In late 1964, the U.S. hospital ship Hope was cruising the western coast of Africa to provide medical care to local populations in underdeveloped areas. Early in December, as the ship anchored off the coast of Guinea, one of its generators broke down. News of the problem reached Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, who ordered the airlift of a replacement generator.
On December 3, a TAC C–130, on temporary rotation to Europe and serving the 322d Air Division, airlifted a 1,400-pound generator from Evreux-Fauville AB, France, to Conakry, Guinea. Workers transported the generator to the Hope so the ship could continue providing medical care to west Africans.