Reporting by RNZ
30 January 2025, 10:00 PM
The mighty workhorses of the Royal New Zealand Air Force are set to retire after 60 years in service.
From Antarctic rescues to combat zones to crocodile relocations, the fleet had clocked up 155,000 hours of flight time and 100,000 landings since they came into service in 1965.
The fleet of five C-130H Hercules will cease use on Friday.
C-130H Hercules NZ7005 on the ice in Antarctica. Photo: Supplied / Royal New Zealand Air Force
In a statement, the Defence Force said it had marked the occasion with flypasts over Northland and the central North Island, and more were planned over the South Island on Monday and Tuesday.
Four of the aircraft would then retire to RNZAF base in Woodbourne, and the fifth would go to the Air Force Museum at Wigram.
Chief of Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb, said it was the unique tasks that got talked about the most.
There had been midwinter Antarctic rescues in -35°C temperatures, disaster response missions across the Indo-Pacific, short-notice evacuation tasks like Kabul in 2021, and operations in many combat zones.
C-130H(NZ) Hercules aircraft from No.40 Squadron flying over the Auckland area with three MC-130J United States Air Force aircraft. Photo: Supplied / Royal New Zealand Air Force
C-130H Hercules supply drop, 2016. Photo: Supplied / Royal New Zealand Air Force
Operation Frescoe, Gulf War 1. Sergeant Phil Lane, wearing a gas mask and carrying a Steyer rifle, on security duty on the tarmac in front of No. 40 Squadron Hercules NZ7003. Believed to be at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Supplied / Royal New Zealand Air Force
Operation Samaritan, Somalia. No. 42 Squadron tents in front of No. 40 Squadron Hercules NZ7001, just before dismantling the camp for return to New Zealand. Photo: Supplied / Royal New Zealand Air Force
C-130H Hercules NZ7005 evacuating civilians in the Middle East Photo: Supplied / Royal New Zealand Air Force
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