The wild story behind America's ROCKET-POWERED C-130s
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- After the failure of Operation Eagle Claw to free a group of 53 American hostages held inside Iran, the U.S. military started looking for outside-the-box solutions for the ongoing crisis... And one seemed to arrive in the form of a rocket-propelled C-130 Hercules.
This seemingly-insane concept went from concept to reality in just over three weeks, and had the real potential to work, had the crisis not ended first by other means.
Let's talk about Operation Credible Sport, and how the lineage of this insane concept lives on in today's combat aircraft.
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I flew out of Vung Tau in S Vietnam in mid 1969 on my way home to Australia for R&R. I flew to Saigon on a smaller version of one of these, 2 motors 2 jet pods. No seats you sat on the floor with a canvas strap to hang onto. Unlined, pipes dripping, scary as hell! A grizzled Sergeant briefed us before we boarded. “If we are going to crash I’ll warn you” "If you’re still alive after we crash, get out fast because these things burn like hell!
We taxied out to the runway and then it sat there and the rockets lit! I shook like hell and the noise was unbelievable! Once the brakes were released we took off like a startled gazelle and slid back and forward holding into the canvas strap. It wasn't a long flight but it was too long if you get my meaning. I was so happy to get back on the ground again! I was so happy to come back on a RAAF Caribou!
I still remember watching "Fat Albert" take off at an air show as a kid. So cool to see.
I got to see Fat Albert jato climb a few times at air shows as a kid. It was the thing I missed most when I took my 3yr old son to a Blue angels air show last year. And then the relative quiet of a super herc vs loud low drone that I remembered as a kid
Way back when, the B-47s sent to bomb Russia if WWIII broke out could not make it all the way home due to insufficient fuel. So back in the 1950s my dd was in a squadron (one of three) equipped with C-47s to go in and rescue them. Long range fuel tanks, where the inside of the fuselage was all fuel tanks. So the B-47 crews were to bail out in designated places, construct a short runway, and the C-47s would come get them, flying low level to avoid radar. To take off they had a bunch of JATO bottles they would attach to the aircraft for each takeoff from these improvised rough field runways and take off in extremely short distances. My dad said when you pushed the button, you were going to fly period, and you had better be at about 150 feet wings level and above stall speed when the JATO ran out, or else. A nephew has his old wall photo of one of their JATO takeoffs in a C-47, three bottles on each side of the fuselage.
That’s incredible, the Cold War was crazy.
That's amazing and insane haha
As The Fat Electrician once said, the scariest thing you can make America do is improvise.
The first channel ive ever seen show the correct designation for the old Fat Albert
I remember hearing an urban legend growing up -
That a local police department responded to what they thought was a light aircraft hitting a cliff beside a freeway, what they found was a Chevy Impala with a couple of JATO rockets attached that had managed to get airborne.
Pretty sure that was on one of the earliest Mythbusters episodes.
I think everyone under 50 heard some variation of that story in school.
Awesome video, I spent over 20 years working on C-130's in the USAF, and it still surprises me how little people knew about Operation Credible Sport and the MC-130H Talon II that somewhat came out of that program.
This whole video is just straight badassery. Could you imagine being the person who suggested this as a rescue plan?
Probably some team in the Skunk Works.
I've vaguely heard of C130s needing rocket boosters to takeoff from ice after resupplying Antarctic research stations.
yeah, i've seen video of that... may not have been a c130 though, can't remember. I don't think it was this crazy amount of rocket thrust, just a couple on each back side
Years ago, UA-camr Scott Manley built a Credible Sport-style transport plane in Kerbal Space Program and managed to land it on top of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The outtakes were hilarious.
what people do in videogames isnt impressive or cool
@@nomercyinc6783 KSP has a fair stab at simulating flight physics, so it's an interesting exercise for those of us who will never be actual aircraft designers (i.e. most of us) and entertaining to watch.
@@nomercyinc6783lol sorry you're such a loser who can't have fun
@@nomercyinc6783what is it like being a true joy kill?
@@nomercyinc6783 Then the same could be said about any sport or activity where good hand/eye coordination and quick reflexes are required. Video games also add the element of code and strategy and sometimes exploiting it to produce some truly baffling results ie speedruns.
This needs a meme; on the top a video of a rocket assisted c-130 taking off.
On the bottom, Christopher Walken from SNL "more rockets!"
