Vietnam & Southeast Asia · from 1955

Bien Hoa Air Base

Vietnam Air Defence - Air Force military airfield.

History

Bien Hoa Air Base (Vietnamese: Sân bay Biên Hòa) is a Vietnam Air Defence - Air Force (VN ADAF) military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about 25 km (16 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City, across the Dong Nai river in the northern ward of Tân Phong, and within the city of Biên Hòa within Đồng Nai Province. The boomburb city is densely populated and rings the base, despite significant levels of Agent Orange toxins simply left there for decades. Cleanup and remediation began in 2019.

During the Vietnam War the base was used by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF). The United States used it as a major base from 1961 through 1973, stationing Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine units there.

Text from Wikipedia: Bien Hoa Air Base, CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Key dates

1955
On 1 June 1955, Bien Hoa Air Base became the RVNAF's logistics support base when the French evacuated their main depot at Hanoi.
1956
On 1 June 1956 the RVNAF's 1st Fighter Squadron (redesignated the 514th Fighter Squadron in January 1963) was formed here equipped with 25 F8F Bearcats, later re-equipping with AD-6s.
1963
On 8 July 1963 the Farm Gate squadrons at Bien Hoa were redesignated the 1st Air Commando Squadron (Composite) comprising two strike sections, one of 10 B-26s and 2 RB-26s and the other of 13 T-28s, in addition support squadrons operated 6 C-47s and 4 psychological warfare U-10s.
1964
On the night of 1 November 1964 a VC mortar team penetrated the base perimeter and launched a 30-minute barrage on the base destroying five B-57s, three A-1Hs and one HH-43 and damaging 13 B-57s, three A-1Hs, three HH-43s and two C-47s and killing four U.S. and two Vietnamese.
1965
On the morning of 16 May 1965, four loaded B-57s were awaiting takeoff at the base for a Barrel Roll mission, when a U.S. Navy F-8 Crusader made an emergency landing and was being inspected on the ramp.
1966
On 8 February 1966 the 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron equipped with F-100Ds arrived at Bien Hoa.
1967
On 17 July 1967 the 604th Air Commando Squadron flying the A-37A Dragonfly began arriving at the base to test the A-37 in combat over three months under a program named Combat Dragon.
1968
On 22 August 1968 an attack occurred at around 0100 from the north with most 122mm rockets landing on the Air Base and its ammo dump located north of the runways.
1971
In 1971, the 3rd TFW was preparing to inactivate and the wing began phasing down for inactivation as part of the American drawdown of forces.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone at this base

A base history doesn't name everyone who served. These records do:

More history

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