Summary C-123 Provider could carry 61 passengers or 24,000 lbs cargo over 1,035 mi US Coast Guard used 8 C-123s for LORAN-C maintenance plus search & rescue C-123 was extensively used during the Vietnam War for spraying defoliant & as gunships The Fairchild C-123 Provider, a late 1940s design that made its first flight on October 14, 1949, and was produced until 1970, was a tactical transport most famous for use during the Vietnam War. But the C-123 was more than a tactical transport; it was also used as a US Coast Guard logistical transport, a spray plane, a gunship, and one used as a warbird. 5 Tactical Transport The C-123 could carry 61 passengers and/or up to 24,000 pounds (11,000 kilograms) of cargo 1,035 mi (1,666 km, 899 nmi).
Yes, the primary mission of the C-123 Provider was carrying humans, freight, or both. In fact, the C-123 could carry up to 61 passengers or 24,000 pounds of cargo with a cruise speed of 173 mph (278 km) and 1,035 miles (1666 km). Because of the C-123’s basic capabilities, the C-123 was widely used by the air forces of the nations below.
Nation Quantity Year of First C-123 Brazil 2 Unknown Cambodia 21 1973 El Salvador 3 1982 Laos 10 1973 Philippines 19 1973 Saudi Arabia 6 1957 South Vietnam 64 1971 Thailand 42 1964 United States 300+ 1953 Venezuela 18 1958 One can watch C-123 operations during the Vietnam War below: According to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, “By the fall of 1964, there were four USAF C-123B squadrons in V.