Lockheed C-130E Hercules
Towards the end of the Korean War, the USAF came to the realization that their transport fleet was becoming obsolete. The C-46 Commandos and C-47 Skytrains in service were no longer adequate, while the C-119 Flying Boxcar was having difficulties. In 1951, the USAF issued a requirement for a new tactical transport, an aircraft that would need to carry at least 72 passengers, be capable of dropping paratroopers, and have a ramp for loading vehicles directly into the cargo compartment. Moreover, it must be a “clean sheet” design, not a conversion from an existing airliner, and the USAF preferred it be a turboprop design. Five companies submitted designs, and six months later the USAF chose Lockheed’s L-402 design—over the misgivings of Lockheed’s chief designer, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who warned that the L-402 would destroy the company. Little was Johnson to know that, fifty years later, the L-402—designated C-130 Hercules by the USAF—would still be in production, and one out of only five aircraft to have over 50 years of service with the original purchaser.
The C-130 was designed to give mostly unfettered access to a large cargo compartment—the ramp forms an integral part of the rear fuselage, the wing is mounted above the fuselage, and the landing gear is carried in sponsons attached to the fuselage itself, while the fuselage has a circular design to maximize loading potential. The high wing also gives the C-130 good lift, especially in “high and hot” situations. The Allison T56 turboprop was designed specifically for the Hercules, and has gone on to become one of the most successful turboprop designs in history.
After two YC-130 prototypes, the Hercules went into production as the C-130A in 1956, to be superseded by the improved C-130B in 1959. The latter became the baseline Hercules variant: C-130As had three-blade propellers and a rounded “Roman” nose, while the B introduced the more familiar, longer radar nose and four-blade propellers. (Virtually all A models were later retrofitted to the long nose, though they kept the three-blade propellers.) In the 50 years hence, the basic C-130 design has not changed much: the C-130E introduced underwing external fuel tanks, while the C-130H has a slightly different wing. Even the new C-130J variant only introduced new engines with more fuel efficient six-bladed propellers: the basic design remains the same. Lockheed also offers stretched versions of the Hercules, initially as a civilian-only option (the L-100-30); the British Royal Air Force bought this version as the C-130K and it was later adopted by other nations, including the United States.
The basic C-130 is strictly a transport aircraft, but the versatility of the aircraft has meant it has been modified into a dizzying number of variants. These include the AC-130 Spectre gunship, the HC-130 rescue aircraft and WC-130 weather reconnaissance version. Other versions include several dozen EC-130 electronic warfare/Elint variants, KC-130 tankers, and DC-130 drone aircraft controllers. The USAF, the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps are all C-130 operators as well. Besides the United States, there are 67 other operators of C-130s, making it one of the world’s most prolific aircraft, with its only rivals the Bell UH-1 Iroquois family and the Antonov An-2 Colt biplane transport. C-130s are also used extensively by civilian operators as well as the L-100 series.
The “Herky Bird,” as it is often nicknamed, has participated in every military campaign fought by the United States since 1960 in one variation or the other. During Vietnam, it was used in almost every role imaginable, from standard transport to emergency bomber: as the latter, it dropped M121 10,000 pound mass-focus bombs to clear jungle away for helicopter landing zones, and it was even attempted to use C-130s with these bombs against the infamous Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. (Later this capability was added as standard to MC-130 Combat Talon special forces support aircraft; the MC-130 is the only aircraft cleared to carry the GBU-43 MOAB.) It was also instrumental in resupplying the Khe Sanh garrison during its three-month siege. Hercules crews paid the price as well: nearly 70 C-130s were lost during the Vietnam War. In foreign service, C-130s have also been used heavily, the most famous instance of which was likely the Israeli Entebbe Raid of 1976, one of the longest-ranged C-130 missions in history. C-130s are often in the forefront of humanitarian missions to trouble spots around the world, most recently in the 2011 Sendai earthquake disaster in Japan.
As of this writing, over 2300 C-130s have been built, and most are still in service. It remains the backbone of the USAF’s tactical transport service; attempts to replace it with the Advanced Tactical Transport Program (ATTP) in the 1980s and to supplement it with the C-27J Spartan in the 2000s both failed, as the USAF realized that the only real replacement for a C-130 is another C-130.
