Carrier landing for the day

War History Online has an article about an unusual carrier landing:

The C-130 Hercules holds the record for the largest and heaviest airplane to land on an aircraft carrier. In October and November of 1963, a Hercules made twenty unarrested landings and take-offs on the USS Forrestal, carrying an increasing amount of weight.
A nuclear-powered carrier can be at sea for extended periods of time, but it needs to be regularly resupplied. The C-130 had just entered service in the Air Force, and it was considered for this duty. However, Navy planes are specially designed to operate from carriers, landing with the aid of arrestor gear in order not to fall off the other side, and using steam catapults in order to take off.
The Hercules was not designed for either, and these features could not be used. The first trial was a touch-and-go mission, where the Hercules would not come to a complete stop. After that, it landed and came to a complete stop and took off again. This was repeated with the Hercules carrying an increasing amount of weight.
The pilot, James Flatley III, had never flown a four-engine airplane before these tests but, after a short period of training, was able to perform this incredible feat. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his participation. The tests were highly successful, but the idea was considered too risky for routine Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) operations. Instead, the C-2 Greyhound was developed as a dedicated COD aircraft:

The Hercules used in the test was in operation until 2005, and  is now part of the collection of the National Museum of Naval Aviation at the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida.

Rico says he's just as happy not to have to ride one of these things...