Cần Thơ Base Camp (also known as Cần Thơ Army Airfield) is a former U.S. Army,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

(USAF),

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

(ARVN),

Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; ; ) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF), was the aerial branch of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, the official military of the Repub ...

(RVNAF) and current

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

(PAVN) base west of

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ () is the List of cities in Vietnam, fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It has ...

in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

in southern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

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 The 8th Aerial Port Squadron is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. History The squadron was activated on 8 December 1962 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam as part of the 315th Troop Carrier Group, Assault, replacing the 6493 ...

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 The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense, composed of forces from the United States Army, United States Navy, and United States Air Force, as well as their respecti ...

(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 in ...

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 The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

(VC) mortar attack on Cần Thơ Airfield wounded 17 ARVN and US

Special Forces Special forces or 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 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13. ...

was activated at

Bien Hoa Air Base Bien Hoa Air Base (Vietnamese language, 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 norther ...

, 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 The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. It is the oldest and largest of the unified combatant commands. Lead ...

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 Binh Thuy Air Base (also known as Can Tho Air Base and Trà Nóc Air Base) was a United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) and Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet Nam)'' ...

, 7 km northwest of Cần Thơ Airfield began in February 1964. In April 1964, Detachment 3, 619th Tactical Control Squadron was organized at the base. In the same month the RVNAF 74th Tactical Wing was established.

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. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

(15 October 1966 – 13 October 1971) * Battery H, 29th Artillery (March–October 1967) * 6th Battalion, 77th Artillery (July 1968-June 1969) * 13th Aviation Battalion *

18th Aviation Company This is a List of aviation companies of the United States Army from the United States Army Aviation Branch. Numbered companies Non-numbered companies See also * List of United States Army aircraft battalions A list is a set of discre ...

(August 1971-March 1973) * 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. Numbered companies Non-numbered companies See also * List of United States Army aircraft battalions A list is a set of discre ...

(July 1967-November 1970) * 271st Aviation Company (February 1968-September 1971) * Troop C, 16th Cavalry (May 1970-January 1971) *191st Assault Helicopter Company (September 1969 - 31 August 1971)http://www.191ahc.org/history3.pdf 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