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Lockheed C-130 Hercules in Australian service
Colour photo of a four-engined aircraft painted in a camouflage pattern
One of the RAAF's C-130H Hercules in 2004
Role Military transport aircraft
Manufacturer Lockheed and Lockheed Martin
Primary user No. 36 and No. 37 Squadrons
Career
In service 1958–current

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

At 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, which would better facilitate the 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 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. The Australian Government expressed concern over the price, at one stage proposing the purchase of only three aircraft, but eventually the Air Force won approval for the twelve that it wanted. Described by the official history of the post-war RAAF as second only to the General Dynamics F-111C as the "most significant" purchase by the Air Force, the Hercules gave the Australian military its first strategic airlift capability, which in years to come would provide a "lifeline" for deployments 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 other than the United States to operate the Hercules.

A further twelve C-130s were purchased in 1965. At this time the C-130As were being used to supply the Australian forces engaged in the Vietnam War. This task demonstrated that the RAAF had insufficient long-ranged transport aircraft to simultaneously support overseas deployments and meet the force's domestic requirements in Australia. As a result, twelve C-130E Hercules were ordered in February 1965, and these aircraft were delivered between August 1966 and January 1967. In contrast to the concerns raised by the Government over the cost of purchasing the C-130As, this expansion of the Hercules force gained ready agreement, due in no small part to the benefits for the armed services, particularly the Army, demonstrated by the first twelve aircraft. 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 and deliveries began during 1999. The RAAF was the first operator of this C-130 variant, which was larger than earlier models and had two fewer crew members. These aircraft initially suffered from a range of serious mechanical and software problems, and were assessed as "experiencing significant operational shortfalls" in a 2002 Australian National Audit Office report. The Defence Science and Technology Organisation undertook considerable research into the C-130J design and developed improvements to the aircraft that addressed problems with excessive vibration. 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 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III instead.

Operational service

RAAF C-130A Hercules of No. 36 Squadron

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.

C-130E Hercules of No. 37 Squadron at Clark Air Base, Philippines, November 1981

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. During the late 1960s, forty-two per cent of Hercules flying hours was in support of Australian Army operations. The C-130s, initially the A models and later the E models, 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. 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.

No. 36 Squadron C-130 Hercules, Iraq, 2003

No. 37 Squadron transported forces out of Vietnam following the Australian withdrawal from the conflict in December 1972. Hercules also evacuated Australian embassy personnel from Saigon, South Vietnam, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. 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 1974–75; a No. 37 Squadron C-130E was the first aircraft to touch down in Darwin following the disaster. The Hercules was also employed for search-and-rescue work, exploiting its twelve-hour endurance and ability to drop survival equipment over land or sea. 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. On 5 April 1983, 23 of the RAAF's Hercules performed a formation flight over Sydney; the remaining aircraft was to have participated in this flight, but was diverted to conduct a search and rescue task. In 1986, No. 37 Squadron transported the Popemobiles during John Paul II's tour of Australia; its other unusual cargoes included kangaroos and sheep to Malaysia, and archaeological exhibits from China.

RAAF C-130J Hercules, Canberra, 2005

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. In May that year four C-130s flew a rifle company of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment from Townsville to Norfolk Island during Operation Morris Dance, the Australian Defence Force's response to the first of the 1987 Fijian coups d'état; the soldiers were subsequently embarked onto Royal Australian Navy (RAN) warships by helicopter. In 1988 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. Following the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, No. 86 Wing prepared to deploy five C-130s to the Middle East to evacuate 3,000 Australian citizens from Saudi Arabia in the event that Iraq also attacked that country; potential operations to fly about 95 Australians and New Zealanders directly out of Iraq and Kuwait were also planned, but would have only been conducted as a last resort due to the great dangers involved. These evacuation flights were not required as Iraq did not invade Saudi Arabia, and the Australians in Iraq departed by road. A proposal to deploy some of the Hercules as part of the Australia's contribution to the war was also rejected in late 1990 as they had to be held in reserve in case fighting on the Pacific island of Bougainville worsened and required an evacuation operation. After hostilities broke out in January 1991, two C-130s were dispatched to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean where they were held at readiness to deploy to Saudi Arabia in case Australian citizens had to be evacuated; these aircraft moved to Singapore on the 29th of the month, and returned to Australia in early February. Other Hercules flew supplies for the RAN warships in the region from Australia to Muscat, Oman from January 1991, and also transported a naval Clearance Diving Team to Muscat late in the month. In 1993, C-130s transported Australian troops to and from Somalia as part of Operation Solace. 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 also 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. During April 2003 a C-130 formed part of the force which tracked the North Korean freighter Pong Su before it was boarded by special forces personnel off the coast of New South Wales. 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 Boeing C-17 Globemaster heavy transports and relocating to RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. 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 retired on 30 November that year. Two of the C-130Hs were retained by the Air Force for display at RAAF Museum, Point Cook, and for 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 on 12 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  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 on 12 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. "Fifth RAAF C-17 flies". Australian Aviation. 29 August 2011. Retrieved on 12 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  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. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 320
  26. ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 100–103
  27. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 306
  28. ^ Hamilton, Eamon (30 November 2006). "Dawn of a new era". Air Force News, Vol. 48, No. 22. Retrieved on 28 March 2013. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. Susans, The RAAF Mirage Story, pp. 64–66
  30. Stephens, Going Solo, p. 267
  31. Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 274
  32. Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 311
  33. ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, p. 105
  34. "RAAF Evacuation of Australians from Iran, 1979". Pathfinder, Issue 64. April 2007.
  35. "Maximum effort by Hercules". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  36. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 107–108, 116–117
  37. Breen, Struggling for Self Reliance, pp. 38–40
  38. Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 110–111
  39. Horner, Australia and the 'New World Order', pp. 330–331
  40. Horner, Australia and the 'New World Order', p. 383
  41. Horner, Australia and the 'New World Order', p. 452
  42. Horner, Australia and the 'New World Order', pp. 449, 460
  43. "Advance party headed for Somalia". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  44. "Airlift returned Army battalion from Somalia". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  45. "Cambodian coup prompted airlift". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  46. "RAAF units in East Timor". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved on 30 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  47. "No 38 Squadron". RAAF Museum. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  48. 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)
  49. McPhedran, Air Force, p. 11
  50. "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)
  51. Cornford, Philip (21 April 2003). "Seized: ship they hunted for days". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  52. "Relief effort after Boxing Day tsunami". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  53. "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)
  54. Hamilton, Eamon (29 November 2007). "PNG Assist takes off". Air Force News, Vol. 49, No. 22. Department of Defence. p. 3. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  55. Gardiner, Kris (13 December 2007). "PNG mercy mission". Air Force News, Vol. 49, No. 23. Department of Defence. p. 5. Retrieved on 2 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  56. La Franchi, "New ADF airlift studies"
  57. McPhedran, Air Force, pp. 237–238
  58. "Early retirement for RAAF C-130Hs, but Battlefield Airlifter battles on". Australian Aviation. 9 May 2012. Retrieved on 12 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  59. "C-130H retired from service". Australian Aviation. on 30 November 2012. Retrieved on 12 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  60. Creedy, Steve (16 November 2012). "RAAF workhorse, the Hercules C-130H, has enjoyed a varied career". The Australian. Retrieved on 12 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
Works consulted

Further reading

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