SAAF AC-47's

[dsawan 624]

Another what-if:but in South African markings;

 

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=390889

Edited January 27, 2015 by dsawan

[SayethWhaaaa 245]

Funny you should say 'what-if', but that's not the case. The SAAF did convert at least one, possibly as many as four (estimates vary) Daks into gunships using a combination of .50 cal and 20mm guns, and possibly a 40mm, short barreled bofors type (though I've never seen anything definitive on that), installed on locally designed mounts. It's hard to say because information on those, and the Rhodesian/Zimbabwean AC-47s, is quite difficult to come by. They apparently had a similar build to the Indonesian/TNI-AU 'AC-47s' (they were actually DC-3 conversions) used in the annexation of Timor Leste, but again, information on Indonesia's gunships is also extremely difficult to obtain. Also, the SAAF version was apparently built on the C-47, not the BT-67 style turbo conversions, as those didn't come into use until the very late 80s, between '89 and '91 and the SAAF's 'Dragon Daks' were in use from (again, this varies) 1979 (1981?) to the late Eighties.

There are a few photos of the SAAF Daks at the very bottom of this link http://aircraftnut.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/ac-47-dakota-gunship-spooky-and-puff.html