Delivered new to the TNI-AU in December 1979 in a grey / white livery, becoming the 1st C-130H operated by the Indonesian AF. Two more (A-1316, c/n 4840 and A-1323, c/n 4899) followed, while a single C-130H-MP (Maritime Patrol) serialled AI-1322 (c/n 4898) joined the fleet in late 1981. It was not until 2015 that more C-130H's followed, when nine ex RAAF C-130H's (becoming A-1330 through A-1338) were taken on strength, a process completed by February 2020. A-1315 shown here has since been assigned to Skuadron Udara 33, the TNI-AU's 3rd Hercules squadron based at and operating out of Makassar.

On May 18, 1958, american pilot Allen Lawerence Pope was shot down over Ambon while flying a covert CIA mission in a B-26 Invader. Sentenced to death by an indonesian court, he was pardoned in 1962, but not before Indonesia used Mr. Pope as a bargain in a pending arms deal. It is widely believed that the US "bought" Pope's freedom by delivering ten (!) new C-130B's to the AURI as from 1960. A-1303 (mfd Nov 1960) was among that batch and remains the oldest C-130 in service with the indonesian AF, still flying at the time of upload. C-130B's are not able to carry external wing fuel tanks.

Oldest Hercules in Indonesia more than 60 years old

Indonesian Air Force's heavy air lifter seen here taxiing on the runway after arriving from Merauke in a wet afternoon. This particular aircraft has been the most often Hercules serving routes in Papua for a couple of months now.

The Indonesian AF has been operating Hercules aircraft since 1960, and has so far aquired from different sources around 40 units of the versions C-130B, C-130H, C-130H-30 and L-100-30. Most of them wear camouflage colers by now, only A-1316 plus sisterships A-1314, A-1318 and A-1341 still carry the "old" white/grey/yellow livery. A-1316 is assigned to Skadron Udara 32 based at Malang / Abdul Rachman Saleh AB in South Eastern Java.