Củ Chi Base Camp (also known as Củ Chi Army 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 in the Củ Chi District northwest of

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

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

1965-70

Củ Chi Base Camp was established in 1965 near Highway 1, 25 km northwest of

Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Tân Sơn Nhứt) (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base duri ...

and 50 km southeast of

Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in south-eastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is approximately to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's lar ...

. The camp was located south of the

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

stronghold known as the Iron Triangle and was near and in some cases above the

Cu Chi Tunnels CU or cu, may refer to: * Close-up, in film making * Cuba (ISO 3166, FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram) ** .cu, Cuba's top-level domain country code * Old Church Slavonic (ISO 639 alpha-2 language code) * "See you", in e-mail shorthand * Cu ...

25th Infantry Division sign, Cu Chi, September 1966

The 25th Infantry Division had its headquarters at Củ Chi from January 1966 until February 1970. O-1 FAC Cu Chi, September 1967

Other units stationed at Củ Chi included: * 1st Battalion, 8th Artillery (1966-1971) * 7th Battalion, 11th Artillery (1966–70) * 1st Battalion, 27th Artillery (February-December1970) * 2nd Battalion, 32nd Artillery (November 1965-April 1967, October 1969-January 1972) * 6th Battalion, 77th Artillery (May 1967 – 1968) * 1st Battalion, 321st Artillery (November 1967-February 1968) * 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division(January 1969) * 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (September 1969) comprising: ** 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry ** 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry ** 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry * 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (February–October 1968) comprising: ** 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry ** 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry ** 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry * 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (July–September 1968) comprising: ** 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry ** 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry ** 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry * 588th Engineer Battalion (July 1966-April 1967, May–November 1970) * 7th Surgical Hospital (June 1966-April 1967) * 12th Evacuation Hospital (September 1966-December 1970) *

269th Aviation Battalion The 18th Aviation Brigade ("Black Barons") is an inactive aviation brigade of the United States Army. Its initial formation in 1987 drew upon the resources of the 269th Aviation Battalion, originally formed in 1966. History The 269th Aviation B ...

( January 1967-April 1971) comprising: **

116th Assault Helicopter 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 ...

(September 1966-June 1970) ** 188th Assault Helicopter Company ** 242nd Assault Support Helicopter Company (November 1967-April 1971) From 1967 the 159th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) with Bell UH-1D Hueys was deployed here. The airfield was capable of accommodating

de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing ( STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 ...

and

Fairchild C-123 Provider The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Re ...

aircraft. On 3 January 1969 a

bomb exploded in a messhall at the camp killing 15 Americans mostly from the 554th Engineer Battalion and two Vietnamese kitchen staff. On 26 February 1969 PAVN sappers attacked the base destroying 9

Boeing CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Ch ...

helicopters of the 242nd ASH Company.

1970-5

Following the departure of the U.S. forces in 1972, Củ Chi became the base of the ARVN 25th Division.

Current use

The base remains in use by the

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 ...

. The airfield is no longer used but is still visible on satellite images.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cu Chi Base Camp Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Military installations of South Vietnam Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City