78 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS
1918 2018Type: Five-crew medium-range tactical transport aircraft
First fl ight: August 23, 1954 (YC-130); entered service April 1967 (C-130K)
Powerplant: Four 4,910shp (3,661kW) Allison T-56 turboprops
Dimensions: Span 132ft 8in (40.44m), length 113ft 9in (34.67m)
Weights: Empty 75,800lb (34,383kg), all-up 175,000lb (79,380kg)
Max speed: 374mph (603km/h) at 22,000ft (6,706m)
Range: 2,487 miles (4,002km)
Capacity: 128 troops, 93 stretcher cases or 42,000lb (19,051kg) of freight.
Replaced: Blackburn Beverley, Handley Page Hastings
Taken on charge: 92 (66 C Mk.1, ten C Mk.4 and 15 C Mk.5)
Replaced by: N /ALOCKHEED HERCULES C.3
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules
has been the mainstay of the
RAF’s transport fleet for more
than 50 years... and there’s no sign
of it retiring just yet.
This legendary type’s basic design
traces its history to 1951 when the
USAF issued a General Operational
Requirement for a cargo aircraft to
replace its large fleets of World War
Two-era piston-engined transports.
Lockheed responded with its L-206
design, which the USAF chose as
the winning contender, ordering
two YC-130A prototypes. A key
feature was the introduction of the
Allison T56 turboprop powerplant,
developed for the C-130.
The first production C-130A
Hercules entered USAF service
in December 1956 and Lockheed
has gone on to produce more than
2,500 airframes for air forces around
the globe.UK SERVICE
In the early 1960s the future
of RAF transport aircraft was
envisaged to be completely
‘home-grown’ with the jet-
powered vertical take-off capable
Armstrong Whitworth AW681
due to replace the piston-powered
Blackburn Beverley and Handley
Page Hastings transports, while
augmenting the Armstrong
Whitworth Argosy turboprop.
However, the cancellation of the
AW681, before it had even left the
drawing board, left the RAF in
desperate need of a new cargo lifter.
The decision was therefore made to
order a fleet of 66 C-130K Hercules,which would be known to the RAF
as the Hercules C Mk.1.
Royal Air Force Hercules were
effectively C-130H models in all but
name. Compared to earlier examples,
the ‘H’ had updated T56-A-15
turboprops, a re-designed outer wing,
and updated avionics. As part of the
deal, large sections of the fuselage
would be manufactured by Scottish
Aviation and shipped to Lockheed’s
plant in Georgia for assembly.
The first C-130K for the RAF
(XV176) performed its maiden
flight on October 19, 1966 and
was delivered to the UK two
months later. It entered RAF service
with 242 OCU at RAF Thorney
Island, Sussex in April 1967 and
the first operational unit would
be 36 Squadron at RAF Lyneham,
Wiltshire, which began receiving
aircraft from August 1, 1967. In
1970, all UK-based ‘Herk’ units1966 TO PRESENT
were concentrated at Lyneham,
where they would remain for more
than 40 years.
The RAF Hercules fleet went on to
fly with units based around the globe,
beginning with 48 Squadron at
Changi, Singapore in October 1967.FLEET CHANGES
Defence cuts in 1975 led to 13
Hercules being retired and both
36 and 48 Squadrons disbanded
to leave just four UK-based
operational entities (24, 30, 47 and
57 Squadrons).
However, three years later it was
announced that 30 of the remaining
Hercules were to be upgraded and
‘stretched’. The resulting C.3 had
a 100in (2.54m) plug inserted aft
of the cockpit and an 80in (2.03m)
extension in the rear fuselage. The
work was undertaken by Marshall
of Cambridge and the first modifiedhe Lockheed C-130 HerculesLOCKHEED
HERCULES
Above
Lockheed Martin C-130J
Hercules C.5 ZH887
was delivered to RAF
Lyneham in October
1999 and remains
on strength with 24
Squadron. ANDY HAY/
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