English: This photo is one of a series, shown in this set, depicting the last operational sortie of the RAF C-130K Hercules aircraft.

The Lockheed C-130K Hercules tactical transport aircraft, together with the C-130J variant, was the workhorse of the RAF’s Air Transport (AT) fleet and, until it's retirement on 29th October 2013, was based at RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, where it was operated by Nos. XXIV, 30 and 47 Squadrons.

The C-130K C1 and C3 aircraft were used primarily to carry troops, passengers or freight and were capable of carrying up to 128 passengers, or 20 tonnes of palletised freight or vehicles, for up to 2000nmls. The freight bay could accommodate a range of wheeled or tracked vehicles, or up to seven pallets of general freight. In the aeromedical evacuation role either 64 or 82 stretchers could be carried, depending on the mark of aircraft and the stretcher configuration.

Since 1967, this aircraft provided the UK with the ability to move equipment and personnel globally on both military and humanitarian operations. Its true strength, however, lay in its superb ability to operate at the tactical 'intra-theatre' level.