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
RVNAF U-17 with flight instructor at Nha Trang Air BaseRVNAF A-1E Skyraiders forming South Vietnamese flag in the sky
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 North American T-28A/B Trojan's was formed at Nha Trang. In late 1961 4 USAF T-28 pilots from Operation Farm Gate were sent to Nha Trang to train RVNAF crews.[2]: 127 The 2nd Fighter Squadron became fully operation in mid-1962.[2]: 132 It was renamed the 516th Fighter Squadron in January 1963.[2]: 275
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
The USAF Detachment 12, Thirteenth Air Force had been supporting RVNAF operations at Nha Trang since February 1962 and in May 1962 they were designated the 6223rd Air Base Squadron and on 7 June it was assigned to the 2nd Advanced Echelon (2d ADVON).[2]: 101 : 274–5
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 Fairchild C-123B Providers and three air commando C-47s were kept at Nha Trang to support operations of the 5th Special Forces Group which had its headquarters at Nha Trang. These aircraft supported remote Special Forces bases, delivering 1,500 tons of supplies per month. In December 1964 half of the 310th Troop Carrier Squadron equipped with seven C-123s were sent to Nha Trang to replace the C-47s. In addition three U.S. Army and one Royal Australian Air Forcede Havilland Canada CV-2 Caribous were also sent to support the Special Forces.[2]: 246–7
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
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]
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-130AProject 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 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 Cam Ranh Air Base.[11]
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.
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