This silent film is from the top secret U.S. Air Force project known as “Black Spot” which began in December of 1965. The film was shot at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida where the program developed. Black Spot was intended to give the Air Force a self-contained night attack capability to seek out and destroy targets along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In early-1966, the concept was approved by the Department of Defense and two Fairchild C-123K Providers (#54-691 and #54-698) were modified by E-Systems of Greenville, Texas to the redesignated NC-123K (often referred to as AC-123K) configuration. These aircraft are not to be confused with Spectre C-130 gunships of the same era — although they are related.
As you can see in this film, the aircraft were equipped with a long, 57.75 inch nose fairing that housed an X-band forward-looking radar (8:00). Below and aft of the extended radome was a turret with Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) (6:23), Low-Level Light Television (LLLTV) (7:11), and a laser range-finder/illuminator. Also, a low-level Doppler navigation radar and weapons release computer were installed.
The first aircraft (#54-691) was delivered to Eglin AFB, Florida in August 1967 and the second (#54-698), incorporating an AN/ASD-5 Black Crow direction finder set (engine ignition sensor), was delivered in February 1968.
Prior to deploying to Vietnam, the two aircraft were sent to Osan Air Base, South Korea to be evaluated against the high-speed infiltration boats used by North Korea to send agents into South Korea. The unit remained in Korea from 19 August 1968 to 23 October 1968, and were scheduled for a total of 57 missions. Upon completion of their Korean assignment, the unit was deployed to South Vietnam for a combat evaluation of the “Black Spot” weapons system.
It was in South Vietnam where the aircraft operated under the project name and callsign – “Black Spot”. Both aircraft began operations on 15 November 1968, flying from Phan Rang Air Base, with mission staging areas at Binh Thuy and Pleiku. During the combat evaluation period, a total of 69 sorties were flown over target areas consisting of the Mekong Delta and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. From November 1968 to May 1969, these “gunships” flew 186 missions, destroyed 415 trucks and damaged 273 more. While operating as armed night surveillance units in the Mekong Delta, the two aircraft destroyed 151 boats/vehicles, damaging another 108 and noted secondary explosions on 161 targets. Both aircraft completed 70 percent of all missions and had an in-commission rate of 84 percent; not bad for an aircraft that was developed as a test bed and never intended to be used operationally.
These NC/AC-123Ks were first deployed operationally at Osan AB, South Korea between August and October 1968, and flying in support of operations against North Korean infiltrators approaching by boat. The operations in Korea met with a certain level of success and as a result the NC/AC-123Ks were transferred to South Vietnam in November 1968. The aircraft operated there until January 1969, when they were redeployed to Ubon RTAB, Thailand. The two aircraft were then returned to the United States to Hurlburt Field, Florida in May 1969, where a second round of training occurred. Four crews attended a ground school in Greenville, Texas and returned to Hurlburt where they flew the aircraft for the first time.
The fate of the aircraft is still unclear. Sources have missions terminating in early July 1970 and the aircraft flying to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, where they were returned to C-123K standard, then returned to South Vietnam still wearing their camouflage and black undersides for transport duty. However, the official history states that combat operations ceased on 11 May 1969, with no mention of the second deployment.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
