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105-664: 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 were the class of engines used. The XC-123 used two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 -23 air-cooled radial piston engines, while

210-430: A 1,500 man parachute drop and the large transport gliders that he had seen. The Luftwaffe opened a parachute school as a result in 1937. Further field testing convinced Student that a vehicle was needed to deliver the heavy weapons for the lightly armed parachute troops. This idea was dismissed until October 1938 by which time Student had risen to major-general and was appointed Inspector of Airborne Forces. Development of

315-498: A 2-mile (3.2 km) circle from an altitude of 12,000 ft (3,700 m). This aircraft, under the provisional designation NC-123B , was dropped because the lights fixed to the aircraft made it far easier for enemy gunners to track compared to the earlier flare ships. The "Candle" aircraft had an extended life when several UC-123Ks were transferred to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand . During that period, it

420-623: A Black Ops units called the " Black Bat ", as Flight B section (Flight A section was the two P2V-7U/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

525-743: A certain level of success and as a result the NC/AC-123Ks were transferred to South Vietnam in November 1968. The aircraft operated there until January 1969, when they were redeployed to Ubon RTAB , Thailand . The two aircraft were then returned to the United States to Hurlburt Field , Florida , in May 1969, where a second round of training occurred. Four crews attended a ground school in Greenville, Texas, and returned to Hurlburt where they flew

630-759: 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. The "Duck Hook" C-123Bs were updated with RDR-10 weather radar and ARN-131 homing receiver in 1966 in order to perform missions over

735-462: A dome on the nose of the aircraft accommodated a large radar allowing the plane to meet the requirements for search and rescue and long range flight over water. The Coast Guard crewed the aircraft with a complement of five: two officers serving as the pilot and copilot, augmented by an enlisted flight mechanic, an enlisted navigator, and an enlisted loadmaster. The HC-123B's role in the Coast Guard

840-628: A hostile beachhead, the gliders to be towed by Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina amphibian aircraft . The Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics developed specifications for two types of amphibious glider, a single-hulled type which could carry 12 passengers and a twin-hulled type that could carry 24 passengers. Two companies, the Allied Aviation Corporation and the Bristol Aeronautical Corporation , received contracts to produce 100 gliders, and plans called for

945-565: A much more capable force. The Soviets also experimented with ways to deliver light tanks by air, including the Antonov A-40 , a gliding tank with detachable wings. By the time of the Korean War , helicopters had largely replaced gliders. Helicopters have the advantage of being able to extract soldiers, in addition to delivering them to the battlefield with more precision. Also, advances in powered transport aircraft had been made, to

1050-574: A new de-icing system. Budgetary restrictions forced the Thai government to abandon the program in 1981, and with a lack of interested parties development of the C-123T stopped. However, it concluded the life of the C-123 by making it the only aircraft type to operate under jet, piston, and turboprop engine power, and as a glider, during its history. The C-123T has recently been revived by a joint venture between

1155-591: A partner to handle production of the new aircraft. By 1953, Henry J. Kaiser purchased a majority share in Chase Aircraft, feeling that after having completed C-119s for Fairchild under contract, he could take control of the impending C-123 contract. Two airframes were completed at Kaiser's Willow Run factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan , before a pricing scandal that led to Kaiser's being told that no further contracts with him would be honored. The C-123 contract

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1260-454: A ski system with a sealed fuselage and wing mounted floats, while retaining its normal landing gear. The skis worked both on snow and water, and the system effectively allowed the aircraft to land on water, land, snow or ice. In 1956, the USAF awarded a contract to Fairchild to design an improved version of the C-123 under the designation C-136 , but the contract was cancelled before the aircraft

1365-611: A study with view to develop a glider capable of being towed by aircraft. This directive was set into motion through Classified Technical Instructions (CTI-198 on 24 February 1941, and CTI-203 on 4 March 1941), which authorized the procurement of 2-, 8-, and 15-place gliders and equipment. Eleven companies were invited to participate in the experimental glider program, but only four responded with any interest, Frankfort Sailplane Company (XCG-1, XCG-2), Waco Aircraft Company (XCG-3, XCG-4), St. Louis Aircraft Corp. (XCG-5, XCG-6), and Bowlus Sailplanes (XCG-7, XCG-8). Only Waco Aircraft Company

1470-453: A swath of land that was 80 m (260 ft) wide and 16 km (9.9 mi) long in about 4½ minutes, at a rate of about 3 U.S. gallons per acre (3 m /km ). Sorties usually consisted of three to five aircraft flying side by side. 95% of the herbicides and defoliants used in the war were sprayed by the U.S. Air Force as part of Operation Ranch Hand. The remaining 5% were sprayed by the U.S. Chemical Corps , other military branches, and

