10 Mar' 55: Factory rollout; first production C-130A. 7 Apr '55: First flight. 28 October '58: TOS USAF. Sep '59: Converted to JC-130. Jul '61: 6515th Test Squadron. Mar '68: 4413th Combat Crew Training Squadron, England AFB. Dec '68: Converted to AC-130A. Mar '69: 16th Special Operations Squadron/8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Ubon Royal Thai AFB. 27 Mar '69 to May '71: Suffered flack damage. May '71: Converted to different weaponry. Assigned for training gunship crews. Ca.1981: Upgraded to 4-bladed props. 10 Sep '96: Ferried to Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, FL

This is none other than the first production Hercules, which made its maiden flight on 7th April 1955 with blunt nose. Converted to AC-130A gunship in December 1968, serving with a number of units in Vietnam and suffering combat damage. It was not until 1981 that it was modified with four-blade props. After withdrawal from duty with the 711th SOS at Duke Field in 1995, flown to Eglin for preservation in September 1996. My photo here shows it at Duke in 1979 with three-blade props