The Spanish C-130 Hercules aircraft that collided in mid-air with an EF-18B fighter

The Spanish Air Force was one of the operators of the excellent Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft.

The fuselage of a Spanish C-130H Hercules shown very closely and in detail
A walk through the interior of the Spanish C-130H Hercules of the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum

The first C-130s arrived in Spain in December 1973. The Spanish Air Force operated a total of 13 units: 7 C-130H and 1 C-130H-30 (designated T.10 and assigned to the 311th Squadron of the 31st Wing, based in Zaragoza) and 5 KC-130H air refueling aircraft (designated TK.10 and assigned to the 312th Squadron of the 31st Wing). One of the Spanish C-130Hs was lost in an accident on May 28, 1980, when it crashed into a mountain in Hoya del Gamonal, killing all 10 occupants of the aircraft.

The C-130 made its final flight with the Spanish Air Force on December 29, 2020, being replaced by the larger and more modern Airbus A400M Atlas. Throughout its years of service in Spain, this aircraft has been the subject of all kinds of anecdotes. One of the most striking I told you about it here in February 2024. On November 15, 1988, at Zaragoza Air Base, the C-130H T.10-03 (31-03, cn 382-4531) collided with a two-seat EF-18B Horner fighter (the CE.15-4, belonging to Wing 15), at the moment in which one was landing and the other was taking off.

Fortunately, both aircraft were able to land in Zaragoza. The C-130H T.10-03 (currently preserved at the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum) lost a piece of its outer wing, and the EF-18M suffered damage to one wing. To repair the C-130H, two new wings had to be ordered from the factory, which were brought to Spain by the C-130H-30, which was the longest aircraft of this type from Wing 31. Lieutenant General (R) Ángel Mazo da Pena, former C-130H pilot who participated in the flight to bring the new wings of the T.10-03 from the USA, comments on the details of that event in an interesting video published this Monday by the Association of Friends of the Air Museum (the video is in Spanish, you can activate automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):

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Main photo John Quine. The C-130H T.10-03 (31-03) in a photo taken on July 11, 2016.