Puff (nicknamed "Spooky" by the men in Vietnam) carries three Gatling guns, each of which fires 6000 rpm - totaling 18,000 rpm. On these AC-47 missions of seek and destroy the ground contact is the Vietnamese airman who goes on every mission in order to verify the target and also to receive the final permission to fire. This is the required procedure, as against returning fire if fired upon. Upon verification of the target the pilot is in complete command, ordering the Loadmaster, who is stationed by the open port door, to jettison flares to light up the target. The pilot also fires the guns, using the sight by his left shoulder and pressing the fire button on the wheel beneath his left thumb. This painting is a composite of three missions on which I went along in to areas of Vietnam. The first two missions were in the Mekong Delta at Binh Thuy. On the first mission we found a target. But the radio conked out and we had to go back to the base to get another plane. (Though we had a target, as evidenced by the ground fire at us, we did not return fire because we could not verify the target.) On a second mission, from midnight to 6 a.m., the moon was full and "Charlie" wasn't moving down below. The third mission was from Bien Hoa, north of Saigon. After firing on a target, we pulled out of the area with the approach of the B-52's on their bombing run.