delivery system (ODS) for dropping
equipment from the back ramp, large
observation windows in the side of the
fuselage, the Cook AN/ARD-17 aerial
tracking system, and the remarkable
Fulton Surface-To-Air Recovery System
(Fulton STARS). These were all designed
to help the Herc locate space vehicles
during re-entry from space and then
recover lm and other ‘data packets’
from them.
A monorail in the cargo compartment
aligned with rails mounted externally
on the inward folding portion of the
cargo door formed the ODS. Stores
such as life rafts and medical supplies
were released manually or via the Self
Contained Navigation System (SCNS),
which computed such factors as altitude
and wind drift, allowing for precision
delivery of equipment.
Developed by the Cook Electric
Company for NASA’s manned space
ight program and housed in a large
radome above the forward fuselage,
the AN/ARD-17 was later used in
South-east Asia to pinpoint the locator
beacons of downed airmen. Work
began on the system in 1963 and ight-
testing started in 1965. It provided
the capability to detect radio signals
in the UHF and S-band frequencies.
The HC-130H was also equipped with
AN/APN-59 radar and an extensive
communications/navigation suite that
included automatic direction nding
(ADF) equipment.FULTON
STAR
First tested with live personnel by a
HC-130H at Edwards AFB, California,
on May 3, 1966, the Fulton STAR
(Surface-To-Air Recovery) system
was the most visible modi cation
to the airframe. A recon gured
radome provided mounting points
for the yokes of the STAR system
(that looked a little like whiskers).
Developed by the Robert Fulton
Company, the system allowed the
Hercules to retrieve personnel on
the ground. Wearing a protective
suit and harness, the subject was
attached via a cable to a helium-
lled balloon. The tethered balloon
and cable were snared by the
aircraft’s v-shaped yokes and a
rotating anchor secured the cable
to the aircraft. The rescuee was then
pulled airborne, carried into the
aircraft’s slipstream and reeled into
the fuselage through the open rear
ramp. The balloon was subsequently
cut away by a crewmember.HC-130H into service
The rst of 43 HC-130Hs (serial 64-14852)
ew at Lockheed’s Marietta, Georgia, plant
on November 30, 1964, before it entered
ight-testing at Edwards AFB, California,
on February 28, 1965. Four additional
aircraft eventually supported testing at
Edwards, which concluded on December
31, 1966.
The rst operational HC-130H was
delivered to the 48th Air Recovery
Squadron (ARS) at Eglin AFB, Florida, when
serial 64-14860 arrived on July 26, 1965.
Fielding to South-east Asia in support
of the Combat Aircrew Recovery (ACR)
mission began when two examples,
previously operated by the 79th and 36th
ARS, arrived at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force
Base (RTAFB), Thailand, in December that
year, with the aircraft being assigned
to Det 1, 37th Aerospace Rescue and
Recovery Squadron (ARRS).
Throughout the war in South-east
Asia, the HC-130s were operated by the
37th ARRS and later the 39th, 56th, and
nally the 40th ARRS, and they used the
radio callsigns ‘Crown’ and later ‘King’.
In addition to serving in the Airborne
Mission Commander (AMC) role, the
aircraft provided aerial refueling for HH-3
Jolly Green Giants and HH-53 Super Jolly
combat rescue helicopters. Operations in
South-east Asia came to a close with the
inactivation of the 40th ARRS at Korat on
January 31, 1976.
HC-130H serial 65-0988 was the rst
to be modi ed to tanker con guration,This image:
HC-130P serial
65-0978 of the
106th RQW refuels
an HH-60G near
the Montauk Point
lighthouse in New
York on August
20, 1992. Tom
Kaminski
Left: The Fulton
STAR (Surface-
To-Air Recovery)
system on an
MC-130E. USAFTYPE REPORT // HC-130N/P
70 August 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
68-77 MC-130 C.indd 70 20/06/2019 22:37