wbalogo.gif (14066 bytes)



[Back to Warbird Alley Main Page]


Fighter / Attack:
   Bell P-39 Airacobra
   Bell P-63 Kingcobra
   Brewster Buffalo
   Chance-Vought F-4U Corsair
   Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
   Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
   Douglas A-1 Skyraider
   Douglas A-26 Invader
   Douglas SBD Dauntless
   Fairey Firefly
   Focke-Wulf Fw 190
   Grumman F4F Wildcat
   Grumman F6F Hellcat
   Grumman F7F Tigercat
   Grumman F8F Bearcat
   Grumman TBF Avenger
   Hawker Hurricane
   Hawker Sea Fury
   Lockheed P-38 Lightning
   Messerschmitt Bf-109
   Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen
   North American P-51 Mustang

   Polikarpov I-16
   Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
   Supermarine Spitfire
   Yakovlev Yak-3
   Yakovlev Yak-9


Trainers:
  
Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan (C-45)
   Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
   Boeing / Stearman PT-17

   Commonwealth CA-25 Winjeel
   Commonwealth CA-1 Wirraway
   DeHavilland DHC-1 Chipmunk
   DeHavilland DH-82 Tiger Moth
   Fairchild PT-19 Cornell
   Hunting / Percival Provost
   Meyers OTW
   Nanchang CJ-6
   Naval Aircraft Factory N3N
   N. Am. BT-9 / BT-14 / Yale
   N. Am. T-6 Texan / SNJ / Harvard
   N. American T-28 Trojan

   Piaggio P149
   Ryan PT-22 Recruit

   Scottish Aviation T1 Bulldog
   Vultee BT-13 Valiant
   Yakovlev Yak-11
   Yakovlev Yak-18
   Yakovlev Yak-52


Bombers:
   Avro Lancaster
   Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
   Boeing B-29 Superfortress
   Bristol Blenheim / Bolingbroke
   Consolidated B-24 Liberator
   Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer

   Douglas A-3 Skywarrior
   DeHavilland Mosquito
   Fairey Swordfish
   Heinkel He-111 / Casa 2.111

   Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon / Ventura
   Martin B-26 Marauder
   North American B-25 Mitchell


Transports:
   Beechcraft C-45 (AT-11)

   Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter (KC-97)
   Curtiss C-46 Commando
   Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Dakota
   Douglas C-54 Skymaster

   Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
   Fairchild C-123 Provider
   Grumman C-1 Trader (S-2)
   Lockheed C-60 Lodestar
   Lockheed C-69 Constellation


Utility / Observation / Special Duty:
   Aeronca L-3 Grasshopper
   Aeronca L-16 Grasshopper
   Antonov AN-2 Colt
   Auster AOP 6/9
   Avro 652 Anson
   Avro Shackleton
   British Taylorcraft I-V
   Cessna L-19 / O-1 Bird Dog
   Cessna O-2 Super Skymaster
   Cessna T-50 / UC-78 Bobcat
   Consolidated PBY Catalina

   DeHavilland U-6A / L-20 Beaver
   Fairey Gannet
   Fairey Swordfish
   Fieseler Fi156 Storch
   Grumman S-2 Tracker (C-1)
   Grumman HU-16 Albatross
   Grumman OV-1 Mohawk
   Junkers Ju 52/3m

   Lockheed P2V Neptune
   Max Holste M.H.1521 Broussard
   Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun

   Noorduyn UC-64 Norseman
   North American L-17 Navion
   N. Am./ Rockwell OV-10 Bronco
   Piper L-4 Grasshopper
   Stinson L-5 Sentinel
   Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper
   Westland Lysander


