C-130J-30 A97-450. delivered in 2000, is in service with 37 Squadron and carries the nose art 450 Pearl and ‘Hercules 50 years’ artwork on the tail.
The Hercules fleet was due to be replaced by 2018. The Boeing 757s were also upgraded with new avionics and more powerful engines. A cargo door was also fitted to allow pallet loading and an aero medical facility if needed. In 2015 the RNZAF was looking to replace the C-130 Hercules fleet as well as the Boeing 757s. This is due to take place over the next five years due to the C-130s and Boeing 757s reaching the end of their flying life. A replacement for the Boeing 757s looks likely to be the C-17 Globemaster and the replacement for the Hercules fleet being either the Embraer KC-390, the A-400M, or the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.
In November 2011 Australia gave four ex-RAAF C-130Hs worth an estimated $30 million to Indonesia for humanitarian and disaster relief work. The Hercules aircraft would cost about 25 million Australian dollars in maintenance to restore them to airworthiness and were due to be sold on the open market. The Australian Defence Force agreed to give them to the Indonesian military following a request for more resources to boost disaster relief in the region. On 9 May 2012 it was announced that the RAAF’s eight remaining C-130H Hercules operated by 37 Squadron at RAAF Richmond were to be retired early to save $250 million in operational and maintenance costs.
The passing of the C-130H in RAAF service was marked by a fly over of the Blue mountains almost on the edge of Sydney to Cronulla a beachside suburb and an orbit of Sydney harbour in a shuddering lap of honour to say thanks for the 34 years of service during wars, floods, fires, droughts and disasters. It evoked the following impassioned response from an Australian journalist who flew on board one of the two ‘Hercs’ from Richmond Air Force Base: ‘I’m sweaty, shaking and being sick for the third time and I’ve been looking forward to this day all week. The man next to me is also being persistently ill into his vomit bag and I have no idea where the ground is outside the gyrating tin can I’m stuck in. I’m honoured and excited to be here. It’s the last flight of the RAAF’s work horse the C-130H Hercules at Richmond Air Force Base, with all twelve in the Australian fleet being decommissioned to make way for the newer C-130J model. For an aircraft that’s served our troops for 34 years the atmosphere is fitting - every second person I see is doing Movember so the base is alive with moustaches, aviators and one guy is even wearing knee-high khaki socks and shorts.
‘On the plane we take up position on what passes for seats. The first trouble I run into is when I can’t figure out how the seatbelt works. They show me that, then how to find the emergency exits, the oxygen bags (weird in themselves - think putting a chicken bag on your head) and the sick bags... which seem to be liberally sprinkled around the plane.
‘And then the C-130H starts her last show. ‘She starts like an old dancer. A slow side to side shimmy builds in the steel frame as the three metre long propeller blades start to turn. It speeds up to a shake as we taxi along the runway. Jarring, but not particularly uncomfortable. Then she starts to sweat - a diesel and kerosene smell creeping in from the engines as we bounce our way along the tarmac. The take off is faster than any I’ve been a part of. Pilot Tony Charles tells me afterward that Hercs are made to lift off from short or improvised runways. ‘You get up to speed pretty quickly,’ he says. ‘It’s not a long smooth start like a passenger jet.’ It needs to be - Australia’s fleet of Hercules have travelled enough kilometres to go around the world fifty times over carrying millions of tonnes of cargo along the way.
Maintained by 37 Squadron at RAAF Richmond, NSW the RAAF operates twelve C-130J-30 Hercules and are supported by eight Boeing C-17A Globemaster IIIs at RAAF Amberley, Queensland and ten Alenia C-27J Spartans.
‘They’ve taken medical aid to victims of the Bali Bombings and Boxing Day tsunami, fodder to cattle during the Queensland floods and supplies of condoms to PNG to combat the spread of AIDS. They’ve even tried their hand at fire fighting. And they’re nothing like a passenger jet.
‘We lurch into a sprint from a standing start, bumping across the runway and into the air moments later, cartwheeling and shuddering through the entire 90 minute farewell to a trusted old friend. The hot air tosses us around so much we would be confined to our seats on a commercial flight. Not the case here - I get up and wander around. It’s a ton of fun, like being on a flying jumping castle that’s made out of steel. It looks clumsy from outside but flying these planes takes immense skill and breeds a special sort of love from the pilots. Tony Charles says the Hercules’ last flight was like losing a friend. ‘There are a few tears about the place,’ he says.
