Đắk Tô Base Camp
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Đắk Tô Base Camp (also known as Đắk Tô 2 Airfield and Phoenix Airfield) is a former U.S. Army and
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) base northwest of
Kon Tum Kon Tum is the capital city of Kon Tum Province in Vietnam. It is located inland in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, near the borders of Laos and Cambodia. History After the People's Army of Vietnam invaded South Vietnam on March 30, 1 ...
in the Central Highlands of
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


1966-7

The 5th Special Forces Group Detachment A-333 first established a base at Đắk Tô in 1962 to monitor communist infiltration along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In early-mid 1967 increased infiltration into the Central Highlands led Major General
William R. Peers William Ray Peers (June 14, 1914 – April 6, 1984) was a United States Army general, who is most notable for presiding over the Peers Commission investigation into the My Lai massacre and other similar war crimes during the Vietnam War. Bio ...
commander of the 4th Infantry Division to request reinforcements and the 173rd Airborne Brigade was moved by air to Đắk Tô in June 1967. As the existing Special Forces base camp and airfield were too small to accommodate large numbers of troops and their support requirements, a new airfield and base camp was established several kilometres further west, approximately 40 km northwest of Kon Tum. The former Đắk Tô camp would then be known as
Tân Cảnh Base Camp Tân Cảnh Base Camp (also known as Đắk Tô 1) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest of Kon Tum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. History 1962–67 The 5th Special Forces Group Detachment A-3 ...
. The base would see extensive activity throughout the second half of 1967, culminating in the
Battle of Dak To The battle of Dak To ( vi, Chiến dịch Đắk Tô - Tân Cảnh) in Vietnam was a series of major engagements of the Vietnam War that took place between 3 and 23 November 1967, in Kon Tum Province, in the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central ...
in November 1967. On the night of 15 November, North Vietnamese mortar fire hit two
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...
transport aircraft (#62-1865 and #63-7827) destroying them and setting off secondary explosions and fires in the ammunition dump and fuel storage areas.


1968–72

The 4th Infantry Division would have its headquarters at Đắk Tô in March 1968 and its subordinate units would be based there from December 1967 until December 1968. Other units stationed at Đắk Tô included: * 3rd Brigade, 101st Division (June 1968) comprising: ** 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry ** 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry


1972–5

In early 1972 the ARVN 42nd Regiment of the 22nd Division was stationed at Tân Cảnh/Đắk Tô. On 7/8 February following intelligence showing a PAVN buildup in the area the 22nd Division forward command post, 47th Regiment and supporting units were moved from Ba Gi to the Đắk Tô/Tân Cảnh area. Elements of the 19th Cavalry Regiment were attached to the Division to support its organic 14th Cavalry Regiment equipped with M-41 light tanks. The armored units would be deployed forward at
Ben Het Camp Ben Het Camp (also known as Ben Het Special Forces Camp, Ben Het Ranger Camp and FSB Ben Het) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest of Kon Tum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The camp was notable ...
which was regarded as the most likely direction of a PAVN armored attack. Since the start of the
Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive ('' vi, Chiến dịch Xuân–Hè 1972'') by North Vietnam, or the red fiery summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted b ...
at the end of March, the string of ARVN firebases along the area known as Rocket Ridge had come under attack with two being overrun by the PAVN. During early April, the 47th Regiment supported by M-41 light tanks and an
Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
Battalion withdrew to Đắk Tô II, while the 42nd Regiment and one Battalion of the 41st Regiment were at Tân Cảnh supported by armor and artillery. In addition ARVN Airborne and Rangers occupied the remaining firebases along Rocket Ridge. All the ARVN bases were subjected to heavy rocket and artillery barrages that had steadily increased over the preceding two weeks. On 23 April, the PAVN 2nd Division started their attack on Tân Cảnh by hitting the ARVN tanks with AT-3 missiles and this was followed by a direct hit on the 42nd Regiment command bunker. At 21:00 hours a column of 18 PAVN tanks was spotted in the area, an Air Force
AC-130 The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, attack aircraft, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticate ...
gunship arrived at 23:00 and began to engage the
T-54 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...
tanks with its 105mm cannon. Three T-54s were disabled but later recovered by the PAVN. On the morning of 24 April, one hour after the main PAVN attack on Tân Cảnh commenced, the PAVN began their attack on Đắk Tô. A
UH-1H The Bell UH-1 Iroquois military helicopter, first introduced in 1959, is the first production member of the prolific Huey family of helicopters, and was itself developed in over twenty variants, which are listed below. XH-40 and YH-40 The firs ...
helicopter #69-15715 landed to evacuate the 6 U.S. advisers who had been rescued from the Tân Cảnh perimeter, this helicopter was hit by PAVN anti-aircraft fire and crashed, 5 passengers and crew were killed in the crash while 5 survived, evaded capture and were recovered up 13 days later. The PAVN penetrated the base perimeter suffering heavy losses, the remaining U.S. advisers called in airstrikes as the morning fog cleared but by 10 am the 47th Regiment commander had lost contact with most of his subordinates and the command group evacuated the command bunker for a bunker in the inner perimeter. A T-54 moved into the base and began direct fire on the command post, the two remaining M-41s engaged the T-54, however their 76mm guns had no apparent effect on the T-54 which quickly knocked out both M-41s. A relief column of M-41s supported by infantry arrived from Ben Het around this time, but all the M-41s were knocked out by B-40 rockets and recoilless rifle fire and the infantry dispersed. With the failure of this counterattack and the loss of command and control the ARVN forces began to evacuate the base towards the south. As the ARVN attempted to cross the Dak Poko river they came under intense PAVN fire and the senior U.S. adviser LTC Robert Brownlee disappeared during this engagement. At 20:00 the 47th Regiment command group attempted to escape the base and by 04:30 on 25 April after losing several men to PAVN fire escaped the base perimeter and were recovered the following day. On 25 April the PAVN mopped up the remaining ARVN positions around Tân Cảnh/Đắk Tô. The 22nd Division had ceased to exist as a fighting unit, the Division commander and his entire staff had disappeared and the PAVN had captured 23 105mm and 7 155mm howitzers and large supplies of ammunition and stores. With the loss of the main camps, the remaining firebases along Rocket Ridge were abandoned and the PAVN had a clear approach to
Kon Tum Kon Tum is the capital city of Kon Tum Province in Vietnam. It is located inland in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, near the borders of Laos and Cambodia. History After the People's Army of Vietnam invaded South Vietnam on March 30, 1 ...
.


Current use

The base has been turned over to farmland and housing. The airfield is no longer used but is still visible on satellite images, the runway is parallel to the
Ho Chi Minh Highway Ho Chi Minh Road or Ho Chi Minh Highway ( vi, Đường Hồ Chí Minh, links=no) is a highway in Vietnam. It runs from the north to the south of Vietnam, west of National Route 1. The highway was named after Hồ Chí Minh. History The route ro ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dak To Base Camp Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations closed in the 1970s Buildings and structures in Kon Tum province