Three of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) C-130H Hercules fleet of five planes, which officially retired last Friday, flew over Dunedin at 11.23am yesterday as part of a farewell tour of the country.

Principal Pauline Simpson said it was a great opportunity for the children to see a piece of history.
‘‘It’s so important for our children to get these opportunities to be a part of history and to see history.’’
She said her school was lucky to have such a great view of the fleet’s flight path.
‘‘The whole school came up and they were all really excited about it.
‘‘How lucky are we that they came really close?’’

In 2020, the government announced the ageing fleet would be replaced by five new C-130J-30 Hercules. The last of the new aircraft arrived in December. mark.john@odt.co.nz