THE AIRPLANE THAT TRIED TO DO IT ALL

After their first two flights, the Wright brothers modified their airplane somewhat 

to obtain better performance and control …

…and in the years that followed, designers and builders made countless modifications 

in order to come up with spectacular airplanes like this.

But there was a unique airplane that began as a "plain Jane" flying machine and was modified many times to accomplish the missions it was called upon to perform. The airplane in question 

served well throughout its lifetime but came to a sorry end.

Deep into World War II the Chase Aircraft Company obtained a contract to build assault gliders for the U.S. Army; the objective was to deliver infantry to combat areas. An early prototype—the  XCG-14 (Experimental Cargo Glider)—was a small glider built entirely of wood and could carry 14 soldiers.

XCG-14

To satisfy the Army's need for a larger vehicle, Chase proposed the 30-seat XCG-18, the first all-metal assault glider. Its thinner wing permitted higher towing airspeed and its relatively light weight made it possible to be towed aloft by a powerful aircraft such as the P-47 Thunderbolt (fighter pilots would no doubt consider glider-towing a demeaning job).

XCG-18

The Chase gliders evolved through several prototypes until reaching the all-metal XCG-20 shortly after the end of WW II. The design weight was 70,000 pounds but there wasn't a tow plane available with enough power to get it off the ground. The weight was reduced to 40,000 pounds and the XCG-20 made several trial flights but the monster glider fell out of favor with the Army and the project was cancelled.

XCG-20

(Believe it or not, the engines of a C-47 (DC-3) were removed, the empty nacelles were streamlined and this glider wannabe joined the lineup as the XCG-17. Flight testing demonstrated that two C-47s or one C-54 were required to tow the Gooney Bird glider. When the flight tests were completed the need for a super-sized glider had evaporated and the XCG-17 bit the dust.)

XCG-17 (Look Ma, no engines!)

Not to be denied, Chase Aviation offered two powered versions of the XCG-20; first was the XC-123A, equipped with twin-jet engine pods. With no provision for carrying fuel in the thin wings, the fuel tanks were installed under the cabin floor. The XC-123A had a lot going for it in terms of power and speed but the high potential for foreign-object damage to the low-slung turbojets took the airplane out of contention.

XC-123A

The second proposal, the XC-123B, was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 piston engines. The fuel tank problem was resolved by converting the aft portions of the engine nacelles to 700-gallon tanks that could be jettisoned before impact in a crash-landing scenario. If nothing else, this reduced the threat of a post-crash fire because the tanks would hit the ground well behind the airplane.

XC-123B

In an attempt to make the C-123 a true utility airplane, the Stroukoff YC-134E was equipped with retractable wheels and skis, wingtip floats and a sealed lower fuselage. As a pantobase airplane it could operate on land, water, ice, snow, mud, wet grass…any reasonably flat surface would do. Three were built, none were bought.

YC-134E

In the mid-1950s the Fairchild Aviation Corporation won a contract to build the C-123; the airplane was named the Provider and at the end of the production run, Fairchild had manufactured 305 units. Over the years, modifications large and small led to the final designation, C-123K. Two 440-gallon drop tanks extended the range of the airplane and two small jet engines provided additional thrust for takeoff. 

C-123K

The C-123 was perhaps the only aircraft in aviation history that was powered at various times by piston engines alone, turbojet engines alone, piston and jet engines combined...and in the case of the XCG-20 glider, the always-available force of gravity.

FLYING THE C-123K

The Provider's flight deck was several feet above the floor of the cargo compartment and was accessed by a short ladder that also served as a station from which the flight engineer could monitor airplane systems and engine instruments.

Provider flight deck

A normal crew was two pilots, an engineer and a navigator. The flight deck was well-designed with plenty of room, good visibility and comfortable pilot seats.

With regard to flight characteristics the Provider flew much like its glider ancestors. Most noticeable was the amount of rudder pressure required to overcome adverse yaw when the ailerons came into play. The flight controls were not boosted and the airplane was relatively slow to respond to control inputs...that prompted an anonymous pilot to comment "the C-123 flew like a lumbering whale."

