YMC-130H 'Credible Sport' @ Robins

Read the forum code of contact

Member for

17 years 4 months

Posts: 174

Interesting story and pictures by me today at Robins! See great you tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKCl3lfAx1Q

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac16/Pully113/IMG_3992.jpg

Operation Credible Sport, also known as Operation Honey Badger, was a United States military operation plan in late 1980 to rescue the hostages held in Iran using C-130 cargo planes modified with rocket engines. The Credible Sport operation was a new plan to rescue the hostages after the dramatic failure of Operation Eagle Claw. Eagle Claw failed when a C-130 Hercules and a Sea Stallion helicopter collided in the Iranian desert, killing 8 servicemen. Credible Sport was abandoned after the election of Ronald Reagan as President in November, 1980.

The Credible Sport plan called for highly modified C-130 Hercules cargo planes to land in a soccer stadium not far from the American Embassy in Tehran and airlift the hostages out. Three aircraft were modified under a top secret project at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida to YMC-130H configuration with rocket packages blistered onto the forward and aft fuselage, which theoretically enabled the planes to land and take off within the confines of the sports arena.

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac16/Pully113/IMG_3990.jpg

During a demonstration at Wagner Field Not Duke Field, Eglin Auxiliary Field 3, on October 29, 1980, one of the modified Hercules fired its braking rockets a few seconds early. The aircraft suffered an extremely heavy landing, tearing off the starboard wing, setting off a fire, and resulting in the airframe, serial 74-1683, being written off. Despite this, the entire crew survived.

This failure, coupled with the defeat of Jimmy Carter by Ronald Reagan in the presidential election on November 4, 1980, led to the cancellation of this rescue mission plan. The hostages were subsequently released concurrent with Reagan's inauguration in January 1981.

The other two airframes, serials 74-1686 and 74-2065, were stripped of their rocket modifications and returned to regular airlift duties. In 1988 74-1686 was placed on display at the Robins Air Force Base museum, Georgia, still retaining its JATO hard-points and surrounding thermo-insulating paint. As of 2005, 74-2065 is assigned to the 317th Airlift Group, 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac16/Pully113/IMG_3993-1.jpg

Original post

Member for

16 years 7 months

Posts: 10,647

You confirmed it then Simon!:)


During a demonstration at Wagner Field Not Duke Field, Eglin Auxiliary Field 3, on October 29, 1980, one of the modified Hercules fired its braking rockets a few seconds early. The aircraft suffered an extremely heavy landing, tearing off the starboard wing, setting off a fire, and resulting in the airframe, serial 74-1683, being written off. Despite this, the entire crew survived.

Which is remarkable when you see the video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSFjhWw4DNo

Member for

12 years 5 months

Posts: 275

Fascinating stuff, I saw your pics from your visit to the museum and thought it might have had something to do with Eagle Claw, but it was not that op at all. The internal structure must have been beefed up quite a bit to take all that extra ironmongery on the outside of the fuse.

Member for

16 years 4 months

Posts: 2,094

I was reading about General Norton Swartz the other day (the commander of the USAF) and the YMC-130H is listed among the aircraft that he flew

Member for

16 years 2 months

Posts: 2,841

Only the Yanks

Only the Americans try out and operate these incredible ideas. It shows that when it comes to rescuing US hostages they will try almost anything.

The same attitude prevails when rescuing their downed airmen and recovering the MIA servicemen. Real patriotic putting-your-money-where-your-mouth-is stuff.

That Herc looks like it's got bigger props and probably uprated engines, too. No-doubt to effect a brisk climb out after the rockets have done their work.

Good pics Si.

Anon.

Member for

15 years

Posts: 281

The props and nacelles look about the right size to me. You can't discount uprated engines though. Dash 15 engines as fitted to the C130K were too powerful for the wing and had strict torque limits applied to their normal daily use, I think that this is an H model with the better internal mounting structure, but even these had enough torque to try and spin themselves off the wing, so uprated engines are unlikely.

What is a lot bigger is the radome, perhaps a forerunner to the Talon's TFR?

Member for

16 years 7 months

Posts: 10,647

The props and nacelles look about the right size to me. You can't discount uprated engines though. Dash 15 engines as fitted to the C130K were too powerful for the wing and had strict torque limits applied to their normal daily use, I think that this is an H model with the better internal mounting structure, but even these had enough torque to try and spin themselves off the wing, so uprated engines are unlikely.

Surely that consideration falls into obscurity when you consider all the aft, forward, and downwards firing rockets used!
Being a quite a last measure extraction aircraft I wouldn't be surprised if the engines were more powerful, even if the extra capacity was only for 'hot' operations.

Member for

15 years

Posts: 281

The JATO would as you say provide oodles of more power and that would be as good a reason as any not to bust the torque limits and risk possible catastrophic structural damage with the increased risk of resultant mission failure.

But short of opening the LH nacelle panel on each engine and physically checking the TD valve and FCU settings (assuming they are the same as when Credible Sport was being worked up) we will never know. Having spent a couple of years flying in and fettling Albert, I am still inclined to say it is unlikely they would alter the engine settings.

I take my hat off to the Cousins, they do preserve history as Pully's excellent pictures show. I once heard it said that they had more C130 in museums than we had flying; and it would appear that even though the aircraft has been the most loyal servant this country has known post WWII - we are only going to save probably one example for posterity.