Hercules who was a bomber: the return of the Malvinas ghost plane

They have pbaded 37 years on April 2, 1982, which marked the beginning of the Malvinas war and that an air force brigade of Argentina managed to recover and put into operation, perhaps, the most important plane that Argentina had during the war with Britain.

The Hercules TC-68 He played a leading role not only because he had developed several tasks during the armed conflict, but also because he ended up playing the role of bomber, for which he had not been conceived and why he was hidden for 34 years.

It was the first plane to land at Puerto Argentino at 8:45 am on April 2, 1982, it was abandoned for many years in an El Palomar hangar. The Air Brigade that I chose the same day, but 37 years later, it was the right time to announce your recovery, in commemoration of the new Veterans Day and the victims of the Falklands War.

In 2016 Telenoche He had told for the first time the story of this Hercules and his bombing raid during the war. In this report, Petty Officer Carlos Ortiz deplored the condition of the vessel and even a tear escaped his abandonment.

"This story was kept hidden because one of the boats we bombed went on trial, they said they had been bombed by a Hercules, but we denied it", said declared Ortiz. The case had already been prescribed and this is why the protagonists were encouraged to tell the facts Telenoche.

Exactly three years later and thanks to a work of more than eight months, the staff of the air base realized a large part of its restoration. The ship was painted the way it looked during the war, restored the interiors and cab seats, and incorporated missing items, including those on the control panel.

The same officers and technicians who worked for their recovery admitted that the unit was still not in optimal conditions to fly, but they do not lose hope that this will happen in a short period of time: "We will get it", said Brigadier Major Alberto Viana.

In dialogue with TN, Viana pointed out that he had seen "this plane practically carried away" and that to see it in the current conditions "it moves me, we did not want it to be lost. "

"This plane is so historic because it was the first to land in the Falklands on April 2, 1982. Its history is very important.In other countries, there is Hercules with great power, but not bombers to attack ships, "said the air force man, who confessed that he was"Goosebumps back to the cabin"of the ship.

Your role during the war

In a reengineering project, the aircraft was modified to carry weapons. They also managed to get a greater number of flight hours No need to refuel. "There were meetings during which we joked about loading stones to throw them on ships, we did something better: we put bombs in planes. We increased the autonomy to almost 20 hours, "said the petty officer Carlos Ortiz.

"We have carried out cargo and pbadenger transfers, cargo launches and in-flight refueling," said Deputy District Attorney Andres Valle. Because of its size, this vessel is designed for moving and maneuvering heavy loads. A little out of necessity and another by ingenuity, the TC-68 worked like a bomber. a

Already altered, in one of the flights, the Hercules TC-68 had been radiofrequency communicated to the ship Hercules Monrovia and had been ordered to perform some maneuver. In the absence of compliance, the Argentine crew bombed the ship of the same name. The ship was inoperative and sank 250 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pure Argentine ingenuity that turned it into a unique aircraft. However, the exploits of this plane did not extend until 2016. "This was the anonymous hero of the air force. For me, it's a pride to touch him. Letters tango Charlie What you have must be in gold so that you have the honor that you deserve. That's the biggest thing the Air Force had to do, "concluded Ortiz, excited at the time.