This airplane was
manufactured at Lockheed
in 1961. This plane was
acquired on April 01,
1962. The planes
original assignment was
VMGR-252. Please see the
update from Leonard Webb
received on 11-17-06. A note in
the current location has
this plane assigned AMARC in 2003.
Dan Clark Sends This
Shot of 149798 Getting a
New Prop
John O'Neill Sent
This Squadron Photograph
on 6-17-07 - Thanks John
John O'Neill Sends
This Picture of 149798
in Iceland - John was a
Flight Mech.
Don Smith Sends Us
This Logbook Picture
From 1973 - Example of
Hours Flown in Those
Days:
Click to Photo Enlarge
Tony Villa Send's
These to us on 14
February 2007: Thanks
Tony
Anthony Villa Send's
This Photo on 27
November 2006:
Thanks Anthony
UPDATE INFORMATION BELOW
DESCRIPTION
The KC-130F Makes
History In 1963 Landing
on The USS Forrestal
|
Navy Lt.
Jim
Flatley
made
history
in 1963
by
landing
a C-130
transport
on the
deck of
an
aircraft
carrier.
It
wasn’t
an
emergency
– it was
a test
to
determine
whether
a
Hercules
could be
used as
a “Super
COD”
(carrier
on-board
delivery)
aircraft.
Flatley
and his
crew
proved
that the
Hercules’
short-field
landing
ability
applies
on the
sea as
well as
in the
dirt.
The
feasibility
of
landing
a C-130
with a
substantial
payload
on a
carrier
had been
clearly
demonstrated,
but in
the end,
simply
wasn’t
practical.
A total
of 21
full-stop
landings
and 29
touch-and-go
landings
were
made on
four
separate
trips to
the
aircraft
carrier
USS
Forrestal
(CVA-59)
in 1963.
The
trials
aircraft,
an
in-service
Marine
Corps
KC-130F
tanker,
underwent
only
minor
modifications
at
Lockheed’s
plant in
Marietta
in early
October
1963
prior to
the
carrier
tests.
The
first
test
took
place on
October
30 near
Jacksonville,
Fla. The
Forrestal’s
flight
deck had
been
cleared—the
arresting
wires
had been
removed
since
the
KC-130F
had no
tail
hook and
the air
wing’s
aircraft
were
either
flown
ashore
or had
been
parked
on the
hangar
deck. As
the
result
of bad
weather
(40-knot
winds
with
gusts to
60
knots),
the crew
made 42
approaches
to the
ship to
get 19
touch-and-go
landings
in on
the
first
day.
On
November
8,
Flatley,
Lt.
Cmdr. W.
W.
“Smokey”
Stovall
(the
copilot),
Brennan,
and
Lockheed
test
pilot
Ted
Limmer
approached
the
Forrestal
underway
off Cape
Cod,
Mass.
Flatley
put the
propellers
into
reverse
pitch
while
still
10-15
feet in
the air
and
settled
on the
deck. At
touchdown,
the
KC-130
was in
full
reverse
and
stopped
in 270
feet.
The
KC-130
weighed
85,000
pounds
on the
first
landing,
and
landings
were
made in
progression
up to a
gross
weight
of
121,000
pounds.
At
maximum
weight,
the crew
used
only 745
feet for
takeoff
and 460
feet for
landing.
One
landing
at a
weight
of
109,000
pounds
required
495 feet
to stop
and that
was in a
heavy
squall.
At the
end of
the
tests,
the crew
simply
took off
from the
point on
the deck
where
they had
stopped.
On
takeoff,
there
was only
15 feet
clearance
between
the
KC-130’s
wingtip
and the
ship’s
control
“island.” |
|
UPDATE FROM Bob Daley:
149798 is at the Museum
of Naval Aviation at
Pensacola
No other information is
available for this
aircraft.
Timeline and History
From Leonard "L.R." Webb
(USMC 1957 - 1981)
Retired
A
Special Thank You to Mr.
Webb for this
information
I
am a retired Marine,
spent most of my time in
transports.
149798 was first
assigned to VMGR-252 at
Cherry Point. In 1963 it
was
transferred to Pax River
for the COD testing,
once they were over it
was
transferred back to
VMGR-252. I have lots of
flight time on it as a
flight
engineer, my last flight
as USMC flight engineer
was on this aircraft (5
December 1970) before
going off to Warrant
Officer school in Jan.
1971.
149798 was transferred
to VMGR-152 and later to
VMGR-352 before it was
retired. After WO school
I did a tour in F4J
aircraft based at Danang
then
back to Cherry Point in
1972. 1975-1978 I was
AAMO of VMGR-252, then
transferred to VMGR-152
where I was the AMO
until I retired end of
August
1981. Went to Lockheed
Marietta and retired
from there end of
January 2000.
This Story Was Received
on 11-18-06 by H.D. Wieg:
A Special Thank You to
H.D.
C-130 Aircraft Carrier
Operations
T here
are rumors that
a C-130 landed
on an aircraft
carrier! Pretty
hard to believe!
Is this true? If
it is, then I
need proof! I
need to see it
to believe it!
