Africa is the continent of the C-130 par excellence.
By turns a force projection vector, a soft power tool, a humanitarian ally, and a generator of economic development, the C-130 has fulfilled the most comprehensive range of missions imaginable. Whether it's a terrorist killer in Somalia or a job creator in Morocco, it's always the one we see evacuating Western citizens from countries gripped by civil wars or coups d'état, and it's always the one dropping pallets of food or medicine to populations struck by famine or natural disasters. In this way, it has been a key player in the foreign policy of both African and Western countries on the African continent for 65 years.
The second volume in Xavier Capy's series devoted to the Lockheed C-130 around the world, this book offers a close-up look at the fantastic African history of the Hercules. The African continent currently has 54 sovereign states, of which only sixteen operate—or have operated—the C-130 Hercules. Unsurprisingly, the North African countries, located around the Mediterranean, are all equipped with C-130s and also have the largest fleets. It is also in North Africa that the C-130J-30 Super Hercules first appeared on the African continent: first in Tunisia and, more recently, in Algeria, and Egypt is about to acquire one.
Aside from the Central African Republic, Sudan, and Zaire, which no longer have any Hercules in service, the other thirteen air forces are still believed to have C-130s in service. But reading the following pages will show that, in the case of many African countries, the information is fragmentary or even non-existent and it is very difficult to know if these fleets are really operational: the aircraft stored in more or less good condition or immobilized - awaiting overhaul or due to a lack of spare parts, sometimes for a long time due to budgetary concerns - are numerous without it being known whether they will ever fly again.
