Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 12:17, 12 April 2013

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has operated a total of 48 Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The type entered Australian service in 1958, when No. 36 Squadron accepted the first of twelve C-130As. In 1966 they were joined by twelve C-130Es, which equipped No. 37 Squadron. The C-130As were replaced by twelve C-130Hs in 1978, and the C-130Es by twelve C-130J Super Hercules in 1999. The C-130Hs were retired in 2012, leaving the C-130J as the only model in Australian service. The RAAF's first strategic airlifter, the Hercules became synonymous with disaster relief in Australia and the Pacific region, as well as overseas peacekeeping efforts.

Acquisition

By the end of World War II, the RAAF's prime transport aircraft was the twin-engined Douglas C-47 Dakotas. In 1946, C-47 operations were concentrated under No. 86 Wing and its three flying squadrons, Nos. 36, 37, and 38, based initially at RAAF Station Schofields, New South Wales. Despite the robustness and versatility of the Dakota, by the early 1950s the Air Force was looking for a replacement with greater cargo capacity and longer range, better able to facilitate deployment and supply of Australian forces. In 1954, the RAAF embarked on a major re-equipment drive, following a shift in defence funding that favoured the Air Force. The Air Officer Commanding Home Command, Air Vice Marshal Alister Murdoch, led a mission overseas to examine potential new fighter, bomber, transport and training aircraft. Among the mission's proposals was to acquire Lockheed C-130 Hercules transports to replace the ageing Dakota. The Hercules represented a quantum leap over the C-47 in payload, range, speed and maneuverability, as well as offering cabin pressurisation, short-takeoff-and-landing capability, and bulk loading and despatch via its rear cargo door. Described as second only to the General Dynamics F-111C as the "most significant" purchase by the RAAF, the Hercules gave the Air Force its first strategic airlift capability, which in years to come could provide a "lifeline" for Australian forces deployed to Malaya, Vietnam, and other parts of South East Asia.

RAAF crews began training on the Hercules in the middle of 1958 at Stewart Air Force Base in Nashville, Tennessee. Much of the training took place on a simulator, augmented by approximately fifty hours flying time in the actual aircraft. To cope with the requirements of Hercules crewing, the mustering of flight engineer, absent from the RAAF since World War II, was reinstated. A new mustering, that of loadmaster, was also instituted; crewmen performing similar duties on Dakotas had done so on an ad hoc rather than a permanent basis, without a distinct airman category having been formalised. The Hercules' twenty-tonne freight capacity—compared to three-and-a-half tonnes in a Dakota—and its various systems for delivering cargo, necessitated a specialist crew member to make weight-and-balance calculations and oversee loading and despatch. The RAAF's new C-130As were picked up by their Australian pilots from the Lockheed factory at Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia, between December 1958 and January 1959. Australia's purchase made it the first country outside the United States to operate the Hercules.

A further twelve C-130s were ordered in 1965. At this time the C-130As were being used to supply the Australian forces engaged in the Vietnam War. This task revealed that the RAAF lacked sufficent long-ranged transport aircraft to simultaneously support overseas deployments and the force's domestic requirements Australia. As a result, twelve C-130E Hercules were ordered in February 1965 , and these aircraft were delivered between August 1966 and January 1967. The long-serving C-130As were replaced by new Hercules in the late 1970s. Twelve C-130Hs were ordered in June 1976, and deliveries took place between July and October 1978.

The Australian Government ordered twelve C-130J Hercules in December 1995. The RAAF was the first operator of this new C-130 variant, which began to be delivered during 1999. These aircraft were found to suffer from a range of mechanical and software problems, and were assessed as "experiencing significant operational shortfalls" in a 2002 Australian National Audit Office report. The 2009 Defence white paper Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 called for the acquisition of an additional two C-130Js to partially replace the H variants. This purchase did not go ahead, with the government ordering a fifth C-17 instead.

Operational service

No. 36 Squadron became the first RAAF unit to operate the Hercules when it took delivery of twelve C-130As between December 1958 and March 1959 at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales. Almost immediately they established regular courier services within Australia and to RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaya. Crew training was rigorous, and from mid-1960 involved the use of a simulator. Only seasoned transport pilots flew the Hercules in its early years of service, generally having undertaken a tour of duty with No. 38 Squadron's Dakotas. The official history of the post-war Air Force described the Hercules as "probably the biggest step-up in aircraft capabilities" the RAAF had ever received, considering it roughly four times as effective as the Dakota, taking into account the improvements in payload, range, and speed. When No. 78 (Fighter) Wing and its two squadrons of CAC Sabres deployed to Butterworth between October 1958 and February 1959, seven Dakotas were required to ferry the staff and equipment of No. 3 Squadron from Australia to Malaya, compared to two Hercules for No. 77 Squadron. The Hercules were serviced by No. 486 Maintenance Squadron, while deeper maintenance and upgrades were carried out by No. 2 Aircraft Depot, both units being based at Richmond. The availability of spare parts from the US caused problems early on, resulting in one C-130A remaining grounded for almost a year.

RAAF forces based at Ubon, Thailand, under SEATO arrangements from May 1962—consisting primarily of eight Sabres of No. 79 Squadron—were supplied by a regular Hercules service. In December that year, the Hercules made their first troop-carrying flights into a combat zone, when one of No. 36 Squadron's C-130s joined a Commonwealth airlift from Singapore to Borneo at the commencement of the Konfrontasi between Indonesia and Malaysia; similar missions would be undertaken for a further five years. In 1964, the first two Dassault Mirage III fighters to be assembled in Australia were flown in pieces from France to the Government Aircraft Factory at Avalon, Victoria, by RAAF Hercules. The same year, following the entry into Australian service of the de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou with No. 38 Squadron, No. 486 Squadron was disbanded and its equipment and staff divided between Nos. 36 and 38 Squadrons. The RAAF's force of twelve C-130A Hercules was augmented by twelve C-130Es commencing in February 1966. No. 37 Squadron, disbanded in 1948, was re-formed at Richmond to operate the new models. No. 486 Squadron was also re-formed to provide maintenance for both Hercules squadrons. No. 36 Squadron's tasking was mainly domestic and tactical in nature, and No. 37 Squadron's overseas and strategic, owing to the longer range of its C-130Es. In May 1967, three Hercules of No. 37 Squadron supported Operation Fast Caravan, the deployment of twenty-three Mirages of No. 75 Squadron to Butterworth.

During the late 1960s, forty-two per cent of Hercules flying hours was in support of Australian Army operations. The C-130s undertook long-range missions in support of Australian forces in Vietnam including aero-medical evacuations conveying wounded soldiers back to Australia, generally via Butterworth. On 5 February 1967, one of No. 37 Squadron's Hercules was the first Australian strategic transport aircraft to land at Vung Tau. The unit also transported forces out of Vietnam following the Australian withdrawal from the conflict in December 1972. As well as participating in military exercises and overseas peacekeeping commitments, the Hercules became well known in the Southern Pacific after being called on for relief following many natural disasters including tidal waves in New Guinea, cyclones in the Solomons and Tonga, and fires and floods in Australia. It played a significant part in the evacuation of civilians following Cyclone Tracy in Darwin, Northern Territory, in 1974–75; a No. 37 Squadron C-130E was the first aircraft to touch down in Darwin following the disaster. The Hercules also evacuated Australian embassy personnel from Saigon, South Vietnam, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Having remained in service for twenty years and clocked up 147,000 accident-free flying hours, No. 36 Squadron's C-130As were replaced in 1978 by C-130H models. That November, a C-130H became the first Australian Hecules to land in Antarctica, at McMurdo Sound. In January–February 1979, two No. 37 Squadron C-130Es evacuated Australian and other foreign embassy staff from Tehran, shortly before the collapse of royal rule during the Iranian Revolution.

In 1986, No. 37 Squadron transported the Popemobiles on John Paul II's tour of Australia; its other unusual cargoes have included kangaroos and sheep to Malaysia, and archaeological exhibits from China. In February 1987, Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons joined No. 33 Squadron (flying Boeing 707 tanker/transports) as part of a reformed No. 86 Wing under the newly established Air Lift Group. The following year, No. 37 Squadron's Hercules achieved 200,000 accident-free flying hours. No. 36 Squadron achieved 100,000 accident-free flying hours on the C-130H in 1990. Along with 707s, the Hercules were employed by the Federal government to provide air transport during the pilots' dispute that curtailed operations by the two domestic airlines in 1989, evacuated Australian nationals from the Middle East during the first Gulf War in 1990–91, and transported Australian troops to and from Somalia as part of Operation Solace in 1993. Six Hercules evacuated over 450 civilians from Cambodia following the coup in July 1997. No. 37 Squadron re-equipped with new-model C-130J Hercules in 1999. A detachment of Hercules from Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons supported INTERFET operations in East Timor between September 1999 and February 2000. Hercules of Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons joined relief efforts following the Bali Bombings in October 2002. In February 2003, a rotating detachment of three Hercules deployed to the Persian Gulf to support the Australian contribution to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, amassing 20,000 operational flying hours by March 2010. No. 36 Squadron Hercules took part in Operation Sumatra Assist in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

RAAF C-130 operations were concentrated in No. 37 Squadron in November 2006, when No. 36 Squadron transferred its C-130Hs prior to re-equipping with the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy transports and relocating to Amberley. The RAAF's contribution to Operation Papua New Guinea Assist following Cyclone Guba in November 2007 included two Hercules, three Caribous, and a Globemaster. During the late 1990s one of the C-130Hs was fitted with extensive signals intelligence equipment under the classified "Project Peacemate"; this aircraft was reported to still be active in the signals intelligence role in 2008. In concert with Globemasters, the Hercules transported medical staff and equipment to aid victims of the Christchurch earthquake in February 2011.

