A bird for all seasons
Arjun Subramaniam

Transport pilots of the Indian Air Force have had a long-standing affair with the C-130 Hercules, dating back to the 1962 conflict with China. As India built up forces in NEFA and Ladakh in early November 62' to brace up for a second Chinese assault, the IAF pushed in all their An-12s, Packets and Dakotas to lift troops, tanks and guns into the war zones. Assisting them in this herculean airlift effort were a few C-130s of the USAF, the mainstay of the USAFs medium-lift capability. Sharing the tarmac at Leh with them during those turbulent days, many an IAF pilot wondered whether they would ever get to fly these versatile flying machines. The USAF C-130s stayed on for a few months after the 1962 war, and flew off, only to return almost 50 years later — this time in a brand new version called the C-130 J Super Hercules to equip No 77 Squadron of the IAF.

In the interim years, C-130s of the Pakistan Air Force did trouble us during the 1965 war. In a bold but unsustainable action, three C-130s dropped 60 paratroopers each of the elite Special Services Group (SSG) around the airfields of Pathankot, Adampur and Halwara, hoping to either seize the airfields, or cause maximum destruction. To their credit, the operation was carried out stealthily and though the C-130s safely dropped their paratroopers, they could not drop them with the kind of precision that is available today. To complete the story, of the 180 paratroopers, 20 were killed, 132 were captured and only 20 made it back to Pakistan.

The tireless fraternity of transport pilots are a breed apart; they wage war against the elements of nature and terrain for most part of the year, as they sustain the Indian Army in Siachen, Ladakh and parts of the Northeast along with their helicopter counterparts. I have a stake, albeit a small one in writing this piece on the C-130. I commanded Air Force Station Hindan during the period when the mortar and bricks were being laid to create a home for the IAF’s first C-130 J Super Hercules squadron and have keenly followed their exploits ever since as the squadron embodied what modern air power is all about — responsive, flexible and impactful.

It was the first responder in the Sikkim earthquake of 2012 as it was called upon to airlift the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team, barely hours after the quake. More recently, it has also airlifted medicine, a field hospital to a friendly foreign country, and landed at a high-altitude Advance Landing Ground in what is commonly called as a role of "political signalling". Concurrently, the squadron continues to train with the special forces of all the three services in diverse roles, exploiting technology and modern on-board systems to train and deliver maximum operational effect.

The mountain Tsunami, which struck Kedarnath, Badrinath and the surrounding Garhwal Himalayas, tested the resolve of the IAF in more ways than one. Not only did it have to deploy its helicopter fleet in strength, it also used the Super Hercules in innovative roles. Gaucher and Dharasu, two disused airstrips just over 3000 feet, were converted into mother bases or hubs for all the helicopters with the C-130 acting as a refueller on the ground at Dharasu, as it brought in fuel for the helicopters as tankers could not be driven up due to the roads being washed away. Recollecting the mission, the CO of the unit, Group Captain Tejbir Singh, recounts the first landing at Dharasu as the most difficult one of his career; a landing that was executed through a valley with almost no visual cues and assisted merely by the camera fitted in the nose.

As it flew its refuelling and evacuation sorties, it also carried out continuous terrain and weather-mapping, providing vital information on likely weather patterns to incoming and outgoing helicopters on rescue missions, as well as information about inaccessible disaster struck areas to the state administration. During the period of Operation Rahat, 77 Squadron flew a total of over 25 sorties, provided 30,000 litres of fuel and evacuated over 200 stranded pilgrims and locals in what was an operation fraught with risk and danger on a daily basis.

The C-130J Super Hercules promises much in the years ahead. With six more aircraft likely to join the IAF in the next couple of years, the small fleet will provide a cutting edge to its special operations and airlift capability in more ways than one. It is truly a bird for all seasons.

The author, a serving Air Vice-Marshal, a military historian and an air-power analyst. Views expressed are personal.

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