Baptizing of the 2 dutch short C-130sEindhoven AB, the Netherlands (ICAO code: EHEH)On Friday November 19th 2010, the 2 'new' Dutch Lockheed C-130H Hercules received their official names “Bob van der Stok” (G-781) and “Willem den Toom” (G-988), after 2 Second World War pilots of the Dutch Air Force. These C-130s are now in their “Operational Test and Evaluation phase” (OT&E), after being delivered in March and July 2010 to the 336 squadron of the Dutch Air Force (“Koninklijke Luchtmacht”). These 2 C-130’s started their operational lives as US Navy EC-130Q TACAMO ("Take Charge And Move Out") aircraft, keeping airborne contact with the submarines of the US Navy. When the Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft replaced the C-130s, the desert storage of AMARC (Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Center) near Tucson in Arizona, USA (also known as “the bone yard”) became their destination. In 2004, the Dutch Air Force bought 3 airframes from AMARC that were refurbished into 2 operational aircraft by Marshalls at Cambridge, UK. These 2 aircraft contain a full glass-cockpit with the most up-to-date electronics and a cargofloor was installed because the original TACAMO’s did not have a cargofloor. The 2 C-130H’s fly together with 2 extended C-130H-30’s in 336 squadron, but their shorter fuselage make the C-130H’s better adapted for short take-off and landings at unprepared and dangerous sandstrips like those in Afghanistan.
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