Designed in response to a 1951 requirement, the C-130 Hercules is the most successful military airlifter ever built.
Since it first flew in prototype form on 23 August 1954, more than 2,100 have been produced in over eighty different versions.
Across its variants, the Hercules serves more than sixty air forces, as well as many civilian cargo operators, in a multiplicity of roles, including air-to-air refueller, gunship, airborne command post, flying hospital and firefighter.
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