FAIRCHILD AC-119K STINGER

The Fairchild AC-119 was a US Cold War close air support aircraft. The prototype flight took place in 1968. The machine was commissioned by the USAF in 1968 to be withdrawn from it in 1971. In total, 52 examples of this aircraft were built. The drive was provided by two motors Wright R-3350 with 3,549 hp each . Additionally, the AC-119 K version uses two turbojet engines General Electric J85-GE-17 . The armament - in the AC-119G version - consisted of four 7.62 mm machine guns and two 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannons. The Fairchild AC-119 was a far-reaching upgrade to the C-119 Flying Boxcar transport aircraft that was to replace the AC-47 Spooky in the line. The AC-119 aircraft was created as a result of the demand reported by the troops fighting in Vietnam for a completely new close fire support aircraft. Two variants of the AC-119 were created. The first (AC-119G) was armed with four machine guns and a relatively simple fire control system. It was created by rebuilding the C-119G aircraft. The second version (AC-119K) was more advanced: small jet engines were added to it, which made it possible to take off with a larger load, had stronger on-board armament, and much more extensive on-board electronics and a fire control system. Both versions underwent their baptism of fire in 1969. Machines of this type also served in the South Vietnamese aviation until 1975.