‘We dive and bank; only it’s not the banking from car ads. A C-130H banks the same way someone turns around when they hear a sudden noise behind them, which tends to leave your stomach back where you started a moment ago. The camera man across from me already looks ill. He’s leaning back with his eyes closed holding a fresh sick bag in his lap. Ha, trust TV news to cave first.
‘I’m invited up to the cockpit and watch as we cruise over the blue water of Sydney Harbour. The crew wave to the photographers and camera men crowded onto the lowered ramp of the second Hercules above us.
On 19 November 2012 the RAAF celebrated 34 years service of the C-130H Hercules with a two-ship retirement flight by A97-005 Cherry and A97-008 (which once carried ‘Hercules 50 years’ artwork on the tail and You Sent Us To Arabia on the nose) over Sydney (inset). Departing RAAF Richmond they formed a loose formation and flew along Sydney’s southern beaches at a reported altitude of 150 metres. Separated by 600 metres, they then orbited the Sydney Harbour area for 20 minutes before departing to the North and the town of Barrenjoey, where they headed west to the Blue Mountains before returning to base. A97-005 was acquired by Indonesia (TNI-AV) and serialled A-1334. It crashed on approach to land at Wangmon, Papua on 18 December 2016. All thirteen aboard perished.
‘I return to the back of the plane and concede I’m going to be ill. It’s the smell - a rich, thick mess of sweat, kerosene and diesel fuel. The plane is painted black so it sucks up the heat until I feel like I’m being smoked, marinated in it while I’m shaken around. The guy beside me is next to go, vomiting into a bag he has doubled-up for the occasion. Doubling up the bag is a good idea. I think I’ll do that. Just in case. ‘If you’re going to do it you get it out of the way early,’ he tells me. ‘That’s the trick.’ ‘Two down from me one of the female journos starts as well. I wonder how the crew is all still so cheerful and if this is a right of passage. After this will I be immune to motion sickness?
‘Out the window I see sky, then water, then sky, then earth, then sky, buildings, sky, buildings, ocean, buildings, blur, blur, blur. ‘Eyes closed, no that’s worse. Eyes open. This seatbelt mystified me. Sky, water, sky, sky, ground, sky. The cameraman across from me is trying to climb into his vomit bag head first. It’s puffing in and out like someone trying not to hyperventilate only I can see wet stuff inside of it. My time has come. Eventually five out of eight of us are bested by the Hercules.
‘To my credit I didn’t bargain with god but I did make a ‘well if you’re already going to the shops’ request of him that if he was going to help the other journos he might want to see to me while he was at it. But there is something precious about the Hercules. The C-130H is a much loved part of the Air Force family - moving and supplying troops through some of our toughest campaigns. While it will now always be linked in my mind to a less-than comfortable experience to thousands of others has been a symbol of hope, relief and salvation. For the Special Forces in Afghanistan the C-130s were their ticket to safety and their supply line during hard times. For the victims of the 2004 Boxing day tsunami the C-130s were Australia’s first on the scene bringing supplies and aid to the disaster’s victims and showing them we would stand with them. For the Australian public during the 1989 pilot’s strikes the C-130s were there to transport them for four months after they were stranded away from home - action that won them
a Queensland Tourism Award. They even flew the Iraqi Soccer Team out of Iraq to compete in the 2004 Olympics…where they went on to defeat the Ollyroos in the quarter finals. Well, I suppose even trusted friends can make mistakes. Members of the RAAF tell me they’ll miss the C-130H, that it’s a ‘part of history’.
‘Being ferried from the pass gate to the air strip my driver tells me she hopes the C-130s get a ‘proper send off’. They’ve earned it. It’s a symbol of everything that’s dependable and reliable in the air force, literally the ‘first to arrive, last to leave’. When I text my father, ex-air force himself, he replies: ‘Bastard. Say goodbye for me!’ Those are fond words from dad. And when I tell I failed to escape the trip unscathed he’s just as dry. Ha ha. Welcome to the wonderful world of the C-130. It’s much better up front.’
