First Corporate Hercules
The first "Corporate" Hercules departed down this route on 3rd April, less than 24 hrs after the Argentine invasion of the Falklands, carrying, in addition to supplies, a six-man team from the UK Mobile Air Movements Squadron (UKMAMS).

The initial task of this team was to be to establish an airhead at Wideawake and "to offload up to 13 Hercules” carrying stores that would be required in due course by the Task Force. In fact, within three weeks of its arrival, this team would handle no fewer than 163 aircraft carrying some 3,250,000 lb (11474200 kg) of freight - and even that was only the beginning!

The Hercules Transport Force
Before describing the activities of the Hercules squadrons in greater detail, it should be explained that the Lyneham Transport Wing is made up of four squadrons, Nos 24, 30, 47 and 70, sharing a front-line establishment of 50 Hercules.

When "Operation Corporate" began, approximately 15 of these were Hercules C Mk 3’s, the remainder being C Mk 1's as originally purchased from the Lockheed Georgia production line in 1966/67, The RAF acquired a total of 66 Hercules, all built in C-130H-130-LM configuration but designated C-130K for export to Britain; first flight was made at Marietta on 19th October 1966.

Of the total delivered, one had been converted to the role W Mk 2 for use by the Meteorological Research Flight based at the RAE Farnborough, and another 11 had the category of “in-use reserves". Among the latter were those aircraft under conversion at any one time from C Mk 1 to C Mk 3, the later mark having 180 in (4.57 m) more length in the fuselage.

The programme to convert 30 Hercules to C Mk 3 standard began in 1979 and Lockheed flew the first modified aircraft of 3rd December in that year. Subsequent aircraft were converted by Marshall of Cambridge (Engineering) Ltd, which has been responsible as the Design Authority for supporting the RAF Hercules right from the start of the programme to the current day.

Marshall's involvement in supporting the Hercules and in respect of the special fits for "Operation Corporate" is described later in this account. Read here

The Hercules Mk 3 carries 128 passengers, compared with 90 in the C Mk 1 and although the extra structure reduces max payload by about 3,900 lb (1770 kg) (as there is no increase in max take-off weight), the greater cabin capacity is valuable for freight loads, since in RAF experience Hercules C Mk 1’s often "bulk out at about half the max payload by weight. Stretching 30 aircraft is equivalent to adding eight-nine C Mk 1's to the fleet, without requiring additional crews or other support.

Handling
Handling of the C Mk 3 is so similar to that of the C Mk 1 that crews have been known to be unaware which variant they were flying: the longer moment arm gives the tail surfaces a little more authority, which most pilots regard as an improvement.