1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
During 1965 Heavy Hook C-123B aircraft in Vietnam
were again validating the unique low-level
mission required to support unconventional warfare
operations. SOG was, however, not totally
pleased with the C-123B airframe and was building
a case in the joint arena for acquisition of the
C-130E . Shortly after their arrival in SEA in late
1964, two of the six Heavy Hook aircraft were lost,
thus putting into question whether the C-123 was
the right aircraft for the mission. In response to
the newly established USA Special Forces’s validated
requirement and supported by SOG’s needs
in SEA, 14 USAF C-130E aircraft were modified
beginning in 1965 for the long-range infiltration,
resupply, and exfiltration mission. The original
program was named Stray Goose, and the aircraft
were assigned the identification C-130E(I).
When the aircraft were delivered to the USAF
beginning in the late summer of 1965, they were
production model HC-130s with no specialized
equipment. The Fulton Aerial Recovery System*
was added at the Lockheed-Marietta Georgia fa -
cility beginning in December 1965. In March 1966
the first four STARS-equipped C-130E (I)s were
flown to the LAS Ontario facility in California to
receive the Rivet Clamp modification. Four additional
aircraft were modified beginning in July
1966, with the final four beginning modification
in January 1967 (fig. 1). 6
In August 1966 the Thin Slice program was
terminated when aircraft 64-0506 and 64-0507
(later renumbered 62-1843 and 63-7785) received
the Rivet Yard I modification. Concurrently, the
classified Thin Slice program was renamed
Heavy Chain, and the program’s requirements
were increased from two to four aircraft. C-130E(I)
aircraft (64-0564 and 64-0565—both with Fulton
STARS installed) were pulled from the Stray
Goose program and modified under project Rivet
Yard II in September 1966 and assigned to the
Heavy Chain program. The four Rivet Yard aircraft
flew missions under the code name Combat
Sam until the program closed in late 1972. 7
Throughout its existence, Heavy Chain aircraft
served as the test bed for modifications that
would eventually appear on the Combat Talon
fleet. These modifications included, in part, the
forward looking infrared radar (FLIR) system,
the high-speed low-level aerial delivery system
(HSLLADS), and numerous EW modifications.
The 12 remaining Stray Goose aircraft received
the Rivet Clamp modification at LAS Ontario beginning
in March 1966. With the Fulton STARS
installed, the aircraft had a unique appearance,
CD-.ri[r'rhJT c^LFJiiaa
-j ; I ^_ \i 'I I r..- ■: ' j'"!'
■ ^ _F :„:-„■ 11 ,||1|, ■_^-,,l
• ji'i^ -^Lii^n'-i. '
'-KL
II-.I- ^-T^LJl.^v^ 1 4b;j..i'
iijir £>-c " -I 111
f Di ■■'. ■•^p
-■^ ■;■» h.'':'i .:...
. ■-:' "T
^ ^^j. f^ v:
Figure 1. Servicing Diagram for C-130E(I), circa 1967 (Source: T.O. 1C-130(I)-1, 25 March 1967, provided by James W. Thomas.)
__________
*The Aerial Recovery System was renamed the Fulton Surface-to-Air Recovery System (STARS) in the mid-1980s. For clarity throughout the text,
the author calls the system the Fulton STARS when referring to the system designed by Robert E. Fulton Jr. and installed on USAF-designated
aircraft.
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