The four Hercules models (C-130s A, E, H & J) operated by the RAAF lined up at Point Cook. C-130A A97-214 (57-0507) is nearest the camera with A97-160 C-130E (65-12897) behind. (RAAF Museum)
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has operated a total of forty-eight C-130 aircraft. The type entered Australian service in December 1958, when 36 Squadron at Sydney’s Richmond Air Force Base accepted the first of twelve C-130A-50-LMs, replacing its venerable Douglas C-47 Dakotas. The acquisition made Australia the overseas customer of the Hercules. In 1966 the C-130As were joined by twelve C-130Es, which equipped 37 Squadron. The C-130As were replaced by twelve C-130Es delivered from 1966 and the C-130Es by twelve C-130J-30 Hercules in 1999. RAAF Hercules’ have frequently been used to deliver disaster relief in Australia and the Pacific region, as well as to support military deployments overseas. The 17th of June 1963 was a red letter day for the RNZAF when the New Zealand cabinet approved an immediate order of three C-130E aircraft, including spares and support equipment and approval in principle was also given for the eventual purchase of five maritime versions. New Zealand thus became the fifth nation to purchase the Hercules.
Following the deployment of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment to South Việtnam in early 1965, the RAAF began fortnightly C-130 flights into the country from June that year. These flights were initially conducted by C-130As and carried high-priority cargo and passengers from Richmond to Vũng Tàu in South Việtnam via either Butterworth or Singapore. The scale of the supply flights into South Việtnam expanded in 1967 when 2 Squadron RAAF, which was equipped with English Electric Canberra bombers was deployed to Phan Rang. A large airlift codenamed ‘Winter Grip’ was also conducted in mid-1967 to replace two Australian Army battalions, which had completed their year-long tour of duty, with a pair of fresh battalions. The Hercules were called upon to support the withdrawal of the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) from South Việtnam and Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons undertook many sorties to fly equipment and personnel out of the country during 1971. In late 1972 C-130s were used to withdraw the last remaining Australian force in South Việtnam, the Australian Army Training Team Việtnam; the final elements of this force departed aboard two Hercules on 20 December 1972.
As well as transport operations, the Hercules flew many evacuation flights out of Việtnam to transfer wounded or sick personnel to Australia, via Butterworth, for further treatment. These flights were initially conducted as part of the regular courier service and the patients and RAAF nurses had to endure uncomfortable conditions as the aircraft had only rudimentary facilities for personnel on stretchers. Separate evacuation flights began on 1 July 1966 and continued at fortnightly intervals until 1972; more flights were made during periods in which 1 ATF suffered heavy casualties. While the flights were generally successful, only C-130Es were assigned to this task from May 1967 after an article criticising the use of noisy C-130As to transport wounded personnel was published in The Medical Journal of Australia. The C-130Es provided much more comfortable conditions and were capable of flying directly between South Việtnam and Australia when required. A total of 3,164 patients had been transported to Australia by the time the C-130 evacuation flights ended in early 1972. The Hercules also returned the bodies of servicemen killed in Việtnam to Australia.
Many of the RAAF C-130s were redeployed to South Việtnam shortly before the end of the war in 1975. The rapid North Việtnamese advance during the Spring Offensive displaced hundreds of thousands of South Việtnamese civilians and the Australian Government deployed a detachment of Hercules to Saïgon in March 1975 as part of an international aid effort coordinated by the United States. This force, which was designated Detachment ‘S’, had an average strength of seven C-130s and about one hundred air and ground crew and was initially used to transport civilian refugees away from the front lines. After South Việtnamese soldiers were reported to have been transported alongside civilians, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam directed that the Hercules were to only carry humanitarian cargo. As the North Việtnamese advanced on Saïgon, Detachment ‘S’ was moved to Bangkok in Thailand, but continued to fly into South Việtnam each day. Overall, Detachment ‘S’ had carried 1,100 refugees and 900 tonnes of supplies by the end of the war. On 4 and 17 April, aircraft of the detachment flew 271 orphaned children to Bangkok as part of the US-led Operation ‘Babylift’. In late April, two of 37 Squadron’s C-130Es were assigned to the United Nations to transport supplies throughout South East Asia; this force was designated Detachment ‘N’. The C-130Es began operations on 3 May and were mainly used to fly supplies into Laos. The aircraft transported cargo between Thailand, Butterworth, Hong Kong and Singapore; by the time this mission ended in early June, the two Hercules had conducted 91 sorties for the UN. Aircraft of Detachment ‘S’ evacuated Australian embassy personnel from Phnom Penh in Cambodia, as well as Saïgon, shortly before they fell to Khmer Rouge and North Việtnamese forces in April 1975, after which the force returned to Australia. Detachment ‘N’ also evacuated the Australian embassy in Vientiane, Laos, during early June 1975.
The four Hercules models (C-130s A, E, H & J) operated by the RAAF lined up at Point Cook. C-130A A97-214 (57-0507) is nearest the camera with A97-160 C-130E (65-12897) behind. (RAAF Museum)
Nineteen of the RAAF’s fleet of twenty-four C-130s took part in relief efforts in 1974-75 after Cyclone ‘Tracy’ struck Darwin. Since then, the Hercules have been involved in humanitarian missions to New Guinea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bali, Sumatra and New Zealand. They have also seen service during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Fijian coups in 1987, operations in Somalia in 1993, INTERFET operations in East Timor in 1999-2000 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq beginning in 2001. In over fifty years of Australian service, the Hercules has accumulated 800,000 flying hours. 37 Squadron became the RAAF’s sole Hercules operator in 2006 when 36 Squadron transferred its C-130Hs prior to converting to Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy transports.
40 Squadron RNZAF at Whenuapai operates five C-130Hs, including the first three production H models which, were delivered in April 1965. The squadron’s duties include flights to the Antarctic base at McMurdo. The first major operation carried out by the RNZAF C-130Hs was in July 1965 when the three aforementioned C-130Hs (followed by the other two in January 1969) airlifted the New Zealand Army’s 161 Artillery battery and its equipment from New Zealand to Biên Hòa AFB in South Việtnam. Over seven days, 14-21 July, the aircraft carried ninety-six soldiers, five 105mm howitzers, fourteen laden Land Rovers, eight trailers, two water tankers and other equipment - a total of seventy tons. 40 Squadron continued regular flights in support of New Zealand’s contribution to this war, flying into Saïgon and Vũng Tàu. Between 6-19 April 1975 it made three trips between Saïgon and Singapore to evacuate New Zealand Embassy staff, refugee children and news media representatives.
‘There is no doubt that the C-130E is the right aircraft for the job. It will perform effectively, efficiently and economically, in both strategic and tactical roles.’ These were the words of Air Vice-Marshal Ian Morrison, Chief of the RNZAF Air Staff in August 1962. When the RNZAF entered the 1960s its heavy transport fleet consisted of three Handley Page Hastings Mk.IIIs. These aircraft were required to over the globe to meet RNZAF and New Zealand Government requirements. Delivered during 1952 and 1953, the Hastings was World War Two technology and at the end of their economical life. Furthermore, as ‘tail-draggers’, with only side doors for loading they were not suitable for the vast range of cargoes moved by the RNZAF. The search for a replacement heavy transport aircraft commenced as a result of the 1961 ‘Defence White Paper’, which directed replacement of the existing transport fleet. As an interim measure, three DC-6 aircraft were purchased from Tasman Empire Airlines Limited (TEAL) to augment the Hastings.
Air Staff in Defence Headquarters, Wellington, commenced research into the selection of a suitable aircraft to replace the Hastings and DC-6s. One of the officers involved, Wing Commander Richard Bolt, described the process for developing the specifications for the new transport. ‘I took the specifications and information on the Hercules from the Lockheed brochures and this formed the basis for the Air Staff Requirement.’ The proposal also required the selected aircraft to carry out maritime surveillance using ‘roll-on’ maritime modules. The maritime role was later dropped when the Orion aircraft became the obvious choice for this role. The 17th of June 1963 was a red letter day for the RNZAF. ‘HERCULES ARE ON!! three now, five later.’ The headlines of the RNZAF News said it all. Cabinet had approved an immediate order of three C-130E aircraft, including spares and support equipment, at a cost of £13.5 million (NZ). Approval in principle was also given for the eventual purchase of five maritime versions. By July 1964 the production of the RNZAF’s first three Hercules (NZ7001-7003) was under way at the Lockheed plant at Marietta, Georgia. By then the choice had been made to take the new C-130H model aircraft - the first production models of this variant. At that time, the primary difference, between the E and H models was the more powerful T56-A-15 engines in the H model. Three technical officers and 32 airmen commenced sixteen weeks of training at Travis Air Force Base on 17 June 1964. They then trained at various AFBs for the remainder of that year. Three aircrews were sent to the US for conversion training at the end of 1964. It was a profound shock to the aircrews when they arrived for training at Lackland AFB to find that they were scheduled to attend a school for ‘language training’.
