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There's not much a C-130 can't do.
"A lot of people, including myself, claim this is the best airplane ever built, period," Michael Hurlburt, operations manager at the Air Mobility Command Museum and a US Air Force veteran, told Business Insider. "Military, civilian, cargo, passenger, fighter — I don't care. It can do anything, go anywhere."
The airlifter's versatility, longevity, and cargo capacity have made the C-130 a valuable asset to the Air Force and over 40 countries.
On a visit to the Air Mobility Command Museum in May, Business Insider went inside a retired C-130E Hercules for a behind-the-scenes look at the Air Force's long-serving workhorse. Take a look.
C-130s are versatile aircraft that have remained in continuous production for over 70 years.
The C-130 remains the military aircraft with the longest continuous production run in history. The first model flew in 1954, and Lockheed Martin has been making them ever since.
The latest C-130 Hercules model, a C-130J, was introduced in 1996 and cost $75.5 million to produce in 2017, according to the Air Force. Lockheed builds them at its facility in Marietta, Georgia.
A larger model, a C-130-J-30, is 15 feet longer and can transport an additional 2,000 pounds of cargo.
They can be configured for a multitude of missions.
C-130s can haul cargo, transport troops, airdrop humanitarian aid, participate in aeromedical evacuations, assist with natural disaster relief and aerial firefighting, and be configured as gunships for air support.
The US Air Force has also experimented with turning them into improvised bombers.
Some C-130 variants can be refueled while in flight.
Aircraft like the KC-135 Stratotanker can replenish the C-130's fuel supply in transit, allowing it to fly long distances without stopping.
They can also take off and land in a variety of climates.
C-130s can even be outfitted with skis to operate on icy terrain.
"These can and have landed on an aircraft carrier. You can land these on a boat. They can land on snow, ice, grass, dirt, anywhere they want," Hurlburt said. "It's just an amazing airplane."
Nearly every branch of the US Armed Forces uses C-130s, as do over 40 countries.
"Every single branch of service uses these, except for the Space Force — they don't yet, but I'm sure they will soon," Hurlburt said. "But the FBI, CIA, NASA, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, they all fly C-130s for something."
A version of the latest defense appropriations bill includes funding to buy C-130s for the Air National Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy Reserve.
The Air Mobility Command Museum on Dover Air Force Base in Delaware exhibits a C-130E Hercules that was retired in 2004.
The aircraft was delivered to the US Air Force in 1969 and stationed at various Air Force bases before its retirement. It measures 97 feet and 9 inches long, 38 feet and 3 inches high, and has a wingspan of 132 feet and 7 inches.
The C-130E Hercules is open daily for self-guided tours at the Air Mobility Command Museum located on Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Admission is free.
The fuselage still bears the fighting gryphon, the symbol of the 43rd Airlift Wing.
The 43rd Airlift Wing was based out of Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina. Reactivated in 1997, it operated two squadrons of C-130 Hercules aircraft that delivered troops, equipment, and other supplies to combat zones until it was inactivated in 2011.
The C-130E Hercules has four propellers, each with four blades.
C-130s use turboprop engines — gas turbine engines that power propellers — because they're more efficient at lower altitudes and speeds, and more durable in difficult conditions.
Most modern C-130 Hercules models have six or eight-bladed propellers, Hurlburt said.
The C-130E flew at 345 miles per hour.
A loadmaster is responsible for loading and unloading cargo while accounting for the plane's weight and balance.
C-130E Hercules planes can carry up to 42,000 pounds of cargo.
The C-130E Hercules on display features a pallet at the top of the ramp hooked up to a cord, as it would appear before an airdrop.
Paratroopers also hook themselves up to the same cord before jumping out of planes. This anchor line pulls open their parachute as they leap from the plane.
Hurlburt said there's one thing the C-130 does not do well: bathrooms. A single bucket serves as the only restroom on the plane.
During Hurlburt's time in the Air Force, he recalled 12- and 13-hour flights aboard C-130 aircraft, with some 40 service members sharing a makeshift bathroom.
"Every one of us is using that bucket at some point during the flight," he said. "It's not fun. It's not pretty. But hey, it is what it is. We don't try to get you there comfortable, we just try to get you there."
The galley is also sparse, consisting of a small oven to reheat whatever food service members pack for themselves.
"Whatever you bring is what you get," Hurlburt said.
The cockpit features two seats for the pilot and a co-pilot, and a third for a flight engineer, radio operator, or electronic warfare officer, depending on the mission.
On an AC-130 gunship — the heavily armed version of a C-130 Hercules — gunfire is authorized by the pilot. The Ghostrider is armed with 30mm and 105mm cannons, the latter capable of shattering fortified positions and armored vehicles.
"The kick of that gun will actually push the whole tail of the airplane, so they have to be prepared for that," Hurlburt said of the aircraft's 105mm cannon.
There is also a seat for the plane's navigator.
The navigator's seat features a sextant, a tool that uses the angles of the stars to determine the plane's position. Newer C-130 Hercules models use GPS.
An emergency escape hatch is located above a small cot in the flight deck.
In the event of a water landing or a hard landing where the gear collapses, crew members and passengers could exit through the hatch and climb down the escape rope.
If any of the flight instruments need repairs, avionics specialists crawl deep into the belly of the plane to fix them.
Hurlburt served as an avionics specialist in the Air Force for 24 years, maintaining and repairing flight instruments on planes, including the C-130. He knows its innards well.
"We call that the hell hole," he said, pointing to the cramped space underneath the ladder up to the flight deck. "We have to climb down inside, sometimes all the way down and around the corner again, to replace some of that equipment to get it to work — while you're flying."
The C-130 remains widely regarded as one of the best planes ever built, a military transport aircraft that is still going strong after 70 years.
While the C-130E Hercules at the Air Mobility Command Museum is no longer taking to the skies, newer C-130 models continue to serve in a multitude of roles in the US Armed Forces and around the world.
At an event marking the 70th anniversary of the C-130 in 2024, the Air Force celebrated the 12 different C-130 models in use across seven major commands and the Air National Guard — a total of 436 aircraft.
