Appendix B
History and Sampling of C-123s in the United States After Spraying Herbicides in Vietnam
(Shaded entries are C-123s that were sampled for TCDD)
TABLE B-1 Operation Ranch Hand C-123s Identified in Historical Recordsa
UC-123 Tail #b | Squadron Assignment, Museum/Year (if known) | Fate of C-123 |
54-558 | 4500th ABW, MAP | Sold to Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), 1971 |
54-570 | 4500th ABW, MAP | Sold to Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), 1971 |
54-575 | 4500th ABW, MAP | Sold to Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), 1971 |
54-576 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 56th SOW (Thailand, no date); 405th Fighter Wing (The Philippines, no date); South Vietnamese Air Force (1971); MASDC (no date); AFLC (1972); MAP | Sold to Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), 1973 |
54-577 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); Vietnam Air Force (no date); MASDC (no date); AFLC (no date); Air America (1973); MAP | Sold to Royal Lao Air Force, 1973 |
54-578 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 56th SOW (Thailand, no date); MAP | Sold to South Vietnamese Air Force, 1973 |
54-584 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); Vietnam Air Force (1971); MASDC (no date); AFLC (no date); MAP | Sold to Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), 1973 |
54-586 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1968–1970); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (no date); 911 TAG (PA, 1972); 731st TAS (MA, 1981); retired from service 1982 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
UC-123 Tail #b | Squadron Assignment, Museum/Year (if known) | Fate of C-123 |
54-588 | 12th ACS | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1962 |
54-589 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (no date); MAP | Sold to Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), no date; records show it was later destroyed in combat |
54-591 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); Vietnam Air Force (no date); MASDC (no date); MAP | Sold to Philippines Air Force, 1970 |
54-597 | 12th ACS | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1966 |
54-602 | 1st SOS | Crashed/lost, Florida, 1968 |
54-605 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1966–1968), 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (1971); 907th TAG (OH, 1972); 355th TAS (no year); 356th (OH, 1973); retired from service 1984 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
54-607 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1966–1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1971); AFLC (1971); 1st SOW (FL, no year); 24th SOW (Panama, 1973); 907th TAG (OH, 1975); 355th TAS (OH, no year); 356th (OH, no year); 439th AW and 731st TAS (MA, 1976); retired from service 1982 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
54-611 | 12th ACS | Crashed/lost, Loas, 1967 |
54-618 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1966–1969); 309th SOS (Vietnam, no year); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no year); MASDC (1970); AFLC (1971); ADTC (FL, no year); 302nd TAW, 906th TAG, and 355th TAS (1972–1981, OH); retired from service 1982 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
54-621 | 19th ACS | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1967 |
54-628 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1966–1968); 309th SOS (Vietnam, 1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no year); MASDC (1970); AFLC (1971); 355th TAS (OH, no date); retired from service 1982 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
54-630 | 12th ACS | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1967 |
54-633 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (no date); AFLC (no date); 1st SOW (FL, no date); 906th TAG, 907th TAG, and 355th TAS (OH, no dates); retired from service 1982 | Retired for preservation—Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB, GA, 1984 |
54-658 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (no date); 24th SOW (Panama, no date); 906th TAG and 355th TAS (OH, no dates); retired from service 1982 | Retired for preservation—Mobility Command Museum, Dover AFB, DE, 1987 |
UC-123 Tail #b | Squadron Assignment, Museum/Year (if known) | Fate of C-123 |
54-693 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1967–1968); 309th SOS (Vietnam, 1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam); MASDC (1970); AFLC (1971); 1st SOW (FL, no date); 355th TAS and 356th TAS (OH, no date); retired from service 1982 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
54-701 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1968–1970), 309th SOS (Taiwan, 1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (1970); 4500th ABW (VA, 1970); 906th TAG, 355th TAS and 356th TAS (OH, no dates); retired from service 1982 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
55-4511 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1968); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (no date); AFLC (no date); MAP | Republic of Korea, no year |
