Editing Lockheed C-130 Hercules (section)

===Design phase===
The Hercules resembles a larger, four-engine version of the [[Fairchild C-123 Provider]] with a similar wing and cargo ramp layout. The C-123 had evolved from the [[Chase XCG-20]] Avitruc first flown in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fairchild C-123K Provider |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196059/fairchild-c-123k-provider/ |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=National Museum of the United States Air Force™ |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Gunston 1980, p.170.</ref> The [[Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter]] had rear ramps, which made it possible to drive vehicles onto the airplane (also possible with the forward ramp on a [[Douglas C-124 Globemaster II|C-124]]). The ramp on the Hercules was also used to airdrop cargo, which included a [[low-altitude parachute-extraction system]] for [[M551 Sheridan|Sheridan tanks]] and even dropping large improvised "[[BLU-82|daisy cutter]]" bombs. The new Lockheed cargo plane had a range of {{convert|1100|nmi|mi km|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} and it could operate from short and unprepared strips.

Fairchild, North American, Martin, and Northrop declined to participate. The remaining five companies tendered a total of ten designs: Lockheed two, Boeing one, Chase three, Douglas three, and Airlifts Inc. one. The contest was a close affair between the lighter of the two Lockheed (preliminary project designation L-206) proposals and a four-turboprop Douglas design.

The Lockheed design team was led by [[Willis Hawkins]], starting with a 130-page proposal for the ''Lockheed L-206''.<ref name="rhodes">{{cite magazine |surname=Rhodes |given=Jeff |title=Willis Hawkins and the genesis of the Hercules |magazine=Code One Magazine |volume=19 |issue=3 |date=Third Quarter 2004 |url=https://www.codeonemagazine.com/article.html?item_id=143 |pages=[https://issuu.com/aviationlive/docs/2004-3/18 16]–21}}</ref> [[Hall Hibbard]], Lockheed vice president and chief engineer, saw the proposal and directed it to [[Kelly Johnson (engineer)|Kelly Johnson]], who did not care for the low-speed, unarmed aircraft, and remarked, "If you sign that letter, you will destroy the Lockheed Company."<ref name="rhodes"/> Both Hibbard and Johnson signed the proposal and the company won the contract for the now-designated Model 82 on 2 July 1951.<ref name="boyne">Boyne, Walter J. ''Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story.'' New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-312-19237-2}}.</ref>

[[File:Lockheed C-130 Hercules flight deck.jpg|thumb|left|A C-130H Hercules flight deck. Aircraft displayed at the [[Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection]]]]
The first flight of the ''YC-130'' [[prototype]] was made on 23 August 1954 from the [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] plant in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], California. The aircraft, [[United States military aircraft serials|serial number]] ''53-3397'', was the second prototype, but the first of the two to fly. The YC-130 was piloted by Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer on its 61-minute flight to [[Edwards Air Force Base]]; [[Jack Real]] and Dick Stanton served as flight engineers. Kelly Johnson flew chase in a [[Lockheed P2V Neptune]].<ref name="dabney">Dabney, Joseph E. A. "Mating of the Jeep, the Truck, and the Airplane." ''lockheedmartin.com,'' 2004. Excerpted from ''HERK: Hero of the Skies'' in Lockheed Martin Service News, Lockheed Martin Air Mobility Support '' Volume 29, Issue 2, p. 3.</ref>

After the two prototypes were completed, production began in [[Marietta, Georgia]], where over 2,300 C-130s have been built through 2009.<ref>Olausson 2009, p. 129.</ref>

The initial production model, the ''C-130A'', was powered by [[Allison T56]]-A-9 turboprops with three-blade [[Propeller (aircraft)|propellers]] and originally equipped with the blunt nose of the prototypes. Deliveries began in December 1956, continuing until the introduction of the ''C-130B'' model in 1959. Some A-models were equipped with [[ski]]s and re-designated ''C-130D''. As the C-130A became operational with [[Tactical Air Command]] (TAC), the C-130's lack of range became apparent and additional fuel capacity was added with wing pylon-mounted tanks outboard of the engines; this added {{convert|6,000|lb|kg}} of fuel capacity for a total capacity of {{convert|40,000|lb|kg}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/docs/c-130-bar.htm |website= Fas.org |title= C-130 Broad Area Review}}</ref>