C-130 Group Photo
Members of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s C-130 Program Office gathered for a group photo with an AC-130A Spectre Gunship on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on the 70th anniversary date of the C-130’s first flight, which occurred on August 23, 1954. The C-130 Hercules officially entered into active service in 1956 and primarily serves in the tactical portion of the Air Force’s airlift mission. With a range of 2,500 miles and a max speed of 380 mph the Herc can transport up top 92 combat troops with their compliment of gear, or 42,000 pounds of cargo. The flexibility of the aircraft allows it to deliver a variety of cargo by parachute or by low altitude ground-cable extraction without having to land. It can also take off and land on unimproved dirt landing strips. The pictured aircraft was one of 28 C-130s that were initially converted to side-firing gunships used primarily for night attacks against ground targets. The AC-130A modifications occurred in the 1960’s at Wright-Patt by the 4950th Test Wing’s Aircraft Modification Division. Besides serving as a gunship some of the other roles the Hercules has performed over its 65+ year service life includes, radar weather mapping and reconnaissance, mid-air space capsule recovery, search and rescue, aeromedical missions, aerial spray missions, firefighting support missions, drone launching, helicopter mid-air refueling, hurricane tracking, scientific research support at the north and south poles, among others. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jim Varhegyi)