While the DC-3 holds the absolute record for the number of transport aircraft produced, it is nonetheless an airliner modified by the addition of a cargo door. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, on the other hand, was the first aircraft specifically designed for tactical military transport to achieve worldwide success: more than 2,500 aircraft have equipped 75 air forces on five continents. And that’s not counting civilian companies and government agencies. And, remarkably, it is still in production more than 70 years after its first flight...
No other aircraft has fulfilled such a wide range of missions: rescue of downed pilots, satellite recovery, flying gunship, command post, ELINT, typhoon observer, medevac, humanitarian relief, etc...
This book is the first in a series that will run for en extended period of time, covering all Hercules users, military and civilian. Each volume will review the air forces of one or more continents.
After European air forces, three volumes will cover Africa, Australasia, the Middle East, Central and South America. An entire volume will be devoted to the US Air Force, by far the biggest user, which has developed an impressive number of sub-versions tailored to specific missions. Another volume will bring together the other American users (US Navy, US Marine Corps, Nasa, etc.), and the series will close with a final volume entirely dedicated to civilian users.
In this first volume, Xavier Capy presents the aircraft, its origins, characteristics and main versions. In this collection, he traces the career of the Hercules with each of its users, with a complete list of aircraft, their current fate, their careers and the formations that have used them. All this is enhanced by an exceptionally rich and often unpublished iconography.
Of course, the fleet situation is constantly evolving, with groundings, decommissionings, crashes, deliveries of new aircraft and so on. Consequently, the data we provide reflects the situation at the time each volume goes to press.