1575-469: A take-off run of just over 1,000 ft at 50,000 lb MTOW. Possible applications included maritime patrol, search and rescue, and even use as a gunship, while roll-on packages have already been developed for mid-air refueling and agricultural applications. During the Vietnam War, some C-123s were modified for specialized roles. Most of these modifications were on a one- or two-aircraft level. Only

1680-585: A team of scientists—the Herbicide Assessment Commission (HAC), consisting of Matthew Meselson, Arthur Westing , John Constable, and Robert Cook—to conduct field tests of the ecological impacts of the herbicide program in Vietnam. A 1969 study by the Bionetics Research Laboratory found that 2,4,5-T could cause birth defects and stillbirths in mice. The U.S. government suspended the military use of 2,4,5-T in

1785-793: A troop-carrying glider was assigned to Hans Jacobs of the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug to develop the DFS 230 which could carry 9–10 fully equipped troops or 1,200 kg (2,800 pounds). The Germans were the first to use gliders in warfare, most famously during the assault of the Eben Emael fortress and the capture of the bridges over the Albert Canal at Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Kanne on May 10, 1940, in which 41 DFS 230 gliders carrying 10 soldiers each were launched behind Junkers Ju 52s . Ten gliders landed on

1890-554: Is now the center piece of a beachside cocktail lounge just up the road from Manual Antonio national park. In 2011, a retired Air Force officer, Major Wesley T. Carter, filed a complaint with the Air Force Inspector General alleging that the Air Force knew that UC-123Ks used for spraying Agent Orange in Vietnam remained contaminated and that the Air Force had failed to properly inform subsequent flight crews of

1995-743: The Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard in the early 1980s. Some airframes were transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for test and evaluation programs while others were transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for miscellaneous programs. These aircraft were also retired by the end of the 1990s. In 1954, the YC-123D , formerly the XC-123A prototype, flew in its modified state after being converted by Stroukoff Aircraft . While

2100-884: The Ansul Chemical Company (Agent Blue). In April 1967, the entire American domestic production of 2,4,5-T was confiscated by the military; foreign sources were also tapped into, including the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). 65% of the herbicides used contained 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid that was contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin , a " known human carcinogen ... by several different routes of exposure, including oral, dermal, and intraperitoneal ". About 12,000,000 U.S. gal (45,000,000 L; 10,000,000 imp gal) of dioxin -contaminated herbicides were sprayed over Southeast Asia (mainly in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) during American combat operations in

2205-503: The China-Burma-India Theater . The CG-4A was constructed of a metal and wood frame covered with fabric, manned by a crew of two and with an allowable normal cargo load of 3,710 lb, allowing it to carry 13 combat-equipped troops or a jeep or small artillery piece. The CG-10 could hold 10,850 lb of cargo, such as two howitzers , at a time. The final glider mission of the war was at Luzon on 23 June 1945. By

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2310-583: The DFS 228 . Once released from the tow craft near the front, they were to land on any convenient open terrain close to the target, hopefully with as little damage to the cargo and crew as possible, as most landing zones (LZ) were far from ideal. The one-way nature of the missions meant that they were treated as semi-expendable leading to construction from common and inexpensive materials such as wood. Most nations seriously attempted to recover as many as possible, to re-use them, so they were not originally intended to be disposable, although resource-rich nations like

2415-528: The Federation of American Scientists objected to the use of defoliants. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) issued a resolution in 1966 calling for a field investigation of the herbicide program in Vietnam. In 1967, seventeen Nobel laureates and 5,000 other scientists signed a petition asking for the immediate end to the use of herbicides in Vietnam. In 1970, AAAS sent

2520-654: The Gotha Go 242 (23 trooper) and Messerschmitt Me 321 (130 trooper) to transport heavy armaments in anticipation of Operation Sea Lion and Operation Barbarossa . Gliders were also used by Germany in Greece in 1941. On April 26, 1941, the troops from six DFS 230 gliders captured the bridge over the Corinth Canal accompanied by 40 plane-loads of German paratroopers. (Fortuitously, the British were able to demolish

2625-526: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 prompted the United States to set the number of glider pilots needed at 1,000 to fly 500 eight-seat gliders and 500 fifteen-seat gliders. The number of pilots required was increased to 6,000 by June 1942. After Barringer was lost at sea on a flight to Africa in January 1943, the program came under direction of Richard C. du Pont . Bigger gliders, such as

2730-701: The Royal Air Force in the Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association and for cadet training by the Air Training Corps , they are not used in combat operations. No troop-carrying gliders have been in British service since 1957. Major General Henry "Hap" Arnold , Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air (becoming Commanding General of the United States Army Air Forces on March 9, 1942), initiated

2835-510: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) which used the aircraft for search and rescue (SAR) missions, and even the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team, the "Thunderbirds ," used 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 C-123

