RNZAF C-130H Hercules retirement

The story so far

The Royal New Zealand Air Force retired its fleet of five C-130H Hercules transport aircraft after 60 years of service.^{30 Jan 2025; 3 Feb 2025} Since 1965, the fleet had completed 100,000 landings and 155,000 hours of flight time.^{30 Jan 2025} The aircraft were officially retired on a Friday, and they then flew farewell flypasts over Wellington, the Hutt Valley, Northland and other parts of the country.^{3, 4 Feb 2025} One of the last retired aircraft, NZ7001, landed at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Wigram on a Wednesday to be placed there.^{19 Feb 2025}

Latest

NZ7001, one of the last retired Hercules, landed at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Wigram.^{19 Feb 2025}

Key moments

1. 30 Jan 2025RNZAF announces retirement of its five C-130H Hercules after 60 years.
2. 3 Feb 2025Fleet officially retired on Friday; final flypasts begin across the country.
3. 4 Feb 2025Farewell flypasts held over Wellington, Hutt Valley and Northland.
4. 19 Feb 2025Retired Hercules NZ7001 lands at Air Force Museum in Wigram.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.