Stop in for a cup of coffee
USAF HC-130P Combat Shadow[edit]
Main article: MC-130P Combat Shadow
The MC-130P Combat Shadow series of aircraft initially entered service in December 1965 during the Vietnam War as the HC-130H CROWN airborne controller. The CROWN airborne controllers located downed aircrew and directed Combat Search and Rescue operations over North Vietnam. In mid-1966 flight testing began of rescue helicopters equipped with aerial refueling receivers, and 11 of the controller aircraft were modified as tankers and redesignated the HC-130P SAR Command and Control/vertical lift (helicopter) aerial refueling aircraft, entering service in Southeast Asia in November 1966. Originally assigned to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and then the Military Airlift Command (MAC), Combat Shadows have been part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) since that command's establishment in 1993. In February 1996, AFSOC's 28-aircraft HC-130P tanker fleet was redesignated the MC-130P Combat Shadow, aligning the variant with AFSOC's other M-series special operations mission aircraft.[6][7] At the same time as this redesignation, USAF continued to field HC-130P/N aircraft as dedicated CSAR platforms under the Air Combat Command (ACC) and in ACC or PACAF-gained CSAR units in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.
USAF HC-130P Combat Shadow[edit]
Main article: MC-130P Combat Shadow
The MC-130P Combat Shadow series of aircraft initially entered service in December 1965 during the Vietnam War as the HC-130H CROWN airborne controller. The CROWN airborne controllers located downed aircrew and directed Combat Search and Rescue operations over North Vietnam. In mid-1966 flight testing began of rescue helicopters equipped with aerial refueling receivers, and 11 of the controller aircraft were modified as tankers and redesignated the HC-130P SAR Command and Control/vertical lift (helicopter) aerial refueling aircraft, entering service in Southeast Asia in November 1966. Originally assigned to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and then the Military Airlift Command (MAC), Combat Shadows have been part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) since that command's establishment in 1993. In February 1996, AFSOC's 28-aircraft HC-130P tanker fleet was redesignated the MC-130P Combat Shadow, aligning the variant with AFSOC's other M-series special operations mission aircraft.[6][7] At the same time as this redesignation, USAF continued to field HC-130P/N aircraft as dedicated CSAR platforms under the Air Combat Command (ACC) and in ACC or PACAF-gained CSAR units in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.