In early 1969, the dense jungles of Vietnam trembled under the dominion of the AC-47 gunship, affectionately known as Puff, the Magic Dragon. Its aged engines roared like a living beast of the air while its trio of miniguns promised swift justice from above, while its flares made an artificial day out of even the darkest of nights.

This airborne guardian typically reigned supreme, its maneuvers cloaked in the night, rendering it nearly invincible.

Yet, an unexpected trial emerged on the night of February 24, 1969.

Hovering above Long Binh Army Post, Spooky 71 encountered catastrophe when a mortar round tore through the aircraft, knocking out the crew in the back of the aircraft and injuring them with pieces of shrapnel.

When Airman First Class John Levitow, the loadmaster, woke up, he immediately helped a wounded airman away from the doorway when he noticed a small cloud of smoke.

Just then, he noticed the real threat: the smoke came from an active magnesium MK-24 flare, powerful 27-pound metal canisters that would burn at 4,000°F to light up the night with a 2 million candlepower intensity.

Loadmaster Levitow then watched in horror as the flaming ticking time bomb bounced around the cabin, threatening to ignite over 20,000 rounds of mini-gun ammunition all at once...

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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.

As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.

All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.