Fairchild C-123 Provider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_C-123_Provider

The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed
by Chase Aircraft and subsequently built by Fairchild Aircraft for the United
States Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service
with the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, it also went on to serve most
notably with the United States Coast Guard and various air forces in South East
Asia. During the Vietnam War, the aircraft was used to spray Agent Orange.

The C-123 Provider was designed originally as an assault glider aircraft for the
United States Air Force (USAF) by Chase Aircraft as the XCG-20 (Chase
designation MS-8 Avitruc) Two powered variants of the XCG-20 were developed
during the early 1950s, as the XC-123 and XC-123A. The only difference between
the two was the type of engines used. The XC-123 used two Pratt & Whitney
R-2800-23 air-cooled radial piston engines, while the XC-123A was fitted with
four General Electric J47-GE-11 turbojets, in two pods. The XC-123A also has the
distinction, while only experimental, of being the USAF first jet-powered
military transport. While the piston-powered XC-123 was initially well regarded
for tactical transport for its ruggedness and reliability and ability to operate
from short and unimproved airstrips, the turbojet-powered XC-123A – designed for
high-speed transport between USAF bases for critical parts and personnel – was
found unable to operate from short and rough airstrips. There was also no
practical speed advantage due to the wing and fuselage design, and a drastic
reduction in range. Only the one turbojet-powered test and evaluation version
was built.

The first recipients of C-123 aircraft were USAF transport units, soon followed
by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) who used the aircraft for search and
rescue missions, and even the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team, the
"Thunderbirds," would use C-123s for a time as a logistics support aircraft for
transporting the team's ground crews and equipment. The type would also be
widely exported under various U.S. military assistance programs, directly from
USAF stocks. A C-123 was used to transport President John F. Kennedy's limousine
during his November, 1963, Texas tour.

The aircraft was nearly ignored by the USAF for service in Vietnam, but a
political rivalry with the U.S. Army and the Army's use of the CV-2 Caribou and
later pre-production order for the de Havilland Canada C-8 Buffalo, led to a
decision to deploy C-123s there. To compete with the well-performing CV-2, the
USAF and Fairchild furthered development on the C-123 to allow it to do similar
work on short runways. This additional development increased the utility of the
aircraft and its variants to allow it to perform a number of unique tasks,
including the HC-123B which operated with the USCG fitted with additional radar
equipment for search and rescue missions through 1971, and the C-123J which were
fitted with retractable skis for operations in Greenland and Alaska on compacted
snow runways.


Role
Military transport aircraft

Manufacturer
Chase Aircraft
Fairchild Aircraft

Designer
Michael Stroukoff

First flight
14 October 1949

Introduction
1956

Retired
United States Air Force c. 1980

Status
Active with flying clubs

Primary users
United States Air Force (historical)
United States Coast Guard (historical)
Republic of Vietnam Air Force (historical)

Produced
1949–1970

Number built
307

Developed from
Chase XCG-20

Variants
Chase XC-123A
Stroukoff YC-134

Covert operations

In 1962, the CIA acquired five C-123Bs from USAF for Air America to be used in
Laos and Vietnam, and another 5 C-123Bs to be used by Republic of China Air
Force (Taiwan) top secret 34th Squadron, a Black Ops units called the "Black
Bat", as Flight B section (Flight A section was the two P2V-2U/RB-69A). The five
Taiwan C-123Bs were sent to Lockheed Skunk Works for modifications as covert
insertion aircraft with "smart" air-to-air jammer, BSTR system to jam the radars
of ground anti-aircraft guns, also added a defensive operator's station to
operate the jammers on board, with extra fuel in underwing tanks, with 36
Taiwanese crew finished training courses at Pope AFB by November 1962.

The five ROCAF/Taiwan/CIA C-123Bs would be used over North Vietnam as low level
and nighttime covert airdrop aircraft, under the South Star II agreement, under
the guise of Taiwan's national airline, China Airlines, which had "cover story"
of operating Vietnamese Air Transport (VIAT) in South Vietnam, that was formerly
operated by Air America. The secret outfit was based in Saigon, but would fly
out of Da Nang for airdrop missions going into North Vietnam, with some missions
lasting 14 hours.

On 1 February 1964, the overall control of South Star II was transferred from
CIA to Studies and Observations Group (SOG), as part of U.S. Military Assistance
Command Vietnam (MACV) in Saigon. The outfit was redesignated as Det. 1 of
USAF's 75th Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS), but within SOG it was known as the
First Flight Detachment (FFD).

In May 1964, under "Project Duck Hook", six more C-123s received extensive
modifications by Lockheed Air Service at Ontario, California, equipped with ATIR
and BSTR ECM packages, ASN-25 Doppler navigation system, APN-153
terrain-following radar, a console station for radio operator, new HF radio and
other radios. These aircraft were issued to the secret Taiwanese Black Bat unit
operating in South Vietnam. In October 1964, MACV, CIA and ROCAF/Taiwan signed
the South Star III agreement to continue the operation in Vietnam. The six "Duck
Hook" C-123Bs were based at Nha Trang Air Base, north of Cam Ranh Bay,
officially designated as USAF Det. 12 of 1131 Special Activities Squadron.

Specifications (C-123K Provider)

General characteristics
Crew: 4
Capacity: 60 passengers, 50 litters or 24,000 pounds (11,000 kg) of cargo
Length: 76 ft, 3 in (23.25 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft, 0 in (33.53 m)
Height: 34 ft, 1 in (10.39 m)
Wing area: 1,223 ft² (113.7 m²)
Empty weight: 35,366 lb (16,042 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 60,000 lb (27,215 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × General Electric J85-GE-17 turbojets, 2,850 lbf (13 kN) each
2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-99W "Double Wasp" 18-cylinder radial engines, 2,500
hp (1,865 kW) each


Performance
Maximum speed: 228 mph (198 knots, 367 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
Cruise speed: 173 mph (150 knots, 278 km/h)
Stall speed: 95 mph (83 knots, 152 km/h)
Range: 1,035 mi (899 nm, 1,666 km) with max payload
Ferry range: 3,280 mi (2,852 nmi, 5,280 km)
Service ceiling: 21,100 ft (6,430 m) "OEO" (One engine failed)
Rate of climb: 1,220 ft/min (6.2 m/s) "OEO" (One engine failed)




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