Jets:
   Aero L-29 Delfin
   Aero L-39 Albatros
   Aermacchi MB-326
   Avro Vulcan
   BAC Strikemaster
   Blackburn (BAC) Buccaneer
   Canadair Tutor
   Cessna A-37 Dragonfly
   DeHavilland Vampire
   DeHavilland Venom
   English Electric Canberra
   English Electric Lightning
   Folland Gnat
   Fouga CM-170 Magister
   Gloster Meteor
   Grumman F9F Panther
   Hawker Hunter
   Hispano HA-200 Saeta
   Hunting Jet Provost
   Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
   Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star
   McDonnell-Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
   McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom
   Messerschmitt Me-262
   Mikoyan MiG-15
   Mikoyan MiG-17
   Mikoyan MiG-21
   N. Am. F-86 Sabre / FJ-4 Fury
   N. Am. F-100 Super Sabre
   N. Am. / Rockwell T-2 Buckeye
   Northrop T-38 Talon / F-5
   PZL / WSK TS-11 Iskra
   Saab J35 Draken
   Soko G-2A Galeb
   Temco Pinto & Super Pinto


[Back to Warbird Alley Main Page]

 

Fairchild C-123 Provider

(Variants/Other Names: See History below)


Fairchild C-123 Provider
(Photo source: Ardvark Arnold, via FAA Alaska Region.)

History: In 1943, the Chase Aircraft Company was created to design and build a heavy assault cargo glider for the US Army. Several early prototypes eventually led to the production of the XG-20 glider in 1949. The new US Air Force expressed an interest in a powered version of the aircraft, so the company installed two 2,200-hp Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engines and named it the XC-123 Aviatruc. It was first flown on 14 October 1949.

In 1953, a production order for 300 C-123B Providers was received by the Kaiser-Frazer Company, which had since acquired a majority holding in the Chase Company. When Kaiser-Frazer had production difficulties, Fairchild stepped in and took over the C-123 program. The first production aircraft reached the Air Force in late 1954, and immediately became popular with tactical transport aircrews for its ruggedness and reliability. A small number were delivered to Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, the Philippines, Taiwan and South Vietnam.

In the early 1960s, a couple of Fairchild J-44 turbojet engines were fitted in pods under the wing, giving the aircraft a big boost in performance and resulting in the C-123J. Later, the C-123K variant appeared, which featured two 2,800-lb thrust J85 turbojets in similar pods.

Most US Air Force C-123s served in the Vietnam War, where they served as troop and cargo haulers. Some were utilized as defoliant (Agent Orange) sprayers (UC-123Ks) in Operation Ranch Hand, and at least two were modified as armament-carrying AC-123K / NC-123Ks, which operated at night against enemy truck convoys. The C-123 soldiered on into the 1980s, serving with several Air National Guard units, some being fitted with wheel/ski landing gear for use in Arctic conditions.

Today, surplus C-123s are popular with small freight companies throughout the Americas, and a few are even found on the warbird circuit. Several are repeatedly used in television advertising and movies when the need arises for the representation of a large, generic military cargo aircraft.

Nicknames: Bookie Bird

Specifications (C-123K):
     Engines: Two 2,300-hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-99W Double Wasp 18-cyinder radial piston engines, and two 2,850-lb thrust General Electric J85-GE-17 auxiliary turbojets.
     Weight: Empty 35,335 lbs., Max Takeoff 60,000 lbs.
     Wing Span: 110ft. 0in.
     Length: 75ft. 3in.
     Height: 34ft. 1in.
     Performance:
          Maximum Speed: 245mph
          Cruising Speed: 205
          Range: 1,470 miles
     Armament: None

Number Built: 302 by Fairchild. (Three additional experimental airframes were built for US Air Force evaluation by the Stroukoff Aircraft Corporation. These included the YC-123D, which was similar to the C-123B but with a boundary-layer control system; a YC-123E with a revised vertical stabilizer and rudder, and retractable land/water skis and floats; and a YC-134A, which incorporated both systems.)

Number Still Airworthy: Unknown; Probably at least 40

Links:
"Air America" Aircraft in Vietnam
Air Heritage, Inc. C-123 "Thunder Pig" -- Beaver Falls, PA, USA
Photovault C-123 Photo Page
The Aviation Zone -- C-123 page
USAF Air Mobility Command Museum C-123 Page

 

C-123 book from Amazon.com:



 



[Back to Warbird Alley's Main Page]


All text and photos Copyright 2016 The Doublestar Group, unless otherwise noted.
You may use this page for your own, non-commercial reference purposes only.


wbalogo.gif (14066 bytes)