RAAF personnel arriving in Việtnam in the early 1960s.
Royal Australian Air Force C-130E A97-167 (65-12898) in Việtnam on 1966. Flight Lieutenant S. G. Hyland and crew departed Dobbins AFB for Australia on 22 August 1966 via Mather AFB, Hickam AFB, Nadi and arriving at RAAF Richmond. On 17 June 1967 this aircraft had an engine failure in flight and diverted to Butterworth in Malaya. In around the year 2000 this Hercules was retired to Richmond Battle Damage Repair.
Air Commodore Carey William Adamson, a Flying Officer at the time, recalls the incident. ‘We were to take a written test to establish our level of proficiency in English. This we refused to do. A senior officer was summoned and it was quickly apparent that there had been a major misunderstanding. Whoever had made up the training package for the RNZAF was not aware that New Zealanders spoke English. It was not possible to bring forward the rest of our training, so we spent the time at Lackland learning about the Constitution, the history of the United States, the federal system of Government, the philosophy and rules of American football and the finer technical points of baseball. This information was not wasted and proved valuable in following years.’
A97-160 was accepted by the Royal Australian Air Force at Lockheed Marietta Georgia on 12 August 1966 and was the first RAAF C-130E to fly into Vũng Tàu, South Việtnam, departing Richmond on 5 February 1967. It performed the last flight of the RAAF’s C-130Es on 14 November 2000 before being handed over to the RAAF Museum. A97-177 arrived at RAAF Richmond on 24 November 1966 after being flown from Dobbins AFB. After logging 600,000 hours of accident free service with the RAAF this Hercules was returned to Lockheed in 2000 and stripped and rebuilt to Super-E standard with dash-15 engines before being delivered to Pakistan as 4177.
Air Commodore Adamson also recalls the delivery flights of the Hercules. ‘We went to the Lockheed plant in Georgia to pick up our new aircraft and on 1 April 1965 our crew flew NZ7002 for the first time. That was the beginning of a thirteen year personal relationship with a magnificent and elegant lady. We went on a navigational exercise on 5 April to check out cruise procedures and left for New Zealand on 8 April 1965.’ The other two Hercules also headed home that day.
Navigator Bob Howe, then a Flight Lieutenant, recalls his arrival in Wellington, New Zealand on NZ7003. ‘We were directed to return to Wellington first for a reception by the Prime Minister and the Chief of Air Staff. Two things stand out about the arrival: Firstly we got too close for comfort to the Hutt Valley power lines on a holding run; and secondly we knew we were home when a civil pilot, forced to hold because of our arrival, complained ‘what about us taxpayers?’ Shortly after noon on 14 April 1965 the first three Hercules arrived at Wellington’s Rongotai Airport, to a formal reception ceremony, headed by the Prime Minister (The Right Honourable Keith Jacka Holyoake). ‘I am sure that we have chosen wisely and well,’ he said of the Hercules.
In the months immediately after arrival, the three Hercules were seen above most New Zealand cities and towns as the RNZAF showed off its new acquisitions. Overseas trips were undertaken. On 29 April 1965 NZ7001 and its crew flew from RNZAF Base Auckland to Honolulu. Covering 3,840 nm in twelve hours and twenty minutes, it was the longest distance flown by New Zealand civil or military aircraft in a single day. Another major overseas trip was in May 1965, when one aircraft flew to Singapore and returned home via the Philippines where it uplifted support equipment for 5 Squadron Sunderlands.
The first major operation carried out by the RNZAF’s new Hercules took them straight into a war! The three aircraft airlifted the New Zealand Army’s 161 Artillery Battery and its equipment from New Zealand to Biên Hòa AFB in South Việtnam. Over seven days the aircraft carried 96 soldiers, five 105mm howitzers, fourteen laden Land Rovers, eight trailers, two water tankers and other equipment - in total seventy tons. The first flight was made on 14 July and the last on 21 July 1965. Each aircraft stopped only for fuel and a crew change at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Just twenty hours after leaving New Zealand the soldiers were in the harsh operational environment of South Việtnam. There was much public dissension over the role of the New Zealand Armed Forces in the Việtnam War. The Air Force’s involvement in the carriage of the Army Artillery units was conducted in utmost secrecy before the event. Sergeant Air Quartermaster Vern Carter remembers the degree of subterfuge used to disguise the involvement.
Royal Australian Air Force C-130A A97-216 (57-0508) on 26 March 1975 during loading of CAC CA-32 helicopter A17-021, which was rolled out in April 1973, being lost in 1995 after loss of LTE during landing at Gibb River, Western Australia. C-130A A97-216 was delivered to the RAAF on 3 March 1959 and operated until September 2001 when it was scrapped.
‘We were scheduled to fly to Singapore, leaving Whenuapai (RNZAF Auckland) on Monday morning 5 July 1965. We loadies were asked to come in on the Sunday morning and supervise the loading. On arrival at the Squadron hangar, there were no signs of aircraft on the tarmac. Instead we were confronted by the sight of 161 Battery’s Land Rovers and artillery waiting outside. They had driven up from Papakura at 0600 hours to avoid confrontation with the Progressive Youth Movement which was opposed to the Việtnam War. Thus we learnt that our ultimate destination was a little further than Singapore and we also learnt the reason for those nasty ‘plague’ jabs. Loading was a doddle, though carried out inside the hangar and the seats were rigged for the accompanying gunners. The technique for landing [at Biên Hòa, Việtnam] was to spiral down from 20,000 feet, remaining within the confines of the airfield, or you could get shot at by the VC around the perimeter of the field. When the aircraft commenced descent, the gunner’s staff sergeant leapt to his feet and bellowed ‘Load weapons’.
‘Whoa,’ yelled a startled Air Quartermaster. ‘Not on my aircraft you don’t.’ He visualised everyone disappearing through a small hole in the side of the still pressurised aircraft. The first confrontation of the war! 40 Squadron Hercules were to continue regular flights in support of New Zealand’s contribution to this war, flying into Saïgon and Vũng Tàu.
Acting Sergeant (later Squadron Leader) Warren Dale who was awarded the Việtnam Medal for duty was an Air Quartermaster on RNZAF Hercules transport flights operating between Singapore, Vũng Tàu and Saïgon.
‘Our Hercules’ were new and well capable of the work. Our course of air quartermasters were among the conversion courses to be trained in New Zealand by the RNZAF crews who had trained and brought the aircraft home from the United States. Vern Carter and Jock Scott (who both went on to become Master Air Loadmasters) made a good job of our training and we were confident because of this good solid grounding and the quality and capability of our aircraft and equipment. It was a time of contrasts; from seeing the mist still gathered just under the top of the jungle canopy as we flew low level over the Mekong Delta in the peace in the early morning just after dawn to the busy, somewhat dirty day-to-day business of an operational airfield. The air and the ground would shudder with the thudding beat of dozens of Iroquois and helicopter gunships lifting off in streams for their morning missions.’ The RNZAF contribution during the conflict saw 40 Squadron airlift New Zealand troops to South Việtnam and 41 Squadron freighters began regular re-supply missions from Singapore. In 1967 the first RNZAF helicopter pilots commenced duties with 9 Squadron RAAF in Việtnam. Other pilots served with USAF squadrons as Forward Air Controllers, bringing a total of thirty pilots who served in Việtnam between 1967 and 1971; ten of these received decorations for gallantry.
‘Getting to know our troops and gunners over the 2-3 days from New Zealand into South Việtnam was a highlight. Watching good, solid, quiet and determined New Zealand soldiers unloading their weapons, artillery and stores and going calmly about their business when we arrived was always impressive. We would sometimes lend the gunners aircraft ear defenders, for a few short months, as they looked to be better than the gear they had. Occasionally, we would collect the same people after their tour and remember each other. They were changed, but there was always a cheer as we lifted off for the flight home. Unfortunately, we needed to bring out some of them in their coffins which were a sobering reminder of the real war that our people were facing.
