Herculean achievement for RAAF C-130s

For 50 years now in RAAF service the C-130 has certainly been a welcome sight to mothers and fathers across Australia and the region. As the Air Force’s primary airlifter in that time it has provided aid and aeromedical evacuations in times of need, from Darwin’s Cyclone Tracy in 1974 to the western New South Wales floods of 1990, the 1998 Katherine floods, the 2006 Boxing Day tsunami and the 2002 Bali bombings. In 1989 the Hercules’s face was one airline passengers could love too, as RAAF C-130s operated passenger flights around Australia during the infamous pilots’ strike/dispute.

But then there is the C-130’s outstanding operational record, from airlifting supplies to and injured troops home from Vietnam, to operations across the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan today.

That operational record more than fulfils the expectations RAAF planners had for the aircraft when the original C-130A model Hercules was selected to replace the Dakota in 1955.

“. . . the mission unanimously recommends that the Lockheed C-130A. . . . fitted with Allison T56-A1 turbo propeller engines as being the only KEEPS ON KEEPING ON Two RAAF C-130Js and a C-130H fly along the New South Wales coastline to commemorate the type’s 50th anniversary of RAAF service. (LAC Christopher Dickson/RAAF) transport aircraft that conforms with all the important features of the Air Staff Requirement. . ,” reported the Defence Air Mission tasked with finding a new airlifter. How right they were.

The first of 12 C-130As for the RAAF, operated by 36 Squadron, was formally accepted by then Australian ambassador to the United States Howard Beale in a ceremony at Lockheed’s Marietta plant on December 5 1958.

“The C-130 is admirably suited for the use of the Australian armed forces as a transport for long distances,” Ambassador Beale said. “This is an occasion of special significance in that it gives tangible evidence of the cooperation between Australia and the United States in the military field. ” The first batch of five C‑130As ferried across the Pacific together, leaving the following day and arriving at RAAF Richmond on December 13 – marking the start of the RAAF’s Hercules era.

“Various models of Hercules aircraft have been the backbone of many of the Australian Defence Force’s most important operations during the past 50 years,” said Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin, in marking the anniversary. “The Hercules have provided combat airlift capability, including tactical transport of troops and cargo as well as special forces insertion, parachuting and air drops. ” The original 12 C‑130As (the last A model Hercs built) were joined from August 1966 by 12 C-130E models, operated by 37 Squadron (also from Richmond). In turn, 36 Squadron’s C-130As were replaced by 12 C-130Hs delivered over July to October 1978. All 12 H models still serve alongside 12 stretched C-130J-30s delivered from 2000. Today an expanded 37SQN operates both the C-130Hs and Js after 36SQN transferred to Amberley to operate the C-17.

“In recent years, our C-130 Hercules have seen more active duty than any other aircraft in the RAAF. This service has been widely appreciated across the ADF. Today three RAAF Hercules are based in the Middle East, and continue to provide vital airlift support to Australian and Coalition forces,” AIRMSHL Binskin said.

“In marking 50 years of C‑130 service, we recognise the dedication of the thousands of air crew, ground and support personnel and contractors who have worked hard to fly and maintain the Hercules in Australia and in deployed locations around the world. ” The RAAF marked the anniversary at Richmond on November 1 with a family day for 37SQN and then a ‘hangar bash’ for current and former members who have worked on the Hercules. AIRMSHL Binskin, Chief of Defence Force ACM Angus Houston and Lockheed Martin’s vice president of business development for global mobility and special operations forces, Jim Grant, were among the attendees.

Further milestones will likely come the C-130’s way in RAAF service. The young C-130Js can be expected to serve for many years yet, while the ageing C-130Hs could be replaced by a smaller number of additional C-130Js, depending on the finding’s of the RAAF’s current Airlift Study and the Defence White Paper process.

Certainly, the Herc’s face will be familiar to the RAAF for some time to come yet.