C-130s called blackbirds? Hi, Is there anybody on here that is in or was in the USAF? basically there's a man in Germany that I play Warcraft with and one day on discord he told me...

Harry P Loc: United Kingdom

Hi,

Is there anybody on here that is in or was in the USAF? basically there's a man in Germany that I play Warcraft with and one day on discord he told me that his dad used to be in the USAF way back in the day and that he used to work on blackbirds. When he told me that, I automatically thought the SR-71 blackbird; However, asking about this again at a much later date I was talking to him about it and showed him a picture of an SR-71 and he said that the 'blackbirds' his dad worked on were completely different! after a back and forth debate about the fact that the SR-71 is called the blackbird, he later phoned his father up and confirm what it was he actually worked on and he confirmed that it was C-130's that were called blackbirds! I said it cant be because I cannot find ANYTHING online about any C-130's being called blackbirds!

Is anyone that used to be in or is in the USAF that can give me some insight into whether or not there were C-130's designated as blackbirds?

rcarol

I was in the US Navy but on loan to an USAF C-130 squadron. I've never heard of the C-130 being referred to as 'Blackbird'. It was always known as the 'Hercules'.

Harry P Loc: United Kingdom

I never have either, I said to this man that the only aircraft called a blackbird is and only is the SR-71 and that I cant find ANYTHING online about blackbird C-130's I forgot to include that they apparently were fitted with spy equipment these so called 'blackbird c-130's'. He was insistent that they were called blackbirds but I cant believe him!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

rcarol wrote:

I was in the US Navy but on loan to an USAF C-130 squadron. I've never heard of the C-130 being referred to as 'Blackbird'. It was always known as the 'Hercules'.

Army in Nam sometimes used Herc or Herckybird.

But I just found that a special unit with black night camouflage and other mods for night operations did exist and were called "Blackbirds".

http://www.9websites.com/airforce/blackbrd.htm

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Oh, and "The Blackbird" when it set its world speed record West Coast to East Coast in 1990 I was getting into my car in Azusa, CA (far east LA County) a bit after 6AM to go to work when I glanced up toward the west and here came a high contrail crossing from horizon to horizon at an astonishing rate. It was the SR-71 right after the start of its 1 hr 4 minute 20 second cross-country record speed run.

As the CBers would say "The boy had the pedal to metal!".

Tom70 Loc: NY

back in the day, I did see Spooky (C-47 gunship) at work with a black bottom for night work (at night never actually never saw the plane just the long blast of flame erupting inthe sky, did see one parked at the AnKee Goulf Course), never saw the AC-130, but if spooky had it I'm sure the AC-130 did

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

As mentioned, I suspect it was the black painted plane used for night flights that I saw at the Air Force museum in Dayton Ohio this summer. I can’t remember the designation but I do have a photo of it on the computer.

lmTrying Loc: WV Northern Panhandle

robertjerl wrote:

Oh, and "The Blackbird" when it set its world speed record West Coast to East Coast in 1990 I was getting into my car in Azusa, CA (far east LA County) a bit after 6AM to go to work when I glanced up toward the west and here came a high contrail crossing from horizon to horizon at an astonishing rate. It was the SR-71 right after the start of its 1 hr 4 minute 20 second cross-country record speed run.

As the CBers would say "The boy had the pedal to metal!".

I have heard some stories about SR-71s.

I read where one pilot said they could cross the US in 3 hours. Less if they had to. This works out to 1000 mph or faster. Believable.

Watched a slide show on US military birds. Even had photos of an SR-71 cockpit. He pointed at the dash and said that funny little mark on the airspeed indicator was mach 3, and there was more beyond that. 750 x 3 is 2250 mph. Wow!

Was told that one left an air show in England. It ran out of fuel over Prudo bay in Canada and glided to a landing in Dayton, Ohio.

Coming home from work one summer evening about 10 years ago, a contrail in the making caught my eye. Coming from the west, making a very, very large turn to the south, very high, very fast. I pulled off in a driveway to watch. It was all over in less than 5 minutes. What was it? I don't know. It was too high to tell. Eye witness fact.

So an hour and four minutes to cross the US I will believe because all indications have pointed to that 3000 mph capability.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

lmTrying wrote:

I have heard some stories about SR-71s. br br I r... (show quote)

That June 1990 flight was an SR-71 headed to the Smithsonian. It took off from Palm Dale, CA, went west and hooked up with a tanker near the Channel Islands and the two turned east together still hooked up and they accelerated to the tankers top speed at which point the SR-71 unhooked and punched it, so it crossed the beach at its max sustainable speed and continued that way all the way to the east coast. That was 2404 miles @ an average of 2124.5 MPH, and it set four different speed records along the way. It did coast-to-coast in 1hr 8mn 17sec and LA to Washington in 1hr 4mn 20sec, Kansas to D.C. just under 26mn and St Louis to Cincinnati 8mn 32sec. The old Coast-to-coast record was 3hr 38mn. The top speed it hit on the run was 2242.48 MPH.

That contrail went from horizon to horizon in the time it took me to unlock my car and put my briefcase and book bag in the back seat, then open the driver's door to get in.
Just "Here it comes, there it goes."

Later some of them were reactivated and flown by NASA for a while

dlwhawaii Loc: Sunny Wailuku, Hawaii

There is a reference to an early Combat Talon 1 special mission aircraft referred to as a "blackbird". https://www.pinterest.com/pin/344032859027166608/

DAN Phillips Loc: Graysville, GA

Those outfitted with more weapons and ordnance than normal , "Puff the Magic Dragon"

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

Harry P wrote:

Hi,

Is there anybody on here that is in or was in the USAF? basically there's a man in Germany that I play Warcraft with and one day on discord he told me that his dad used to be in the USAF way back in the day and that he used to work on blackbirds. -- snip--
Is anyone that used to be in or is in the USAF that can give me some insight into whether or not there were C-130's designated as blackbirds?

C-130's are work horses and good ones, too. I've heard them called all kinds of things including Porkies and Whisper Pigs - 'cause, given their capabilities, they are fairly quiet- but never heard 'em called blackbirds. Some C-130's -and variations- do have flat-black undersides... saw one with a flat-black interior too and limited internal/external illumination... that pig really whispered.

Stash Loc: South Central Massachusetts

I was in the Air Force for nine years. Flew many miles on the C-130. I never heard them called Blackbirds. The only Blackbirds I am aware of were the SR-71s.

DAN Phillips Loc: Graysville, GA

That's a fac' jack!

act Loc: Trussville, AL

I was in the Army and made a free-fall parachute jump from one of the Blackbirds when I was in Special Forces.