Amazing Aircraft: The Versatile and Indispensable, The Hercules

If there is one military aircraft that is described as versatile and indispensable because of the wide variety of roles it can play depending on the mission profile, the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which first flew 61 years ago today, on August 23, 1954 comes to mind. And many sources and experts would agree... Appropriately named, the Hercules is capable of of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings and perform a variety of roles through different variants of the aircraft, which range from troop transport, medivac, cargo, humanitarian relief, gunship, airborne assault, scientific research, search and rescue, weather reconnaissance, maritime patrol, aerial refueling, aerial firefighting, and much more. There are over 40 different models and variants of the C-130 Hercules is in service with more than 60 countries worldwide.

Nevada Air National Guard C-130H Hercules at the 2014 Reno Air Races.

Along with the English Electric Canberra, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Tupolev Tu-95, and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, the C-130 Hercules is among aircraft to be in 50 years of continuous use with its original primary customer, in this case, the United States Air Force; to this day, the aircraft remains in continuous production, with the newer, updated C-130J Super Hercules succeeding older models. Other models of the aircraft include:

• the AC-130 Spectre/Spooky/Ghostrider/Stinger II fixed-wing ground-attack and close air support gunship.
• the DC-130 drone control aircraft.
• the EC-130 airborne communications jamming aircraft.
• the HC-130 search and rescue (SAR) and combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft. 
• the KC-130 aerial refueling tanker aircraft, mainly used by the United States Marine Corps.
• the LC-130 ski-equipped transport mainly used for arctic and antarctic operations.
• the MC-130 Combat Talon I/Combat Talon II/Combat/Dragon Spear/Combat Shadow/Commando II, used for clandestine special operations with STOL capabilities.
• the WC-130 Hurricane Hunter used for weather reconnaissance.
• the L-100 civilian variant used for freight transport.

Alaska Air National Guard C-130H at the 2009 Reno Air Races.

In its 50 plus years of service, the Hercules saw much action and great usage throughout the Cold War and into the 21st Century. With great versatility, the C-130 was often used for experimental testing which pushed the capabilities of the aircraft beyond the limit. The Hercules, to this day holds the record for being the heaviest fixed-wing aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier. Between October and November of 1963, a USMC C-130 made 29 touch-and-go landings, 21 unarrested full-stop landings and 21 unassisted take-offs on the USS Forrestal (CV-59) at a number of different weights to test the feasibility of a Hercules playing the role of "Carrier Onboard Delivery" (COD) operations. Though the tests were considered successful, the idea was scrapped because it was considered too risky due to the aircraft's size. Instead, the COD role was given to the smaller Grumman C-2 Greyhound. 

C-130s also saw operational service in its usual roles during the Vietnam War, often staging from airbases in Japan and Thailand, as well as lesser conflicts in the Middle East and see's service today. Another experimental use for the C-130 occurred during the Iran Hostage Crisis. After the failure of Operation Eagle Claw, a C-130 was extensively modified with rockets, effectively creating a "super-STOL aircraft" capable of landing inside an Iranian soccer stadium and dispatch special forces soldiers to initiate rescue. The undertaking was known as Operation Credible Sport. The mission was failure during testing due to human error, when a set of rockets were fired prematurely, which brought the aircraft down; fortunately, no crews were harmed in the incident. The operation was ultimately scrapped when the hostages were eventually released concurrent with the election of Ronald Reagan. In a follow-on project, Credible Sport II led to the development of the MC-130 variant of the Hercules aircraft.

Overall, the C-130 is seen as a general support aircraft in a variety of roles, supporting military troops and civilians whenever the need arises. It's probably safe to say the Hercules can be called upon to support areas of conflict or whenever disaster arises. One such famous Hercules is the support aircraft for the United States Navy's premier air demonstration team, the Blue Angels. Nicknamed "Fat Albert," the team's C-130T Hercules is actually operated by the United States Marine Corps despite the fact they support a Naval team.

The United States Marine Corps C-130T Hercules famously known as "Fat Albert" parked on the ramp at the 2015 Oregon International Air Show.

Let's wish this venerable military workhorse a happy 61st birthday and may it's building legacy continue to be recognized as it continues operating for the military men and women as well as the civilians of the world wherever the need arises.