![]() ![]() ![]() More important in the C-130's long life span has been its remarkable versatility in combat missions anywhere in the world, including special models adapted for arctic conditions. The 1976 raid on Entebbe, Uganda, by Israeli commandos was conducted with C-130s: as the last rescued passengers boarded the transports, the Israeli commander, Yonatan Netanyahu, elder brother of the future prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was killed on the ramp of one plane. Legendary as a rugged transport, the Herc has been used by the armed forces of 60 nations. Probably the only propeller-driven aircraft still in combat, the turbo-prop, high-wing "Hercs" were also working as aerial tankers, command and control platforms and electronic warfare posts, including the psychological warfare operations conducted by two EC-130E Volant Solo planes. The AC-130 Spectres' engagement was only one of the roles that the Hercules C-130s played in the Kosovo air campaign. "They tore holes in Serb units facing Albania," a North Atlantic Treaty Organization official said, indicating that the gunships' impact helped demoralize Belgrade's forces in the field and also made openings for the Kosovo Liberation Army to slip into positions around Serbian ground forces.ĭetails of this aspect of the campaign have not been publicized, apparently because of concerns about public squeamishness about these gunships' devastating toll, but NATO officials said this weapon was important in heightening the Serbs' sense of vulnerability - in a way that was not achieved in the initial phases of the air war during which high-flying jet bombers pounded infrastructure but could not locate individual ground units. PARIS- When NATO needed more punishing ground strikes midway through its air war in Kosovo, General Wesley Clark could not overcome the political objections to using Apache anti-tank helicopters and turned instead to Spectre gunships - one of the enduring configurations of the C-130 Hercules, the world's most flown military aircraft.įlying slow, low circles around their targets at night, these planes pour ribbons of high-explosive fire into tanks or infantry positions, using cannons firing 2,500 rounds a minute or even howitzers to deliver explosive shells. ![]()
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