C-123 Provider
A United States Coast Guard C-123 Provider
Description
Role	Tactical airlift transport
Crew	3 (+62 passengers)
Dimensions
Length	76.25 ft	23.92 m
Wingspan	110 ft	33.53 m
Height	34 ft	10.36 m
Wing area	1,223 ft²	113.6 m²
Weights
Empty	35,366 lb	16,042 kg
Loaded	60,000 lb	27,216 kg
Powerplant
Engines	Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-99W Double Wasp 18-cylinder, plus Two General Electric J85-17 auxiliary turbojets (C-123K)
Power	Prop: 1,450 hp	1,080 kW
Thrust	Turbojet: 2,850 lbf	13 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	228 mph (with jets)	367 km/h
Combat range	1,035 mi	1,666 km
Service ceiling	29,000 ft	8,800 m
Rate of climb	1,150 ft/min (no jets)	350 m/min

The C-123 Provider was designed originally as an assault glider aircraft for the United States Air Force by Chase Aircraft. A powered version, the C-123B was placed into production in 1953, but production difficulties led to transfer of the program to Fairchild. The aircraft entered service in 1955. It was initially well regarded for tactical troop transport for its ruggedness and reliability and ability to operate from short and unimproved airstrips. The Strategic Air Command employed many C-123s as logistic support aircraft to remote installations.

The aircraft was almost ignored entirely by the Air Force for service in Vietnam except for a political rivalry with the Army and their use of the CV-2 Caribou. To compete with the well-performing CV-2, the Air Force and Fairchild furthered development on the C-123 to allow it to do similar work on short runways. This additional development furthered 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 Coast Guard and the C-123J which were outfitted 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 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 transport, including General William Westmoreland's White Whale. The aircraft gained notority for its use in exfoliation operations in Vietnam. Planes configured for this use were the last to see military service, in the control of outbreaks of insect-borne disease.

By 1979, most of the remaining C-123s in use were retired or scrapped, though an estimated 40 remained in private service in 2000.