Nicknames are rife in Australian culture; particularly in the Royal Australian Air Force. This episode of Workhorse dives into nicknames used by the RAAF C-130 community (aircrew, maintenance and support staff). 

Tony Hall (Hally, or 'Tony Hall from Australia') and Graham Johnson (Johno 1, or Kramer) join me (K9) in presenting the top 100 nicknames and spinning tales about the nicknames and how people got them.

WARNING: Many nicknames came from an era when political correctness was not a thing. This podcast episode is decidedly un-PC and contains explicit language. Don't listen if you're offended by bigoted language and swearing.

Royal Australian Air Force C-130s participated in courses run by the US Advanced Airlift Tactical Training Center (AATTC) to hone their skills in combat environments. The course developed skills in airdrop, low-level flying, and threat avoidance. Michael 'Gus' Garside captained a 36SQN C-130H crew on this course in June 1998, and his crew experienced a double-engine failure during one of the sorties at AATTC. In this episode of Workhorse, Gus recounts the flight, along with highlights from his RAAF career as a flying instructor and C-130 crewmember.

Ash Pendergast had a long association with the Royal Australian Air Force's 36 Squadron where he was a Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI); took part in original NVG trials; and was a Flight Commander. Ash recalls these roles and his RAAF career in this episode.

In mid-March 1997, the yacht Queen Charlotte was being skippered from New Zealand to Japan by Australian Bob Cornell, with four passengers. On 19 March, the yacht was located approximately 600 nm east of Cairns when it ran into Cyclone Justin and its emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated. In response, Ben Charters and his crew from 37 Squadron flew A97-181 on a search-and-rescue mission. This episode details that mission and the consequent engine fire that caused the crew to believe they would have to ditch in the cyclone. Ben also recounts his career with some focus on his time as a flying instructor.

This episode features a wide-ranging discussion of the flight engineer category and its place on the C-130 Hercules. Tony Hall also covers his operational C-130 experience, along with his transition onto Caribous and then as a Loadmaster on C-130Js. The discussion ranges into:

• RAAF B-707 operations based in Kyrgyzstan (where Tony was an Operations Officer)
• Impact of the Safety system on Flight Engineer authorisations
• The latter years of C-130H operations in the RAAF
• RAAF consideration of having a FLTENG on the C=130J
• Demise of the FLTENG mustering
• Transition to Loadmaster

Gav Nicholson recounts his involvement with systems integration on RAAF C-130Hs during the late 1990s to the late 2000s, including electronic warfare self-protection, the FMS-800 flight management system, and other modifications of that era. Also discussed are PNG operations, Operations Falconer (Iraq 2003), Shaddock (PNG), Catalyst (Iraq, as C-130J Detachment Commander) and a mission on Spitfire (East Timor) during which his crew flew an evacuation with 180 people onboard a C-130H.

Royal Australian Air Force C-130s airdrop parachutists and equipment to force project Australian military capabilities. C-130s flew in formation as a tactic to concentrate Army parachutists on a target area as quickly as possible (thereby minimising the risk to the paratroopers and aircraft). 

In this episode of 'Workhorse', Andrew "Stretch" Elliott discusses the many factors that formation lead pilots considered when leading C-130s to a formation airdrop.

He also covers his experiences training for fighter evasion on night vision goggles, planning for operations in East Timor (1999), and his role in developing procedures for the C-130J when it was first acquired in 1999.

Graham 'Johno' 'Johno1' 'Kramer' Johnson flew C-130Hs on a variety of operations from 1989 to 1999, including Operations Solace (Somalia 1993), Immune (Pilot Strike 1989) and Ples Drei (PNG famine 1998), all of which he discusses in this episode.

Johno also discusses the differences between pushing crew training to the boundaries of aircraft limits and when that transitions into unauthorised flying.

The Royal Australian Air Force's C-130J fleet was acquired in 1999, but it was not fitted with electronic warfare self-protection systems. When C-130Hs deployed to the Middle East in early 2003, 37 Squadron had only just begun training its C-130J crews in tactical procedures. Thus when Middle East operations were extended into 2004, 36 Squadron's C-130Hs remained in the Middle East on an extended deployment because there wasn't a replacement force. This placed great pressure on 36 Squadron's training system, and by early 2004 it was apparent that C-130Js needed to be modified with self-protection equipment and 37 Squadron's crews had to be trained for combat operations. 

This episode features Justin Ryder who was a C-130J captain in 2004. He relates the C-130J upgrade program and his experiences in the Middle East during the C-130J's first full deployment into a combat environment. His tales include being engaged by an S-60 and a complete avionics failure during a departure out of an Iraqi airfield. He also discusses his later experiences as an air-air refueling captain.

(Note: This podcast series will now be shifting to a monthly publication cycle, commencing 1 April).

Reports arising in 1996 from Australian-flagged fishing vessels indicated the presence of dozens of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing vessels in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Exclusive Economic Zone.  

In response, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) sought an enforcement action and requested Defence assistance with search, reconnaissance and apprehension. The first of these ADF missions took place under the name Operation Dirk, and it was enabled by the installation of internal fuel tanks on RAAF C-130Hs. This episode features Michael 'Rocky' Phillips, who was deeply involved in preparing for and then flying these long-range surveillance missions.

Rocky also discusses operations on the first C-130H deployment to Iraq in early 2003.