Cold War Battle Damage: All Hail the Hail Buster! What happens when you fly your C-130E through a hailstorm?

A case of ‘hail nose’. This is what happens when a Hurlburt Field, Florida, based C-130E gets hit by a hailstorm while in flight. March 1987, U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

The damaged C-130E Hercules landed at Naval Air Station New Orleans, Louisiana. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Awaiting the repair crew. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Damaged SKE (Station Keeping Equipment) radome. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Damage to the leading edge of the wing. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Broken formation light. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Gotta have that metal tape, and I don’t mean that cassette tape of the latest ’80s metal band. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

A bit of damage to the engine intake. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

A new nose for the old Hercules. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Replacing the ‘greenhouse’ glass. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

New glass. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

With hail damage repaired, the crew of the C-130E used reflective tape to give it a new name; Hail Buster! USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

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