Check Six – 1980: C-130 Modified for 1980 Iranian Rescue
C-130 modified (special duties – rescue – Iran 1980) to land and take off in a confined area. pic.twitter.com/1nIeYJWlYQ
— Ron Eisele (@ron_eisele) August 24, 2017
From the Wikipedia website
Operation Credible Sport was a joint project of the U.S. military in the second half of 1980 to prepare for a second rescue attempt of the hostages held in Iran. The concept included using a Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlifter modified with the addition of rocket engines to make it a very short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft, able to land on the field within a soccer stadium in Tehran. Operation Credible Sport was terminated when on 2 November, the Iranian parliament accepted an Algerian plan for release of the hostages, followed two days later by Ronald Reagan‘s election as the U.S. President.
The concept of a large military transport STOL aircraft was carried forward in 1981–82, with the follow-up Credible Sport II project. The project used one of the original Operation Credible Sport aircraft as the YMC-130 prototype for the MC-130H Combat Talon II.
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