‘The war in Việtnam touched the public consciousness like no war previously, due in large part to the powerful then-new medium of television. It brought war - its sacrifice and horror - into the living rooms of ordinary kiwi families. People questioned New Zealand’s role in the engagement and protests were widespread. Our servicemen were not immune to these protests and were often the easy target of unpopular government policies. I was comfortable with our engagement in Việtnam. I saw it as New Zealanders helping to defend a small country threatened by insurgency and invasion by larger and more powerful enemies. By the same token I was comfortable with the demonstrations. We felt that the demonstrators’ freedom to do this was part of being New Zealanders and the sort of thing that our duties in Việtnam were intended to defend.’
C-130A A97-215 (57-0508) of 37 Squadron RAAF passing Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The aircraft was delivered to the RAAF on 3 March 1959, being broken up for spares at Fort Lauderdale and scrapped in December 1997.
Between June 1964 and December 1972 over 3,400 New Zealand military personnel served in the Republic of South Việtnam. Of that number 37 died in active service, including one RNZAF serviceman Sergeant G. S. Watt and 187 were wounded.
Meanwhile, in July 1965 a Hercules made the first around-the-world flight for this new RNZAF type, completing a circuit of the globe in 85 hours. Back home they assisted 3 Squadron Bristol Freighter aircraft in redistributing civilian prisoners throughout New Zealand after prison riots at Mount Eden (Auckland) and Paparua (Christchurch). The Hercules were beginning to show their versatility. On 12 September New Zealand Prime Minister Keith Holyoake used NZ7003 on a VIP trip from Rarotonga to Wellington. It was the first of many overseas VIP missions the Hercules flew until the Boeing 727s took over the role on their arrival in 1981. Towards the end of 1965 the three Hercules’ of 40 Squadron were busily engaged on a wide range of worldwide tasks. In October 1965 they provided support to 14 Squadron Canberras in a major international exercise in Australia. The first paradrops were made over RNZAF Auckland and training exercises to develop supply dropping techniques were carried out over Matamata airfield. In December the RNZAF’s first six Bell Sioux helicopters were delivered from the United States by Hercules. They went to Hobsonville at RNZAF Auckland, the home of 3 Battlefield support Squadron (3 BSS). In June 1966 the Hercules began delivery of five new Iroquois helicopters to 3 BSS. ‘The first flight out of Christchurch, the first ever made to the Antarctic by an RNZAF aircraft, left at noon on Wednesday 27 October and the last flight landed there at 5.25 on Saturday, 30 October 1965.’
This statement in the RNZAF News was the first comment on what has become the annual sojourn of 40 Squadron to the great white continent. Air Commodore Carey Adamson, then a young Flying Officer co-pilot, was on that first trip. He recalls this historic flight: ‘We had to deliberately fly past a point of no return to a destination with no alternate. We had heard horror stories of the destination weather closing in with no warning and shutting down the airfield in a matter of minutes. Although we knew all the theory, we were not sure what landing on the ice would actually be like. When the coast of Antarctica came into sight, the intercom became silent as everyone took in the grandeur of the scenery and the alien nature of the continent. After seven hours and ten minutes the first RNZAF flight to the Antarctic ended with an uneventful landing at Williams Field. We had proved that we now had the means to support our own people with our own aircraft.’
C-130H NZ7002 of 40 Squadron RNZAF at Chittagong Airport Bangladesh during the April 1972 reilef operations.
C-130E A97-180 (65-12904) of 37 Squadron RAAF at Sydney Airport on 19 October 1988. Eight years earlier this aircraft (and A97-178) operated Red Cross relief flights to Kampuchea. The aircraft was one of twelve C-130Es delivered to the RAAF in 1966-67. (MWB)
During this first venture to the deep-south, Hercules NZ7003 travelled 12,900 miles on round trips between Christchurch and Williams Field (McMurdo), carrying a total of 75,000lb of miscellaneous cargo for the New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme (NZARP) and for the United States ‘Deep Freeze’ programme. ‘It was different and challenging flying,’ Captain of the flight, Wing Commander Allan Wood AFC said. ‘It was with joy and pride that we watched the first RNZAF Hercules land at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica’ said Mr. M. M. Prebble, the leader of the New Zealand Party at Scott Base. In 1968 the New Zealand Government announced it had approved the purchase of a further two Hercules. These new aircraft (NZ7004 and NZ7005) were officially accepted at Dobbins AFB during the first week of January 1969 and arrived in New Zealand on the 9th.
On 28 July 1969 the Squadron had all five Hercules in the air for the first five ship formation over Auckland city. During May - June 1969, Hercules carried out flights to the Cook Islands in support of a Government requirement to assist this island nation. These flights were typical of those still carried out today by the Hercules to various island nations of the South Pacific. One of the first occasions the Hercules showed its skills to the New Zealand public was in April 1968. A severe tropical storm disrupted commercial shipping and Hercules’ were used to carry passengers over Cook Strait. Up to ninety people a time were carried on the twelve-minute flight between Wellington and Blenheim. The geographical nature of New Zealand, with Cook Strait dividing the land mass, made for an interesting industrial dispute situation. New Zealand Railways ran a ferry service between the two main islands. The link was treated as an extension of the national highway system, so when threatened by industrial action, the Government used other means to ensure the link was maintained. In late 1969 a Hercules and three Bristol Freighters carried priority freight across the Cook Straight when industrial action halted the ferry service. Code named Operation ‘Pluto’, 1,750 tons of freight were transported over 22 days. The operation has been regularly repeated, with the range of cargo expanded to include light vehicles and passengers. The most recent was in April 1991.
40 Squadron’s motto is Ki Nga Hau E Wha (‘To the Four Winds’). During the 1970s the men, women and Hercules of 40 Squadron lived up to this motto by visiting a wide range of countries. The Hercules had become a very important part of the projection of New Zealand’s foreign policy. In addition to the usual military work carried out during this decade, many new tasks for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs were undertaken. Some of the decade’s highlights are recalled here.
One of the first major deployments in the early 1970s was to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in early 1972. Replying to a worldwide call for assistance to the war ravaged country, Detachment Commander, Squadron Leader Noel Rodger and the crew of NZ7002 under the command of Flight Lieutenant Peter Hensby-Bennett left Auckland on 23 February. During a fourteen day airlift in Bangladesh more than one million pounds of urgently needed food was distributed throughout the country. Another detachment, led by Squadron Leader Peter Tremayne, followed. Hercules NZ7002 returned to Bangladesh, captained by Flight Lieutenant Colin Harris, spending three weeks airlifting 3.1 million pounds of supplies. Flying conditions were harsh, with long days, extreme temperatures and no internal air traffic organisations to co-ordinate the many international aircraft crisscrossing the country. For its efforts the RNZAF was awarded the Red Cross Medallion for Meritorious Service. During regular overseas operations Hercules NZ7004 made the first nonstop flight from Changi (Singapore) to Whenuapai, on 12 May 1970. Captained by Wing Commander Mervyn Hodge, Officer Commanding 40 Squadron, the aircraft made the 5,290 mile flight in fourteen hours 45 minutes. All five Hercules visited the Far East on many occasions during this decade, flying missions in support of Exercise ‘Vanguard’ (a 75 Squadron RNZAF exercise) and the New Zealand Army Battalion based at Singapore. On 20 October NZ7005 appeared out of the hangar wearing the new ‘Kiwi’ roundel, adopted by the RNZAF to clearly identify New Zealand military aircraft. ‘As our most prominent ambassadors, it was appropriate that a Hercules should be one of the first types to carry the new national marking’.
