Déjà vu Haylift

The Air National Guard is airdropping hay to livestock stranded by blizzard conditions out west, in a smaller-scale replay of Operation Haylift from 1949. In this effort, a Wyoming ANG C-130 began flying airdrop missions out of Pueblo, Colo., on Jan. 3, supplementing National Guard helicopters. The C-130 can hold up to eight of the one-ton hay bales, which break apart when they strike the ground. This is not a new feat for the Air Guard, which fairly routinely provides this service during severe winter storms, but few efforts would rival the 1949 operation, when numerous C-82s flew more than 125 sorties.