Over 50 years after it first flew, this Royal Australian Air Force C-47B Dakota, A65-95 seen at Avalon on March 23,1995, is one of four which still serve with the RAAF’s Aircraft Research & Development Unit at Edinburgh, emphasising the longevity of the type - it was first delivered on April 21,1945 and has spent its entire life in RAAF service.

USAF/437th Airlift Wing C-17A Globemaster III 93-0602 gets airborne from Barstow/Daggett Field, California, demonstrating its shortfield performance. After much political indecision, the aircraft now seems set to become the mainstay of the USAF’s long-range and intra-theatre cargo transport fleet.

USAF/Kentucky ANG/125th Airlift Wing/165th Airlift Squadron C-130H 92-1231 was delivered on May 14,1992, becoming the 2,000th Hercules to roll off the production line. Since then, around another 140 were produced before production recently switched to the new-generation C-130J.

Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules C.4

The Vickers Vernon was the first RAF aircraft designed specifically for military airlift and was used mainly in Iraq.