This book tells the full story of one of the most important aircraft in RAF service over the last fifty years. A work horse that is also astonishingly adaptable for a range of specialised operations, the Hercules is capable of carrying troops as well as vehicles, moving men from one location to another in peacetime training or inserting special forces teams on clandestine operations in time of war.The book covers the first delivery to the RAF to the C-130 C Mk. 1 Hercules in 1967 to the introduction of new versions, including the C-130K C1/C3 and C-130J C4/C5, through its myriad deployments in training, war and humanitarian operations.The book provides details of the special equipment fitted to some aircraft, including defensive infra-red countermeasures equipment and the Skyguardian radar-warning system.