Lyneham Hercules kept out of enemy hands
Swindon Advertiser
www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk
14th February 2007
By Anthony Osborne
Email: aosborne@newswilts.co.uk
SOLDIERS had to blow up a Lyneham Hercules to stop parts of it falling into the hands of Iraqi insurgents. The aircraft - one of the Wiltshire base's new C-130J Hercules - was destroyed at a desert airstrip in the Maysan Province, north of Basra, following a landing accident on Monday night.

All 38 people on board escaped, although two people were slightly injured. It is understood that those injured were passengers and not aircrew.

The Ministry of Defence says the decision was taken to destroy the plane because the damage was too difficult to repair and would put personnel at "undue risk".

An MoD spokesman said: "The aircraft was significantly damaged during the landing.

"The site was secured and, after a thorough assessment of the damage, it was concluded that the aircraft could not be recovered without exposing our personnel to undue risk.

"There was also a potential risk that anti-Iraqi forces might obtain information on specialist equipment." Despite the £40m pricetag, Hercules are often destroyed to stop enemy forces from learning more about defensive systems and other sensitive items.

The 25 new C-130Js were delivered to the RAF nearly eight years ago. The aircraft is the most modern version of the Hercules and is the preferred type for operations in the Middle East. Several of the planes are based at Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar from where they support British operations in Iraq and the Gulf.

When the Swindon Advertiser visited Qatar last month, we reported on the operations being carried out by the Hercules crews and Army Air dispatchers in the Maysan Province. Usually, supplies would be airdropped in - up to 18 tonnes at a time - but occasionally crews will have to land on specially prepared strips to deliver passengers. Such landings are usually carried out at night. The aircraft is the second to be lost in Iraq since the beginning of operations there in 2003.

On January 30, 2005 Hercules XV179 crashed in the desert north of Baghdad during a routine flight. That was shot down by insurgents and all 10 people on board, including eight from Lyneham, were killed. Last year, another Hercules was destroyed after a landing accident in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan.