11/25/2023 0 Comments C130 cockpit![]() Late in the war, Hercules planes were even being fitted with the largest bomb in the U.S. Equipped with ground-target radar, 20mm Gatling guns, 40mm canons, and later, a side-firing 105mm Howitzer, C-130s morphed into AC-130 gunships, destroying 10,000 enemy trucks and repelling countless enemy attacks. Wherever there was a dirt road surrounded by jungle or an asphalt runway riddled with potholes, the C-130 Hercules was there, either to supply needed reinforcements or rescue injured soldiers in need of medical assistance.Ĭ-130s were also perfectly equipped to carry out low-altitude parachute extraction drops of cargo, which led to the plane’s key role in the defense of Khe Sanh in 1968, when C-130s accounted for 90 percent of the supplies used by troops defending the village from a North Vietnamese siege.Īs the war progressed, C-130s were modified into MC-130 Combat Talons, which not only picked up special operations forces in hostile territories but acted as flying gas tankers, orbiting in the sky as American rescue helicopters docked with them to refuel. The C-130 was pressed into action in Vietnam, where it picked up and dropped off troops and supplies in the most remote of locations. There is quite literally a Hercules airborne somewhere in the world every minute of every day. Throughout the more than 70 variants and more than 2,400 aircraft, the Hercules has more than proven its worth. The strengthening of the airframe to accommodate pressurization added an extra layer of durability that eventually protected the plane for its unprecedented six decades – and counting – of military and humanitarian service. The inclusion of four turboprop engines provided surplus power to pressurize the fuselage of the plane, including the cargo compartment, which was necessary to fly efficiently at higher altitudes. It had a low center of gravity, reached 360 mph, and boasted a large, easily accessible cargo area that could carry 40,000 pounds.īut it was a key design element-instituted by a team that included Art Flock, Dick Pulver, Bill Statler, Gene Frost, and chief designer Willis Hawkins-that may have proven most useful for its longevity. With a sweeping array of 23 cockpit windows allowing for clear visibility on steep approaches and high wings to operate from rough fields, the original C-130 Hercules was the antithesis of the sleek, speedy jets of its day. Which is precisely what Lockheed’s Hercules accomplished. ![]() military needed was a single versatile aircraft that could be used for any and all transportation needs-one aircraft that would perform the role of many. Others had weight restrictions, which prevented them from transporting bulky supplies or large numbers of soldiers. Some needed longer runways for takeoffs and landings. forces fighting along the 38 th parallel dividing North and South Korea quickly discovered that their aerial transports were ill-equipped for the missions at hand. The creation of the C-130 Hercules came about largely as a result of America’s experience in the Korean War. Later officially nicknamed Hercules, the prototype had a cargo deck that was capable of carrying an astonishing 300 pounds per square foot, lifted into the air after a ground roll of a mere 855 feet, an astoundingly short distance considering most aircraft of that size required 5,000 feet. 23, 1954, it was clear to all-even Johnson- that the Lockheed engineers had forged something timeless out of a seemingly simple list of Air Force requirements. When the prototype YC-130 taxied for its inaugural flight on Aug. “If you send that in,” Johnson told his boss, Hibbard, referring to an early proposal for the aircraft, “you’ll destroy the Lockheed Company.” Design genius Kelly Johnson, by contrast, viewed it as a potential disaster, a diversion from the high-speed, high-performance jet fighters that were his focus. Hall Hibbard, Lockheed’s chief engineer, eyed the request and saw potential. What the Air Force wanted, in other words, was a tough, versatile heavylifter with plenty of “trunk” space. It had to land in tight spaces, slow to 125 knots for paratroop drops and fly, if need be, with one engine. Air Force was seeking designs for an aircraft capable of hauling large bulky equipment, including artillery pieces and tanks, over long distances. Who wanted to build a stubby turboprop cargo aircraft at the dawn of the jet age?
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