Last ride of the Hercules: RAF transport planes tour the UK in flypast

2023-06-14

Last ride of the Hercules: RAF transport planes tour the UK in epic flypast to mark the aircraft’s retirement after flying all over the world for 60 years

Three Hercules jets are touring the UK before retiring from service on June 30

Three RAF Hercules planes are touring the UK in a flypast to mark the iconic aircraft’s retirement after 60 years in service.

The farewell trip will cover locations of significance to the Hercules service and 47 Squadron.

The trio of C-130s departed Brize Norton at 10:00am, passing locations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and will return by 17:05pm.

47 Squadron and the Hercules will continue to deliver on operations supporting UK defence objectives until 30 June.

RAF Hercules planes are touring the UK in a flypast to mark the iconic aircraft’s retirement from service

The aircraft is highly flexible, with the ability to airdrop a variety of stores and paratrooper

A map showing where Hercules planes will tour across the UK and Northern Ireland in their farewell flypast

Flypast timings:

10:00 Depart RAF Brize Norton
10:25 National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas
10:34 RAF Cosford
11:22 RAF Valley
11:48 FS Aldergrove
12:51 RAF Lossiemouth (with Typhoon escort)
14:08 RAF Leeming
14:10 RAF Topcliffe
14:23 Beverley
14:35 RAF Waddington
14:38 RAF College Cranwell
14:58 Cambridge Airport
15:04 RAF Mildenhall
15:15 Colchester Garrison
16:22 MOD Boscombe Down
16:25 Salisbury Plain (West Down Camp)
16:32 MOD Lyneham
16:36 Royal Wootton Bassett
16:39 Defence Academy of the UK, Shrivenham
16:43 Dalton Barracks, Abingdon
16:51 RAF Halton
16:55 RAF High Wycombe
17:05 RAF Brize Norton

Two former Royal Air Force chiefs and a former Tory defence minister have condemned the decision to ditch the special forces aircraft as ‘perverse’.

In a letter to The Times, signed by other senior ex-commanders, they warned that the removal of the last of the fleet of Hercules planes will leave a capability gap.

They wrote: ‘Of the many cuts to our armed forces in recent years, one of the most perverse is the disposal of the RAF’s remaining 14 C130 transport aircraft.

‘At a time of great international tension, the decision to remove a proven and effective workhorse is extraordinary.’

The transition to the 22-strong Atlas (A400) fleet and other air mobility aircraft has been ongoing for some time, but a number of concerns have been raised about the availability of the A400.

According to Sky News, internal documents revealed that two-thirds of the A400M fleet are listed as unavailable for flying missions from may.

The first Hercules arrived at aerospace company Marshall’s of Cambridge in December 1966. Since entering RAF service, originally with 242 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Thorney Island, it has operated across the globe in support of UK military and humanitarian relief operations.

The Hercules is described as the RAF’s primary tactical transport aircraft and in its current C.Mk 4 and C.Mk 5 versions of the C-130J-30 and C-130J has been the backbone of UK operational tactical mobility tasks since it was brought into service in 1999.

It is frequently employed to operate into countries or regions where there is a threat to aircraft; its performance, tactics and defensive systems make it the ideal platform for such tasks.

Last ride of the Hercules: RAF transport planes tour the UK in flypast

Last ride of the Hercules: RAF transport planes tour the UK in epic flypast to mark the aircraft’s retirement after flying all over the world for 60 years

Flypast timings:

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