The Herc is the best known military transport in the world, and was developed by Lockheed during the early 1950's to provide the USAF with a tactical transport. The first of two prototypes flew on August 23, 1954, and the first production C-130A flew on April 7, 1955. Delivery to the USAF began in December, 1956. Subsequent development has seen the aircraft uprated, up-weighted and stretched, along with the building of a number of special purpose versions (both military and research) to provide more than 70 variants. Over 50 countries have acquired the Hercules, as well as a number of commercial operators. The latest development, the C-130J began delivery in 1998.

Except the cargo (C-130) version, the Hercules has also been built as a tanker (KC-130) and AWACS (EC-130) aircraft.

Contractor: Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company, Marietta, Ga.
Type: Cargo
Crew: Five: two pilots, navigator, flight engineer, loadmaster
Length: 97' 9" / 29.79 M
Height: 38' 3" / 11.66 M
Wingspan: 132' 7" / 40.41 M
Wingarea: 1745.00 Sq Ft / 162.10 Sq M
Empty Weight: 59328.0 lbs / 26906.0 Kg
Gross Weight: 108000 lbs / 48979.0 Kg
Max Weight: 124200lbs / 56326.0 Kg
Capacity: Up to 92 troops or 64 paratroops or 74 litter patients or five standard freight pallets
Power Plant: Four Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, each 4,300 horsepower
Range: 2,350 miles (2,050 nautical miles, 3,770 km)
Max Speed: 384.00 Mph / 618.00 Km/H 334.05 Kt
Climb: 2570.00 Ft/min / 783.30 M/min
Ceiling: 33,000 feet with 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) payload
Unit Cost: Average $44.1 million