Twelve C-130J-30s were received by 37 Squadron during August 1999 and March 2000. The RAAF celebrated 800,000 Hercules flying hours in September 2014. The C-130Js had by this time accumulated over 100,000 hours and they are expected to remain in service until 2030.
Chapter 9 Endnotes
1 Charles - 130H A RNZAF News Special July 1994.
Chapter Ten
Conflict, Comfort, Relief, Hope and Enduring Freedom
WHOOMPF!
Alarmed, Captain Mark A. Naumann exclaimed ‘What was that?’
He didn’t wait for an answer -‘Did we take a hit? Did any pieces fly off?’ Fortunately it was nothing more than an air pocket. overseas.
In August 1990 conflict arose in the Persian Gulf after talks between the representatives from Iraq and Kuwait did not resolve grievances over oil pricing. On 2 August President Saddam Hussein of Iraq massed seven divisions, totalling 120,000 troops and 2,000 tanks, along the Iraq/Kuwait border and invaded Kuwait in the early morning hours: on 8 August he announced that Kuwait was the nineteenth province of Iraq. Immediately after the invasion President George Bush had placed a US economic embargo against Iraq and the United Nations Security Council had quickly followed suit. On 7 August, when Saddam Hussein had refused to remove his troops from Kuwait, President Bush had set the US contingency commitment ‘Desert Shield’ in motion, ordering warplanes and ground forces to Saudi Arabia, saying the country faced the ‘imminent threat’ of an Iraqi attack. More than 55,000 Air Force personnel would ultimately be despatched to the Gulf, including more than 180 aircraft and 5,400 personnel assigned to USAFE units. During the period 16 to 28 August fifteen C-130Es from Military Aircraft Command’s 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron became the first European-based USAF aircraft deployed to south-west Asia.
The US Central Command HG, which would direct the coalition of allied forces against Iraq under the command of Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, immediately set pre-planned preparations in motion. CENTCOM’S function was to co-ordinate US force deployment to the Gulf region to help defend Saudi Arabia and provide security to other Arab states. Lieutenant General Charles A. Horner USAF, the allied coalition’s supreme air commander began co-ordinating all air actions related to the build-up and within days had established HQ Central Command Air Forces (Forward) in Saudi Arabia. From his HQ, the air actions which ultimately would bring an end to the war were put into operation.
More than 145 Military Airlift Command (MAC) C-130 Hercules were deployed in support of ‘Desert Shield’ and ‘Desert Storm’: these aircraft moved units to forward bases once they arrived in theatre. One of their first tasks was to move the 82nd Airborne Division from its staging area to positions near the Kuwait border. In late August 1990, President Bush signed an order authorizing members of the armed forces reserves to be called up for active duty. Throughout the campaign, AFRes and ANG members flew and maintained aircraft, including those used in strategic and tactical airlift operations, as well as tanker support. In addition, a small USMC tanker task force was established using KC-130Fs, KC-130Rs and KC-130Ts, based at Bahrain and Al Jubail, while the USN operated a few C-130Fs for logistics support and the EC-130Q in the communications relay role. Finally, it should not be forgotten that Australia, France, Saudi Arabia and South Korea also sent C-130 transports and KC-130 tankers to the Gulf and that help was sent by the RAF and RNZAF.
Efforts by the UN Security Council to find a peaceful resolution with Iraq proved futile. On the morning of 15 January 1991, an eleventh-hour appeal by the council for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait was met with silence and at twelve noon the deadline for peace had passed. Next day at approximately 19:00 hours Eastern Standard Time Operation ‘Desert Storm’ began, the allied forces answering Iraq’s silence with attacks by strike aircraft based in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. By the time the ceasefire came into effect on 3 March MAC C-130 transports had, since 10 August 1990, flown 46,500 sorties and moved more than 209,000 personnel and 300,000 tons of supplies within the theatre. They provided logistical support, medical evacuation of the wounded and battlefield mobility once the fighting started.1 During the ‘100-Hour’ ground campaign, MAC C-130 transports flew more than 500 sorties a day.