C-130A A97-206, which was delivered to the RAAF on 18 November 1958, at Jacksons Field, Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea in company with Ansett-ANA DC-6B VH-INS. In November 1993 this Hercules was purchased by Total Aerospace Miami and broken up for parts. (Maurice Austin Collection)
Throughout the seventies the Hercules were pressed into service as VIP and VVIP transport aircraft, carrying these people around New Zealand and the South Pacific. Initially, a C-130 VIP Rig with plush seats mounted on a pallet was used. The pallet had screens around it with an open top. At least one Royal referred to it as ‘the horse box’. On 1 October 1978, NZ7002, under the command of Squadron Leader Carey Adamson, flew to Tuvalu to uplift Her Royal Highness the Princess Margaret, who had fallen ill during a visit there. The Princess was flown to Sydney for treatment. A fully enclosed VIP module was developed by the Squadron, mounted or a large pallet ‘liberated’ from the Canadians. Another Princess, Princess Anne, also travelled by RNZAF VIP Hercules. Squadron maintenance flight commander, Flight Lieutenant Alan Gill, remembers the rush to complete the module in time. ‘The box arrived the day before the scheduled flight. Much effort was expended to get a satisfactory air-conditioned airflow through the enclosed room. Work continued through the night to complete the fit in time for the 0900 departure. After the mammoth effort, Princess Anne apparently spent very little time in ‘the box’. Probably the lack of windows and the carpet glue smell led her to decide that the flight deck was a more enjoyable vantage point.’
With some improvement in East-West relations, New Zealand decided to establish an Embassy in Peking. NZ7002 captained by Wing Commander Mervyn Hodge, set out for China on 22 July 1973 with a cargo of furniture and equipment for the new Embassy. The aircraft stopped at Canton to collect a Chinese navigator, radio operator and interpreter for the final leg of the journey. It was a very wet day in Peking on 25 July, but the crew quickly assisted local personnel in unloading the cargo before beginning the trip home. On 5 December Hercules NZ7002 arrived in Moscow after a six hour flight from England. Captained by Wing Commander Mervyn Hodge, the aircraft carried equipment for the New Zealand Embassy being built in Moscow. It was the first RNZAF aircraft to land in the Soviet Union and was the first of three flights made by New Zealand Hercules to the Soviet Union’s capital city. To enter Russian airspace each flight needed a Russian navigator and radio operator. One of the crew was a loadmaster named Sergeant Warren Dale. He recalls an unusual incident at Copenhagen while collecting the Russian escorts: ‘The tarmac was covered in a deep layer of clear ice. Our fancy little wooden chocks wouldn’t hold the aircraft - it slid happily off down the tarmac, chocks and all, immediately the brakes were released - the Danes fixed that with the meanest-looking set of spiked chocks I’ve ever seen.’
On 25 December 1974, when most Hercules crews were enjoying an antipodean summer, a cyclone hit Darwin on the northern coast of Australia. New Zealand’s Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Wallace Rowling, offered immediate air assistance and on 27 December a Hercules with two crews was on its way to Darwin. 40 Squadron had a close affinity with Darwin, as it had been a major staging post for the Squadron since the mid 1950s. During the next five days the Kiwi crews flew 65 hours, carrying urgently needed equipment to Darwin and evacuating residents to safer areas. With the impending collapse of South Việtnam in early 1975, a Hercules Detachment, under the command of Wing Commander A. E. ‘Tommy’ Thomson (CO 40 Squadron), made three trips between Saïgon and Singapore between 6 and 19 April 1975 to evacuate New Zealand Embassy staff, refugee children and news media representatives. In 1977 and 1978, 40 Squadron Hercules flew into Burma. Here was a country shut off from the world for many years, now seeking assistance from New Zealand on a number of technical education projects.
On 27 January 1977 NZ7005 captained by Squadron Leader Peter Bevin headed for the northern city of Myitkyina with an ambulance and machinery for a school. Further flights carrying other aid equipment were made to Myitkyina in March 1978 and January 1980. Navigator, Flight Lieutenant Terry Gardiner, remembers the hospitality shown by local ‘armed civilians’ at Myitkyina. ‘By unmistakable gestures, they insisted on entertaining us with afternoon tea before we left. This consisted of sweet biscuits, cakes and beer served to us in a fairly ramshackle airport building which appeared to have been left untouched since the end of World War Two. Our Captain looked askance at the beer and then at the size of the cannons draped across our hosts’ shoulders and made his wise decision. The rest of the crew were to drink; he would abstain and trust that it would not prove too much of a provocation. It didn’t. The return flight in my memory has a warm mellow hue.’
C-130A A97-213 (57-0506) which was delivered to the RAAF on 5 January 1959 and C-130E A97-168 (65-12899), which was accepted at Lockheed Marietta Georgia on 26 August 1966, in formation. A97-213 was purchased by Total Aerospace for parts in January 1995. Wings and tails removed, A97-168 is currently used as a training aid sitting in a hanger for loadmaster, air dispatcher, air movements and aero medical evac training. External power has been added so the cargo area and ramp work as they did previously. (RAAF via Nich Wauchope)
One of five 40 Squadron RNZAF C-130Hs, which included the first three production H models and were delivered in April 1965, crossing a remote Pacific island. The squadron’s duties include flights to the Antarctic base at McMurdo.
When the Iranian revolution reached its peak in 1979, Hercules NZ7004 captained by Flight Lieutenant Ray Robinson flew to Teheran at short notice to evacuate NZ Embassy staff. RNZAF Hercules had previously visited Iran in January 1976, transporting material for the New Zealand Embassy in Teheran.
New Zealand provided an Army component to monitor the truce in Zimbabwe during 1979. On 20 December Hercules NZ7003 captained by Flight Lieutenant Scott Glendinning flew through Australia, Cocos Island, Mauritius, Durban and Salisbury with the main body of troops. They were recovered from Zimbabwe by Hercules in March 1980. In July 1979 the RNZAF’s most senior Hercules, NZ7001, travelled to Greenham Common, England to take part in the International Air Tattoo. The theme for that year was the 25th anniversary of the first flight of the Hercules. In a line-up of 26 Hercules representing fourteen nations, the RNZAF Hercules was judged best aircraft on display. It was a very proud crew headed by Squadron Leader Trevor Butler, which brought home the prestigious Concours-d’-elegance trophy. The Hercules had undertaken a standard freight/passenger task to the United Kingdom before being meticulously prepared for the line-up. Another award also went to the Kiwis - Warrant Officer S. Peyton won the trophy for best crew chief. Throughout the decade, the RNZAF also enjoyed successes at ‘Bullseye’ competitions and at ‘Volant Rodeo’ in the United States.
Throughout the 1970s Hercules carried Iroquois helicopters and relief aid to a number of New Zealand’s South Pacific Island neighbours struggling to recover from cyclones. Other flights carried injured patients to New Zealand for treatment. Often a crew would be called out at short notice to evacuate a seriously ill patient from somewhere in the Pacific. RNZAF medical staff provided medical assistance on these flights. Closer to home, NZ7003 made an airdrop of young trees to the Chatham Islands during April 1978. These were planted to assist the survival of the rare Chatham Island Robin.
Constant demands on such a small Hercules fleet, was tremendous. Often there were only three or four aircraft available due to servicing. Meeting requirements meant dedication from the Squadron’s small maintenance team. One of the maintenance flight commanders was Flight Lieutenant Alan Gill. He recalls the degree of effort required to keep the fleet in the air.
‘The NCOs were the backbone of the maintenance operation. Their dedication in ensuring serviceable aircraft were available to taskings is something I will never forget. The nature of 40 Squadron’s tasking saw aircraft departing in the morning, returning in the evening and needing to be ready again the next day. The night shift was busy and the day shift was sometimes just cleaning up the mess from the night before. The ‘groundies’ very rarely went on the aircraft to see what it was all about. My predecessor had argued for a maintenance position on the crew for some flights and also for a training exercise base in Fiji. That maintenance position enabled the ground crew to observe that long flights through various time zones were mostly hard and tiring work. Late arrivals and early departures, invariably the norm, left little time to enjoy the ‘exotic places’.
‘Allowing the ground crews to see air crews at work enabled better empathy between them and consequently provided a more cooperative dialogue and work arrangement.’
C-130E A97-172 which was accepted at Lockheed Marietta Georgia on 10 October 1966, which was used in the Tasmanian ‘Bushfire Relief’ operations on 9 September 1967. This aircraft made the first direct scheduled service from Butterworth to Richmond without a stopover on 6 May 1967. In service with 37 Squadron, at some stage this aircraft was returning from New Zealand after a major service and an engine seized. On its continued flight to Richmond a second engine gave up and had to divert to RAAF Fairbairn where, having just pulled up on the tarmac, the third and fourth engines just gave up. The reason given was fuel contamination. A97-172 sat for about a month while the tanks were dried out. A97-172 was retired to Holsworthy Army Barracks on 28 March 2000 for loading and parachute training.