2940-696: The United States Army 's capabilities on 1 January 1953. However, the United States Air Force continues to use sailplanes at the United States Air Force Academy to train cadets in the fundamentals of flight. In April 1941, United States Navy officer Marc Mitscher proposed that the Navy develop amphibious gliders with flying-boat hulls with a goal of deploying an amphibious glider force capable of delivering an entire United States Marine Corps brigade of 715 men to

3045-586: The Viet Cong of food and vegetation cover. Areas of Laos and Cambodia were also sprayed to a lesser extent. According to the Vietnamese government, the chemicals caused 400,000 deaths. The United States government has described these figures as "unreliable". Nearly 20,000 sorties were flown between 1961 and 1971. The "Ranch Handers" motto was "Only you can prevent a forest" – a take on the popular U.S. Forest Service poster slogan of Smokey Bear . During

3150-684: The Yakovlev Yak-14 (35 trooper) in 1948, and the Ilyushin Il-32 (60 trooper) also in 1948. In 1950, a Yak-14 became the first glider to fly over the North Pole . The Soviet Union maintained three glider infantry regiments until 1965. However, Soviet Air Force transport gliders were gradually withdrawn from service with the arrival of turboprop transports like the Antonov An-12 and Antonov An-24 , which entered service in

3255-670: The capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges in a coup-de-main operation at the very start of the invasion of Normandy . Other glider actions included Operation Dragoon (the invasion of southern France), Operation Market Garden (the landing at Arnhem Bridge to try and seize a bridgehead over the lower Rhine) and Operation Varsity (crossing of the Rhine). Out of the 2,596 gliders dispatched for Operation Market Garden, 2,239 were effective in delivering men and equipment to their designated landing zones. Although gliders are still used in

Fairchild C-123 Provider - Misplaced Pages Continue

3360-779: The "Black Bats" supported the secret U.S. military incursion into Cambodia. In October 1970, flights into Laos began. In March 1972, the SOG was deactivated, and the Southern Star operation ended with four surviving C-123Ks returned to Taiwan. On 1 March 1973, 34th "Black Bat" Squadron of ROCAF/Taiwan was disbanded. On 5 October 1986, a Corporate Air Services C-123 Provider (HPF821, previously N4410F and USAF 54-679, (c/n 20128)) departed San Salvador- Ilopango Airport in El Salvador loaded with 70 AK-47 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition, rocket grenades and other supplies. It flew along

3465-403: The "self-contained night attack capability" that was Operation Shed Light's primary focus and E-Systems of Greenville, Texas , was contracted to complete the modifications. These aircraft featured a variety of new sensors including Low Light Level TV (LLLTV), Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), and a laser rangefinder. The aircraft looked radically different visibly from its transport brethren, as

3570-801: The 30-troop Waco CG-13A and the 42-troop Laister-Kauffman CG-10 A were designed later. The most widely used type was the Waco CG-4A, which was first used in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and participated in the D-Day assault on France on 6 June 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe, including Operation Market Garden in September 1944 and the crossing the Rhine in March 1945, and in

3675-618: The Air Force to upgrade 180 of the C-123B aircraft to the new C-123K standard, which featured auxiliary jet pods underneath the wings, and anti-skid brakes. In 1968, the aircraft helped resupply troops in Khe Sanh , Vietnam , during a three-month siege by North Vietnam . A number of C-123s were configured as VIP transports, including General William Westmoreland 's White Whale . The C-123 also gained notoriety for its use in " Operation Ranch Hand " defoliation operations in Vietnam. Oddly enough,

3780-473: The Air Force took the unusual step of shredding all the remaining surplus C-123K/UC-123K aircraft and melting the scraps into ingots for disposal. On 9 June 2011, the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force's Inspector General rejected Carter's complaints, and in a subsequent message explained, "Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to identify or notify the individuals in the categories you mention" when asked if

3885-551: The Ho Chi Minh trail. All C-123Bs were converted to C-123Ks in 1968, with two wing-mounted turbojets, plus an ECM upgrade with APR-25 radar warning receiver and ALE-1 chaff dispenser. Project "Duck Hook" designation was ultimately changed to "Heavy Hook". The Det. 12 of 1131 Special Activities Squadron unit at Nha Trang received an outstanding unit award from the USAF, for flying 4,000 classified combat and combat support missions from June 1966 to May 1968. In May 1970, C-123Ks from

3990-439: The Navy took delivery during World War II of 15 U.S. Army Air Forces Waco CG-4A non-amphibious gliders for evaluation under the Navy designation LRW-1. Neither of these initiatives resulted in operational use of gliders by the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. The Soviet Union built the world's first military gliders starting in 1932, including the 16-seat Grokhovski G63, though no glider was built in quantity until World War II. During

4095-538: The Republic of Vietnam using hand sprayers, spray trucks, helicopters and boats, primarily around U.S. military installations. The herbicides used were sprayed at up to 50 times the concentration than for normal agricultural use. The most common herbicide used was Herbicide Orange, more commonly referred to as Agent Orange : a fifty-fifty mixture of two herbicides 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) manufactured for