Local Kenyan workers watch a C-130 Hercules in the 314th Air Lift Wing, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas delivering relief supplies to Wajir, Kenya for Operation ‘Provide Relief’. (USAF)
One of the Gulf War’s most immediate consequences was the disintegration of Iraq. Civil unrest erupted among Iraq’s Shiite and Kurdish minorities and Hussein used his military ruthlessly, crushing the uprisings with helicopters and what armour his army had left. In the northern part of the country, 500,000 Kurds made their way to the Turkish and Iranian borders. On 5 April the UN condemned Iraq and President Bush ordered US European Command to assist Kurds and other refugees in the mountains of northern Iraq. The following day, JTF ‘Provide Comfort’ was formed and deployed to Incirlik, Turkey to conduct humanitarian air operations in northern Iraq.
On 7 April USAF aircraft began dropping food, blankets, clothing, tents and other equipment, while at the same time Iraq was warned not to carry out any kind of activity north of the 36th parallel, where Kurdish refugees had gathered. Eventually, thirteen countries took part in ‘Provide Comfort’ and another thirty were to provide various types of material assistance. By 8 April USAF aircraft had dropped approximately 27 tons of relief supplies to the Kurds; on 9 April, the mission expanded to sustaining the refugee population for thirty days. Two days later ‘Provide Comfort’ took on the additional responsibility of providing temporary settlements for the Kurds. By 6 June the last mountain gap had closed and the refugee population was in the security zone, or ‘safe haven’. The UN assumed responsibility for relief operations the following day. The last coalition ground forces let Iraq on 20 July and ‘Provide Comfort’ ended on 15 July; the emphasis then shifted to preventing a recurrence, with Operation ‘Provide Comfort II’.
In 1992 those USAFE C-130Es based at the relatively small Rhein-Main AFB, billed as the ‘Gateway to Europe’ during its lifetime and which shared the city’s busy international airport five miles south of Frankfurt, took part in relief operations to the Soviet Union, East and West Africa and Bosnia. The C-130E element was provided by the 37th ‘Blue Tail Flies’ Airlift Squadron, 435th Airlift Wing, 17th Air Force whose primary mission is the tactical airlift mission within the European theatre.
In April 1992 USAFE transports took part in Operation ‘Provide Hope II’, a long-term effort to aid cities in the former Soviet Union. On the 4 and 5 May 1992, following a 30 April coup in Sierra Leone, a US European Command Joint Special Operations Task Force rescued 438 people from Freetown, Sierra Leone. The 37th ALS contributed nine C-130 sorties, carrying 302 evacuees to Dakar, Senegal. From the 12 August to 9 October, three 435th ALW C-130Es were deployed from Rhein-Main to Luanda, Angola, to be used to relocate government and rebel soldiers during Operation ‘Provide Transition’, a multi-national UN effort to support democratic elections following the civil war in Angola. The C-130s flew 326 sorties, carrying 8,805 passengers and 265 tons of cargo during the operation.
On 3 July 1992 the 37th ALS flew the first two C-130
s in the first ‘Provide Promise’ mission; these were laden with humanitarian relief supplies from Rhein-Main, their objective the war-torn city of Sarajevo. The flights were not without hazard: on 3 October an Italian Air Force C-130 was hit by a missile 21 miles west of Sarajevo and was lost with its four-man crew and at least two USAF C-130s received small-arms fire at Sarajevo Airport. Undeterred, C-9 Medevac missions began on 2 February 1993; they took place twice a month and in March the operation expanded to include the airdrop of relief supplies in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On 27 February a USAF Hercules first dropped about a million leaflets in less than forty minutes over eastern Bosnia, telling residents and refugees that the airdropped relief was on its way and cautioning people of the dangers of being too close to the drop zone. Night after night Bosnian refugees stood in the open and waited for the ‘parcels from God’ to drop.
C-130H CNA-OL of the Force Aérienne Royal Morocainé (Royal Maroc Air Force) taking off from Mogadishu on 1 March 1993 during the Provide ‘Relief’ operation. (MWB)
C-130E of the 711th SOS, 919th SOG from Duke Field, Florida and C-130H 74-2067 of the 772nd ALS, 463rd TAW from Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas at Moi International Airport, Mombasa, Kenya, 28 February 1993. Operating from August 1992 to February 1993,’Provide Relief’ was a multi-nation air-relief operation in Mombasa, Kenya, involving, at its height, sixteen USAF and USAFE C 130s, with transports from six other nations. It delivered supplies to refugees in neighbouring Somalia while Operation ‘Restore Hope’ protected the relief efforts. (MWB)
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