This Fairchild C-123K Provider is named “Thunderpig.” The 911th Airlift Wing based in Pittsburgh used the “Thunderpig” nickname when they flew C-123s, and Thunderpig’s current home is about an hour from Pittsburgh. The name may have been inspired by the names of other Fairchild aircraft, the P-47 Thunderbolt, F-105 Thunderchief, and the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II.
The Fairchild C-123 Provider is a short-range assault transport used for airlifting troops and cargo to/from small, unprepared airstrips. The development of the C-123 cargo plane began in the late 1940s and it entered service with the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1950s. C-123s saw heavy use during the Southeast Asia War. In addition to the transport role, C-123s were also used for spraying defoliant.
The C-123 was originally designed as a GLIDER—a bigger version of the assault gliders used during World War II. Two prototypes were built, but tests showed that a powered aircraft could equal a glider in landing performance, so the design was changed to include a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine under each wing. In the late 1960s, the design was changed again to add a General Electric J85 jet engine to each wing to increase payload, shorten takeoff distance, and provide better performance if one of the piston engines failed. The new design was designated C-123K.
This C-123K Provider, serial number 54-664, was built in 1956. In 1969 it was upgraded to a C-123K configuration, with the jet engines. In 1981 it was sent to storage and it was declared as surplus in 1985. Thunderpig was restored and is operated by the Air Heritage Museum, located in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Of more than 300 C-123s that were built, only this one is still flying.
Seen at the 2023 Thunder Over Michigan Air Show.
