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Sóc Trăng Airfield was a French colonial,
Sóc Trăng Airfield was originally established in the French colonial era, it was subsequently used by the Japanese forces from 1940 to 1945.
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
, United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(USMC), United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
(US ARMY) and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and Republic of Vietnam Air Force
The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...
(RVNAF) base located in Sóc Trăng
Sóc Trăng () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Sóc Trăng Province. It was upgraded from a town (thị xã) to a city following decree 22/2007/NĐ-CP on 8 February 2007.
Name
The name is believed to be derived from the Khmer langu ...
in southern Vietnam.
History
Sóc Trăng Airfield was originally established in the French colonial era, it was subsequently used by the Japanese forces from 1940 to 1945.
HMM-362
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 362 (VMM-362) is a United States Marine Corps squadron that operates MV-22 Osprey. The squadron, known as the "Ugly Angels", was reactivated on 17 August 2018 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California.
Miss ...
with Sikorsky UH-34s codenamed Operation Shufly was the first USMC helicopter unit to serve in Vietnam arriving on 15 April 1962. Sóc Trăng was selected for the deployment because it had one of the few hard-surfaced runways in South Vietnam. HMM-362's mission was to provide transport and resupply for ARVN units throughout the Mekong Delta. On 1 August HMM-163
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 163 (VMM-163) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of MV-22 Osprey transport tiltrotors. The squadron, known as "Evil Eyes", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and f ...
replaced HMM-362. In early September HMM-163 began moving north to Da Nang Air Base, completing the redeployment by 20 September.
Other units stationed at Sóc Trăng included:
* 121st Aviation Company (Airmobile Light) from late 1962.
* 336th 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 ...
* Detachment A, 57th Medical Detachment
The 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) was a US Army unit located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which provided aeromedical evacuation support to the Fort Bragg community, while training in its combat support mission. The first hel ...
(Helicopter Ambulance), Provisional with Bell UH-1B Hueys from March 1964.
* 82nd Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance)
The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army (AMEDD), formerly known as the Army Medical Service (AMS), encompasses the Army's six medical Special Branches (or "Corps"). It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the me ...
from November 1964.
On 4 November 1970, the control of Sóc Trăng was passed to the RVNAF.
Accidents and incidents
*On 19 May 1967, two UH-1D Iroquois (#64-13521 and #66-01154) of the 336th AHC collided on approach to Sóc Trăng causing both helicopters to crash killing all 4 crewmen on one helicopter and 1 crewman on the other *On 12 August 1972,Lockheed C-130E 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 ...
#62-1853 of the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron
The 776th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force squadron activated after 11 September 2001, being engaged in the Global War on Terrorism. Its current status is not publicly known.
The squadron was first acti ...
was shot down on takeoff from Sóc Trăng, killing 30 of 44 passengers and crew on board
Current use
The airfield remains visible on satellite images.References
Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Defunct airports in Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Buildings and structures in Sóc Trăng province {{Vietnam-war-stub