C-130 News: RCAF's last Legacy CC-130E Hercules retires

[casey]

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) retired its final CC-130E Hercules after 51 years of service.

Making the short flight from CFB Trenton, Ont., where it has served for many years, it arrived at Rockcliffe airport in Ottawa at its new permanent home at Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

The Lockheed Hercules has served the RCAF since the acquisition of four C-130Bs in 1960.  

The three surviving C-130Bs were sold to the Colombian government in 1969. The success of the B models led to the acquisition of a large fleet of brand new 24 C-130E models, starting in 1964.

The donated plane has had a long and exemplary career. The longest-serving Hercules in the RCAF inventory, it ended up serving longer by itself than the RCAF’s fleet of venerable Douglas CC-129 Dakotas, which served from 1943 until 1989.

It entered service on Feb. 9, 1965. The Hercules fleet was reserialled in 1970, with new six digit serials. The first three digits indicated the type. It was one of four CC-130Es that were assigned to 429 Squadron and were operated on behalf of Canadian Forces Air Navigation School (CFANS) at CFB Winnipeg, Man.  

These were converted for the navigation training role in 1975-76 and were officially redesignated CC-130NT in 1977. They were equipped with palletized training stations which could be removed for standard cargo operations.

They were deconverted to standard CC-130E configuration in 1991 after the purpose built de Havilland CT-142 Gonzo Dash 8 navigation trainers entered service. Subsequently the donated plane served with 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron at Edmonton, and later at 8 Wing Trenton with 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, 426 Transport Training Squadron, again with 429 Squadron and also 436 Transport Squadron.  

Originally slated for retirement in 2013, the donated plane was given a new lease on life after an unfortunate accident severely damaged another CC-130H(T) on Feb. 21, 2012 at Key West, Fla.

An on-board fire on the tanker was followed by a quick on the ground evacuation. All personnel evacuated safely, and the fire was extinguished but not before significant structural damage was sustained. A Lockheed Martin mobile repair team worked to make the aircraft airworthy again, and it eventually flew to Cascade Aeospace in Abbotsford, B.C.

Although a Category B accident (repairable), it was concluded that it was beyond economical repair, and the aircraft will be parted out. In the meantime, the donated plane had maintenance carried out to allow it to serve beyond its original planned retirement date, to help keep the RCAF Legacy Hercules fleet operational with the appropriate number of airframes. At the time of the retirement, the Legacy Hercules fleet now numbers 12 CC-130H models of several sub variants.

As of May 2015, the donated plane had accumulated almost 47,000 hours of flying time, virtually unheard of in the Hercules world.

The donated plane has had several wing replacements over its career, along with numerous equipment upgrades to keep it up to date.             

History in flight

April 5 was a bittersweet day. Chillingly cold for April, thankfully a blazing sun lit the departure from CFB Trenton.

A number of dignitaries boarded on the ramp at 8 Wing Trenton for the short flight to Rockcliffe Airport for its new permanent home.

RCAF commander, LGen Michael Hood was the senior official aboard, and he knows the Hercules well, once commanding officer at 8 Wing Trenton.  

After the aircraft took off on Runway Six, it climbed to altitude where six 424 Squadron SARtechs jumped off of the cargo ramp and parachuted down to land in front of the 424 hangar.  

TIGER 307 then made two spirited ‘on-the deck’ flypasts before pulling up and heading for Rockcliffe. The flight used up almost all of the last two hours of flight time left on the aircraft, for a total of 47,087 flight hours.

Source: http://skiesmag.com/news/article/RCAFs-last-Legacy-CC-130E-Hercules-retires-

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