[1] By the time it was ready for operations, however, U.S. military doctrine had been altered to remove the requirement for the use of transport gliders in combat.

[4] Dubbed "Avitruc" by its manufacturer,[5] the XC-123A conducted its maiden flight on April 21, 1951,[4] becoming the first jet-powered transport aircraft to successfully fly in the United States.

[4] It was considered "excellent" in flight trials, with the aircraft showing few vices,[6] and demonstrating reasonably good short-field capability.

[4] Despite this, even as the XC-123 proved successful, the XC-123A failed to win sufficient favor in flight testing to receive a production order.

Although the aircraft's short-field performance was good, on rough, unimproved fields the low-slung jet pods would suck debris into the intakes, damaging the engines.