Vung Tau Air Base
Vung Tau Air Base Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) Pacific Air Forces (USAF) | |
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Coordinates | 10°22′13″N 107°05′36″E / 10.37028°N 107.09333°E |
Type | Air Force Base |
Site information | |
Condition | Joint Civil/Military Airport |
Site history | |
Built | ~1940 |
In use | ~1940–1975 |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Vung Tau Air Base | |||||||||||
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Vung Tau Air Base (also known as Cap St Jacques Airfield and Vung Tau Army Airfield) (1955–1975) was a
History
French Indochina
The French had originally constructed a small airfield at Cap St Jacques. The airfield was later expanded to a 5,900 feet (1,800 m)
Following the partition of Vietnam in 1954, the
Vietnam War
In June 1961 Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam awarded a contract to Bourne Associates for airfield pavement evaluation at the base.[2]: 23
United States use
In December 1962 the United States Army's 1st Aviation Company (Fixed-wing Light Transport) equipped with CV-2 Caribous moved to Vung Tau from Thailand. In July 1963 a second Caribou company, the 61st Aviation Company, joined it at the base.[3]: 45 The 1st Aviation Company left the base in December 1963.[4]: 122
By late 1964 the Army's 765th Transportation Battalion was based at Vung Tau, it supported all four Army aviation battalions then deployed in South Vietnam with two direct support maintenance companies, one general support maintenance company, one CV-2 Caribou company and one Special Warfare aviation detachment of the 73rd Aviation Company, 222nd Aviation Battalion operating Grumman OV-1 Mohawks.[3]: 40 In December 1964 a detachment from the United States Air Force (USAF) 8th Aerial Port Squadron began operating at the base.[4]: 140
In early March 1965 a team from
The Army's 53rd Aviation Detachment, Field Evaluation (Provisional) operating three
The United States Navy's HA(L)-3 equipped with Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter gunships was formed at the base on 1 April 1967.[9] On 26 January 1972 the squadron commenced standdown and on 16 March 1972 it was disestablished.[10] The joint U.S. Army and Royal Australian Navy Experimental Military Unit operating UH-1 helicopters was formed at the base, becoming operational on 3 November 1967. The unit operated from the base during November and December, then was relocated to Blackhorse Base Camp in Xuân Lộc district on 31 December.[11]
On 23 April 1968 VC mortar fire destroyed C-7 #61-2399 at the base.[4]: 368
On 17 January 1969 C-7 #60-5434 veered off the runway and was damaged beyond repair.[12] Detachment B of the U.S. Navy's VAL-4 equipped with OV-10A Broncos operated from the base from mid-1969 until its disestablishment in April 1972.[13]
During the Fall of Saigon on 27 April 1975 two 374th Airlift Wing planes landed at the base and evacuated approximately 250 dependents of the Republic of Vietnam Marine Division troops who were defending the base in return for assurances that the base would be held.[4]: 642
Australian use
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Transport Flight Vietnam (RTFV) was formed at the base with three DHC-4 Caribou transports, in July 1964. On 1 June 1966, RTFV was redesignated No. 35 Squadron. The squadron, nicknamed "Wallaby Airlines" operated from the base until 13 February 1972 when it was withdrawn to Australia.[14]
On 13 May 1966 the
RAAF C-130s also operated regular flights to the base, bringing in equipment and evacuating casualties.[4]: 414
Other Free World forces
The
References
- ^ LCCN 80024547. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 July 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-1555716257.
- ^ "ACH-47A Guns-A-Go-Go". United States Army Aviation Museum. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- .
- .
- ^ "US NAVAL FORCES VIETNAM (NAVFORV) Quarterly History Summary for January - March 1972". Department of the Navy. 3 May 1972. p. 16. Retrieved 4 July 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam". Royal Australian Navy. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ^ "de Havilland Canada C-7A (Caribou)". Aviation Safety network. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ Grossnick, Roy A. (1995). Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Volume 1 The History of VA, VAH, VAK, VAL, VAP and VFA Squadrons. Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. p. 307. Retrieved 4 July 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "35 Squadron RAAF, Vietnam". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Unit History". 161 Possums. Retrieved 4 July 2022.