The bombardier's main tool was the Norden bombsight, a top secret piece of equipment the Allies guarded throughout the war. On a mission, the bombardier's real job began at the IP. This was the point at which the bombing run on the target began; from this point on, the bombardier would fly the airplane through the bombsight linked to the autopilot.
American Flight Museum Inc.. C/n 20835 was an AC-47D "Spooky" gunship that served under the 14th Air Commando Wing in Vietnam. The AC-47Ds were initially equipped with three 7.62 mm SUU-11A Gatling Miniguns; one each in two window ports on the aircraft's port side and one in the port-side open loading door. The SUU-11As were later replaced with 7.62 mm MXU-470A Gatling Miniguns made by General Electric. These guns delivered 6,000 rounds per minute.
American Airpower Heritage Fly Museum. Sentimental Journey rolled off the Douglas assembly line in late 1944, and was accepted by the Army Air Corp on March 13, 1945. Manufactured too late to see service in the European war, the aircraft was assigned to the Pacific theater for the duration of the war. In 1947, the aircraft was removed from storage in Japan and assigned to Clark Field in Manila as a photo-mapping plane. For nearly three years she served in that capacity, flying to all corners of the Pacific in the configuration of a RB-17G.
Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located seven miles (11 km) west of the central business district of Glendale, in Maricopa County, Arizona.
