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C-130 camo question


gluefinger

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Hi All,

My long term sick leave from work is allowing me some time to catch up on the stash. My question for today is approximately when did RAF Hercs go from having light grey underside to wrap around camouflage?

Thanks again in advance for your help.

Dave

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I'm doing this all from memory but it was circa mid 80s (84/85) if I recall correctly - whilst wrap around started to appear in the 70s across the "strike" force I dont remember seeing a single 130 until post Falklands at least and I used to load them. Im fairly confident that Im not too far out here

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The wraparound camouflage scheme was promulgated in AP101-0701-1A Sect. V and AP101-0703-1A Sect. V dated May 1987.

I arrived on the fleet in the early '90s and some aircraft (especially some of the Tankers) were still in the DG/DSG/LAG scheme.

If you want I can scan in the relevant documents.

For more info on Albert, follow my Herc thread here

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I think Debs has cracked this one.

My association with Herks (as a squaddie,...not RAF) stretched from 1987-94 and I remember both schemes being in situ,...plus a fetching salmon pink one in 1989 which was apparently a test scheme for those finished in the lighter desert pink used during the first Gulf War. The last Herk that I remember seeing with light grey undersides was XV222 which was regarded by my unit as a jinx aircraft because every time anybody flew in i or tried to fly in it, it went u/s for some reason or another and we all swore that it`s wings sagged because it had not accrued enough flying hours to qualify for the mid life resparring,......although we were probably wrong about this.

During my time I also remember that the propeller blades were mostly finished black with red/white/red tips rather than the silver grey colour used before this time and again afterwards.

Hope this helps,

Cheers

Tony

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The last Herk that I remember seeing with light grey undersides was XV222 which was regarded by my unit as a jinx aircraft because every time anybody flew in i or tried to fly in it, it went u/s for some reason or another and we all swore that it`s wings sagged because it had not accrued enough flying hours to qualify for the mid life resparring,......although we were probably wrong about this.

XV222 (a CMk3) was known to us operators as 'Trembling Two' owing to its propensity for breaking down. Strangely enough, in all the times that I flew him, he never broke down for me (damn!).

He did rather get me into trouble with the Wattisham Station Commander though!

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XV222 (a Cmk3) was known to us operators as 'Trembling Two' owing to its propensity for breaking down. Strangely enough, in all the times that I flew him, he never broke down for me (damn!).

He did rather get me into trouble with the Wattisham Staion Commander though!

Pray do tell,......I`m intrigued now!

Glad to hear that XV222 had the same reputation with the crews,......we used to feel sorry for it sitting out on the pan looking unloved with its saggy looking wings and faded old dirty camouflage coat among all of the shiny new looking wrap around schemed Herks! Did it ever receive a wrap around scheme?

During one unit deployment to Greece XV222 had to land in France due to a cracked windscreen (which scared the crap out of one of our lads who had deserted from the French Foreign Legion!) and a replacement had to be flown out. When this was fixed it took off again only for an engine to go u/s and yet again it had to land (in Italy I think?) and have a replacement flown out. While the rest of us were roughing it in the Greek mountains (where it is bloody cold!) the lads on XV222 were lording it in hotels with the RAF air and ground crew and getting a nice tan!

Cheers

Tony

Edit- found a few pic`s on line including these which show that XV222 did actually go on to receive a wrap around scheme!;

20472221179_9ff0dd7a4d.jpg

starting to look a bit faded again below;

_______8996902_orig.jpg

Edited by tonyot
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XV222 (a CMk3) was known to us operators as 'Trembling Two' owing to its propensity for breaking down. Strangely enough, in all the times that I flew him, he never broke down for me (damn!).

He did rather get me into trouble with the Wattisham Station Commander though!

Funny, in my Canadian Airforce Hercules Squadron we had 130333, which we called Triple Pig!

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just trawled through a couple of aviation image sites and the following link to Herc images in Wrap around from 1985 & 86 - room for error I know but aviation enthusiasts of the ilk that post regularly on such sites, keep tidy records of movements and dates to accompany images.

http://www.airfighters.com/photo/154629/M/UK-Air-Force/Lockheed-Hercules-C3-C-130K-30-L-382/XV302/

http://www.airfighters.com/photo/67993/M/UK-Air-Force/Lockheed-Hercules-C1-C-130K-L-382/XV206/

http://www.airfighters.com/photo/27812/M/UK-Air-Force/Lockheed-Hercules-C1-C-130K-L-382/XV187/

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/Lockheed-C-130K-Hercules/1249390/L/&sid=2757a861b8f240edc34362bd25b84082

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Thanks for the diagram Debs,

Very useful cheers.