These Marines in
my shop think it
did, and me
being Navy, I
don't believe
it. I need
pictures! Thanks
alot if you can
help me!
- Hiram
Gonzalez
While a healthy
skepticism of Marines is
always a wise
precaution, your fellow
shop workers are indeed
correct, this time. Not
only did the C-130 land
on and take off from an
aircraft carrier, but
what is even more
amazing is that the
plane did so
unassisted--without
using arresting gear to
reduce the landing roll
or becoming airborne
with the aid of the
ship's catapult.
The astounding feats
occurrred from the deck
of the USS Forrestal
in October 1963 using a
Marine Corps
KC-130F.
The motivation for these
tests, ordered by the
Chief of Naval
Operations, was to
determine the
feasibility of using the
existing C-130 aircraft
as a long-range carrier
onboard delivery (COD)
transport. At the time,
the Navy was using the
C-1 Trader for COD
duties, but the plane
was limited to a rather
small payload and a 300
mile (480 km) range.
When operating far out
at sea, carriers were
unable to receive
desperately needed
supplies without
steaming closer in to
shore. It was hoped that
the larger, long-range
C-130 would be able to
address that deficiency.
KC-130F on the deck of
the USS Forrestal
And so it was, on 8
October, that the Navy
received the KC-130F
refueling tanker (BuNo
149798) on loan from the
USMC. Prior to the
tests, Lockheed had
modified the plane by
installing an anti-skid
braking system, removing
the underwing refueling
pods, and adding a
smaller nose gear
orifice. The aircraft
carried a crew of four:
LT James Flatley as
pilot, LCDR W. "Smokey"
Stovall as copilot, ADR1
Ed Brennan as flight
engineer, and Lockheed
test pilot Ted Limmer.
Another crewman
participating in the
tests was Al Sieve who's
involvement went
unrecognized until he
recieved a medal in July
2004. Sieve was a chief
petty officer who served
as crew chief to insure
that cargo was properly
loaded for safe
operations from the
carrier deck. Some
sources also indicate
that Sieve was a flight
engineer who replaced Ed
Brennan on certain test
flights.
Initial flight
testing began on 30
October when the C-130
made its first landing
on the Forrestal
into a 40-knot wind.
Helping to guide the
C-130 along the deck was
a special dashed
centerline, visible in
the above image. Even
with this line, however,
the aircraft's wingtip
cleared the carrier's
island control tower by
less than 15 ft (4.6 m).
Several
views of the C-130
operating at sea
Adding to the
challenge of operating
the large aircraft from
a carrier deck was a
relatively heavy sea
state. In the words of
Lockheed's chief
engineer, Art Flock, who
was aboard to observe
the tests, "The sea was
pretty big that day. I
was up on the captain's
bridge. I watched a man
on the ship's bow as
that bow must have gone
up and down 30 feet." To
ease the operations, the
ship increased speed to
provide more wind speed
over the deck and reduce
the unsteady rocking and
heaving motions. "That
airplane stopped right
opposite the captain's
bridge," recalled Flock.
"There was cheering and
laughing. There on the
side of the fuselage, a
big sign had been
painted on that said
LOOK MA, NO HOOK."
Views of
the KC-130 operating
from the Forrestal
Perhaps one of the
most amazing
accomplishments of the
plane was described by
Lockheed pilot Ted
Limmer, who had
qualified test pilot LT
Flatley to fly the
C-130. "The last landing
I participated in, we
touched down about 150
feet from the end,
stopped in 270 feet more
and launched from that
position, using what was
left of the deck. We
still had a couple
hundred feet left when
we lifted off. Admiral
Brown was
flabbergasted." LT
Flatley was eventually
awarded the
Distinguished Flying
Cross by the Navy for
his participation in the
test program. Stovall,
Brennan, and Sieve each
received Air Medals.
KC-130
taking off from the
Forrestal
All told, the flight
tests included 29
touch-and-go landings,
21 unarrested full-stop
landings, and 21
unassisted takeoffs at
gross weights ranging
from 85,000 lb (38,555
kg) to 121,000 lb
(54,885 kg). At the
lower weight, the
aircraft managed to come
to a complete stop in
only 267 ft (81 m),
which is little more
than double the plane's
wingspan. Even at
maximum weight, the
C-130 required only 745
ft (227 m) for takeoff
and 460 ft (140 m) for
landing. Landings were
made shorter by
reversing the propellers
while the aircraft was
still a few feet above
the flight deck. Videos
documenting the
landing
and
takeoff
attempts are available
on-line.
Based on these tests,
it was determined that
the C-130 could carry
25,000 lb (11,340 kg) of
cargo and personnel to a
carrier at a range of
2,500 miles (4,020 km).
However, the risks of
operating such a large
aircraft in the hectic
day-to-day carrier
environment were
considered too great,
and the idea of using
the C-130 as a COD
aicraft was abandoned.
The C-130 has never been
operated from a carrier
since, and the much
smaller
C-2A Greyhound
was later selected to
fulfill the COD role.
Anyone with stories
about this plane are
encouraged to send them
to Nick for postings.
Also any other photo's
of this plane or the
crew's that flew her.
Nick@kc130.com |