'A've got a feva...and the only prescription is more rah-ckets!'
@@oskar6661 nice 🤛
My father was a program manager from the MC-130 Combat Talon I and II during early 90’s to 2000’s. I remember him bringing home a Declassified video of this program, with this exact footage, sometime in the 90’s. Crazy video to watch before this was as well known. The idea to get that big plane do land and take off in a soccer stadium was so crazy to my teenage mind.
That... was.... IMPRESSIVE!
The key thinking concept is to see the C130 as expendable. This allows thinking to counter many threats. But, the crew, cargo and aircraft are still viewed as expendable. That is the key thinking concept that enabled the entire sequence of airplanes you described in this video. Thank you. Great job.
That was the original purpose. The original C-130A's were only about 4 million a pop. They were basically designed to get troops and supplies to the front lines. Any further missions was seen as a bonus.
Since the Hercules Powder Company was still a thing in 1979 it would’ve been cool to see a Hercules with Hercules rockets. ;)
The RATO of the c130 and c135 is an awesome testament to the Kelly Johnson concept. Even though the aircraft he created for the usaf, he commented that was the ugliest aircraft he had ever made. It became the workhorse of our military 🫡 They can land on a carrier. Come to full stop. Then take off from that exact point right off the carrier. Of course it would require a clean deck, but nevertheless it was a proof of concept, especially for a RAS. Just a distance between the wing and the tower was so close they felt it was too dangerous. Moving the island back such as in the Ford class would totally negate that situation. Awesome tutorial! Loved it!🕊️❤️🕊️
RATO - Rocket Assisted Take-Off has been STANDARD on Hercs for DECADES, but rarely used since it is EXTREMELY HARD on the airframe.... although this is RATO on STEROIDS.
Another option may have been a DHC-5 Buffalo - one of the BEST STOL Aircraft in the world. LONG before this Operation, the Buffalo had been famous for landing, turning around and taking off in a FOOTBALL field (US-type, not soccer), and even MISSING THE UPRIGHTS of the field goals! And this was WITHOUT ASSISTANCE, and CARRYING A 155 mm Howitzer and Crew.
The Buffalo was likely not chosen due to aircraft availability and more likely the lack of capacity. The US was likely looking at only getting a single aircraft in and out before the lunatics closed in.
Cool story bud. Hopefully you get all the likes you were wanting for this lol
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍
Not really. JATO has been gone for decades. They stopped putting the mounts and equipment on them in the 80's. The only ones still using it were the Skibirds and Blue Angels until they ran out of bottles.
@@Porter92lol
That's a wild story. Alex, thank you for sharing. Great content.
I was lucky enough to fly with the Marines on Fat Albert while shooting the Blue Angels 50th Anniversary film for Disney. Of course the jarheads decided it would be fun to mess with the film crew. My DP (camera dude) and I were invited into the cockpit for takeoff. I was stoked. We Take off and engage the rockets which was amazing. We hit zero g and jarhead 1 takes the lid off a cup of water and water floats out. My camera dude freaks and co pilot says go under “it’ll be a great shot” and it was, especially when gravity returned and the water splashed on the camera and operator! The Marines were excellent humans and we all had a lot of laughs afterwards. And the shot was great!
Down in Montgomery-Newburgh NY, for 2 weeks, I worked on putting a “rubber roof” on a 3-story government warehouse. Right across the street, there was an Air Force National Guard airport. For 2 weeks, we watched a dozen C100s take off, but, near the end of the job, we finally got to see a C130 take off. What a show! When the darn thing finally got up into the air, it had to immediately make a 180 degree turn. As it did, the plane was so big, it looked like a child’s flaky crayon drawing of a plane, posted on a refrigerator door.
I sat in Gulf of Oman for 110 days with the first Expeditionary Task Force and am only now learning the juicy stuff going on then. Thanks😊
For the landing, perhaps software or sensor updates to trigger the rockets automatically at the correct time, instead of manually, could make it work. Then you don't have premature triggering stalling the plane and dropping it on the deck from 50 feet up. Probably a moot point now that tilt rotors are now in common use though, tilt rotors can fill a similar fixed wing STVL role much more effectively.
My high school Mr Williams was recalled to active duty to participate in this operation!
