Ross Holdeman

My Life With The C-130 Hercules Ross Holdeman

Ross Holdeman's career with Lockheed's aeronautical engineering division led him to adventures in over 100 countries supporting "Herky Birds" and improving aviation safety by investigating what went wrong when they crashed. My Life with the C-130 Hercules chronicles those adventures from the early days of the C-130 Hercules development in 1951 though 1984. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is the longest continuously operating military aircraft production line in history having made its first flight on 23 August 1954. You name it and the Hercules has been there and done that for over 60 years and continues to do so today. The C-130 has flown to both poles, landed or airdropped cargo at every hot spot from the Congo to Vietnam to Kosovo to Afghanistan and Iraq. It has hauled relief supplies to every outpost in the world and even landed on an aircraft carrier without a tailhook. It has been used to airdrop 15,000 pound bombs, paratroopers, and leaflets that weigh only a few grams. The C-130 serves as a gunship, is used for search and rescue missions, and has medevaced thousands of casualties to hospitals. It monitors and jams enemy radio transmissions. It is used for aerial refueling, to track icebergs in the North Atlantic, and drug traffickers in the Caribbean.