For your info XV222 exists and was sold to the Mexican Air Force in 2001

http://www.ukserials.com

Trevor

Cheers for that Trevor,....well it probably has the least flying hours of the surviving British Herks!!! I wonder if it is still jinxed or now behaving itself?

Tony

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Of course there was also the lo-vis scheme from around 1983 with the LAG undersurfaces repainted in DSG, and nose, tail codes and RAF painted in black......

Peter

I`ve never seen this one Peter, have you any photos or reference?

Cheers

Tony

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Tony,

Not a very good photo as it was underexposed when I took it, it has been scanned in from the negative and the exposure increased. However it was sufficiently different to the regular airbridge Alberts for me to note it - I could find the exact date if you are interested but judging by the conditions it is most likely Jun/Jul 83.

image.png

Checked my notes and this was taken on Saturday 25 June 1983, I had just done the talkdown and the photo was taken from the doorway of the PAR truck as he taxied past.......location is of course RAF Stanley.

Peter

Edited by dambuster
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Cheers Peter,

I`ve never seen that before and without you pointing out the early date or the undersides being DSG I would have simply assumed that it was in the later wrap around scheme,...so cheers for that! I wonder if this had anything to do with the proposed Rio Grande raid by SF which was cancelled at the last minute?

Cheers

Tony

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I`ve never seen that before and without you pointing out the early date or the undersides being DSG I would have simply assumed that it was in the later wrap around scheme,...so cheers for that! I wonder if this had anything to do with the proposed Rio Grande raid by SF which was cancelled at the last minute?

IIRC XV300 wasn't an SF 'frame.

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XV211 was in what I was told to be a 'one off scheme' - photo taken in Gander in March 93 and it was MINUS 50 C according to the weather peeps on tv.

The serial only appeared on the tail.

C1_RR_GDR.jpg

Wasn't there a black stonechip applied to the herc fleet post Op Bushel?

Edited by oggy4624
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XV211 was in what I was told to be a 'one off scheme' - photo taken in Gander in March 93 and it was MINUS 50 C according to the weather peeps on tv.

The serial only appeared on the tail.

Wasn't there a black stonechip applied to the herc fleet post Op Bushel?

That one was operating out of Kinloss for about six weeks starting July '94. Operated mostly over the sea.

Dennis

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The grey one shown above was part of the camouflage trials which led to the fleet dropping disruptive camouflage and adopting an overall grey finish, but with red/blue full colour roundels and black serials/titles,.....I thin that there may have been an all white one too as part of the same trials plus one wearing two different shades of grey which were split vertically down the middle of the fuselage,....one side of the aircraft being darker than the other! This was towards the end of my time in the forces so I`m a bit sketchy here.

Cheers

Tony

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The Grey schemes started around 1993 and Tony is correct in that there was at least one airframe which was different colours each side.

Wasn't there a black stonechip applied to the herc fleet post Op Bushel?



Indeed, but not all the aircraft had it applied. XV292 (the aircraft in the 25 Years Hercules in RAF Service) certainly had the black stone chip underside.

Weren't SF airframes configured without underwing tanks ?. They used to come in to Leuchars, infrequently, as such.



It was very, very, rare to see a C-130K with the EXT tanks removed (owing to wing bending relief). Post '83 the SF 'frames had the MAROC ESM pods under the wingtips. These were later removed and replaced with the AN/ALR-66(VC) ESM system which appeared as 4 semi-circular 'blisters' on the wing tips (a pair at the leading edge and a pair at the trailing edge. Later still (from the mid '90s) SKY GUARDIAN was fitted.

By the early '90s the SF aircraft had the AN/AAR MAWS (Missile Apprach Warning System) sensors replacing the lower front windows and the AN/ALE 40 Chaff/Flare dispenser above and forward of the para door deflectors. Additionally the SF aircraft had the AN/ALQ-57 IR Jammer fitted just forward of the para door deflectors (IIRC these were the only CMk1s fitted with AN/ALQ57 whereas all the CMk3s had it).

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