The total damage to RAF planes after Afghanistan hailstorm..

[Stratofreighter]

December 3, 2013:

Britain recently revealed the damage their aircraft suffered during a hailstorm last April in Kandahar Afghanistan.

It was even more severe than what the Americans already reported for their helicopters there.

The five British RAF (Royal Air Force) C-130Js at Kandahar had to be flown back to Britain to complete the repairs,
after four of them spent two months being patched up in Kandahar so they could make the flight.

The engineers doing the repairs calculated that each C-130 had been hit at least 2,000 times by hail stones large enough to leave a dent.

Among the five C-130s over 850 panels (that comprise the outer skin of the aircraft) were badly damaged, in addition to dozens of flight controls elements (ailerons, antennae, and the like).

These five aircraft comprise 20 percent of the British C-130 fleet and were out of action for over four months because of the hail damage.

As bad as this was for the 79 ton C-130s, for smaller aircraft it was worse.
An 11 ton Bae-125 business jet, used for moving VIPs around, was a total loss.
A brand new 42 ton BAe 146-200 jet transport was almost as badly damaged as the C-130s.

Earlier it was reported that the April 23rd 2013 hailstorm at Kandahar airport caused over a million dollars in damage to 80 American helicopters.

The large hail, up to 25mm (or an inch) in diameter and weighing up to 100 gr (several ounces), damaged rotors, electronics, and windows. The hail came down at over 200 kilometers an hour.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htatri ... 31203.aspx has more...