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C-123 Provider |
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The Chase Aircraft G-20 cargo glider evolved through stages into the C-123 Provider. From the G-20, Chase developed into the XC-123 in 1949 with a 67-troop capacity and the SC-123A in 1951. The XC-123A with four J-47 turbojet engines first flew April 21, 1951, as the first all-jet Air Force cargo transport. Chase began deliver of C-123As in 1952.
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The C-123 was a tactical transport originally designed as a glider, although the design was drawn up with the intention of its eventually being powered. There were many experimental and one-off variants of the Provider during its career, including one that was modified by Stroukoff and called a Pantobase, which allowed it to land on ice, snow, or water. A couple of aircraft were also modified as lightships (with high-intensity lighting on the cargo ramp to find targets on the ground), but the idea was not practical. Two C- 123Ks were modified to the NC-123K configuration (also referred to as AC-123K) under the Black Spot project. This was designed to give the Air Force a self-contained night attack capability to seek out and destroy targets on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. C-123s contributed a substantial portion of in-country airlift and resupply in Vietnam and Cambodia. UC-123Bs and Ks were equipped for aerial spraying and were used extensively on defoliation missions. One of these Operation Ranch Hand units (as the defoliation mission was called) carried the motto, "Only we can prevent forests," as a play on Smokey Bear's famous slogan. On May 12, 1968, Lt. Col. Joe M. Jackson, flying a C- 123, landed at a forward outpost at Kham Duc, South Vietnam, in a rescue attempt of a Combat Control Team. After a rocket-propelled grenade fired directly at his aircraft proved to be a dud, Colonel Jackson took off with the CCT on board and landed at Da Nang. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor. C-123s remained in Guard service until 1979. The type was also flown by five other countries and by Air America, the CIA's covert transport operation.
| Contractors: |
Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corp., Aircraft Division |
| Chase Aircraft Co. |
| Locations Built: |
Hagerstown, Md. |
| West Trenton, N. J. |
| Number Built: (USAF) |
328 (304 |
| First Flight: |
October 14, 1949 |
| First Flight Model: |
Chase XC-123 Avitruc |
| First Flight Location: |
West Trenton, N. J. |
| First Flight Pilot: |
Unconfirmed |
| Models/Variants: |
C-123B, J, K. UC-123B. NC-123K. UC-123K |
| Powerplant: |
Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-99W Double Wasp 18-cylinder, twin-row radials of 2,500 hp (C-123K also had two General Electric J85-GE-17 turbojets of 2,850 lb thrust each on underwing pylons) |
| Wingspan: |
110 ft 0 in. |
| Length: |
75 ft 9 in. |
| Height: |
34 ft 1 in. |
| Weight: |
60,000 lb gross |
| Armament: |
None (NC/AC-123K aircraft had two dispensers for up to 6,372 one-lb bomblets) |
| Accommodation: |
Crew of three or four (pilot, copilot, flight engineer/loadmaster, and navigator usually) and 61 troops or 50 litters with six attendants or up to 15,000 lb of cargo |
| Cost: |
$601,719 |
| Max. Speed: |
245 mph |
| Range: |
1,470 mi. |
| Ceiling: |
29,000 ft. |
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