The Royal Australian Air Force recorded its 800,000th C-130 flight hour during a three-ship formation flight on 10 September 2014. To mark the milestone, C-130J aircrews from 37 Squadron returning from a training mission flew over Sydney Harbour and then landed at RAAF Richmond, outside Sydney. The first RAAF C-130 flight hour came on 8 November 1958 when Wing Cmdr. I.R. Olorenshaw piloted the first Australian C-130A (RAAF serial number A97-205) from the then-Lockheed facility in Marietta, Georgia, to Sewart AFB, Tennessee for training. Since then, Australia has operated the C-130A, E, H, and J, conducting a variety of missions across the globe. Introduced to service in 1999, Australia’s C-130J fleet reached 100,000 flying hours earlier in September.
