num_pages: 340
description: Nicknamed the truck killer the AC-119K gunship and its counterpart the AC-119G were developed in the late 1960s in response to the needs of the U.S. military in Vietnam. This important book examines the evolution of these aircraft and their role within Vietnam military policy and geopolitical realities.Drawing on unpublished studies and a host of primary materials William Head discusses the events that led to the birth of the AC-119 the planning and modification processes that followed and its operational history. The G model or Shadow focused on air support and anti-personnel missions. Stinger the K model which could carry more cargo for longer distances was suited for destruction of enemy vehicles. Though the AC-119 was only an interim asset its descendantsthe AC-130E H and Uhave played an active role in the recent conflict in Iraq.A narrative of the crews and pilots who executed the missions and the engineers designers and the politicians responsible for the aircraft Shadow and Stinger will be of interest to Vietnam veterans historians and scholars as well as aviation enthusiasts.
language: English
title: Shadow and Stinger: Developing the AC-119G/K Gunships in the Vietnam War
publisher: Texas A&M University Press