4200-547: 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

4305-643: The Soviet Union demonstrated the TsK Komsula, a four-place glider, designed by GF Groschev that could also be used for cargo. Larger gliders were then developed culminating in an 18-seater at the military institute in Leningrad in 1935. Luftwaffe Colonel Kurt Student visited Moscow as part of the military collaboration programme with the Soviet Union. He reported back to his superiors in Berlin details of

Fairchild C-123 Provider - Misplaced Pages Continue

4410-525: The U prefix as a role modifier, with the most common types being the UC-123B and the UC-123K . Aircraft configured for this use were the last to see military service, in the control of outbreaks of insect-borne disease. The C-123 was also used as "jump aircraft" for U.S. Army Airborne students located at Lawson Army Airfield , Fort Benning, Georgia from the early 1970s through the early 1980s. This aircraft

4515-524: The U.S. Department of Defense primarily by Monsanto Corporation and Dow Chemical . The other most common color-coded Ranch Hand herbicides were Agent Blue ( cacodylic acid ) that was primarily used against food crops, and Agent White which was often used when Agent Orange was not available. The Agents used are known as the Rainbow Herbicides with their active ingredients, and years used were as follows: The herbicides were procured by

4620-455: The U.S. in April 1970. Sporadic crop destruction sorties using Agent Blue and Agent White continued throughout 1970 until the final Ranch Hand run was flown on 7 January 1971. The use of herbicides as a defoliant had long-term destructive effects on the people of Vietnam and their land and ecology, as well as on those who fled in the mass exodus from 1978 to the early 1990s. According to

4725-529: The U.S. military from Dow Chemical Company (all but Agent Blue), Monsanto (Agent Orange, Agent Purple, and Agent Pink), Hercules Inc. (Agent Orange and Agent Purple), Thompson-Hayward Chemical Company (Agent Orange and Agent Pink), Diamond Alkali /Shamrock Company (Agent Orange, Agent Blue, Agent Purple, and Agent Pink), United States Rubber Company (Agent Orange), Thompson Chemicals Corporation (Agent Orange and Agent Pink), Agrisect Company (Agent Orange and Agent Purple), Hoffman-Taff Inc. (Agent Orange), and

4830-483: The US sometimes used them as if they were, since it was easier than recovering them. Troops landing by glider were referred to as air-landing as opposed to paratroops . Landing by parachute caused the troops to be spread over a large drop-zone and separated from other airdropped equipment, such as vehicles and anti-tank guns. Gliders, on the other hand, could land troops and ancillaries in greater concentrations precisely at

4935-585: The US-based Fleetwings Aircraft Company and the South African company Elmer Group. In 2010, they announced a project to initially remanufacture old airframes for African customers and, where there was demand, to build new aircraft. The airframes would be fitted with new turboprop Rolls-Royce T56 -A-15 engines, a glass cockpit and other enhancements. The proposed C-123T would have had a 25,000 lb payload capability, and

5040-569: The USAF had officially chosen not to procure the VC-123C VIP transport, opting instead for the Convair VC-131D . The first C-123s to reach South Vietnam were part of the USAF's Special Aerial Spray Flight, as part of Operation Ranch Hand tasked with defoliating the jungle in order to deny rebels their traditional hiding places. These aircraft began their operations at the end of 1961. Aircraft fitted with spraying equipment were given

5145-884: The United States or by various air forces worldwide. Data from The Observer's Book of Basic Aircraft: Military (dimensions), Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969–70 (weights and performance) General characteristics Performance A C-123K (54-709), N709RR (since destroyed in a crash in 2010) was prominently featured in the action film Con Air (1997); other C-123s appeared in Air America (1990), Outbreak (1995), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) and American Made (2017), none of which were used in Operation Ranch Hand . Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Military glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders ) have been used by

5250-551: The Vietnam War. In 2005, a New Zealand government minister was quoted and widely reported as saying that Agent Orange chemicals had been supplied from New Zealand to the United States military during the conflict. Shortly after, the same minister claimed to have been mis-quoted, although this point was less widely reported. From 1962 to 1987, 2,4,5-T herbicide had been manufactured at an Ivon Watkins-Dow plant in New Plymouth for domestic use, however it has not been proven that

5355-549: The Vietnamese Government, census data indicates that the United States military directly sprayed upon millions of Vietnamese during strategic Agent Orange use. According to the Vietnamese government, the program caused three million Vietnamese health problems, with 150,000 children born with severe birth defects, and 24% of the area of Vietnam being defoliated. The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to one million people were disabled or have health problems as

