, SMAG, TAG, Field Training Command, Recon Team Leader, US Navy, Air Force, AATTV, Long Tan, Nui Dat, AAFV, ATF, New Zealand V Force, Big Red One, 1st Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division, Tropic Lightning, 25th Infantry Division, Subdued, Patch, Patches, Uniform, Helmet, Flash, Beret, Arc, Tab, 101 st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne, 173rd Airborne, Combat, Militaria, Medal, Badge, Map, 199th Infantry Brigade, Old Ironsides, 5th Infantry Division, MAAG, USARPAC, XXIV Corps, 23rd Infantry Division, Americal, 38th Infantry Division, Black Op’s, Clandestine, Non-Conventional Warfare, 11th Infantry Brigade, 11th Armored, 196th , 1st Aviation, 18th Engineers, Medic, Medical, Viet Cong, VC, Viet Minh, Dien Bien Phu, Saigon, Tiger Force Rangers, Ranger, Logistical Command, Khe Sanh, POW, RVN, ARVN, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, NVA, Hanoi, Siagon, Phan Rang, LLDB, Bright Light, Free World Forces, Company, Platoon, Patrol, Long Range, Special Forces, ARVN, Green Berets, Elite, Recon, Reconnaiance, CCN, CCC, CCS, MACV SOG, SOA, Paratrooper, Parachutist, Vietnam War, Special Operations, Military, Tiger, Ranger, Route, Team, VC, NVA, Viet Cong, Command Control
N, ARVN, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, NVA, Hanoi, Siagon, Phan Rang, LLDB, Bright Light, Free World Forces, Company, Platoon, Patrol, Long Range, Special Forces, ARVN, Green Berets, Elite, Recon, Reconnaissance, CCN, CCC, CCS, MACV SOG, SOA, Paratrooper, Parachutist, Vietnam War, Special