C-130H - Netherlands

Although Lockheed's remarkable C-130 Hercules tactical airlifter made its maiden flight in prototype form in 1954, the Royal Netherlands Air Force is a comparatively recent addition to the type's huge list of operating nations. It received its first two examples, both new-build C-130H-30 variants with a stretched fuselage, in 1994, and augmented these with a pair of standard-length C-130H models (ex-US Navy airframes) during 2010. All are on the strength of 336 Squadron based at Eindhoven. The Dutch Hercules has seen operational use in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan amongst other theatres.