During the early years of the
Vietnam War (1961–1966), Don Muang was used as a major command and logistics hub of the USAF under the command of the
United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)
Thirteenth Air Force. After the expansion of
U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in 1966, most American units and personnel were transferred from Don Muang, however, a small USAF liaison office remained at the base until 1975. The APO for Don Muang was APO San Francisco, 96303.
USAF advisory units In April 1961, an advance party of the
6010th Tactical Group, USAF, arrived at Don Muang at the request of the Royal Thai government to establish an aircraft warning system. On 20 April 1961 six
F-100 Super Sabres from the
510th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at
Clark Air Base deployed to Don Muang in Operation "Bell Tone". In March 1962, a small detachment of
F-102 Delta Daggers from the
509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, from
Clark AB,
Philippines were sent to Don Muang. Their mission was to bolster the air defense capabilities of the Royal Thai Air Force. For the next several years, a minimum of four F-102 interceptors were kept on alert at Don Muang. ; USAF
C-133 and
C-124 at Don Muang in June 1962 On 6 March 1962, a joint communication was issued by
Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Thai Foreign Minister Thanat Koman in which the United States declares its "firm intention... to aid Thailand, its ally and historic friend in resisting communist aggression and subversion". As a result, the
Military Assistance Command Thailand (MACT) was set up on 15 May 1962 at Don Muang. On 16 May, eleven
C-130s of the
315th Air Division arrived at Don Muang carrying aerial port, flight crew and maintenance personnel to support increased air operations from Thailand. On 31 July 1964, the
Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurred. It was a pair of alleged attacks by North Vietnamese gunboats on two US destroyers, the and the , off the North Vietnamese coast in the
Gulf of Tonkin. As a result,
President Johnson would order more forces to support the South Vietnamese government, and additional USAF forces were dispatched to Thailand, beginning a large scale US military presence in Southeast Asia. The USAF
7th Air Force in
Saigon wanted to have additional KC-135s in Thailand and the solution reached was to expand the U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield and base the tankers there. Expansion of U-Tapao began in October 1965, with the completed new facility opening at the end of 1967. The runway became operational on 6 July 1966. U-Tapao received its first complement of KC-135 tankers in August 1966. By September, the base was supporting 15 tankers. The opening of U-Tapao also allowed the United States to route most cargo through that facility rather than having large cargo aircraft arrive in the capital. By 1970, most USAF operations had moved out of Don Muang. In late-1971, the Thai Government allowed US personnel to enter the country direct to the remote RTAF bases without needing to transit Don Muang, further reducing USAF operations there. ==See also==