D
EVELOPED FOR THE Military
Air Transport Service’s
(MATS) Air Rescue Service
(ARS), the Combat King
has taken on many guises
over its long service career
with the US Air Force. The type first
flew under the designation HC-130H in
December 1964, with the variant initially
planned as a replacement for the ARS’
Douglas HC-54Ds and Boeing HC-97Gs.
Converted for the specialist rescue
mission by Convair in Fort Worth, Texas,
the HC-54Ds were known appropriately
as ‘Rescuemasters’, with the last examples
being retired in June 1966. The HC-97G
was a modified KC-97G, with 29 tankers
flown in what was an interim rescue
configuration until retirement in 1972.
The HC-130H was based on the airframe
of the C-130E, but featured 4,910shp
(3,661kW) Allison T56-A-15 turboprop
engines, which offered increased power
over the C-130E’s powerplants and served
to improve the aircraft’s high-altitude/hot weather performance. Additionally,
the HC-130H was kitted out with a pair of
underwing 1,360-gallon fuel tanks that
increased its unrefueled range to 2,250nm
(4,167km), meaning it could stay aloft for
up to 12 hours — perfect for long-range
search and rescue (SAR) missions over
the open ocean. As well as SAR, they
were also tasked with satellite recovery
and could act as a command and control
(C2) platform.
The HC-130H carried some specialist
kit to assist its role, with an overheadKnown as the Combat King, the HC-130N and
HC-130P variants of the Lockheed Hercules
have supported the USAF’s combat search and
rescue (CSAR) mission since the mid-1960s.
Today, just a handful of these old models
remain in service with a single Air Force
Reserve Command (AFRC) unit.REPORT Tom Kaminski
This image: HC-130N serial
69-5828 refueling a 39th
Aerospace Rescue and
Recovery Wing HH-53 off
the coast of Greenland
en route from Eglin AFB to
RAF Woodbridge, UK. This
example was converted to
an MC-130P before being
retired to AMARG in August- USAF
Inset: Capt Daniel Morgese
(left) and Lt Col John Lowe
in the first HC-130P, ready
for the delivery flight to
AMARG on March 6, 2017.
USAF/Maj Cathleen Snow
http://www.combataircraft.net // August 2019 69
68-77 MC-130 C.indd 69 20/06/2019 22:37