The Air Mobility Workhorse: C-130 Hercules Aircraft in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Service (2-Volume...

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Bill Kourelakos

The Air Mobility Workhorse

C-130 Hercules Aircraft in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Service (2-Volume Boxed Set)

Bill Kourelakos

$89.99

Hardback

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English

BIG SKY PUBLISHING
01 February 2025

Military history; Air forces & warfare; War & defence operations; Weapons & equipment

Air Mobility Workhorse recounts the operational history of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) service, spanning the A, E and H models from 1958 to 2012, leaving the current J model to be covered in the future.

The C-130 was the catalyst for a transformational shift from Second World War technology to leading-edge aircraft systems in RAAF air mobility and the broader Air Force. The Hercules has become iconic in Australian culture as the first thing viewers often see of news reports when Australia reaches out to the rest of the world to offer aid in times of disaster.

The author’s intimate knowledge of the aircraft, along with his extensive service on them, brings an insight that only someone who has flown them in testing times can bring. His extensive connections within the Hercules community have brought their stories ‘from the inside’ to give readers a rare glimpse of service in military aviation.

It is a detailed and balanced reflection of what the mighty Hercules did for Australia and how it affected those who flew it, maintained it, supported it, flew as passengers or benefited from the missions it conducted. This aircraft was truly Australia’s Air Mobility Workhorse.

Two full-colour hardback volumes, limited edition, presented in a slipcase.

By: Bill Kourelakos
Imprint: BIG SKY PUBLISHING
Country of Publication: Australia
Edition: Not for Online
Dimensions: Height: 285mm, Width: 220mm,
ISBN: 9781923300095
ISBN 10: 1923300091
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 01 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Air Commodore Bill Kourelakos recently retired from the RAAF in 2020 after 32 years of military service in both the Canadian Forces and the Royal Australian Air Force. His career consisted of four tours as a C-130 Navigator; over 20 deployed operations; a variety of staff appointments in Air Mobility Group, Air Force Headquarters, and Joint Operations Command; and Commands / Deputy Commands in No 36 and 37Squadrons, Task Group 633.4, No 86 Wing, Air Mobility and Training Development Unit, Northern Command, Headquarters Air Command, and Air Mobility Group. Along with being a qualified teacher specialising in History, his broad career makes him eminently qualified to write the history of the mighty C-130 Hercules. Bill has two adult children, and although ‘retired’ in the Hawkesbury region, he maintains an active lifestyle by devoting his time to writing, podcasting, guitar, playing ice hockey, some reserve work, and his 1972 Chevelle.