I grew up on the literal border of the buffer zone of the Elgin AFB bombing range. I could see the gunships practice at night. My dad was Headmaster of NAVSchool EOD. He told me about this program but I never knew they buried it out there.
Credible Sport should have still gone forward!
Man, it would have been so cool!
The failure of Eagle Claw was one of the motivations for the creation of the V-22 Osprey. It can do IFR, it has the range and it can do vertical takeoff / landing and hover, so they could drop SpecOps onto the roof without needing to land in the soccer stadium.
I saw a C130 do a JATO takeoff at an air show as a kid. It was super cool and loud. I wish I had a video of my face when the rockets kicked in because it scared the crap out of me.
Awesome video! Very Enjoyable. Cheers,
Loved this trick by Fat Albert
Its creation and ultimate failure is what lead to V-22 and Army 160th air division
There was a massive shift in special forces capabilities after Eagle Claw
Working as a tanker for conventional helicopters achieves the same result as was hoped from this project.
That is badass ☠️☠️☠️
Great episode!
Nobody talks about the RC-135 involved with Eagle Claw
5:22 what an image :)
That was fun. Thanks.
Great Speed reference to start the video! Great flick I still quote to this day!
Glad somebody got it!
I believe one was used in Chuck Norris' DELTA FORCE movie
Fat Albert is now a J sourced from the RAF.
That footage in the last video of it literally LEAPING into the air, was absolutely impressive and hilarious to see! 🤯🤣
I'm noticing a trend though, where clips of future videos get hidden in current ones 😅
_(the "drone shark", for example haha)_
I worked on the talon II's for 10 years, loved them and still do!
It really was an awesome program. I was in 130's, so it was a big part of our history. I've actually turned wrenches on both the remaining airframes before they went to the woods/boneyard. The modifications done were insane.
I'm curious though where the Copilot thing came from. I used this for a paper I did in school and the official report I read stated the Navigator was responsible for hitting the rockets as the Copilot would be busy avoiding buildings and ground fire.
Still, a great video and far better than most I've seen on the mission. Pretty sure you're the first video I've seen that mentions the tailhook and IFR mods.
But, if anyone is still reading this, look into the program. It's just incredible to see how much they did with so little time and budget.
The US Army just chose General Dynamics and Rheinmetall as finalists for the 4000 Bradley replacement IFVs (a year ago).
Could you do a Firepower series video about this program, the two finalists and the other three that dropped out. Or more generally the current state of IFVs (Bradley, CV90, Puma, Lynx) and their most likely future. Maybe even including anti air IFVs like some CV90 variants and SkyRanger.
Nice job Alex.
Gotta love the Herc
My grandfather worked on this project.
If he's still around, please get him to sit down for an interview.
So much of history like this is dissapearing because no one thinks to record the people who were there.
Wow!Awesome video!!!
Hey it's that time again.
In 1979, author and aerial authority Martin Caidin published a novel he titled _Wingborn._ If memory serves, his protagonist used rocket assist to take off in severe arctic conditions.
Amazing! 😃👍
13:50 whaaaaaaa that was a sweet shot!
Good history, most people don't know it anymore
Pretty cool
Wow. That’s impressive!
5:06 I remember seeing the Blue Angle version as a kid, so cool!
Been waiting for this for 2 days lolz.
'Merica: scary. 'nuph said!
Cool! I remember watching something about this years ago, though I didn't know it was related to the Iran US embassy hostage situation. If I remember right, it was also the impetus that launched the V-22 program.
Speaking of which, I'd love to see a video about the V-22 and how it actually stacks up as far as safety and reliability when compared to other rotorcraft in service and if there is anything that the V-22 offers that other platforms can't.
how have i not heard of this story? ive watcheedx a ton of videos on the failed rescue attempt. crazyl thanks
My dad told me a story years ago about a guy that strapped a JATO bottle to a car in the desert. Something about how it crashed into a mountain, with no functional brakes left.
The C-130 is an incredible plane, absolute workhorse. Operation Credible Sport was just insanity.
Back in the 1990's I was introduced to a retired Lockheed test pilot who flew the tests on this as the co pilot.
That was him climbing out of the right cockpit windows, in the complete uncut video.
I do not think the co pilot was responsible for the retro rocket firing.
Anyway, he was uninjured in the mishap.
By the way, the company was Lockheed Georgia at the time. It did not become Lockheed-Martin until the early 1990's
Fat Albert, the C-130 for the Blue Angels used to start the show with a take-off like thus.