55-4520 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1968–1969); 310th SOS (Taiwan, 1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (1971); 51st ABW (South Korea, no date); 56th ABW (AZ, no date); 907th TAG (OH, no date); 356th TAS (OH, no date); retired from service 1981 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
55-4532 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1968–1970); 310th SOS (Taiwan, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, 1970); MASDC (1970); 24th SOW (Panama, 1970); AMARC (1970); AFLC (1971); 911th TAG (PA, no date); retired from service 1980 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
55-4547 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1968–1969); 310th TAW (Taiwan, 1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (no date); 4500th ABW (VA, 1970); 906th TAG, 355th TAS, and 356th TAS (OH, no date); retired from service 1986 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
55-4570 | 12th SOS and 311th SOS (Vietnam, 1968–1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (no date); 51st ABW (Korea, no date); 907th TAG (OH, no date); retired to AMARC (no date); MAP | Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), 1975 (currently located in Chiang Mai Museum,Thailand) |
55-4571 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1968–1969); 310th TAW (Taiwan, 1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (no date); 24th SOW (Panama, no date); 907th TAG, 355th TAS, and 356th TAS (OH, no date); retired from service 1986 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
55-4577 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, 1967–1968); 310th SOS (Taiwan, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); 911th TAG and 758th TAS (PA, 1972); MASDC (1980) | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
UC-123 Tail #b | Squadron Assignment, Museum/Year (if known) | Fate of C-123 |
56-4362 | 346th TCS (NC, 1961); ORH (Vietnam, 1962); 4500th (“Patches”) ABW (VA, 1962); 315th Air Division Headquarters, 2nd Division (Vietnam, 1963); 377th CSG (Vietnam, 1966); 315th ACW (Vietnam, 1966 [converted to UC-123 in MD, 1968]); 315th TAW (Vietnam, 1968 [converted to insecticide sprayer—Operation Flyswatter]); 377th (Vietnam, 1972); MASDC (1972); 911th TAG (PA, no date); 901st TAG and 731st TAS (MA, 1972) | Retired for preservation—US Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson, AFB, OH, 1980 |
56-4368 | 464th TCW | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1962 |
56-4370 | 464th TCW | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1962 |
56-4371 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (1971); 906th TAG (OH, no date); 355th TAS (OH, 1975); retired from service 1982 | Destroyed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 2010 |
56-4373 | 310th TAS | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1971 |
56-4378 | 309th ACS | Crashed/lost, Vietnam, 1966 |
56-4384 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 310th SOS (1969); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (no date); AFLC (no date); MASDC (no date); MAP | Year and country undisclosed |
57-6289 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th TAW (Vietnam, no date); 405 Fighter Wing (The Philippines, no date); MASDC (1970); Vietnam Air Force (1971); AFLC (1973); MASDC (no date); MAP | Royal Thai Air Force (Thailand), 1973 |
57-6291 | 12th SOS (Vietnam, no date); 315th SOW (Vietnam, no date); MASDC (1970); AFLC (no date); 302nd TAW, 906th TAG, and 355th TAS (OH, no dates) | Crashed, Oklahoma, 1980 |
a C-123 aircraft tail #’s 54-583, 54-585, 54-635, 54-685, and 55-4544 were excluded from this table. Each of these aircraft were identified as Operation Ranch Hand planes in some recent historical documents provided by the VA (Young and Young, 2013, 2014a,b); however, although these C-123 aircraft were stationed with the 12th SOS in Vietnam (Operation Ranch Hand), the flight records for these aircraft do not indicate that they were used for herbicide missions (USAF, 2009a). Tail #56-4375, nicknamed “The White Whale” was used for VIP transport, not herbicide missions, and was also excluded from this table.
b C-123 aircraft tail numbers that are in bold were destroyed and recycled in 2010.
SOURCES: Information compiled from Alvin L. Young, A.L. Young Consulting, Inc., personal communication, May 5, 2014; Carter, 2013; Young, 2014; Young and Young, 2014a,b.
ABBREVIATIONS: ABW, Air Base Wing; ACG, Air Commando Group; ACS, Air Commando Squadron; ACW, Air Command Wing; ADTC, Armament Development and Test Center (Eglin Air Force Base, FL); AFB, Air Force base; AFLC, Air Force Logistic Command (Hayes Aircraft Facility, Napier Field, Dothan, AL); AMARC, Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, AZ); CSG, Combat Support Group; MASDC, Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center (Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, AZ); SOS, Special Operations Squadron; SOW, Special Operations Wing; TAG, Tactical Air Group; TAS, Tactical Airlift Squadron; TAW, Tactical Air Wing; TCS, Troop Carrier Squadron; TCW, Troop Carrier Wing.
