# Weird C-130 variant **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-c-130-variant/680139 "2014-01-30T17:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MostlyUseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MostlyUseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyUseless)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-c-130-variant/680139/1 "2014-01-30T17:35:58Z")
Saturday, I was helping a friend move near McDill AFB in Tampa. I heard the unmistakeable sound of a C-130 and walked out to see the thing maybe a few hundred feet up flying over. I want to say that the plane had a dark gray paint scheme. Now, I have seen lots of C-130s, but this one had a feature I had never seen before. On the vertical stabilizer above the horizontal stabilizers, there was a box unit that appeared like something you would see on a box kite. It had a look almost like world war 2 bomb tail units - very square but with rounded edges at the corners. The box appeared to be equally split on both sides of the vertical stabilizer. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-c-130-variant/680139/2 "2014-01-30T18:08:31Z")
I’m guessing some kind of aerodynamic testbed, but I don’t know why they’d use a C-130. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-c-130-variant/680139/3 "2014-01-30T18:15:04Z")
Perhaps it was a variant of the EC-130 Reference: > **[Lockheed EC-130](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EC-130)** > > The Lockheed Martin EC-130 series comprises several slightly different versions of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules that have been and continue to be operated by the U.S. Air Force and, until the 1990s, the U.S. Navy. > The EC-130E Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC) was based on a basic C-130E platform and provided tactical airborne command post capabilities to air commanders and ground commanders in low air threat environments. The EC-130E ABCCC aircraft were retired in 2002 an... ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-c-130-variant/680139/4 "2014-01-30T18:47:46Z")
Maybe a NASA plane? They do aeronautics research. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyUseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MostlyUseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyUseless)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-c-130-variant/680139/5 "2014-01-30T18:48:30Z")
Nailed it in 1. Having previously lived near Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson, I would have said no way to EC-130, but that photo is dead on. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-c-130-variant/680139/6 "2014-01-30T20:02:53Z")
Now that the question’s answered, here’s my favorite Herc. 105mm howitzer, baby!: [Lockheed AC-130 - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130)