Sikorsky VTOL C-130, Part 1

A 1964 preliminary study for the USAF Flight Dynamics Laboratory by Sikorsky Aircraft produced five designs for a VTOL logistics transport capable of carrying 20,000 pounds 1,800 nautical miles. While it doesn’t come right out and say it, it is clear from the sketches that the fuselage  (and in some designs, parts of the wings) comes from the Lockheed C-130. Whether that means that Sikorsky would have eventually proposed to modify the Hercules, or was just using the fuselage for preliminary studies and would have eventually designed an entirely new fuselage, is unclear.

The first design was a fairly conventional all-jet version with swept wings and lift-jet pods. Pitch control in hover was aided by a fan buried in the tail.