Kontum Airfield

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Coordinates: 14°21′21″N 108°00′54″E / 14.35583°N 108.01500°E / 14.35583; 108.01500
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Kontum Airfield
AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
09/27 3,600 feet (1,097 m) Asphalt

Kontum Airfield is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base located in Kon Tum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.[1]

History

Kontum Airfield was a major tactical airlift hub in the Central Highlands used extensively in the buildup on US forces in the area in 1965-6.[2]: 284 

On 28 April 1966, an Air America Curtiss C-46D Commando crashed on takeoff. There were no fatalities, but the plane was written off.[3]

In early 1967 Company A, 299th Engineer Battalion began improving the airfield building taxiways, ramps, roads and bivouac areas.[4]

On 10 January 1968 Viet Cong (VC) sappers penetrated the airfield perimeter and destroyed several helicopters with Satchel charges, killing 7 Americans and wounding 25. An estimated 16 VC were killed in the attack.[5]

Aircraft revetments, 19 July 1968

At the time of the

57th Assault Helicopter Company (57th AHC), Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (2/1 Cavalry), Company B, 299th Engineer Battalion and a company of Montagnard irregulars.[6]: 302  At 02:12 on 30 January, a company from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 406th Sapper Battalion and a company from the VC 304th Local Force Battalion attacked the airfield. As the PAVN/VC penetrated the airfield defenses they were engaged by sentries and gunships from the 57th AHC stopping the PAVN attack 50 meters from the runway. The PAVN K6 Battalion of the 24th Regiment reinforced the attack and launched a new assault which was countered by two M48 tanks and four M113 armored personnel carriers from Troop A, 2/1 Cavalry, which attacked the right flank of the PAVN forcing them to retreat. The PAVN soon regrouped and attacked the armor with rocket-propelled grenades forcing them to retreat.[6]: 303  At 09:30 Task Force Delta, comprising two helicopter borne rifle platoons and Company D, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, landed at the airfield and moved north to attack the PAVN/VC in the city.[6]: 303–4  That evening the PAVN/VC attacked the airfield again but failed to penetrate the defenses.[6]: 305  On 31 January Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment was landed at the airfield.[6]: 305  The PAVN hit the airfield with 122-mm. rockets on 1 February but made no further ground attacks.[6]: 306  On the evening of 1 February two companies from the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment were flown into the airfield securing its northern perimeter.[6]: 306–  By 4 February the city had been secured and normal operations resumed at the airfield.[2]
: 323 

The airfield was the scene of heavy fighting in April-May 1972 during the

Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) Fairchild C-123 Provider, the repaired C-130 flew out on 1 May.[8] On 15 May 1972 a PAVN artillery attack on the airfield destroyed a C-130 as it took off killing all but 1 crewman and damaged 2 other C-130s and 2 C-123s.[8]: 379  Another rocket/artillery attack on 23 May destroyed another C-130.[9] By 25 May the airfield was closed to traffic and did not reopen until 8 June when the PAVN, defeated in their attack on Kontum, withdrew from the city.[8]
: 379– 

On 26 October 1972 a PAVN rocket attack on the base killed an American officer of Troop H, 17th Cavalry Regiment which was staging through the base. First Lieutenant Carlos Pedrosa was the last wartime casualty his unit would experience in the Vietnam War.[citation needed]

References

  1. ISBN 978-1555716257
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 9781782664208.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
    .
  3. ^ "Curtiss C-46D-20-CU Commando CA-1 Kon Tum Airfield". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  4. ^ Trass, Adrian (2011). Engineers at War. Government Printing Office. p. 209.
  5. ^ "Vietcong Press Drive From Highlands to Delta; Base and Towns Shelled -Civilian Deaths Reported". The New York Times. 11 January 1968. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780160942808.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
    .
  7. ^ "U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Command History 1972, Annex K. Kontum, 1973. MACV" (PDF). p. K-22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2018.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^
    ISBN 9781478118640. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2013.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
    .
  9. ISBN 9780833016294.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
    .
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