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5460-440: The Vietnamese government, the US program exposed approximately 4.8 million Vietnamese people to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths due to a range of cancers and other ailments. Hindsight corrective studies indicate that previous estimates of Agent Orange exposure were biased by government intervention and under-guessing, such that current estimates for dioxin release are almost double those previously predicted. According to

5565-583: The White House gave approval for limited testing of Agent Blue against crops in an area believed to be controlled by the Viet Cong. Soon after, crop destruction became an integral part of the Ranch Hand program. Targets for the spray runs were carefully selected to satisfy the strategic and psychological operations goals of the U.S. and South Vietnamese military. Spray runs were surveyed to pinpoint

5670-482: The XC-123A was fitted with four General Electric J47 -GE-11 turbojets, in two pods. The XC-123A also has the distinction, while being experimental, of being the first USAF's jet-powered military transport. While the piston-powered XC-123 was initially well-regarded for its ruggedness,reliability, and its 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 –

5775-421: The aircraft for the first time. The fate of the aircraft is still unclear. Sources have missions terminating in early July 1970 and the aircraft flying to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona, where they were returned to C-123K standard, then returned to South Vietnam still wearing their camouflage and black undersides for transport duty. However,

5880-542: The aircraft was tested by the Air Force, it contained high levels of the known carcinogen polychlorinated dibenzodioxin , studies since confirmed by the Oregon Health Sciences University and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The aircraft which were flown from 1972–1982, were assigned to the Air Force Reserve after their service in Vietnam, and used for normal cargo and aeromedical evacuation missions. Air crews accumulated hundreds of flight hours aboard several contaminated aircraft that were often flown with

5985-586: The base's inside taxiway between the Hot Cargo Ramp and the control tower. For operations along the central coast and the Ho Chi Minh trail regions, Ranch Hand operated out of Da Nang Air Base (1964–1971). Other bases of operation included Phù Cát Air Base (1968–1970), Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1962–1966), Nha Trang Air Base (1968–69), Phan Rang Air Base (1970–1972), and Tuy Hoa Air Base (1971–1972). Other bases were also used as temporary staging areas for Ranch Hand . The Da Nang, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat Air bases are still heavily contaminated with dioxin from

6090-432: The bridge a few hours later.) Next, General Student then convinced Hitler that Crete could be captured using only airborne troops. Consequently, on May 20, 1941, 500 German transport aircraft carrying paratroopers and 74 DFS 230 gliders took off from the Greek mainland. During the capture of the island, 5,140 German airborne troops were either killed or wounded out of the 13,000 sent. Among the 350 German planes destroyed in

6195-443: The coastline of Nicaragua and entered Nicaraguan airspace near the border with Costa Rica . Nearing San Carlos, the plane descended to 2,500 feet while preparing to drop off its cargo to Contra fighters. While conducting the drop, the C-123 was shot down by a Sandinista soldier, using a SA-7 Grail . CIA pilots Wallace "Buzz" Sawyer and William Cooper were killed in the crash. Loadmaster Eugene Hasenfus parachuted to safety and

6300-426: The conduct of chemical warfare and is an accepted tactic of war. Precedent has been established by the British during the emergency in Malaya in their use of aircraft for destroying crops by chemical spraying." The president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem began to push the U.S. Military Advisory Group in Vietnam and the White House to begin crop destruction in September 1961, but it was not until October 1962 when

6405-503: The end of the war, the United States had built 14,612 gliders of all types and had trained over 6,000 glider pilots. The designs of the Waco Aircraft Company were also produced by a wide variety of manufacturers including Ford Motor Company and Cessna Aircraft Company as well as furniture, piano and coffin manufacturers. Following World War II, the United States maintained only one regiment of gliders. Gliders were used in military exercises in 1949, but glider operations were deleted from

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6510-414: The end of the war. The Junkers Ju 322 Mammut ("Mammoth") was the largest such glider ever built, but it was never used operationally. Not all military gliders were planned for transport. The Blohm & Voss BV 40 was a German glider fighter designed to attack Allied bomber formations but was not used. The British glider development started in mid-1940, prompted by the assault on Eben Emael . Among

6615-448: The extent that even light tanks could be dropped by parachute. And after the widespread use of radar in the military, silence in the air is no longer sufficient for concealment. The development of modern gliders was spurred by the Versailles Treaty following World War I , under the terms of which Germany was prohibited from constructing certain high powered airplanes. As a result, German aircraft designers turned their attention toward

6720-495: The grassed roof of the fortress. Only twenty minutes after landing the force had neutralized the fortress at a cost of six dead and twenty wounded. Hitler was anxious to gain maximum publicity and so several foreign attachés were given guided tours of the fortress. Consequently, the British, American and Japanese became quickly aware of the methods that had been used. By mid-1940, both Japan and Britain had active glider programs. Development then began of even larger gliders such as