When 63-7868 joined the USAF in 1964, probably few could have predicted that it would have a 47-year career. The aircraft's first stop was the 464th Troop Carrier Wing at Pope AFB, North Carolina. It was almost its last stop: on 20 November 1964, 63-7868 was one of several 464th C-130s scrambled to Belgium to participate in Operation Red Dragon. In the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), Congolese rebels had seized hostages in Stanleyville. As Belgium did not have the airlift capability to send paratroopers that distance, it asked the USAF for assistance. The C-130s first dropped Belgian paratroopers over Stanleyville early on 23 November, then, once the hostages were freed, landed to evacuate 2000 civilians to Leopoldville. As 63-7868 was taking off, it was hit by ground fire that punctured a fuel tank. The crew elected to keep going and made the 800-mile trip on three engines, with 100 people aboard. For their actions during Red Dragon, all the crews involved were awarded the Mackay Trophy for 1964; the crew of 63-7868 were awarded Air Medals.
63-7868's career was far from over. in 1971, it was assigned to the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing at Clark AFB, Philippines, for operations over Vietnam. It would be more than the normal tactical airlift duties for 63-7868, however: it was seconded to Air America, the CIA's "secret airline" supplying friendly Laotians against the North Vietnamese and Communist Pathet Lao. Though 63-7868 kept its USAF markings and crew, it also carried CIA personnel aboard, and "officially" it never flew anywhere near Laos. This ended with American involvement in Southeast Asia in 1973, and 63-7868 went back to more mundane duties. It would leave Clark in 1987 for duties back in the United States, and would end a remarkable career in 2011 as a conversion trainer with the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. Because of its combat record, it was slated for preservation and was donated to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia.
As displayed currently, 63-7868 still wears its last color scheme of overall AMC Gray, with "The Rock" tail stripe carried by Little Rock AFB-assigned units. It remains in superb condition as of this writing.
Lockheed C-130E Hercules
Towards the end of the Korean War, the USAF came to the realization that their transport fleet was becoming obsolete. The C-46 Commandos and C-47 Skytrains in service were no longer adequate, while the C-119 Flying Boxcar was having difficulties. In 1951, the USAF issued a requirement for a new tactical transport, an aircraft that would need to carry at least 72 passengers, be capable of dropping paratroopers, and have a ramp for loading vehicles directly into the cargo compartment. Moreover, it must be a “clean sheet” design, not a conversion from an existing airliner, and the USAF preferred it be a turboprop design. Five companies submitted designs, and six months later the USAF chose Lockheed’s L-402 design—over the misgivings of Lockheed’s chief designer, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who warned that the L-402 would destroy the company. Little was Johnson to know that, fifty years later, the L-402—designated C-130 Hercules by the USAF—would still be in production, and one out of only five aircraft to have over 50 years of service with the original purchaser.
The C-130 was designed to give mostly unfettered access to a large cargo compartment—the ramp forms an integral part of the rear fuselage, the wing is mounted above the fuselage, and the landing gear is carried in sponsons attached to the fuselage itself, while the fuselage has a circular design to maximize loading potential. The high wing also gives the C-130 good lift, especially in “high and hot” situations. The Allison T56 turboprop was designed specifically for the Hercules, and has gone on to become one of the most successful turboprop designs in history.
After two YC-130 prototypes, the Hercules went into production as the C-130A in 1956, to be superseded by the improved C-130B in 1959. The latter became the baseline Hercules variant: C-130As had three-blade propellers and a rounded “Roman” nose, while the B introduced the more familiar, longer radar nose and four-blade propellers. (Virtually all A models were later retrofitted to the long nose, though they kept the three-blade propellers.) In the 50 years hence, the basic C-130 design has not changed much: the C-130E introduced underwing external fuel tanks, while the C-130H has a slightly different wing. Even the new C-130J variant only introduced new engines with more fuel efficient six-bladed propellers: the basic design remains the same. Lockheed also offers stretched versions of the Hercules, initially as a civilian-only option (the L-100-30); the British Royal Air Force bought this version as the C-130K and it was later adopted by other nations, including the United States.