My transition training in the C-123 took place at Lockbourne AFB in Columbus, Ohio and was administered in part by pilots who had flown the airplane in Vietnam…I learned a lot about the Provider from those young men. They were well-versed in short-field takeoffs and landings, procedures that reduced the possibility of taking ground fire from Vietcong troops hiding in the bushes.

The major drawback to cross-country flights in the Provider was its low cruising speed; we seldom saw more than 140 knots, due in part to the standard procedure of operating the engines at a rather lean mixture setting.

A VC-123 that found a home in our squadron provided personal transportation for Lt. Gen. William Westmoreland during his tour as commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam in the 1960s (in pilot talk "VC" means Very Comfortable). The paint scheme and the rotund fuselage led to the nickname "White Whale."

The Whale featured a custom-built office in the cargo compartment to provide work space for the general and a modicum of relief from the noise...the C-123 generated 100-plus decibels on takeoff and not much less in flight. Hearing protection was required (passengers were issued cotton wads) but even so, the airplane was perhaps one of the noisiest in the Air Force inventory.

Next to instrument flying, my favorite drill in the Provider was practice landings on the assault strip adjacent to the primary runway at Lockbourne. Only 3,500 feet long and 50 feet wide, it was a mere brushstroke on the LAFB landscape.

A good assault landing consisted of touching down on a target close to the approach end, followed by immediate application of full reverse thrust and maximum braking to bring the airplane to a stop in not more than 1,500 feet. When several airplanes were practicing in trail it was imperative to come to a stop, then exit the runway ASAP because the next airplane was hot on one's heels, just 15 seconds behind. 

The Provider didn’t quite satisfy the definition of an STOL (Short TakeOff and Landing) airplane but it could be airborne in about 2,000 feet and accomplish a full stop landing in 1,500 feet.

LET US SPRAY

Operation Ranch Hand was conceived during the Vietnam War and thirty-four Providers were modified and designated UC-123K. Instead of hauling people and cargo these flights sprayed defoliants and herbicides intended to deny Vietcong troops their jungle cover and their food.

Four Providers at work

Tanks that contained 1,000 gallons of "jungle juice" were installed in the cargo compartment and the spray rigs produced a poisonous swath 250 feet wide and ten miles long. This was a low-and-slow operation that invited hostile ground fire; on occasion, Ranch Hand airplanes returned from spray missions with small arms damage.

The chemicals were applied occasionally at up to 50 times the concentration used for normal agricultural use and when all was said and done an estimated 20 million gallons of defoliants and herbicides had been sprayed over rural areas of South Vietnam. Ranch Hand crews adopted a parody based on U.S. Forest Service posters that featured Smokey the Bear; read the bottom line carefully.

The spray program was effective but there was a tragic downside. Crew members, ground handlers and friendly troops were exposed to a mixture of toxic chemicals including Agent Orange, a powerful poison with the potential to wreak havoc on human beings. The jury is still out on postwar health problems that showed up in some Vietnam veterans as a result of exposure to these chemicals.

At the end of the Vietnam War a number of Providers were parceled out to Air National Guard and AF Reserve units...some of those airplanes were "clean" with regard to Agent Orange, others were suspect. Just to be sure, the Air Force ordered the destruction of the C-123s lying cocooned in the AF boneyard; by 2010, they had been turned into ash trays and aluminum siding.

Breaking the back of a C-123 in its death throes

So long, Provider. You made a lot of noise, you were not the best-looking airplane, you were

 a bit difficult to handle now and then and you went through many modifications during your 

66-year lifespan…but you always got the job done. The near-annihilation of your fleet 

left only a handful of Providers in museums and even fewer in flying condition.

I logged 300 hours in the C-123K during my final years as an Air Force pilot and 

I enjoyed every minute of that time. Thanks, Provider...it was a good ride.