The decade ended on a sad note when an Air New Zealand DC-10 crashed on Mount Erebus in Antarctica. All 257 people on board the 29 November 1979 flight died. Within hours, Hercules NZ7004 captained by Flight Lieutenant Scott Glendinning was on its way to the southern continent, carrying a civilian police contingent and an air accident investigation team. The Hercules then recovered to Christchurch ending 28 hours of flying for one crew.
Other Hercules had the unenviable task of recovering bodies back to Christchurch. This whole operation greatly affected the crews and support personnel involved. As the Squadron history records, it was a sad way to end what had been a very successful year.
When the Hercules fleet entered the 1980s they and their crews were seasoned campaigners of military air lift operations. This decade continued to provide challenges and changes in emphasis. With the introduction of the two Boeing 727 trijets into the squadron, the Hercules crews could concentrate more on tactical airlift, paratrooping, aerial delivery and heavy freight movements. However, the responsibility of moving personnel both internally and externally remained an important task. March 1980 was a typical month with eleven overseas tasks, ten internal tasks and the commencement of a Hercules conversion course, put heavy demands on the Squadron and its aircraft. Tropical cyclone ‘Wally’ in Fiji during April saw the Hercules complete six return flights to Fiji carrying two helicopters and approximately 75,000lbs of tents and blankets.
The RNZAF has provided Hercules air support to cultural activities in New Zealand and neighbouring South Pacific countries. One such task was in July 1980, when Hercules NZ7005 captained by Wing Commander Ken Gayfer (then CO 40 Squadron) flew to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in support of the South Pacific Festival of the Arts. The extremes of the climate, topography and lack of air traffic control facilities were matched by the variety of passengers and freight carried. Now an Air Commodore, Wing Commander Gayfer recalls one colourful occasion.
‘The first task was to convey a PNG Cabinet Minister and his wife, plus twenty or so locals to a remote part of PNG where there was to be an official ceremony connected with the festival. I assessed the status of the Minister to warrant VIP treatment and accordingly saluted him on board. He was dressed in a smart business suit. On arrival I climbed out and raced to position myself by the steps so as to provide the same courtesy. I noticed a welcoming group of fifty women was arranged in neat rows in order to complete a ritual tribal dance of welcome, clad in only grass skirts. Then to my astonishment the Minister appeared down the aircraft steps wearing only a loincloth and a massive headdress, followed by his wife in similar minimal attire to that of the women dancers! They had changed in the aircraft just prior to landing.’
C-130A A97-207 (57-0500) The Wizard of OZ was delivered to the RAAF on 25 November 1958. The RAAF has the distinction of being the only recorded operator who spun the C-130 when, on 4 July 1968 it was spun during a demonstration of stalls and spins by Flight Lieutenant Bruce Clark, who was one of the CFI’s on 36 Squadron at the time but he held the stall too long and the aircraft lost over 6,000 feet and spun six times. The Hercules, which received an ultrasonic inspection, flew at 20 knots slower than the rest of the fleet and it was suspected the tailplane was slightly bent. The Wizard of OZ was broken up some time after September 2001. The aircraft is seen here at RAAF Richmond in September 1965. (John Bennett)
C-130H Hercules A97-007 Licence To Deliver on 36 Squadron unloading at Jackson Field, Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea during the late 1970s. This Hercules was delivered to the RAAF in September 1978 and was retired from service in August 2012.
In March 1981 a commercial airline strike in Australia stranded thousands of civilian passengers on both sides of the Tasman. The RAAF and RNZAF were tasked to move the backlog of passengers across ‘the ditch’. 40 Squadron Hercules flew around the clock for four days using four aircraft and four crews, moving approximately 800 passengers between Whenuapai, Richmond and Wigram. Military bases were used each side of the Tasman to avoid further escalation of the industrial situation. On 11 April HRH The Prince of Wales on completion of a brief New Zealand tour flew from Christchurch to Canberra in VIP rigged NZ7002 captained by Wing Commander Ken Gayfer. The flight returned to Whenuapai having safely delivered its Royal passenger to Canberra. The introduction of the Boeings to 40 Squadron in July 1981 saw most VIP roles passed to these newcomers. However Royalty did again travel on a standard Hercules, when HRH Prince Edward flew on NZ7004. The journey from Christchurch to Antarctica and return, in December 1982 was captained by Squadron Leader Trevor Butler. In May 1981 NZ7004 flew to Dobbins AFB in the United States to undergo the first Outer Wing Modifications required by Lockheed. All five of the Hercules had completed this programme by the end of October 1981. During 1984 and 1985 the fleet underwent a Fuselage Improvement Programme at the RNZAF’s engineering facility at Woodbourne. An avionics upgrade was also started in conjunction with this programme.
From July to September 1981 a controversial Rugby Tour by the South Africans caused civil disturbances at each venue. Hercules’ were used to transport police contingents to the venues. This event coincided with the requirement to position and recover aircraft in the USA for wing modifications. Even the Base Commander of RNZAF Auckland, Group Captain Peter Adamson, returned to the cockpit to assist when a shortage of crews prevailed during this hectic period. A ‘first’ for the Squadron occurred during Operation ‘Ice Cube 81’ in November. An engine change on a Hercules was required at McMurdo in Antarctic and the aircraft remained on the ice at Williams Field, near McMurdo Station for several days during the change.
Between 1982 and 1986 the RNZAF supplied personnel to the Multi National Force of Observers (MFO) based at El Gorah in the Sinai, to operate Iroquois helicopters. In support of this deployment NZ7001 under the command of Squadron Leader Trevor Butler left Whenuapai on 3 August 1982 for El Gorah. This was to become a regular task for the Squadron over the next four years.
Royal Australian Air Force C-130A A97-208 (57-0501), seen here at Greenham Common in 1979, was sold to the French Government on 4 September 1983. (MWB)
‘On behalf of our people and children, a very sincere thank you. You have saved our lives.’ These were the words of Mr Pau Toke, chairman of the Penrhyn Island Council, to the crew of NZ7004 on completion of a mercy mission to the island. This mission began on 11 September 1982, when NZ7004 under the command of Captain Don Stone (a USAF exchange officer on the Squadron), flew from Whenuapai to Rarotonga. From there 5,000 gallons of fresh water was carried in two sorties to Penrhyn Island, 727 miles north of Rarotonga. The island was suffering from a drought and a call for immediate assistance was made to the New Zealand Government by the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. Once again it was Hercules of 40 Squadron that sprung to the rescue.
Pitcairn Island, a remote island in the South Pacific, is mostly populated by descendants of mutineers from HMS Bounty. On 22 February 1983, Hercules NZ7004 (captained by Squadron Leader Trevor Butler) over flew the island on its way back from the United States. The primary reason for this flight was to assess the feasibility of airdropping a bulldozer onto this small rugged island. The island’s first mail drop was made during the flight. Once back at Whenuapai, planning commenced to airdrop a 28,000lb bulldozer. On 30 May 1983 NZ7005 captained by Squadron Leader Trevor Butler, headed for Pitcairn. The co-pilot was Captain Mark Barrels USAF. Along for the ride was Group Captain Mason, the British Defence Attaché to New Zealand.
The actual airdrop mission was launched from Tahiti on 31 May 1983 during a nonstop 3000 kilometre flight. The bulldozer was broken down into two loads, with the first drop made just after dawn. Winds ebbed low enough for the load to descend under six 100 foot diameter cargo parachutes. Following a ‘streamer’ run to gauge the strength of the residual wind, the command ‘green light’ was given to extract the load. It was released over a football field drop zone in a small valley with sharp cliffs and ocean at either end. The load roared out of the aircraft with the rollers screaming and protesting at the weight and speed at which the bulldozer accelerated. Anxious loadmasters, Flight Lieutenant Warren Dale and Flight Sergeant Dave Neilson, moved to the ramp and monitored the sequence of parachutes as they deployed. They were rewarded with the sight of a fireworks display as the parachute ground release cartridges ripple fired. The bulldozer landed perfectly and was quickly joined by the second platform containing its cab and blade assemblies. Almost the entire population of the island was standing on the hills of the valley to see the loads come in. The people were rewarded with the sight of an immaculate airdrop performance and the bulldozer starting up - it was dropped with fuel and a battery ready for immediate service. It also arrived with newspapers and fresh fruit installed - courtesy of 40 Squadron.
