The Herc Turns 63

[Hush]

From the web site, This Day In Aviation (https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/)

 

August 23, 2017Aviation53-3397, Allison Division of General Motors, Allison Model 501-D13, Allison T56-A-9, First Flight, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Lockheed YC-130 Hercules, Prototype, Roy Wimmer, Stanley Beltz, Test Pilot, Transport

The first prototype Lockheed YC-130 Hercules, 53-3397, takes of from the Lockheed Air terminal, Burbank, California, 23 August 1954. (Lockheed Martin)

23 August 1954: The first of two Lockheed YC-130 Hercules four-engine transport prototypes, 53-3397, made its first flight from the Lockheed Air Terminal at Burbank, California, to Edwards Air Force Base. The flight crew consisted of test pilots Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer, with Jack G. Real (a future Lockheed vice president) and Dick Stanton as flight engineers. The flight lasted 1 hour, 1 minute.

The C-130 was designed as a basic tactical transport, capable of carrying 72 soldiers or 64 paratroopers. All production aircraft have been built at Lockheed’s Marietta, Georgia, plant.

The first production model, the C-130A Hercules, was equipped with four Allison Model 501-D13 (T56-A-9) turboshaft engines, driving three-bladed propellers. The engines produced 3,755 horsepower, each.

The C-130A had a maximum speed of 384 miles per hour (618 kilometers per hour) with a range of 2,090 miles (3,365 kilometers). It had a service ceiling of 41,300 feet (12,588 meters).

Lockheed YC-130 53-3397 during its first flight, 23 August 1954. (Lockheed Martin)

In addition to its basic role as a transport, the C-130 has also been used as an aerial tanker, a command-and-control aircraft, weather reconnaissance, search and rescue and tactical gunship. It has even been used as a bomber, carrying huge “Daisy Cutters” to clear large areas of jungle for use as helicopter landing zones, or, more recently, the Massive Ordnance Air Blast “mother of all bombs.” The aircraft has been so versatile that it has served in every type of mission. Over 40 variants have been built by Lockheed, including civilian transports. It is in service worldwide.

The latest version is the Lockheed C-130J Hercules. After 63 years, the C-130 is still in production, longer than any other aircraft type.

YC-130 53-3397 was scrapped at Indianapolis in 1962.

Lockheed C-130J Hercules transports under construction at Lockheed’s Marietta, Georgia plant. (Lockheed Martin)