Look Ma No hook!
Fascinating history. Not sure what your source for GPS having been used, but I’m about 99.9% sure that’s not correct. The first prototype GPS satellite wasn’t launched until 1978, and by 1980 there were only a few of them in orbit, far too few to provide navigation. I’m not even sure there was a receiver small enough to put in an airplane in 1980.
I saw the last time fat Albert took off with the rockets at wings over Houston in 2009. I didn’t realize what I was watching at the time!
The term "Jet" in JATO comes from early in the development of both rockets and gas-turbine engines, which both produced a 'jet' of hot gasses that was used for propulsion. This was in comparison to propeller aircraft which provide propulsion by moving large volumes of air with a propeller. Anything that produced a jet of hot gasses was generally considered to be jet propulsion.
It wasn't until later that gas-turbine engines became more widely known as jet engines, and rockets were separated out. However, at that point terms like JATO had been established.
Fun side note, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (aka JPL) got its start working on what would now be termed rockets. They never did much work with gas-turbines (aka jet engines), but because rockets and gas-turbines were both known as 'Jet' engines at the time the facility was named the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the name has never changed.
Could you do a video on the C-390 Millenium?
I guess everyone forgot that the USAF had the MH-53 PAVE LOW. It had air refueling.
Cool
Pretty amazing that they got it to take off in a short length to bad the timing was off on landing and crashed
Fighters are the most amazing things in the sky, however the Blue Angeles "Fat Boy" demos when I was kid was alot of fun to see. Rockets and all
Now rapid dragon makes perfect sense 😂
Is that plane suppose to do a 360 degree loop? That was amazing. I guess everybody already knew about that because nobody commented about that.
That's ridiculous!
/silent scream gif
ALEX🇺🇸
Que the "Road Runner Memes"...
12:qw Hold on, Devil...lol
You're saying they named the first one "...One".., and didn't just name the second one Two..?
🤣
A video about the X65 and active flow control would be cool.
My grandfather was a load master on the C130 for over 30 years. He retired as an SMSgt(E8). I've spent countless hours as a passenger and even jumped out of them a few dozen times. It's an impressive aircraft but it damn sure wasn't built for passenger comfort. 😂😂
Jamie Hyneman: What could possibly go wrong?
What is the name of the intro music used on this channel?
Could you do a video about the future of Shorad?
Will short range air defense provided by the laser stryker? Will the Bradley replacement IFV XM30 function as an anti air cannon? Should the US look at the SkyRanger / Skynex / millenium gun system? And will there be a Stinger replacement with a better battery, targeting, and most importantly more affordable? Or is this affordable future the APKWS guidance upgrade for the cheap and plentiful Hydra 70mm rocket? Should we slap that on Avenger Hummvees? Or IRIS-T? And how are M-shorad Strykers doing?
This is crazy-pants! 😂
The segment makes me believe in duct tape and baling wire can do anything.
Not quite. Trust me, there was a lot of good engineering that went into that. Out of the box creative and hurried to be sure, but solid nonetheless.
this goddamn plane, man XD
5:15 😅
JATO baby!! The Hercules (C-130 family) is awesome! (This from Former USMC fuel monkey )
I would be concerned that I would go straight to heaven, instead of the skies, on this rocket-filled C-130
Damn I hope HLC is watching this one... 👀
could it be possible to apply this to a jet powered cargo plane like the c 17
Goes to show that our military men and women will do literally anything to bring our people home! 🫡
This is like the Stargate F302 with its rocket booster.
⛽⛽✈🚀
Ya neva know!
Wonder what Raptor Engines or what's on the F35 would do with a concept like this. Especially if the wings could fold a bit for different dynamic thrust/hover needs.
Not much. Far too heavy and complicated. It looks cool on TV, but I was banned from watching "Agents of Shield" because I kept talking about how much of a maintenance nightmare the 'Bus' would be.
Is it IAF 131 Squadron Hercules in the thumbnail🤔
"...ABOUT 132 ft, 7inches..." more or less...
How did we know that Lockheed-Martin would be involved in this.
Rockets are indeed jets, they're just not turbojets or ramjets. Hence the name JPL for the designer of various rocket propelled spacecraft or Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"Credible Sport 2" - soccer.
Schwing!!!