Spare cargo space on international Hercules flights is often offered to charitable institutions for free carriage of goods and supplies. Some of the wide range of charitable goods carried by Hercules are: medicines, vaccines, hospital equipment, library books, school desks, chairs, kitset classrooms, sewing machines, clothing, generators, solar power panels, outboard motors, boats, bicycles, building material, roofing iron, refrigerators, tractors, along with lots of toys and teddy bears for children. When an aircraft carrying such goods arrives at a remote island airfield, the reception is overwhelming. A loadmaster recalls one welcome. ‘Everyone came to thank us,’ he said. They sang, danced and gave us floral leis and headpieces to wear. We looked really colourful as we took off from the coral runway. The only problem in departing was clearing the children away from the aircraft before we started the engines. We used to save up our flight rations and have carefully timed lolly scrambles at a safe distance from the aircraft.’
The hot and humid climate of Western Samoa was the setting for a major New Zealand Defence Force exercise, ‘Joint Venture 1988’. Most of the RNZAF’s Hercules deployed to the tropical island during April and early May 1988. The effort to lift support material for 75 Squadron Skyhawks, 3 Squadron Iroquois, New Zealand Army units and the RNZAF’s base camp in Western Samoa, placed a huge demand on the Hercules fleet. Operating from the main camp at Faleolo, the Hercules detachment flew many missions around the islands in support of the exercise. Regular deployments of this nature have allowed validation of the RNZAF’s deployable equipment pack-ups and ability to move away from the home base of Whenuapai at short notice.
The summer of 1989/90 marked the 25th season that RNZAF Hercules had travelled to Antarctica through Operation ‘Ice Cube’. As in previous years, the Hercules carried a wide range of freight and passengers of many nations to and from Williams Field at McMurdo Station. During the return trip on some flights ‘penguin counts’ and ‘iceberg surveys’ were carried out by New Zealand scientists. (In November 1984 NZ7002 captained by Squadron Leader Murray Sinclair, air dropped a scientific laboratory at Vanda Station, together with CDS system fuel and spares).
The 1990s started in traditional fashion with two devastating cyclones through the Pacific Islands to the north of New Zealand. The first was Cyclone OFA which ravaged Western Samoa, Nuie, the Tokelaus, the northern Tongan islands, American Samoa and Tuvalu in February 1990. The RNZAF provided an Orion aircraft to fly reconnaissance over the Tokelaus. This revealed that 45 percent of homes had been destroyed. On 13 February a Hercules was despatched to Apia (Western Samoa) with food, emergency building materials and Air Force engineers and equipment to re-establish communications with the outside world. The Hercules then began air dropping supplies to outlying islands. A further Hercules followed with specialist equipment to fix broken water mains and a number of generators to restore power to essential services. While this group of island states was recovering from this disaster, Cyclone ‘Peni’ arrived in the Cook Islands, causing damage to a number of small island communities. Hercules support for Cyclone ‘Peni’ involved one aircraft departing Whenuapai on 5 March, spending six days in the Cook Island area flying more than 8000 nautical miles and carrying almost 200,000lbs of freight. Within four days of commencing operations from Rarotonga, the aircraft had delivered thousands of pounds of civil aid to ten destinations within seven of the fifteen islands making up the northern and southern chains of the Cooks group. As well as the air crew, ground crews and movements teams spent long hours preparing loads for delivery.
With 1990 opening with a flurry of activity, the rest of the year seemed to settle down to the usual round of internal and overseas taskings, maintenance programmes and training. In September the New Zealand Government agreed to provide assistance to the large number of refugees trying to escape the Middle East, as the political situation deteriorated. Hercules NZ7002 was sent to Egypt with 16 tonnes of milk powder and then flew on to Amman, Jordan, where it carried refugees from the area. Two flights were completed to Karachi, Pakistan and another to Manila in the Philippines on the way home. A 40 Squadron Boeing 727 also diverted from a UK task to assist with the refugee flights. Towards the end of 1990 the Hercules crews were looking forward to a quiet Christmas; perhaps the cyclones would stay away for a change. However, another ‘cyclone’ was whirling its way through Kuwait! Along with many other nations, New Zealand responded to the call for help to this small nation when the Gulf crisis erupted. The NZ Government agreed to a Detachment of two Hercules and 46 personnel joining an RAF Hercules Squadron based at Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).
As the rest of the Air Force began the Christmas rundown in December 1990 40 Squadron personnel were frantically arranging last minute requirements to support a detachment of two aircraft in an operational area for an unspecified duration. Finally, the green light and on 20 December 1990 NZ7001, captained by Flight Lieutenant Tony Davies, followed by NZ7002 under the command of Flight Lieutenant David Wake, lifted off from Whenuapai. Arriving in Riyadh on 24 December, the Detachment wasted no time and commenced its first mission on 27 December. Working as part of the RAF Hercules Squadron, the Kiwi Hercs had flown almost 300 hours by the end of the first seven weeks. Tasking included the transportation of supplies and personnel to various locations during the build-up to the land war. It was a big adjustment for the New Zealanders to realise a chemical attack could be a reality. And then the Scud attacks began. Flight Lieutenant Rex Fraser remembers his feelings during those attacks: ‘It’s quite scary when you see missiles exploding outside your window and you’re trying to hurry to put your gear on (NBC kit) in the dark. Everything is for real and you’ve got to know what to do and do it quickly.’
On 14 January 1991 another Hercules, NZ7003 under the command of Wing Commander ‘Bob’ Henderson, (CO 40 Squadron), left Whenuapai with a further eight aircrew personnel to boost the RNZAF’s contribution. NZ7002 returned to New Zealand on 20 January. In his diary, Wing Commander Henderson records some of his impressions of the Detachment’s actions: ‘Monday 23 January. Thirteen days after leaving New Zealand. Flew today to Lzah and Qaisumah (Hafar al Batin) by the border. Lzah is a rough strip cut from the desert rock to the north of Jubail on the coast. We found the strip by using the aircraft’s inertial navigation system and the co-pilot identified it as we went through about 200 feet, by saying ‘there’s a windsock’. Then flew at 500ft along the ‘pipeline’ - the road from Jubail inland to Qaisumah. There were literally hundreds of vehicles on the road and helicopters flying below us, along the road. Very impressive. This flying is rather exhilarating. Our extra aircrew arrived this evening about midnight. All looking rather hyped up in their ‘marine’ haircuts. The lucky beggars were spared an air raid tonight!’
NZ7004 replaced NZ7001 on 1 March and on 12 April, NZ7003 and NZ7004 touched down at Whenuapai, returning some of the detachment to a welcome from the New Zealand Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Jim Bolger. A RAF TriStar and another Hercules carried the balance of personnel and equipment back to New Zealand.
While the focus of attention had naturally been with the Hercules Detachment in the Gulf, the RNZAF’s remaining Hercules had carried out a wide range of routine tasks in New Zealand and overseas. While on a standard flight in support of a ‘Vanguard’ exercise redeployment from Malaysia, a Hercules was diverted to carry 10 tonnes of milk powder and medical supplies to cyclone torn Dacca in Bangladesh. Another Hercules also flew charitable freight to various Pacific Island nations and to Papua New Guinea.
On 17 April 1991 a Hercules was despatched to Wellington to help with operation ‘Pluto Nine’ which had started the previous day. By the time the operation finished on 19 April, four Andovers and one Hercules had carried 819 passengers and 338 cars during 160 flights between Wellington/Woodbourne/Wellington. In June the RNZAF took back the Depot Level Maintenance (DLM) of the Hercules fleet. It was decided that this work, carried out by Air New Zealand since 1977, could be undertaken more efficiently and economically at RNZAF Woodbourne’s maintenance depot. An ingenious bogey arrangement was developed which allowed each Hercules, with main wheels removed, to be lowered and moved sideways into the hangar. A Hercules major re-fit takes about ninety days and involves both RNZAF and civilian engineers employed at the depot.
The annual cyclone season started early for 40 Squadron, when in mid December Cyclone ‘Val’ hit Western Samoa. A Hercules on stand-by since 10 December left early on the morning of the 12th for Faleolo (Western Samoa). On board was a 3 Squadron Iroquois which had not been assembled upon return from the Antarctic. A second Hercules quickly followed with an Air Loading Team, communications equipment and operators, Army personnel, media representatives, tarpaulins and oxygen cylinders for the local hospital. A third Hercules carried emergency supplies, fuel and a 400KVa generator in a 20 feet shipping container. It arrived on 14 December and was followed throughout the remainder of the month by a further four flights. So much for a quiet Christmas!
