Nha Trang Air Base
Nha Trang Air Base
14th Special Operations Wing (USAF) |
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Coordinates | 12°13′39″N 109°11′34″E / 12.22750°N 109.19278°E | ||||||||||
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Nha Trang Airport (
First Indochina War
The French Air Force opened an air training center for the fledgling RVNAF in 1951 and in March 1952 began training pilots, navigators and maintenance personnel at the base.[2]: 10
On 4 January 1953 maintenance personnel from the USAF 24th Air Depot Wing at Clark Air Base were sent on temporary duty to Nha Trang to provide maintenance support for Douglas C-47 Skytrains provided to the French Air Force, they would be replaced by French crews on 14 August 1953.[2]: 11
In May 1953 USAF crews delivered 6 Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars to Nha Trang, these were then flown by Civil Air Transport crews to Cat Bi Air Base.[2]: 15
RVNAF use
On 7 July 1955 the RVNAF took over the Nha Trang Training Center and formed the 1st and 2nd Liaison Squadrons equipped with Cessna L-19s.[2]: 50 At this time Nha Trang had a 5,900 feet (1,800 m) asphalt runway that could be extended.[3]: 205–7
In December 1961 the RVNAF 2nd Fighter Squadron equipped with
In September 1962 the RVNAF 12th Air Base Squadron was formed at the base.[2]: 275
In September 1963 the USAF opened a training center at the base equipped with L-19s. RVNAF flight crews would undergo 1 month of preflight training followed by 3 months of primary flight training with a total of 80 flying hours.[2]: 168
In February 1964 the 516th Fighter Squadron moved to Da Nang Air Base.[2]: 275
In June 1964 the 116th Liaison Squadron equipped with O-1s was activated at the base.[2]: 275
In January 1965 the RVNAF 62nd Tactical Wing and 516th Fighter Squadron, equipped with Douglas A-1H Skyraiders deployed to Nha Trang from Pleiku Air Base while a new runway was built at Pleiku.[2]: 263
In August 1965 the 524th Fighter Squadron equipped with A-1s was activated at the base.[4]: 95
On 30 June 1969 all
American use
8th Field Hospital and 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) (HU-1A Iroquois) both arrived during April 1962.[6]: 132
From 1967 the
The USAF Detachment 12,
In September 1962 the 23rd Special Air Warfare Detachment equipped with 6 Grumman OV-1 Mohawk reconnaissance aircraft deployed to Nha Trang and began flying visual and photo-reconnaissance in support of RVNAF and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) units.[2]: 148
In December 1963 Detachment 4, 8th Aerial Port Squadron was formed at the base.[2]: 275
In July 1963 the 37th Air Base Squadron replaced the 6223rd Air Base Squadron.[2]: 275
On 23 September 1963 three Viet Cong (VC) sappers penetrated the base and destroyed two C-47s with satchel charges.[2]: 181
From February 1964 three
In late November 1965 the 5th Air Commando Squadron equipped with four C-47s and 17 Helio U-10 Super Couriers was formed at the base and then dispersed to forward operating bases throughout central South Vietnam.[4]: 92–3
In January 1966 the A-1 equipped
The RVNAF 2nd Air Division took over the base from the USAF in mid-1970.[7]
14th Air Commando Wing/14th Special Operations Wing
The 14th Air Commando Wing was activated at Nha Trang on 8 March 1966 and it would be the host unit at the base until 15 October 1969 when it moved to Phan Rang Air Base.[8][9] The airfield was managed by the 14th Combat Support Group.[1]
On its establishment the 14th Wing assumed control of all USAF squadrons at Nha Trang and the 1st Air Commando Squadron (before it moved to Pleiku Air Base) and it later assumed control of the 20th Helicopter Squadron.[4]: 129
In April 1966 the 361st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron equipped with EC-47s was formed at the base.[4]: 128–9
From July–December USAF RED HORSE units carried out 22 major construction/reconstruction projects of maintenance and storages areas, parking ramps, accommodation, roads and drainage took place at the base to accommodate the expanded activity there.[4]: 173 Housing on the base was in short supply and the USAF billets were adjacent to an ARVN ammunition dump which was later relocated north to Nha Trang, many of the new arrivals were forced to live in tents until proper accommodation could be built.[4]: 175
In January 1967 Flight C from the 4th Air Commando Squadron equipped with AC-47 Spooky gunships began operating from the base.[5]: 51
On 21 September 1967 the first Lockheed AC-130A Project Gunship II prototype arrived at Nha Trang for combat evaluation, the evaluation program concluded on 8 December 1967.[5]: 86
On 25 October 1967 the 14th Air Commando Squadron was activated at Nha Trang, with three AC-47s of A Flight-based there.[5]: 56
In late December 1968 the 71st Special Operations Squadron equipped with AC-119G Shadow gunships arrived from Lockbourne Air Force Base and began operations from the base.[5]: 192–3 On 1 June 1969 the 17th Special Operations Squadron equipped with AC-119G gunships was activated at Nha Trang and it replaced the 71st Special Operations Squadron which returned to Bakalar Air Force Base for inactivation.[5]: 203 [10]
In mid-1969, as part of the process of Vietnamization, USAF units at Nha Trang began to relocate or inactivate and by October 1969 all USAF units had left the base and only 800 USAF personnel remained there to support operations until the handover of the base to the RVNAF in 1970.[7]: 169–70 [5]: 203
VPAF use
The VPAF used the base until 2009 when it moved its operations to
Closure and redevelopment
In January 2016 it was announced that the base would be sold for redevelopment with an indicative value of US$540m.[11]
Notes
- ^ The Kelley reference is divided into several sections with each section starting its page numbering with page 1, therefore citations for this reference follows the same pattern.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ ISBN 978-1555716257.
- ^ LCCN 80024547. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 July 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Williams, Kenneth (2019). The US Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Vietnam War A Narrative Chronology Volume I: The Early Years through 1959 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ ISBN 0-85045-572-3.
- ^ .
- .
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (23 August 2011). "Factsheet 14 Flying Training Wing (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 11 May 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "17th Special Operations Squadron History". 353rd Special Operations Group. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b "Former US airbase in Nha Trang to be sold for $540 million". Thanh Nien News. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
Bibliography
- Mesco, Jim (1987) VNAF Republic of Vietnam Air Force 1945–1975 Squadron/Signal Publications. ISBN 0-89747-193-8
- Mikesh, Robert C. (2005) Flying Dragons: The Republic of Vietnam Air Force. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7643-2158-7
External links
- VNAF – The Republic of Vietnam Air Force 1951–1975 Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- Steve Lentz's Cam Ranh and Nha Trang Pictures 1968/1969
- 71st Special Operations Squadron
- 71st SOS Life at Nha Trang; Spring 1969
- "A" Flight – Nha Trang Air Base Memorabilia
- 361st Reconnaissance Squadron
- Nha Trang – 2002
- Nhatrang Airport Transfer Service