In May 2012 the Government announced as part of the 2012-13 Budget that the remaining eight C-130Hs would be withdrawn from service a year earlier than previously scheduled. The aircraft were subsequently were retired on the 30th of November that year. Two of the C-130Hs were retained by the Air Force for display at the RAAF Museum and non-flying training purposes at Richmond, four were donated to the Indonesian Air Force and the RAAF was reported to be considering options for the disposal of the other six. By the time the C-130H fleet was retired the twelve aircraft had flown almost 250,000 hours.

References

Citations

1. Parnell; Lynch, Australian Air Force Since 1911, p. 165
2. ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 92–93
3. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 43, 416
4. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 38–39
5. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 416–18
6. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 165–166
7. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 418–420
8. ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 97–98
9. Wilson, Military Aircraft of Australia, pp. 134–135
10. Wilson, Military Aircraft of Australia, p. 135
11. "Herculean research effort for a key Defence aircraft" (PDF). Defence Science Australia. 2 (4): pp. 2-3. December 2011. ISSN 1838-0093. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
12. Australian National Audit Office, Test and Evaluation of Major Defence Equipment Acquisitions, pp. 95–97
13. "Upgrade for RAAF C-130Js approved, but no sign of extra Js". Australian Aviation. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
14. "What the White Paper Means for the Royal Australian Air Force" (PDF). Press release. The Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP Minister for Defence. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
15. "Fifth RAAF C-17 flies". Australian Aviation. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
16. ^ "Lockheed Hercules". RAAF Museum. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
17. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 419–420
18. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 417
19. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 259–260
20. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 178
21. Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 272–275
22. "RAAF C-130 at start of Confrontation". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 6 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
23. Susans, The RAAF Mirage Story, pp. 29–30
24. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 424–425
25. Susans, The RAAF Mirage Story, pp. 64–66
26. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 267
27. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 320
28. ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 100–103
29. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 306
30. Hamilton, Eamon (30 November 2006). "Dawn of a new era". Air Force News. 48 (22). Retrieved 28 March 2013.
31. Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 311
32. Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 274
33. ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, p. 105
34. "RAAF Evacuation of Australians from Iran, 1979". Pathfinder, Issue 64. April 2007.
35. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 107–108, 116–117
36. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 110–111
37. "Advance party headed for Somalia". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
38. "Airlift returned Army battalion from Somalia". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
39. "Cambodian coup prompted airlift". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
40. "RAAF units in East Timor". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved on 30 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
41. "No 38 Squadron". RAAF Museum. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
42. Eaton, Mark (24 October 2002). "'Full-on' efforts earn plaudits". Air Force News, Volume 44, No. 20. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
43. McPhedran, Air Force, p. 11
44. "Aussie Hercs clock 20,000 operational hours". Department of Defence. 25 March 2010. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
45. "Relief effort after Boxing Day tsunami". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
46. "Royal Australian Air Force squadrons celebrate new role". Department of Defence. 17 November 2006. Retrieved on 4 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
47. Hamilton, Eamon (29 November 2007). "PNG Assist takes off". Department of Defence. p. 3. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Text "Air Force News, Vol. 49, No. 22" ignored (help)
48. Gardiner, Kris (13 December 2007). "PNG mercy mission". Department of Defence. p. 5. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Text "Air Force News, Vol. 49, No. 23" ignored (help)
49. La Franchi, "New ADF airlift studies"
50. McPhedran, Air Force, pp. 237–238
51. "Early retirement for RAAF C-130Hs, but Battlefield Airlifter battles on". Australian Aviation. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
52. "C-130H retired from service". Australian Aviation. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
53. Creedy, Steve (16 November 2012). "RAAF workhorse, the Hercules C-130H, has enjoyed a varied career". The Australian. Retrieved 12 April 2013.

Works consulted

• Australian National Audit Office (2002). Test and Evaluation of Major Defence Equipment Acquisitions (PDF). Canberra: Australian National Audit Office. ISBN 0-642-80612-8.
• La Franchi, Peter (March 2008). "New ADF airlift studies". Asia Pacific Defence Reporter. 34 (2): pp. 22-23. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
• McPhedran, Ian (2011). Air Force: Inside the New Era of Australian Air Power. Sydney: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-7322-9025-2.
• Parnell, N.M. (1976). Australian Air Force Since 1911. Sydney: A.H. & A.W. Reed. ISBN 0-589-07153-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Roylance, Derek (1991). Air Base Richmond. RAAF Base Richmond: Royal Australian Air Force. ISBN 0-646-05212-8.
• Stephens, Alan (1995). Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946–1971. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42803-1.
• Stephens, Alan (2006) . The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555541-4.
• Susans, Wing Commander M.R. (ed.) (1990). The RAAF Mirage Story. RAAF Base Point Cook, Victoria: RAAF Museum. ISBN 0-642-14835-X. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
• Wilson, Stewart (1994). Military Aircraft of Australia. Weston Creek, ACT: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 1-875671-08-0.

Further reading

• Wilson, Stewart (1990). Dakota, Hercules, and Caribou in Australian Service. Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 0-9587978-5-4.