Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the first flight of the Lockheed C-130A Hercules. This tactical airlifter has gone through many upgrades throughout the decades, as well as filling a variety of roles from cargo airlift, firefighting, gunship, search and rescue, and used in the commercial sector. The legacy of the Hercules carries on with the J-model Super Hercules.
In Hawai‘i, the C-130 was with the 204th Airlift Squadron of the Hawai‘i Air National Guard. "Na Manu Ikaika" had eight C-130Hs from 1994 to 2008, when it was replaced by the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. The C-130 tail flash included a pueo (or Hawaiian owl) painted on the rudder portion.
Currently, the US Coast Guard's 14th District at Air Station Barbers Point (Kalaeloa Airport) has four HC-130Js that entered service in 2018. They replaced four HC-130Hs that were the mainstay of the USCG's air wing in the islands.
The US Marine Corps' VMGR-153 "Hercules" was re-activated in 2013 as a new unit to Marine Air Group 24, 1st Marine Air Wing. The unit is scheduled to have 17 KC-130Js delivered by the end of 2025.
C-130s from various US armed forces units, foreign armed forces units, and civilian operators have stopped through the airports and military bases in Hawai‘i, and continue to do so.
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