Second of five C-130Hs delivered to Poland

On 17 October 2022, the second (of five) ex USAF C-130H Hercules destined for the Sily Powietrzne RP (Polish Air Force) arrived at Wojskowe Zaklady Lotnicze Nr.2 (WZL2), Bydgoszcz.

The transporter, USAF serial 85-0036 (c/n 382-5074), will undergo a PDM periodic inspection before being put into service with 33.BLTr at Powidz air base. It started its delivery flight on 13 October 2022 from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Group (AMARG) facility in Tucson (AZ). After stops at Bangor International Airport (ME) and Ramstein (Germany) it continued to Bydgoszcz.

On 13 April 2021, the Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blasczak signed a government-to-government contract with the US for the delivery of these five C-130H transporters. This contract is part of the US Excess Defense Articles (EDA) grant programme and has a total value of USD 14.3 million.

The first aircraft, ex USAF 85-0035 (c/n 382-5073), was delivered on 15 July 2022. Most probably the other three aircraft are former USAF 85-0037, 85-0038 and 85-0039. The final delivery is scheduled for mid-2024. Scramble Magazine assesses that the future serials will be 1509 to 1513, but the tie-up is not yet confirmed.

If you have information on the tie-up of the first two delivered C-130Hs, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Photo via WZL2