During the first part of 1992 the Hercules of 40 Squadron followed a fairly quiet routine. There was the usual activity in the Antarctic at the beginning of the year, support to the annual Army exercise in the Waiouru training area, winning of the annual ‘Bullseye’ competition in Canada for the second year in succession and delivery of a 3 Squadron Iroquois to England for Exercise ‘Helimeet 92’ - all before June 1992. Between 10 and 20 June the Hercules were busy carrying helicopters, material and personnel between New Zealand and Faleolo, in support of the first major tropical exercise held in three years. Once again external influences disrupted 40 Squadron’s plans for a quiet Christmas break. On 23 December the New Zealand Government’s offer to provide a Detachment of three Andovers and 69 personnel in Somalia, as part of the Unified Task Force, was accepted. The New Zealand endeavour, code named Operation ‘Samaritan’, was to take place in early January 1993. Over the Christmas break, 40 Squadron technical staff prepared three Hercules and a Boeing to deploy the Detachment to Mogadishu. Just down the tarmac Whenuapai, Base Auckland, 42 Squadron staff were busily preparing the three Andovers and myriad of stores and support material that the detachment would require for up to six months away from home.
Supplier Flight Sergeant Ray Loxley of 1 ATS Detachment at Williamstown on 30 September 1999 marshalling C-130H A97-007 Licence To Deliver on 36 Squadron. (RAAF, Sergeant Bill Guthrie)
RAAF personnel carry out preventative maintenance on C-130J A97-450 450 Pearl of 37 Squadron RAAF, which carries ‘Hercules 50 years’ artwork on the tail, in the Middle East in 2009.
On 2 January 1993 three Hercules and a Boeing headed for Somalia. The three Hercules rendezvoused with the Boeing in the Seychelles prior to the final leg into Mogadishu. On 5 January 1993, the Boeing with the majority of personnel arrived at Mogadishu and one hour later the first Hercules, NZ7001 under the command of Flight Lieutenant Tony Davies, arrived. The following day the remaining two Hercules arrived. NZ7002 (Flight Lieutenant Mike Morgan) and NZ7004 (Flight Lieutenant Dennis O’Connor) disgorged the mountains of equipment required by the detachment. The Hercules stayed on the ground long enough to unload and refuel before heading out of the extremely busy airfield. The next Hercules trip to this war-torn country was on 3 February when NZ7001, under the command of Wing Commander Bob Henderson, lifted off from Whenuapai for the re-supply trip to Mogadishu.
The crew of the Hercules joined the detachment in hosting a traditional Maori hangi to celebrate New Zealand’s national day of celebration (Waitangi Day) on 6 February. Total flying time for the round trip was 56 hours.
The Andovers were withdrawn in May 1993 and three Hercules transported the detachment back home. Other support flights for the NZ Army supply platoon at Mogadishu have since been flown.
During late March 1993, two Hercules, crews and support staff spent two weeks low-level tactical training at RNZAF Wigram. Between four and six sorties were undertaken per day over the South Island in the event known as Exercise ‘Skytrain’. These included the dropping of equipment at various drop-zones and night flying. The experience gained during ‘Skytrain’ was used the following month during the ‘Bullseye’ competition in Australia. However the Canadians beat the Kiwis by a narrow margin and the trophy was reluctantly surrendered for the first time in three years. It was also the first time a Royal Air Force team had entered.
On 13 May 1993 NZ7002 captained by Flight Lieutenant Dennis O’Connor left New Zealand with 25,000 ration packs gifted b; the NZ Government to refugees it Bosnia. The aircraft delivered the Ration Packs to Frankfurt where they were forwarded to Bosnia by the UN. During May the Hercules’ autopilots were replaced with a new automatic flight control system. This process was carried out at the Repair Depot at Woodbourne with the last aircraft fitted by the end of the year.
The 1993 year ended with twelve flights to Antarctica. The 4 Squadron Detachment operated from Christchurch International Airport, alongside its USAF (141), USN (LC-130) and US National Science Foundation (LC-130) counterparts. Also based at Christchurch was; RNZAF Mobile Air Loading Team, supplemented by New Zealand Army personnel, providing support for all aircraft on route to Antarctica.
KIW44/NZ7003 C-130H on 40 Squadron RNZAF with troops of the 25th Airborne Brigade JBER during Exercise ‘Talisman Sabre’ in 2015.
During one flight, the weather closed in and the Hercules, well beyond the Point of Safe Return (PSR) diverted to an Italian airfield at Terra Nova, Antarctica. Following a very warm welcome and overnight stay with the Italians, the Hercules continued on to Williams Field. On another flight, 13,000lbs of explosives were air dropped in three areas of the polar plateau for seismic investigations by scientists at the ice. This operation was a first for the Squadron.
Christmas 1993 was relatively quiet for the Hercules crews and support personnel. Tasks included a routine trip to Somalia to transport New Zealand Army personnel and an emergency flight to Sydney with monsoon fire-fighting buckets and technicians to help extinguish huge bush fires threatening Sydney suburbs. The buckets and personnel were returned in early January.
During the first half of 1994 40 Squadron Hercules carried out the usual range of internal and external tasks. In April two Hercules, two Andovers and one Iroquois supported by 130 personnel carried out tactical air training during Exercise ‘Skytrain’. This year’s pre-‘Bullseye’ practice paid off with one of the crews under the command of Flight Lieutenant Robert Purvis winning back the ‘Bullseye’ trophy for the RNZAF.
The most rewarding task during the first half of 1994 was from 4-8 June when a Hercules was involved in the search for eleven yachts hit by a severe storm in the Pacific. A total of 21 people were plucked from their vessels during the five day mission. As the full extent of the searches began unfolding 5 Squadron RNZAF sought assistance from 40 Squadron. A Hercules and crew of ten personnel spent twelve hours in the air, locating three vessels. Winds of up to 80 knots and thrashing rain made for a challenging flight. It was thanks to the professionalism and dedication of the crew that the mission proved successful.
By June 1994 each of the five Hercules in the RNZAF had flown the following total hours: NZ7001 19,636.3; NZ7002 20,243.6 NZ7003 20,327; NZ7004 16,651.3; NZ7005 160,69.5.1
As of 2008 the Squadron began modernising its Hercules aircraft with new avionics, centre wing refurbishment, aircraft systems upgrade and complete re-wiring and replacement of major parts and interior to extend their life expectancy (for NZ$234 million). The package for each aircraft was known as the Life Extension Programme (LEP). Initially two aircraft were completed in Canada however the programme ran into difficulties when the company tasked with carrying out the refurbishments went into receivership. The remaining aircraft were then completed by Safe Air in Blenheim, New Zealand. The Hercules fleet now operate with glass cockpits and had one of the most extensive upgrades ever completed on this type of aircraft anywhere in the world. The last Hercules aircraft to be upgraded NZ7002 was completed by the end of 2015.
The new millennium brought with it a fresh set of the challenges for the streamlined RNZAF. New Zealand’s decision to join the ‘war on terror’ following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States led to a succession of air deployments to the Middle East during the early 2000s. When the Christchurch earthquake struck on 22 February 2011 the RNZAF (along with army and navy) responded within a few hours. On the afternoon of the quake, an RNZAF Orion flew over the city taking photographs of damaged infrastructure, while a Boeing 757 arrived with search and rescue teams and medical personnel. Other RNZAF aircraft helped deploy police and medical personnel and evacuate casualties and tourists. Three months after the attack on the Twin Towers, two Hercules from 40 Squadron carried elements of the NZSAS to Pakistan following the invasion of Afghanistan. Another detachment was sent to Kyrgyzstan in 2003 to fly cargo and personnel into Afghanistan, while 5 Squadron Orions carried out surveillance flights around the Gulf region in 2003–2004 during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. These deployments signalled the beginning of a new operational era for the RNZAF. Humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in the Pacific and Middle East reinforced the importance of strategic and tactical air transport, maritime surveillance and helicopter support for army and naval forces. They also exposed the limitations of the air force’s ageing equipment. In 2002 the government announced a major upgrade programme that has seen the modernisation of the Hercules and Orions and the renewal of the helicopter fleet.
C-130J-30 A97-450. delivered in 2000, is in service with 37 Squadron and carries the nose art 450 Pearl and ‘Hercules 50 years’ artwork on the tail.