6825-401: The herbicide had been exported for use by the U.S military in Vietnam. For most of the war, Operation Ranch Hand was based at Bien Hoa Air Base (1966–1970), for operations in the Mekong Delta region where U.S. Navy patrol boats were vulnerable to attack from areas of undergrowth along the water's edge. Storage, mixing, loading, and washing areas and a parking ramp were located just off

6930-446: The herbicides, Operation Ranch Hand began in early 1962. Individual spray runs had to be approved by President John F. Kennedy until November 1962, when Kennedy gave the authority to approve most spray runs to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam and the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam . Ranch Hand was given final approval to spray targets in eastern Laos in December 1965. The issue of whether or not to allow crop destruction

7035-402: The herbicides, and have been placed on a priority list for containment and clean-up by the Vietnamese government. The first aerial spraying of herbicides was a test run conducted on 10 August 1961 in a village north of Đắk Tô against foliage. Testing continued over the next year and even though there was doubt in the State Department , the Pentagon and the White House as to the efficacy of

7140-414: The last UC-123Ks Providers in operational service before being converted to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules . Known as the Special Spray Flight, these aircraft were used to control insect-borne diseases, with missions to Alaska, South America, and Guam being among the humanitarian missions performed by this Air Force Reserve unit. The final examples of the C-123 in active U.S. military service were retired from

7245-575: The late 1950s. Operation Ranch Hand Operation Ranch Hand was a U.S. military operation during the Vietnam War , lasting from 1962 until 1971. Largely inspired by the British use of chemicals 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D ( Agent Orange ) during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, it was part of the overall herbicidal warfare program during the war called "Operation Trail Dust". Ranch Hand involved spraying an estimated 19 million U.S. gallons (72,000 m ) of defoliants and herbicides over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive

7350-434: The life of their C-123 fleet, placed a contract with the Mancro Aircraft Company, supported by the USAF, to convert a single C-123B to turboprop powerplants. Allison T56 -A-7 turboprops were used and by the time the aircraft, dubbed C-123T , was complete it had new "wet" wings, an auxiliary power unit (APU) to assist with power movement of the control surfaces, and a heating system for the cargo compartments that also fed

7455-480: The militaries of various countries for carrying troops ( glider infantry ) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War . These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota , or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling . Most military gliders do not soar, although there were attempts to build military sailplanes as well, such as

7560-530: The military would alert the aircrews regarding their exposure to dioxin. On 18 June 2011, the veterans' complaint was accepted with the Department of Defense Inspector General, adding the request that the UC-123K aircraft themselves be designated by the Secretary of Defense as "Agent Orange Exposure Sites". In December 2011, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs posted two notices of its decision that, while

7665-467: The most obvious change from the original XC-123A was the switch of engines (to two 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) Wright Turbo Compound R3350 -89A radial engines , turning four-blade, thirteen foot Aeroproducts constant-speed fully feathering propellers ), the YC-123D also had a boundary layer control system fitted. This system directs air from the engines at high speed over the top of the wing, making

7770-809: The new equipment required lengthening the nose by over 50 inches (127 cm). The aircraft also featured an armament system designed to carry BLU-3/B (using the ADU-253/B adapter) or BLU-26/B (using the ADU-272/B adapter) bomblets , or CBU-68/B cluster bombs . The two aircraft, AF Serial Numbers 54-0691 and 54-0698, were first designated NC-123K in 1968 and then redesignated AC-123K in 1969. These NC/AC-123Ks were first deployed operationally at Osan AB , South Korea , between August and October 1968, and flying in support of operations against North Korean infiltrators approaching by boat. The operations in Korea met with

7875-674: The official history states that combat operations ceased on 11 May 1969, with no mention of the second deployment. While the second deployment is mentioned in associated documentation, the only dates are of the arrival in Thailand and there is no information as to when they departed or where their destination was. 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,

7980-498: The operation, half had been Ju 52s, which seriously depleted the force needed for the invasion of the Soviet Union shortly after. As a result, Hitler vowed never to use his airborne force in such large numbers again. Some German glider operations continued later in the war, some examples being the rescue operation of Benito Mussolini at Gran Sasso and emergency re-supply operations in Russia, North Africa and Eastern Europe towards

8085-529: The planes flew at low altitude. Data on the spray runs, their targets, the herbicide used and amount used, weather conditions and other details were recorded and later put into a database called the Herbicide Reporting System (HERBS) tapes. The effectiveness of the spraying was influenced by many factors including weather and terrain. Spray runs occurred during the early morning hours before temperatures rose above 85 °F (29 °C) and

8190-588: The post-Vietnam aircraft "may" have been contaminated, the aircrews were "unlikely" to have suffered exposure to dioxin. In an unusual response, the U.S. Center for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry quickly countered the VA position on 25 January 2012 with a statement by their Deputy Director concluding that aircrews and maintenance personnel most likely were exposed well beyond military and government surface-wipe screening levels. Several other examples of C-123s remain in an active flying status, operated by private owners in