The basic C-130 is strictly a transport aircraft, but the versatility of the aircraft has meant it has been modified into a dizzying number of variants. These include the AC-130 Spectre gunship, the HC-130 rescue aircraft and WC-130 weather reconnaissance version. Other versions include several dozen EC-130 electronic warfare/Elint variants, KC-130 tankers, and DC-130 drone aircraft controllers. The USAF, the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps are all C-130 operators as well. Besides the United States, there are 67 other operators of C-130s, making it one of the world’s most prolific aircraft, with its only rivals the Bell UH-1 Iroquois family and the Antonov An-2 Colt biplane transport. C-130s are also used extensively by civilian operators as well as the L-100 series.
The “Herky Bird,” as it is often nicknamed, has participated in every military campaign fought by the United States since 1960 in one variation or the other. During Vietnam, it was used in almost every role imaginable, from standard transport to emergency bomber: as the latter, it dropped M121 10,000 pound mass-focus bombs to clear jungle away for helicopter landing zones, and it was even attempted to use C-130s with these bombs against the infamous Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. (Later this capability was added as standard to MC-130 Combat Talon special forces support aircraft; the MC-130 is the only aircraft cleared to carry the GBU-43 MOAB.) It was also instrumental in resupplying the Khe Sanh garrison during its three-month siege. Hercules crews paid the price as well: nearly 70 C-130s were lost during the Vietnam War. In foreign service, C-130s have also been used heavily, the most famous instance of which was likely the Israeli Entebbe Raid of 1976, one of the longest-ranged C-130 missions in history. C-130s are often in the forefront of humanitarian missions to trouble spots around the world, most recently in the 2011 Sendai earthquake disaster in Japan.
As of this writing, over 2300 C-130s have been built, and most are still in service. It remains the backbone of the USAF’s tactical transport service; attempts to replace it with the Advanced Tactical Transport Program (ATTP) in the 1980s and to supplement it with the C-27J Spartan in the 2000s both failed, as the USAF realized that the only real replacement for a C-130 is another C-130.
When 63-7868 joined the USAF in 1964, probably few could have predicted that it would have a 47-year career. The aircraft's first stop was the 464th Troop Carrier Wing at Pope AFB, North Carolina. It was almost its last stop: on 20 November 1964, 63-7868 was one of several 464th C-130s scrambled to Belgium to participate in Operation Red Dragon. In the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), Congolese rebels had seized hostages in Stanleyville. As Belgium did not have the airlift capability to send paratroopers that distance, it asked the USAF for assistance. The C-130s first dropped Belgian paratroopers over Stanleyville early on 23 November, then, once the hostages were freed, landed to evacuate 2000 civilians to Leopoldville. As 63-7868 was taking off, it was hit by ground fire that punctured a fuel tank. The crew elected to keep going and made the 800-mile trip on three engines, with 100 people aboard. For their actions during Red Dragon, all the crews involved were awarded the Mackay Trophy for 1964; the crew of 63-7868 were awarded Air Medals.
63-7868's career was far from over. in 1971, it was assigned to the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing at Clark AFB, Philippines, for operations over Vietnam. It would be more than the normal tactical airlift duties for 63-7868, however: it was seconded to Air America, the CIA's "secret airline" supplying friendly Laotians against the North Vietnamese and Communist Pathet Lao. Though 63-7868 kept its USAF markings and crew, it also carried CIA personnel aboard, and "officially" it never flew anywhere near Laos. This ended with American involvement in Southeast Asia in 1973, and 63-7868 went back to more mundane duties. It would leave Clark in 1987 for duties back in the United States, and would end a remarkable career in 2011 as a conversion trainer with the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. Because of its combat record, it was slated for preservation and was donated to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia.
As displayed currently, 63-7868 still wears its last color scheme of overall AMC Gray, with "The Rock" tail stripe carried by Little Rock AFB-assigned units. It remains in superb condition as of this writing.