Moreover, seven of its crew received the Purple Heart for wounds received in battle.
The aircraft took almost 600 hits in combat, and it was named Patches for the damage repairs that covered it. The C-123K on display saw extensive service during the Southeast Asia War as a sprayer, and Ranch Hand personnel developed a strong symbolic attachment to this aircraft. Coast Guard, the Philippines, South Korea and Venezuela. Other operators of the Provider included the U.S. The remaining USAF C-123s were transferred to the Air Force Reserve, which flew them into the mid-1980s. transferred some of its Providers to the South Vietnamese Air Force and the Royal Thai Air Force. Specially-modified C-123s flew night operations with floodlights, radar, and night-vision equipment.Īs the war in Southeast Asia wound down, the U.S. Standard Providers flew night flare dropping missions to expose enemy attacks. The CIA's Air America also operated about 35 C-123s in Laos.Ĭ-123s sometimes flew other types of missions. Their relatively large cargo hold and excellent short field performance made them essential to holding these widely-scattered bases. Providers constantly flew troops and supplies to small, dirt airstrips at isolated bases in South Vietnam. By the fall of 1964, there were four USAF C-123B squadrons in Vietnam flying airlift and airdrop missions. Shortly after, a squadron of standard C-123Bs arrived to provide mobility to the South Vietnamese Army. In January 1962, the first of many Providers were sent to South Vietnam to start the Ranch Hand defoliant program. The C-123's most important service, however, was during the Southeast Asia War. Other C-123Bs and C-123Js supplied USAF sites in arctic regions from the late 1950s into the mid-1970s. Providers entered service with the USAF's 309th Troop Carrier Group (Assault) in 1955, and this unit conducted several practice combat landings with U.S.
These jet engines increased the C-123's payload weight by a third, shortened its takeoff distance, improved its climb rate, and gave a much greater margin of safety should one of the piston engines fail. Chase began manufacturing the C-123B in 1953, but the contract was transferred to Fairchild, which built about 300 C-123Bs.īetween 19, 184 C-123Bs were converted to C-123Ks with the addition of two J85 jet engines. A second prototype was built as the unpowered XG-20 glider.
The prototype XC-123, basically a glider powered by two piston engines, made its initial flight in 1949. just after World War II, the C-123 evolved from earlier large assault glider designs. Air Force airlift during the Southeast Asia War, where it flew primarily as an in-theater airlifter and a Ranch Hand sprayer.ĭesigned by the Chase Aircraft Co. The rugged C-123 became an essential part of U.S. The Provider was a short-range assault transport used for airlifting troops and cargo to and from small, unprepared airstrips.