Out of the Hangar: The origin story of the C-130 on its 70th anniversary (VIDEO)

  • Published
  • By Joe Danielewicz, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFLCMC) - Few aircraft rival the versatility and longevity of the C-130 Hercules. A true workhorse, the Joint Forces have relied on the tactical airlifter for 70 years.
 
As Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Chief Historian Kevin Rusnak explains in a new “Out of the Hangar” video, the C-130 was developed from lessons learned during the Korean War and to meet perceived threats during the start of the Cold War.
 


“We had always envisioned that the next war would be something against the Soviet Union. The Cold War, turning 'hot,' and it was going to be dominated by strategic bombers and nuclear weapons and all that,” Rusnak explains.

Instead, America unexpectedly found itself embroiled in a “limited” conventional war in Korea, for which the Air Force needed a new tactical cargo plane “to provide new capabilities using newer technology.”
 
That newer tech was the turboprop engine. Harnessing the energy output of a jet engine and turning it into the power to drive a propeller, the turboprop opened new horizons for airlift capabilities.
 
In 1951, Lockheed won the contract to produce the cargo plane that would become the Hercules.
 
But in the age of sleek jet fighters, the stubby YC-130 produced more worry than excitement, according to Rusnak.
 
“People looked at this and famously Kelly Johnson, the guy who created the Skunk Works [Lockheed’s advanced development workshop] and designed our first practical jet airplane… He famously told the guys that designed this that ‘if you sign the contract to build this, you're going to sink the whole company.’”
 
Despite jeers about its appearance, the YC-130 took flight on August 23, 1954, traveling from Lockheed’s Burbank, Calif., plant to Edwards Air Force Base for flight testing with the Air Force.
 
When the Vietnam War began, the C-130 proved its worth.
 
“They were used in Vietnam for many different purposes, including as some of the first gunships, where they would load various weapons on it for anti-insurgency campaigns,” Rusnak adds. (The AC-130J Ghostrider is the current form of the gunship concept.)
 
Now 70 years in flight, “Herc Nation” fans and units are celebrating the C-130 this month. Modernization efforts are on-going, with the Center's Mobility Directorate playing a central role in extending its life cycle for years to come and other future fights.