Lockheed KC-130 Hercules

The Marine Corps tanker Hercules first flew in January 1960 as the GV-1 and entered service as the KC-130F in 1962. It carries a removable 3,600 US gal tank in the cargo hold and two hose-and-drogue pods under the outer wings, so it can refuel two aircraft at once and still revert to a transport. 46 KC-130Fs were built; they were joined by ex-USAF KC-130Rs and by 28 KC-130Ts derived from the C-130H.

In October and November 1963 a KC-130F (BuNo 149798) lent to the Naval Air Test Center made 29 touch-and-go landings, 21 unarrested full-stop landings and 21 unassisted take-offs on the carrier USS Forrestal — still the record for the largest and heaviest aircraft ever landed on a carrier. The tests succeeded, but the idea of carrier on-board delivery by Hercules was never adopted.

The KC-130J entered Marine service in April 2004. Its wing pods can each transfer up to 1,136 litres a minute, and at a radius of 1,000 nmi it can still offload more than 20 tonnes of fuel. Marine squadrons have also used it with the Harvest HAWK kit for surveillance and strike, and export tankers serve with air arms including Italy, Israel and Kuwait.