Lockheed C-130 Hercules C-130E

The C-130E shared the Allison T56-A-7 powerplant of the C-130B but added two large external fuel tanks of 1,290 US gal (4,900 L) each, mounted under the wings, along with an increased maximum takeoff weight. The variant was introduced in August 1962, with 389 aircraft ordered by the United States Air Force, and became one of the most numerous and versatile members of the entire Hercules family.

Thanks to its extended range, the C-130E became the platform of choice for a wide range of specialized conversions through the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning in 1965, fourteen C-130Es were acquired for the special-operations program that produced the MC-130E Combat Talon I, used in clandestine missions during the Vietnam War and later in the failed Operation Eagle Claw hostage-rescue attempt in Iran in 1980. The same airframe also gave rise to the USAF's HC-130P/N Combat King search-and-rescue tankers, capable of refueling helicopters in flight, and to the EC-130E, used both as the ABCCC airborne command post and in the Commando Solo psychological-operations missions that began in 1980.

Six C-130Es were also converted in 1965 for the weather-reconnaissance mission, becoming the first WC-130E "Hurricane Hunters," which remained in active service until their retirement in 1993 after being upgraded with the Improved Weather Reconnaissance System.

The C-130E remained in front-line service with the USAF and numerous allied air forces for decades, and several exported airframes — including those of the Colombian and Polish air forces, the latter retired on 30 July 2024 — are preserved today as museum pieces, a testament to its long operational career.