Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Military tactical transport

Power Plant:

Four 3,430 kw (4,490 eshp) Allison T56-A-15 turboprops

Specifications:

History:

Following the success of the C-130E, development of the Hercules has continued. The C-130F was a transport version for the US Navy; the HC-130G was for the US Coast Guard for search and rescue duties; and the C-130H was basically a C-130E model with up-rated engines. The Hercules C Mk 1 (C-130K) was a version of the C-130H for the RAF. After a short time a new variant of the C-130H, which featured various refinements, was placed in production, and became known as the ‘Advanced H’. Development continued to the C-130J, which is dealt with separately.

Twelve C-130Hs (A97-001 to A97-012) were ordered for the RAAF to replace the C-130A aircraft with No 36 Squadron at Richmond, NSW. The first of these was received in mid-1978 and they became A97-001 (c/n 4789); A97-002 (c/n 4782); A97-003 (c/n 4783); A97-004 (c/n 4784); A97-005 (c/n 4785); A97-006 (c/n 4786); A97-007 (c/n 4787); A97-008 (c/n 4788); A97-009 (c/n 4789); A97-010 (c/n 4790); A97-011 (c/n 4791) and A97-012 (c/n 4793). With their camouflage, they were easily distinguishable from the –E and -J models, although eventually they were re-painted overall grey.

Five examples of the C-130H(NZ) [NZ7001 to NZ7005] were also purchased for the RNZAF and have been attached to No 40 Squadron at Whenuapai. The RNZAF Hercules have been used for civil work, eg two were sent to the tsunami affected regions of Indonesia and Thailand in 2005. More than 40 years old, these aircraft have been upgraded over the years to extend their life. In December 2004 a contract was entered with Spar Aerospace to extend the life of the C-130Hs for a further 14 years, this including replacement of mechanical avionics and structural components, and design and installation of flight deck communications and navigation instruments, work beginning at Edmonton, Canada, on the first aircraft in early 2006, the other four aircraft being converted at the Safe Air Ltd facility at Blenheim, NZ.

However, the operational life of the New Zealand Hercules is coming to an end, with an expected retirement to take place in February 2020. Work has been proceeding within the RNZAF to find a suitable replacement. In recent times an Airbus A-400M has been flown to New Zealand to be demonstrated to Government and Air Force personnel. The Lockheed C-130J has also been examined, as has the Brazilian-built Embraer KC-390 transport fitted with two International Aero Engines V2500-E5 twin-shaft high-bypass turbofans, an example of this aircraft being demonstrated in New Zealand late 2016. The latter was expected to be the front runner as it is considerably cheaper than the other two but in the event in 2019 the New Zealand Government announced it was obtaining five examples of the C-130J.

The Hercules, the lifeline of Australian servicemen in Vietnam, hauled large quantities of supplies necessary to sustain the Australian forces in that conflict, and returned with the wounded. The type was also regularly operated to the RAAF base at Butterworth in Malaysia, supplying the two Mirage Squadrons (Nos 3 and 75). The type has also been used during national disasters, such as the evacuation of people from flooded areas, and the dropping of fodder to drought-stricken farms. C-130s were prominent in the relief of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy in December 1974, in assistance to Tonga early in 1982 following a cyclone, operations in Timor, and similar operations in this region over the years. Later it was operated on supply missions to troops on operations in the Middle East.

The C-130H has a flight crew of four, and a maximum of 92 fully-equipped troops, 64 paratroops, or 74 casualty stretchers with two medical attendants. As a cargo carrier, up to six pre-loaded freight pallets may be carried. The type has been used for a variety of roles, one interesting one being the AC-130A gunship with four 20-mm cannon and four 7.62 mm (0.3 in) miniguns. Some were converted to carry RPVs, others for tracking missiles and spacecraft, examples for photo mapping, weather reconnaissance, ski-equipped for Antarctic operations, the AC-130E close-support gunship for operations in Vietnam, the HC-130N for retrieving space capsules, HC-130P for refuelling combat helicopters, tanker variants etc.

The Hercules has also been developed into stretched versions, initially for civil operations. The first was the L-100-20, which was lengthened by 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in), this model being certificated in October 1968. The L-100-30 was lengthened even further than the L-100-20 by 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) and first flew in August 1970. It is this variant which has been most popular amongst civil operators. Only the C-103H and C-130J remain in service.

In early 2006 the Australian Government ordered four Lockheed Martin (Boeing) C-17 heavy lift transports to meet the requirements of the RAAF and at the same time announced that once the aircraft were in service the fleet of C-130H transports would be reduced to six aircraft, these six to be upgraded and to specialise in supporting Australian Army Special Forces units in the tactical transport role. By late 2012 the service of the C-130H was running down, the Australian Government announcing it was presenting four of the aircraft to Indonesia. At that time discussions were taking place with a view to the remainder of the C-130H fleet being refurbished and sold to the Indonesian Government. In July 2013 the Australian Government announced five more C-130Hs had been sold to the Indonesian Government “at a discounted rate”. The last to be delvered was A97-008 on 15 February 2020, bedoming A-1388.

Five of the C-130Hs ended up operating with the Indonesian Air Force, these becoming A-1330 (ex A97-006), A-1331 (ex A97-009), A-1332 (ex A97-003), A-1333 (ex A97-001) and A-1334 (ex A97-005). Two more were destined for export to Indonesia, being A97-010 and A97-012 but they remained at Richmond and were broken up for spares. One of the ex-RAAF Hercules A-1334 (ex A97-005) crashed and was destroyed whilst landing at Wanoman in Papua on 16 December 2016.

The last RAAF C-130H heavy airdrop took place on 3 October 2012 at the Londonderry Drop Zone on the outskirts of Sydney when a 10-tonne bulldozer was delivered by low altitude parachute extraction. During RAAF service the C-130H flew 244,613 hours. Two aircraft (A97-005 and A97-008) flew a farewell over Sydney. Four were transferred to Indonesia, as noted. One was preserved for training at Richmond with No 285 Squadron. A97-011 was flown to Point Cook for the RAAF Museum, and the remainder were placed on the market for sale by tender.