This dataset consists of 47 CTD and LADCPs casts from the sea surface down to 5000 m. These hydrographic casts were done during the first leg of the MOC2-Equatorial oceanographic cruise, which took place in the western equatorial Atlantic (5°S-5°N; 46°W-30°W] between 7 and 18 April 2010, onboard the R/V Hespérides. Temperature and conductivity were obtained with a SeaBird 911-Plus multi-probe system mounted on a 24 Niskin-bottle rosette that collected water samples at standard depths, which were used to calibrate the conductivity data. Duplicate temperature and conductivity sensors were used as a quality control measure. The LADCPs were RDI 300 kHz Workhorse Monitor instruments used in synchronized master-slave mode. The system was set to a ping-rate of 1 ping/s and a bin length of 10 m, and the data was processed using the IFM-GEOMAR LADCP software, Version 10.8. The LADCPs velocity data were de-tided using the TPXO.3 global model of ocean tides. The netcdf file MOC2_leg1.nc contains data interpolated linearly every 1 m from surface to 1500 m depth.