8295-493: The practical development of unpowered aircraft, with a pilot remaining in the air in a glider for more than 20 minutes and a national glider competition emerging by 1922. The early sporting objectives of gliders were quickly overtaken in the Soviet Union and in Germany by military applications, mainly the training of pilots. By 1934, the Soviet Union had ten gliding schools and 57,000 glider pilots had gained licences. In 1932,

8400-515: The procurement of 12,000 more amphibious gliders if the concept proved successful. No twin-hulled glider was built, but each company constructed the prototype of a single-hulled amphibious glider, the XLRA-1 by Allied Aviation and the XLRQ-1 by Bristol Aeronautical. The two prototypes made their first flights in early 1943, but by the time they did the Navy and Marine Corps already had concluded that

8505-414: The risks following their transfer to the Air Force Reserve at the end of the Vietnam War. In his complaint, Major Carter contends that the Air Force has known since 1994 that the aircraft were contaminated with the defoliant; he cites the fact that when a former C-123 was being prepared for a permanent static display that workers had to use HAZMAT suits and respirators. Additionally, it is asserted that when

8610-461: The target area and then placed on a priority list. Due to the low altitude (ideally 150 ft (46 m) required for spraying, the C-123s were escorted by fighter aircraft or helicopter gunship that would strafe or bomb the target area in order to draw out any ground fire if the area was believed to be 'hot'. Spray runs were planned to enable as straight a run as possible to limit the amount of time

8715-472: The target landing area. Furthermore, the glider, once released at some distance from the actual target, was effectively silent and difficult for the enemy to identify. Larger gliders were developed to land heavy equipment like anti-tank guns , anti-aircraft guns, small vehicles, such as jeeps , and also light tanks (e.g., the Tetrarch tank ). This heavier equipment made otherwise lightly armed paratroop forces

8820-471: The ten years of spraying, over 5 million acres (20,000 km ) of forest and 500,000 acres (2,000 km ) of crops were heavily damaged or destroyed. Around 20% of the forests of South Vietnam were sprayed at least once. The herbicides were sprayed by the U.S. Air Force flying C-123s using the call sign "Hades". The planes were fitted with specially developed spray tanks with a capacity of 1,000 U.S. gallons (4 m ) of herbicides. A plane sprayed

8925-403: The trees sprayed died from a single spray run. Multiple spraying resulted in increased mortality for the trees, as did following up the herbicide missions with napalm or bombing strikes. The use of herbicides in the Vietnam War was controversial from the beginning, particularly for crop destruction. The scientific community began to protest the use of herbicides in Vietnam as early as 1964, when

9030-562: The types developed were the 28 trooper Airspeed Horsa and the 7-ton capacity General Aircraft Hamilcar cargo glider. The Hamilcar could carry vehicles, anti-tank guns and light tanks into action. The General Aircraft Hotspur – originally planned as a compact assault glider carrying a small number of troops – was used for training the British Army pilots who formed the Glider Pilot Regiment . The Slingsby Hengist

9135-559: The usage of C-123s as "flare ships" to illuminate targets for fixed wing gunships such as the AC-47 and AC-119G were more numerous. These aircraft operating under the call-sign Candle were flown by the USAF's 14th Special Operations Wing . A single C-123B was tested as a possible replacement for the Candle aircraft, with its rear loading ramp removed and replaced with a large box with 28 large lights. The aircraft could continuously light

9240-560: The use of gliders to deliver Marines to beachheads was impractical. No further examples of the two glider types were built, and the Navy officially terminated the amphibious glider program on 27 September 1943. Testing of the two prototypes continued until early December 1943, apparently in connection with the development of a glider bomb. The Marine Corps established a glider training unit in early 1942 at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina , using non-amphibious Pratt-Read LNE-1 and Schweizer LNS-1 gliders. In addition,

9345-807: 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 was fitted with retractable skis for operations in Greenland and Alaska on compacted snow runways. By 1962, the C-123K variant aircraft was evaluated for operations in Southeast Asia and their stellar performance led

9450-644: The war, there were only two light gliders built in series: Antonov A-7 and Gribovski G-11 – about 1,000 altogether. A medium glider, the KC-20 , was built in a small series. They were used mostly for providing partisans in Belarus with supplies and armament in 1942–1943. On 21 September 1943, 35 gliders were used in the Dnepr crossing . Later, other types of gliders were built: the Cybin C-25 (25 trooper) in 1944,

9555-516: The windows open due to the smell and eye irritation. Memos surfaced showing that Air Force JAG officers recommended keeping the toxicity information, "...within official channels." Further, Major Carter located Air Force reports of dioxin-contaminated aircraft sold abroad, and of one used at the Robins AFB , Georgia Museum of Aviation with public access to the contaminated surfaces of the aircraft. In 2010, due to concerns about dioxin contamination,

