Cần Thơ Base Camp (also known as Cần Thơ Army Airfield) is a former U.S. Army,
U.S. Air Force (USAF),
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...
(ARVN),
Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) and current
People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
(PAVN) base west of
Cần Thơ in the
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...
in southern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
History
Cần Thơ airfield was originally established during the French colonial period and was later used by the Japanese during World War II.
USAF/RVNAF use
In June 1962 Detachment 3, 6220th Air Base Squadron was established at Cần Thơ.
On 8 July 1963 a Detachment of the
33rd Tactical Group was established at Cần Thơ.
[
In May 1963 Detachment 7, ]8th Aerial Port Squadron
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
was established at Cần Thơ.[ On 8 July 1963 a Detachment of the 33rd Tactical Group was established at Cần Thơ replacing Detachment 3, 6220th Air Base Squadron.][
The RVNAF maintained a detachment from its 122nd Liaison Squadron equipped with 5 O-1 Bird Dogs.][
In mid-1963 Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) proposed the construction of a runway near Cần Thơ to replace the existing runway at ]Sóc Trăng Airfield
Sóc Trăng Airfield was a French colonial, Imperial Japanese Army, United States Marine Corps (USMC), United States Army (US ARMY) and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) base located in Sóc Trăng i ...
which was unsuitable for night and wet weather operations with a projected US$4.5 million construction cost and a 2-year construction period.[
On the night of 16 July 1963 a Viet Cong (VC) mortar attack on Cần Thơ Airfield wounded 17 ARVN and US ]Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
troops.[
In July 1963 the ]19th Tactical Air Support Squadron
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
was activated at Bien Hoa Air Base
Bien Hoa Air Base (Vietnamese: ''Sân bay Biên Hòa'') is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about from Ho Chi Minh City, across the Dong Nai river in the northern ward of Tân Phon ...
, becoming operational on 15 September, it maintained a detachment of 6 O-1s at Cần Thơ.[
In January 1964 given the need for heavier aircraft to be available for quick reaction air support in the Mekong Delta, CINCPAC approved the construction of a new airfield at Cần Thơ for a cost of US$2.5 million to be ready within one year.][
Construction of the new Binh Thuy Air Base, 7 km northwest of Cần Thơ Airfield began in February 1964.][
]
1966-72
The base was originally established by the 9th Infantry Division.[
Other units stationed here included:
*]52nd Signal Battalion
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...
(15 October 1966 – 13 October 1971)
* Battery H, 29th Artillery (March–October 1967)[
* 13th Aviation Battalion][
* 235th Aviation Company (November 1967-August 1971)][
*]244th Aviation Company This is a List of aviation companies of the United States Army from the United States Army Aviation Branch
The United States Army Aviation Branch is the administrative organization within the United States Army responsible for doctrine, manning ...
(July 1967-November 1970)[
* 271st Aviation Company (February 1968-September 1971)][
* Troop C, 16th Cavalry][
The US Air Force 619th Tactical Control Squadron Detachment 3 provided air traffic control until June 1972.
]
1972-5
Cần Thơ was a base for the ARVN 9th Division until April 1975.
Current use
The base remains in use by the PAVN as the headquarters of the 9th Military Region. The airfield is no longer used but still clearly visible on satellite images.
References
External links
*http://www.cantho-rvn.org/ Photos of the base and airfield
{{DEFAULTSORT:Can Tho Base Camp
Buildings and structures in Cần Thơ
Military installations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Military installations of the United States in South Vietnam