The Hercules fleet was due to be replaced by 2018. The Boeing 757s were also upgraded with new avionics and more powerful engines. A cargo door was also fitted to allow pallet loading and an aero medical facility if needed. In 2015 the RNZAF was looking to replace the C-130 Hercules fleet as well as the Boeing 757s. This is due to take place over the next five years due to the C-130s and Boeing 757s reaching the end of their flying life. A replacement for the Boeing 757s looks likely to be the C-17 Globemaster and the replacement for the Hercules fleet being either the Embraer KC-390, the A-400M, or the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.
In November 2011 Australia gave four ex-RAAF C-130Hs worth an estimated $30 million to Indonesia for humanitarian and disaster relief work. The Hercules aircraft would cost about 25 million Australian dollars in maintenance to restore them to airworthiness and were due to be sold on the open market. The Australian Defence Force agreed to give them to the Indonesian military following a request for more resources to boost disaster relief in the region. On 9 May 2012 it was announced that the RAAF’s eight remaining C-130H Hercules operated by 37 Squadron at RAAF Richmond were to be retired early to save $250 million in operational and maintenance costs.
The passing of the C-130H in RAAF service was marked by a fly over of the Blue mountains almost on the edge of Sydney to Cronulla a beachside suburb and an orbit of Sydney harbour in a shuddering lap of honour to say thanks for the 34 years of service during wars, floods, fires, droughts and disasters. It evoked the following impassioned response from an Australian journalist who flew on board one of the two ‘Hercs’ from Richmond Air Force Base: ‘I’m sweaty, shaking and being sick for the third time and I’ve been looking forward to this day all week. The man next to me is also being persistently ill into his vomit bag and I have no idea where the ground is outside the gyrating tin can I’m stuck in. I’m honoured and excited to be here. It’s the last flight of the RAAF’s work horse the C-130H Hercules at Richmond Air Force Base, with all twelve in the Australian fleet being decommissioned to make way for the newer C-130J model. For an aircraft that’s served our troops for 34 years the atmosphere is fitting - every second person I see is doing Movember so the base is alive with moustaches, aviators and one guy is even wearing knee-high khaki socks and shorts.
‘On the plane we take up position on what passes for seats. The first trouble I run into is when I can’t figure out how the seatbelt works. They show me that, then how to find the emergency exits, the oxygen bags (weird in themselves - think putting a chicken bag on your head) and the sick bags... which seem to be liberally sprinkled around the plane.
‘And then the C-130H starts her last show. ‘She starts like an old dancer. A slow side to side shimmy builds in the steel frame as the three metre long propeller blades start to turn. It speeds up to a shake as we taxi along the runway. Jarring, but not particularly uncomfortable. Then she starts to sweat - a diesel and kerosene smell creeping in from the engines as we bounce our way along the tarmac. The take off is faster than any I’ve been a part of. Pilot Tony Charles tells me afterward that Hercs are made to lift off from short or improvised runways. ‘You get up to speed pretty quickly,’ he says. ‘It’s not a long smooth start like a passenger jet.’ It needs to be - Australia’s fleet of Hercules have travelled enough kilometres to go around the world fifty times over carrying millions of tonnes of cargo along the way.
Maintained by 37 Squadron at RAAF Richmond, NSW the RAAF operates twelve C-130J-30 Hercules and are supported by eight Boeing C-17A Globemaster IIIs at RAAF Amberley, Queensland and ten Alenia C-27J Spartans.
‘They’ve taken medical aid to victims of the Bali Bombings and Boxing Day tsunami, fodder to cattle during the Queensland floods and supplies of condoms to PNG to combat the spread of AIDS. They’ve even tried their hand at fire fighting. And they’re nothing like a passenger jet.
‘We lurch into a sprint from a standing start, bumping across the runway and into the air moments later, cartwheeling and shuddering through the entire 90 minute farewell to a trusted old friend. The hot air tosses us around so much we would be confined to our seats on a commercial flight. Not the case here - I get up and wander around. It’s a ton of fun, like being on a flying jumping castle that’s made out of steel. It looks clumsy from outside but flying these planes takes immense skill and breeds a special sort of love from the pilots. Tony Charles says the Hercules’ last flight was like losing a friend. ‘There are a few tears about the place,’ he says.
‘We dive and bank; only it’s not the banking from car ads. A C-130H banks the same way someone turns around when they hear a sudden noise behind them, which tends to leave your stomach back where you started a moment ago. The camera man across from me already looks ill. He’s leaning back with his eyes closed holding a fresh sick bag in his lap. Ha, trust TV news to cave first.
‘I’m invited up to the cockpit and watch as we cruise over the blue water of Sydney Harbour. The crew wave to the photographers and camera men crowded onto the lowered ramp of the second Hercules above us.
On 19 November 2012 the RAAF celebrated 34 years service of the C-130H Hercules with a two-ship retirement flight by A97-005 Cherry and A97-008 (which once carried ‘Hercules 50 years’ artwork on the tail and You Sent Us To Arabia on the nose) over Sydney (inset). Departing RAAF Richmond they formed a loose formation and flew along Sydney’s southern beaches at a reported altitude of 150 metres. Separated by 600 metres, they then orbited the Sydney Harbour area for 20 minutes before departing to the North and the town of Barrenjoey, where they headed west to the Blue Mountains before returning to base. A97-005 was acquired by Indonesia (TNI-AV) and serialled A-1334. It crashed on approach to land at Wangmon, Papua on 18 December 2016. All thirteen aboard perished.
‘I return to the back of the plane and concede I’m going to be ill. It’s the smell - a rich, thick mess of sweat, kerosene and diesel fuel. The plane is painted black so it sucks up the heat until I feel like I’m being smoked, marinated in it while I’m shaken around. The guy beside me is next to go, vomiting into a bag he has doubled-up for the occasion. Doubling up the bag is a good idea. I think I’ll do that. Just in case. ‘If you’re going to do it you get it out of the way early,’ he tells me. ‘That’s the trick.’ ‘Two down from me one of the female journos starts as well. I wonder how the crew is all still so cheerful and if this is a right of passage. After this will I be immune to motion sickness?
‘Out the window I see sky, then water, then sky, then earth, then sky, buildings, sky, buildings, ocean, buildings, blur, blur, blur. ‘Eyes closed, no that’s worse. Eyes open. This seatbelt mystified me. Sky, water, sky, sky, ground, sky. The cameraman across from me is trying to climb into his vomit bag head first. It’s puffing in and out like someone trying not to hyperventilate only I can see wet stuff inside of it. My time has come. Eventually five out of eight of us are bested by the Hercules.
‘To my credit I didn’t bargain with god but I did make a ‘well if you’re already going to the shops’ request of him that if he was going to help the other journos he might want to see to me while he was at it. But there is something precious about the Hercules. The C-130H is a much loved part of the Air Force family - moving and supplying troops through some of our toughest campaigns. While it will now always be linked in my mind to a less-than comfortable experience to thousands of others has been a symbol of hope, relief and salvation. For the Special Forces in Afghanistan the C-130s were their ticket to safety and their supply line during hard times. For the victims of the 2004 Boxing day tsunami the C-130s were Australia’s first on the scene bringing supplies and aid to the disaster’s victims and showing them we would stand with them. For the Australian public during the 1989 pilot’s strikes the C-130s were there to transport them for four months after they were stranded away from home - action that won them a Queensland Tourism Award. They even flew the Iraqi Soccer Team out of Iraq to compete in the 2004 Olympics…where they went on to defeat the Ollyroos in the quarter finals. Well, I suppose even trusted friends can make mistakes. Members of the RAAF tell me they’ll miss the C-130H, that it’s a ‘part of history’.
‘Being ferried from the pass gate to the air strip my driver tells me she hopes the C-130s get a ‘proper send off’. They’ve earned it. It’s a symbol of everything that’s dependable and reliable in the air force, literally the ‘first to arrive, last to leave’. When I text my father, ex-air force himself, he replies: ‘Bastard. Say goodbye for me!’ Those are fond words from dad. And when I tell I failed to escape the trip unscathed he’s just as dry. Ha ha. Welcome to the wonderful world of the C-130. It’s much better up front.’
Twelve C-130J-30s were received by 37 Squadron during August 1999 and March 2000. The RAAF celebrated 800,000 Hercules flying hours in September 2014. The C-130Js had by this time accumulated over 100,000 hours and they are expected to remain in service until 2030.
1 Charles - 130H A RNZAF News Special July 1994.