Lockheed AC-130A Spectre "First Lady"

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Serial Number: 53-3129
Construction Number: 3001

Bearing manufacturers serial number 3001 bears the distinction of being the first Lockheed C-130 Hercules produced for the US Air Force, rolling off the line in December 1956. Serving in her designed tactical airlifter role for the first eleven years of her service, 53-3129 was selected to be the first C-130A to receive major modifications under Project Gunship II aimed at converting the aircraft into a heavily-armed ground-attack gunship.

Reactivated as the first AC-130A Spectre in 1968 and certified to be combat-ready, 53-3129 deployed to Vietnam where she began air support duties to US Forces fighting on the ground for the next seven years. Struck by a 37mm anti-aircraft shell while on a mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in March 1971, the aircraft was badly damaged but returned to her base safely, demonstrating the ability of the C-130 airframe to withstand combat damage and keep flying.

Transferred to the Air Force Reserve upon her final return stateside from Vietnam in 1975, 53-3129 served with the 711th Special Operations Squadron, 919th Special Operations Wing out of Duke Field for the remainder of her career, becoming the last AC-130A to be retired from frontline US Air Force Reserve when she was deactivated in 1995. Making her last flight in November of 1995 from Duke Field to Eglin Air Force Base, the aircraft is now part of the Air Force Armament Museum's collection.

www.afarmamentmuseum.com/outside.shtml
www.aero-web.org/museums/fl/afam/53-3129.htm