History In A Couple of Weeks Time!

She’s a beaut

What an amazing photograph … well done to the AU Dept of Defence for marking the passing so eloquently.

I was in the RAAF at the time of the C130E retirement and was also based at Richmond. I can assure you than no C130E’s were put on static display( althought many wished one would have ended up as a gate guard). Some ended up as training aids(four frames from memory), one went to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook and the remaining seven went to sales. I am of the belief that one C130H will also be displayed at Point Cook.

All right… looking at the ADF serials site I see that the C-130Es were kept in service. The couple I had checked earlier had notes about being on static display or otherwise being grounded by the 1980s, but it seems they were the exceptions, and were returned to service.

Also, the C-130As served until the C-130Hs came in… I had taken the repeated references to “To QANTAS 15/05/73 for ‘Anti Deterioration Servicing’.” as meaning being placed in storage… but I see otherwise.

So what you have, though is something close to the same overall capability… the 6 C-17s can carry roughly the same amount of passengers or cargo as the 12 C-130Hs, and for longer distances faster.

The RAAF has simply shifted some of its heavy tactical lift into strategic (limited tactical) lift, while keeping the overall lift capability basically the same. The C-130s did a lot of good airfield > good airfield flying that the C-17 can do just as well.

The KC-30s add to the “hard-runway” airlift capability as well.

The light tactical lift is where there is a fall-off in capability.

10 C-27J to replace 15 functional Caribou (as of 2002, only ~10-12 were still in service in 2005)… the lift might be similar, but the very-short-field capability is not there.

What a great photograph! The H model has served us well over the years. I have fond memories of them bashing circuits at Richmond through the 80’s 90’s and 2000’s.

Badger1968 – The C130J were acquired under project AIR 5216 as the replacement for the C130E, not the H as you pointed out. The retirement of the H came around very quickly and was part of the massive cut to the Defence budget. I know first hand that the H models are still in very good order and have many hours of flying left in them. They are far from warn out old airframes as you put it.

Regards

Was lucky enough to do some work with the chaps and chapesses from 36 and 37 Sqns RAAF in my time and can honestly say the air and ground crews cherish these airframes.

Much like our K versus J banter in the UK they were sceptical about the introduction of the J as it does have some limitations in certain roles when a direct comparison is made but is outstanding in others. (Of course the most vociferous opponents were Navs and Air Engs).

I suspect that like our K models, spares availability was getting a pain, specifically centre wing boxes and engine/prop bits. You can go glass cockpit and Nav free to extend a fleet, but ultimately if you are running out of elevator boost packs it ceases to be a viable airframe.

This isn’t a pointy, noisy, whooshy thing used to entice youngsters into the Royal Australian Air Force, this is a venerable work horse. I was told many a tale by the people who flew and worked on them, which are far more interesting than the standard steely eyed ‘there I was upside down at 200 feet with nothing on the clock but the makers name’ – but such is life north and south of the equator.

I just hope the remaining 8 get a better send off than our Ks appear to be getting and are all preserved for posterity. So old Diggers can point at them with misty eyes and tell their grandkids ‘there was nothing wrong with that aeroplane and they still made me jump out of it’

Enjoy your retirement Aussie Alberts you deserve it!!!

The RAAF’s fleet of C130H’s will be retired at the end of this month after serving since 1978, all a part of the current governments cutbacks.

Lets see… 12 C-130As (A97-205 through -216) which were delivered 1958-59.

These were replaced by 12 C-130Es (A97-159 through -190) which were delivered in 1966.

These were replaced by 12 C-130Hs which were delivered: A97-001 through -003 7/78, -004 through -006 8/78, -007 through -009 9/78, and -010 through -012 10/78.

Then you get 12 C-130J-30s (A97-440 through -468) which were delivered in 2000 AND 6 C-17… and you say that finally retiring the C-130Hs 12 years after their replacements began arriving is due to bad government policy?

No… it is simply that the government has spent all it can afford on worn-out old airframes, and now that Afghanistan is winding down they can finally stop extending the long-postponed retirement of aircraft that were supposed to have been deleted 10 or so years ago!

12 C130J’s and 6 C17’s with 10 C27’s on order!

Feeling old

I flew on a few of these when they were new.
How many C130J’s have we got?