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Description
| Notes: C-130E modified for special operations forces missions (COMBAT TALON I) . | ||
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed | |
| Base model: | C-130 | |
| Designation: | MC-130 | |
| Version: | E | |
| Nickname: | Hercules | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | |
| Designation Period: | 1925-1962 | |
| Basic role: | Transport | |
| Modified Mission: | Missile launch capacity | |
| See Also: | ||
Specifications
| Length: | 97' 9" | 29.7 m | |
| Height: | 38' 3" | 11.6 m | |
| Wingspan: | 132' 7" | 40.4 m | |
| Wingarea: | 1,745.0 sq ft | 162.1 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 72,892 lb | 33,057 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 155,000 lb | 70,294 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 175,000 lb | 79,365 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 4 | ||
| Powerplant: | Allison T56-A-7A | ||
| Horsepower (each): | 4050 | ||
Performance
| Range: | 2,300 miles | 3,703 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 340 mph | 547 km/h | 295 kt |
| Max Speed: | 366 mph | 589 km/h | 318 kt |
| Climb: | 1,600 ft/min | 487 m/min | |
| Ceiling: | 23,000 ft | 7,010 m | |
Recent comments by our visitors
| old talon dude , FL | I HEARD THAT THE TALON HAULS ALIENS AROUND 04/25/2008 @ 21:24 [ref: 20720] |
| Col Bernie Moore, USAF (Ret) Valrico, FL | I was an MC-130E pilot in three tours from 1980 to 1997 and commanded a Combat Talon I squadron. What we know today as MC-130E Combat Talon I's were built in 1965 for "Unconventional Warfare" missions. In plain language that means they were specially modified to clandestinely insert, resupply and extract Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs deep behind enemy lines. When the original 14 planes were constructed in 1965 they were known as C-130E-I "Skyhooks", so-called because they had the Fulton "Skyhook" surface-to-air personnel pickup system installed. In 1966 they were given a unique and sinister black and olive green camouflage paint job. This added to the secret plane's already mysterious reputation and immediately led to C-130 community calling them "Black Birds" (This was many years before the SR-71s became known as Blackbirds). In 1967 the C-130E-Is were given the code-name COMBAT TALON. During the Vietnam War they secretly parachuted Vietnamese agents, psyop leaflets and other items into North Vietnam at night. The also flew other clandestine missions into Laos and Cambodia. In 1970 they took part in the operation that tried to rescue POWs from Son Tay, North Vietnam. In 1977 the C-130E-Is were redesignated as MC-130Es to denoted their "multi-role" capabilities. In 1980 they inserted Delta Force commandos and Rangers into Iran in the aborted Iran hostage rescue operation. In 1983 they parachuted Army Rangers into Grenada. Beginning in 1984 the MC-130E's were modified with refueling pods so they could refuel helicopters in flight. In 1989 they conducted night-vision google landings to insert supplies for Army Rangers in the invasion of Panama. In 1991 they dropped 15,000 pound BLU-82 bombs and leaflets on Iraqi Army troops. They flew various operational missions in the Haiti intervention of 1994, the Bosnian War of 1995, took part in rescue missions in Liberia in 1996, and have been very busy doing what they do best since the terrorist attacks of 11 Sept 2001. One was lost over North Vietnam in 1967. A second was destroyed in Vietnam in 1967 by a mortar attack. In 1968 two additional C-130Es were modified as C-130E-Is as replacements, and in 1972 two more C-130Es were transferred from another classified program to the "Black Bird" force. A third was lost in 1972 in a night mid-air collision with an F-102. A fourth crashed at night into the Pacific near the Philippines in 1981. MC-130Es have been based at Pope AFB, NC; Hurlburt Field, FL; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Kadena, Japan; Clark airbase, The Philippines; Ramstein, Sembach and Rhein-Main, Germany; and Alconbury, England. In 1995 the Air Force Reserves at Duke Field, FL got MC-130es and today are the only unit flying them. Their mission is still clandestine insertion, resupply and extraction of special operations forces, plus inflight refueling of special operations helicopters. The MC-130E became known as the "Combat Talon I" when they newer MC-130H "Combat Talon II" came along in the early 1990s. P.S. Combat Talon I's did/do a lot of things but they were never "missile carriers". 09/08/2007 @ 21:52 [ref: 17877] |
| Mike Trumble Canajoharie, NY | Does TP over the Nimitz count as "missles"? (Where did these poeple get the guy who made this page? There's more errors than a Rodeo practice preflight!) 01/27/2006 @ 07:38 [ref: 12341] |
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