9660-489: The winds picked up. Mangroves in the Delta region required only one spraying and did not survive once defoliated, whereas dense forests in the uplands required two or more spray runs. Within two to three weeks of spraying, the leaves would drop from the trees, which would remain bare until the next rainy season. In order to defoliate the lower stories of forest cover, one or more follow-up spray runs were needed. About 10 percent of

9765-552: The wing act as if the aircraft is flying at a higher airspeed. As a result, the YC-123D had a greatly reduced takeoff and landing distance. Compared to the C-123B, the YC-123D could land in 755 feet instead of 1,200, and takeoff with only 850 ft of runway instead of 1,950, with a 50,000 lb total weight. In 1955, Stroukoff, under contract from the USAF, produced a single YC-123E , designed to be able to take off from any surface, and also equipped with BLC. The new aircraft also featured Stroukoff's Pantobase system, combining

9870-516: Was a backup design which was not required when the similar capacity American-built Waco CG-4 (given the British service name "Hadrian") became available in large numbers through lend-lease. Four hundred of the 3,600 Horsas built were supplied to the USAAF. The most famous British actions using gliders included the unsuccessful Operation Freshman , against a German heavy water plant in Norway in 1942; and

9975-474: Was able to deliver the experimental glider prototypes that satisfied the requirements of Materiel Command, the eight-seat Waco CG-3 (modified to become a production nine-seat glider) and the fifteen-seat Waco CG-4 . In October 1941, Lewin B. Barringer was made Glider Specialist, Air Staff, HQ of the Army Air Forces, answering to General Arnold, and placed in charge of the glider program. The shock of

10080-611: Was built. At much the same time, the YC-123H was under development, the product of a Fairchild modification program started in 1956 and completed in 1957. A "Jet Augmentation Program" for existing C-123Bs had been initiated in 1955 at the behest of the USAF, and in the YC-123H contract the USAF expanded it to allow the mounting of two pod-mounted General Electric J85 turbojets. In 1979, the Royal Thai government, seeking to extend

10185-498: 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. While the United States Air Force was interested in placing an order for the new transport, Chase did not have the production capacity to meet the Air Force's needs, and sought

10290-554: 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

10395-468: Was put up for bid, and the two completed airframes scrapped. The contract was finally awarded to Fairchild Engine and Airplane , who assumed production of the former Chase C-123B, a refined version of the XC-123. Before turning production over to Fairchild, Chase originally named their C-123B the AVITRUC but it never stuck. The first recipients of C-123 aircraft were USAF transport units, soon followed by

10500-739: Was slowly replaced by the longer-ranged Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft during the 1960s and 1970s as those newer airframes came on line. In 1972 the final C-123B in the U.S Coast Guards' Inventory was retired. With the end of the Vietnam War , remaining C-123Ks and UC-123Ks were transferred to tactical airlift units of the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and the Air National Guard (ANG) that were operationally-gained by Tactical Air Command (TAC) before 1975 and Military Airlift Command (MAC) after 1975. The 302nd Tactical Airlift Wing at Rickenbacker AFB (later Rickenbacker ANGB ), Ohio, flew

10605-550: Was taken prisoner. He was later released in December 1986. The Fairchild C-123 that was shot down in Nicaragua remains there. Its sister ship, also a Fairchild C-123 that was purchased by the CIA at the same time as the first one, was then left abandoned at San Jose International Airport for a time and then was purchased for $ 3,000 and disassembled into 7 pieces and transported via boat to Quepos, Costa Rica and then reassembled and

10710-608: 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,

10815-782: Was under great debate due to its potential of violating the Geneva Protocol . However, American officials pointed out that the British had previously used 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D (virtually identical to America's use in Vietnam) on a large scale throughout the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s in order to destroy bushes, crops, and trees in effort to deny communist insurgents the cover they needed to ambush passing convoys. Indeed, Secretary of State Dean Rusk told President Kennedy on 24 November 1961, that "[t]he use of defoliant does not violate any rule of international law concerning

10920-635: Was used as a flare ship as well as a forward air control (FAC) aircraft. The flare duties were generally used for troops in contact (TIC) while the FAC mission directed air strikes in Laos over the Ho Chi Minh trail. Another NC-123B was used as a radio relay aircraft over the Ho Chi Minh trail, with equipment to read the signals from various sensors on the ground designed to pick up enemy truck activity. Two C-123K aircraft modified in September 1965 under Project Black Spot . The Black Spot aircraft were to fit under

11025-533: Was used in conjunction with the Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Lockheed C-141 Starlifter . In 1958, the U.S. Coast Guard received its first HC-123B from the USAF , followed by seven more in 1961. Prior to the Vietnam War the C-123B was utilized for a multitude of missions such as a troop carrier, medivac transport, and support missions from short, minimally-prepared landing strips. Installation of

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