SINCE 1967, the Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) C-130 Hercules has formed the backbone of the RAF's transport force. The type officially entered service with 242 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at Thorney Island, West Sussex, on October 15, 1967, though initial deliveries for test and evaluation had begun on April 7 of that year.rnThe version selected by the UK was known to the manufacturer as the C-130K and was a derivative of the C-130E with minor changes, though with the addition of Allison 4,200shp (3,132kW) T56-A-15 engines of the then-new C-130H. There was early pressure for a more anglicised version with Rolls Royce Tyne engines, but the C-130K merely incorporated some UK components and avionics, a stronger main cargo floor and a British roller conveyor system for palletised cargo. The UK procured 66 of these aircraft as Hercules C.ls following the cancellation of the RAF's preferred aircraft - the HawkerrnSiddeley HS.681. The US aircraft was chosen as it was expected to be more affordable than its British competitor.rnThe new type replaced the survivors of the ageing Handley Page Hastings fleet and the bulk of the Armstrong Whitworth Argosies. It soon equipped six frontline squadrons, two each at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire (Nos 30 and 47) and RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire (Nos 24 and 36), with 48 Squadron in the Far East (Changi in Singapore) and 70 at Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus.
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