Lockheed WC-130

The Lockheed WC-130 is a high-wing, medium-range aircraft used for weather reconnaissance missions by the United States Air Force. The aircraft is a modified version of the C-130 Hercules transport configured with specialized weather instrumentation including a dropsonde deployment/receiver system and crewed by a meteorologist for penetration of tropical cyclones and winter storms to obtain data on movement, size and intensity.

The USAF's Air Weather Service (AWS) received its first C-130 Hercules in 1962 to conduct air sampling missions in the wake of a resumption of atmospheric weapons testing by the Soviet Union in September 1961. The Air Force was then in the process of replacing its fleet of WB-50 weather reconnaissance aircraft with WB-47E jets but by 1965 the AWS had decided it would better served by the WC-130 in the manned weather reconnaissance role. Since that year the Air Force and Air Force Reserve have operated a total of 50 WC-130s in five variants. The WC-130J Weatherbird is the current weather data collection platform for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.

Only one WC-130 has been lost during operational missions, H-model 65-0965, on 12 October 1974, flying in Typhoon Bess northeast of The Philippines. A former weather recon aircraft, H-model 65-0968, was lost on 2 May 2018 while serving with the Puerto Rico Air National Guard on its final ferry flight to retirement. Two WC-130B models were lost to crashes after being sold to international customers, and another operational WC-130B aircraft was destroyed on the ground by a hurricane.

In 1954 the Air Weather Service (AWS) replaced its WB-29 Superfortresses as its primary weather reconnaissance platform with a fleet of WB-50Ds deployed in seven squadrons. Between 1956 and 1960 six WB-50 accidents resulted in the loss of an entire crew and caused the deaths of 66 crew members; metal fatigue and other structural problems with the type was to end its service by 1965. The C-130 Hercules was desired by the AWS as the best alternative but budgetary limitations prevented the procurement of new aircraft for the mission. Headquarters Air Force had always considered aerial weather reconnaissance an expendable luxury when budget cuts were necessary or when funds were needed for expensive programs. In 1958 its desire to field a large ICBM deterrent force resulted in the shutdown of two AWS squadrons, followed by three more in March 1960. The problems with the WB-50, brought to a head in May 1960 by fuel leaks that grounded the entire 66-plane fleet, accelerated the process, which scheduled a complete phaseout by 1963. AWS fought against the decision, however, and the proposed permanent shutdown of AWS's flying mission alarmed high-level operational commanders worldwide, including the admiral commanding the United States Pacific Command. The commander of the Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power, recommended that the WB-50s be replaced by B-47s that were being phased out by SAC, and when Gen. Curtis E. LeMay gave his support for the proposal, modification of 34 WB-47Es in 1963 for the AWS was approved and the re-activation of three discontinued weather recon squadrons scheduled for 1962.

In the meantime a bilateral moratorium with the Soviet Union on the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons was starting its third year when a suggestion was made that the classified air sampling program monitoring the moratorium and being conducted by at least five USAF commands be consolidated under a single manager and agency. AWS lobbied for the mission and submitted a plan in February 1961 naming itself the single manager. LeMay, now Air Force Chief of Staff, approved the plan on 31 August 1961; the next day the Soviet Union resumed nuclear testing. Headquarters Air Force authorized the acquisition of five new C-130Bs factory-configured for the sampling mission to be delivered in April 1962 when AWS would become the air sampling single-manager. These became the first weather-mission C-130 aircraft.

After the five C-130Bs became operational with AWS, conversions of six C-130Es followed in 1965 but as weather platforms. A dropsonde system was installed in all the C-130Bs and the designation of all C-130 weather variants was permanently changed to "WC-130" on 25 August 1965. Three WC-130As were created in Southeast Asia in 1967 and 11 more WC-130Bs were added in 1970 to replace the WB-47s, which had been abruptly retired from service in September 1969. The first of 15 WC-130Hs was converted in 1973 from rescue command and control aircraft (that had themselves been modified from C-130Es). Service life of some of these variants over-lapped as they operated with the 53rd, 54th, 55th and 56th Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons. The -E and -H models have had the greatest longevity in service, 28 and 32 years respectively. Of the seven original weather reconnaissance squadrons, four of which received the WC-130 at some point, only the 53d WRS remains active, now assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC).

The WC-130J model, introduced in 1999, is currently the weather reconnaissance platform for the 53rd WRS, part of the 403rd Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Many of the WC-130s replaced in the weather reconnaissance mission were subsequently redistributed after de-modification to other AFRC and Air National Guard wings for use again in their original tactical airlift role or as training aircraft, while others were sold to foreign air forces.

The WC-130 provides vital tropical cyclone forecasting information and is the primary weather data collector for the National Hurricane Center, supplemented by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's WP-3D Orion. They penetrate tropical cyclones and hurricanes at altitudes ranging from 500 to 10,000 feet (150 to 3,050 m) above the ocean surface depending upon the intensity of the storm. The most important function of these reconnaissance aircraft is to collect high-density, high-accuracy weather data from within the storm's environment. This includes penetration of the center or hurricane eye of the storm. This vital information is instantly relayed by satellite to the National Hurricane Center to aid in the accurate forecasting of hurricane movement and intensity.