Gallery No 13 - C130 Hercules
Aircraft - 2 Images
My thanks to Roger Dunn and the MOD for supplying these images.Wikipedia for text.
| The Hercules aircraft is considered to be
the RAF's air workhorse. The transport plane has played a pivotal role in many key military and relief campaigns over the years, flying heavy loads overseas. The current C-130 model can carry around 92 troops, 64 paratroopers or military equipment with a total of 40,000lbs. The first test plane made its maiden flight in Burbank, California, on 23 August 1954. Multiple tasks Ever since then the aircraft's missions have included transporting troops, fuel, ammunition and humanitarian relief. It can land on a range of surfaces, including snow, ice, sand, fields and roads. The RAF Hercules also has an excellent safety record, with only one crash recorded on take off. BBC News defence analyst Paul Beaver said: "One of the reasons why the Hercules has been so reliable and it has had very few crashes is because it is so well designed. "They go on thousands of missions every year and each one normally flies around 500 hours during that time. Half of the British fleet is in the air at any one time. "Only one RAF Hercules has crashed before on take-off and that came as a result of a human error in Albania 1999. Basically the aircraft wasn't loaded properly. Most other crashes have come as a result of enemy fire."
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Some aircraft may appear identical but there are differences which will not be discernible from the image.
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(Hercules 1) 70 Squadron |
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(Hercules 3) 30 Squadron |
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