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Hercules Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Scott Bateman (Author), Angus King (Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 60 ratings
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Brought to you by Penguin.

The legendary story of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules jet, told through the eyes of former RAF captain Scott Bateman

Anytime, Anywhere, Anyhow. Whether it’s war, natural disaster, or humanitarian emergency, for over fifty years the RAF’s Hercules force was the first in and last out of any crisis faced by the UK government around the globe.

First conceived in the 1950s, the US-built Lockheed C-130 Hercules earned its spurs flying difficult and dangerous missions in the Vietnam War before entering service with air forces around the world. Originally designed as transport aircraft, the Hercules has been pressed into service as an aerial tanker, gunship, spyplane, air-sea rescuer and bomber. It’s even been flown from an aircraft carrier - the largest aeroplane ever to do so. Instantly recognisable, it became synonymous with daring special forces missions like the legendary raid in Entebbe in which dozens of hostages were rescued from the clutches of terrorists. In RAF colours it's seen action on every continent on the planet including Antarctica, flying life and death missions in the Falklands, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Sudan and all points in between.

Former RAF Hercules Captain Scott Bateman opens the cockpit to give an action-packed insider’s account of what it’s like to fly this legendary flying machine in peace and war, and at home and abroad, paying tribute to the remarkable men and women who operated this much-loved aircraft, and to those comrades in arms who, in doing so, made the ultimate sacrifice.

‘The literary equivalent to injecting pure adrenaline into your brain via your eyeball … it’s a blast from start to finish’ AVIATION HISTORIAN

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  1. Listening Length
    12 hours and 14 minutes
  2. Author
    Scott Bateman
  3. Narrator
    Angus King
  4. Audible release date
    May 23, 2024
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Penguin Audio
  7. ASIN
    B0CX3FKFFD
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 12 hours and 14 minutes
Author Scott Bateman
Narrator Angus King
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date May 23, 2024
Publisher Penguin Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0CX3FKFFD
Best Sellers Rank #183,512 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#104 in Aviation Engineering
#140 in Air Forces Military History
#149 in Special Forces Military History

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
60 global ratings

Top review from the United States

L Flansburg
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - A Rollercoaster Ride of Adventures in the Venerable C-130
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book tells the amazing tale of the accomplishments and feats of RAF’s 47 Squadron and the C-130’s they fly. C130’s are often treated with disdain as lumbering ugly trash haulers but a read of this book shows they are more - so much more. And the airmen that crew them are definitely talented, creative and fearless. Excellent and entertaining read. The book covers the period from when the RAF got their C130’s in 1967 to their retirement in 2023.
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Top reviews from other countries

Johnny Lincoln
5.0 out of 5 stars Insight par excellence!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
For any aircraft enthusiast this book will inspire, and if you are thinking of going down the road of military air transport this will show you what it's like. "First in, last out" is the whole point of this book.

For anyone who has been in the "Old Firm", then you will enjoy it and it may take you back in nostalgic terms of ships you have loved, and mates you have lost, and the sadness that is all too frequently a part of service life.

However this story is not about Scott Bateman, it is what it says on the tin, the story of one of the greatest (up to now) transport aircraft the world has known, still flown by many air forces around the world, and one imagines that it will be for many years to come.

In Britain, it is now being replaced by the A400 Atlas, and we can only hope that the A400 will do as much sterling service as the "Albert" did and who knows, maybe another legend is currently being born? But the A400 has some very big boots to fill.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A personal account well told
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
It appears I've joined the 2 night reading club, once I'd started reading it was vey difficault to put the book down. Perhaps the title might mislead some to think this a technical account of Albert's time with Blue Grey Airlines, personally I'm glad it was as much a personal journey through RAF life more than a catalogue of events. Some experiences were all too easy to relate to. The narrative offers an interested bystanders view of events in the air, easy to imagine being there.
Although having served in the RAF my only link with Albert was through the many experiences of being an item of self-loading freight so it wasn't difficult to awaken the memories of those cold and noisy journeys in the freight bay most of which happily ended somewhere warmer.
6 people found this helpful
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Harry B
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2024
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This is an exciting and engaging read covering many stories from the history of the C130 with emphasis on its time with the RAF. Tales of courage, dedication and determination fill the pages and draw the reader into the story. Many other "adventures" have been excluded due to security limitations but will, hopefully, be told in the future. Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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David
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant !
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2024
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What a great story and a great tribute. Flown a number of times as a reluctant passenger in one of these being ferried around as a member of an Air Defence Tornado squadron and hated it ! If I knew back then what I know now my attitude would have been completely different! Scott is clearly a talented, natural storyteller making it an enjoyable and easy read. Highly recommended!
2 people found this helpful
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R. S. Boyce
4.0 out of 5 stars Hercules: An action-packed insider’s account of what it’s like to fly in the RAF's Hercules
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
An interesting read full of adventure
2 people found this helpful
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