Two U.S. Air Force Fairchild UC-123B Provider "Ranch Hand" aircraft over South Vietnam in 1962. "Operation Ranch Hand" was a U.S. Military operation during part of the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971. It involved spraying an estimated 72 mio. ltr. (19 mio. US gal.) of (toxic) defoliants over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive the Viet Cong of vegetation cover and food. The USAF were marked as South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) planes. (U.S. Air Force photo)