On Mon, 07 Feb 2005 00:07:44 GMT, in rec.aviation.military.naval
(JJ) wrote:
"W. D. Allen Sr." wrote:
Does anyone know anything about the C-130 that made arrested landings and
launches from a Navy aircraft carrier back in the 1960s?
WDA
end

What would happen if the C130 just flew in low to the deck and the
cargo was ejected out the back? Could most airdropped stuff take a 10
foot freefall? How about 20 feet? How about the carrier deck?
Probably no dents right? I can imagine it "depends" on what is being
delivered.

I don't think it's been tried on a carrier, but the system you describe exists.
It's called the Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES). Problem is, it
isn't accurate enough for a carrier. One or two hundred feet short or long, or a
few degrees off-axis on land is no big deal, but on a carrier it's the
difference between a successful delivery and a massive hole in the transom, a
bunch of wrecked deckload aircraft, or a lost cargo. It's be easier to just rig
the cargo for airdrop and splashdown, then retrieve it with the carrier's helos.
This, of course, limits the cargo to the lifting capacity of the helo, which
invalidates the entire reason for using a C-130 in the first place. Might as
well just stick to the COD.