TABLE B-2 Sampling of C-123s in the United States After Spraying Herbicides in Vietnam
Date | Event | Plane | Sampling | Other |
03/09/1979 (Report dated 09/1979) | Sampling—Westover AFB (to determine the source of bad odors) | “Patches” |
3 Air Samples—(2,4-D and 2,4,5-T = 0.243 mg/m3 to 0.428 mg/m3); TLV = 10 mg/m3 1 Paint Scraping from cargo tie-down rings (& 1 residue sample lost) (detection limit 60 µg/kg) 2,4-D = < 60 µg/kg; 2,4,5-T = < 60 µg/kg
|
Malathion ≈ 145 µg/kg Black residue found in wing was malathion |
1994 (date samples taken unclear, request for samples in September; first discussed November 1994) | Wright-Patterson AFB Museum Annex | “Patches” |
Swipes: 2,3,7,8-TCDD (nanograms/sample): |
Document describes plane as “highly contaminated” (Samples analyzed by Pace Incorporated Environmental Laboratories) |
Date | Event | Plane | Sampling | Other |
09/13/1995 | Sampling—Wright-Patterson AFB Museum Annex (sampling done by OHM Remediation Services, Corp.) | “Patches” |
49 surface wipes (TCDD) Composite A2: 0 ng/600 cm2Interior Front Port Composite A3: 3.2 ng/400 cm2 [53 ng/m2] (figures as noted in Appendix B, corrected from 3.2 ng/600 cm2) Inside inspection ports on rear bottom of aircraft (exterior) (described in 11/17 memo as rear of cargo bay); report says “inspection ports which tested positive are below the same area of the interior which was hot” Composite A5: 0 ng/600 cm2Interior Front Starboard Composite A6: 0 ng/600 cm2Interior Center Port Composite A7: 0 ng/600 cm2Interior Center Starboard Composite A8 1.8 ng/600 cm2 [45 ng/m2] (figures as noted in Appendix B, corrected from 1.8 ng/400 cm2) Interior Rear (rear interior of cargo bay) No dioxin found on exterior of plane or spray equipment |
WESTON Laboratories (ng/m2 measurements from UC = 123K Sampling and Analysis Plan, February 2009) |
11/17/1995 | Wright-Patterson AFB Museum Annex (proposal for decontamination) | “Patches” | A proposal OHM Remediation Services, Corp.—once aircraft wiped down 3 times, “175 wipe samples will be taken plus 10 percent for quality control” |
07/1996 | Wright-Patterson AFB Museum Annex (proposal for decontamination) | “Patches” | New proposal from OHM Remediation Services, Corp.—16 wipe samples will be taken including those for quality control, proposes to composite the wipes from designated sections of the grid before analysis is performed by USEPA Method 8280; four composite samples will be analyzed, representing a 2,500 cm2 area | |
09/1996 | Sampling 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG—formerly AMARC), Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ | 17 planes (5 without documentation of service in Operation Ranch Hand) | 17 planes swipe sampled for 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T prior to sale; 2 samples per plane (from inboard spray fittings and floor underneath fittings). Swipes collected on moist Whatman glass filters from 6 × 6 areas “of the floor located under the spray line caps” and “inside the spray line” 14 of 17 samples had detectable herbicides (2.2 µg/swipe to 960 µg/swipe) | |
02/1997 | Wright-Patterson AFB Museum Annex | “Patches” | Memo stating that “Patches” is now washed and de-contaminated and open for employee and public access (aircraft sampled by OHM Remediation Services, Corp. after cleaning . . . no dioxin contamination detected [cleanup action level of 25 ng/m2]) | |
Date | Event | Plane | Sampling | Other |
02/18–19/2009 (USAF, 2009b) | AMARG | 4 Planes Tail #’s 54-585 (no detect in 1996) (herbicide sprayer but not RH according to AMARG and Dr. Paul Cecil); 55-4571 (> 25 µg/wipe, 1996) (RH according to AMARG); 55-4532 (> 25 µg/wipe 1996) (RH according to AMARG); 55-4544 (no detect in 1996) (herbicide sprayer but not RH according to AMARG and Dr. Paul Cecil) |
124 wipe samples (not including 2 lost samples); 100 square cm area, hexane used for dioxin/furan samples and water for herbicide samples Wipe Sampling Results:
2 aircraft (55-4544, 54-0585) had trace levels of dioxin/furans on interior floor locations (max 3.9 ng/m2 TEQ [risk-based screening level value, 23 ng/m2]) and non-detect levels or all other surfaces |
Samples conducted to obtain data “to assess what controls (if any, may be needed to ensure protection of the health and safety of recycling personnel” Samples set to TestAmerica analytical laboratories |
16 air samples: 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T collected in fuselage with pump and glass fiber filter at a rate of 2L/minute for 60 minutes. Dioxins/furans collected on a foam plug at 4L/minute for ~ 4 hours (testing for conditions for unprotected workers cleaning out debris from planes … not flying in planes. Air Sampling Results: No detectable AO constituents in any air samples |
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NOTES: 2,4-D, 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid; 2,4,5-T, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid; AFB, Air Force Base; AMARC, Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center; AMARG, Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group; AO, Agent Orange (50% n-butyl ester of 2,4-D, 50% n-butyl ester of 2,4,5-T); AOII, Agent Orange II (50% n-butyl ester of 2,4-D, 50% n-isooctyl ester of 2,4,5-T); MASDC, Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center; nd, not detected; PCDD, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin; PCDF, polychlorinated dibenzofuran; RH, Ranch Hand; TCDD, 2,3,7,8-trichlorodibenzo- p-dioxin; TEQ, Toxicity Equivalency Quotient; USAF, United States Air Force; USEPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency. AMARG refers to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, often called The Boneyard, is a US Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona, located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. AMARG was previously Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, AMARC, the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center, MASDC, and started life after World War II as the 3040th Aircraft Storage Group.