The origins of Korat Air Base dates back to the
Japanese Occupation of Thailand during
World War II. The Japanese Army established facilities on the land later used to build Korat Air Base, and a small support airfield was established there for logistics support of the facility and for the Japanese occupation forces in the area. After the end of the war, the facilities were taken over by the Thai government as a military base. Various Japanese facilities were used by the RTAF (including the airfield control tower) until the 1960s. In 1961, the
Kennedy administration feared a communist invasion or insurgency inside Thailand would spread from the
Laotian Civil War. Political considerations with regards to the communist threat led the Thai government to allow the United States to covertly use five Thai bases for the air defense of Thailand and to fly reconnaissance flights over
Laos under a "gentleman's agreement" with the United States. An advisory force of Army personnel was sent to Thailand and their first reports indicated that significant infrastructure improvement in the country would be needed in order for US forces to land in the
Gulf of Siam and move north to the expected invasion areas along the
Mekong River between Laos and Thailand. The
United States Army Corps of Engineers were deployed and established a headquarters at the RTAF airfield that later became Korat RTAFB. The first facilities were built on the north side of the runway (). They included a hospital, some barracks and some warehouses for equipment that was flown in using the existing runway. South of the existing runway, construction of a large air base was begun to support a full USAF combat wing. In July 1964, approximately 500 airmen and officers were deployed to begin construction, and the completion of essential base facilities was completed by October 1964, although due to its primitive nature, the air force living area was known for several years as "Camp Nasty" in counterpoint to the Army facility at Camp Friendship. They would remain at Korat until June 1965 when they were moved to Udorn RTAFB and then to
Da Nang Air Base in
South Vietnam and replaced at Korat by
HC-54s. The 36th TFS remained at Korat until 29 October then returned to Japan. It was replaced by the
469th Tactical Fighter Squadron, also flying F-105Ds, which was deployed from the
388th Tactical Fighter Wing. From 30 October through 31 December 1964, F-105s from the
80th Tactical Fighter Squadron were deployed from the
41st Air Division, Yokota AB, Japan. On 14 August 2
HH-43Bs were deployed to Korat to provide base search and rescue. The 44th TFS returned to Kadena AB, Okinawa and assignment to the 18th TFW, but on 31 December 1966, it became only a paper organization without aircraft. The high loss rate of the F-105s in the two combat wings at Korat and
Takhli RTAFB required the squadron to send its aircraft to Thailand as replacement aircraft. The 44th remained a "paper organization" until 23 April 1967, when it returned to Korat, absorbing the personnel, equipment and resources of the 421st TFS.
6234th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) was flying this aircraft from Korat when he was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery on 16 September 1965 In April 1965, the 6234th Air Base Squadron was organized at Korat as a permanent unit under the
2d Air Division to support the TDY fighter units and their operations. •
12th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) February–August 1965 •
357th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) 12 June-8 November 1965 when it was reassigned to Takhli RTAFB. • 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) remained on TDY at Korat until 15 November 1965 when it was permanently assigned to the 6234th. •
421st Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) 20 November 1965 on. • Wild Weasel Detachment (former
531st Tactical Fighter Squadron) (
F-100F Super Sabre) November 1965 – July 1966. In 1965, the 6234th TFW and its subordinate units operating F-100s, F-105s, and F-4Cs flew 10,797 sorties totalling 26,165 hours. The wing's efforts merited the
Presidential Unit Citation in March 1968. By 1967, Korat RTAFB was home to as many as 34 operating units and about 6,500 USAF airmen. Korat also housed components of the RTAF and a detachment of
No. 41 Squadron RNZAF New Zealand
Bristol Freighters. The annual cost for base operations and maintenance was about US$12,000,000. The monthly average expenditure for munitions was on the order of US$4,360,000.
F-105 Thunderchief operations The 388th TFW initially consisted of two F-105 Thunderchief squadrons, the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron and the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On 15 May 1966 the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron was permanently attached to the 388th. The 421st and 469th Tactical Fighter Squadrons flew single-seat F-105Ds, while the 44th flew the two-seat F-105F. and an F-105F squadron, the
13th Tactical Fighter Squadron were deployed and permanently attached to the 388th from the 347th TFW, Yokota AB, Japan and Kadena AB, Okinawa. On 11 August 1967 388th TFW F-105s participated in the first attack on the
Paul Doumer Bridge in
Hanoi which successfully destroyed one span of the bridge. : F-105G November 1970 – December 1974 • Detachment 1,
561st Tactical Fighter Squadron : TDY from
George Air Force Base California, F-105G, 2 January – 5 September 1973 The tactics employed on the Iron Hand missions were primarily designed to suppress the
SA-2 SAM and gun-laying radar defenses of North Vietnam during the ingress, attack, and egress of the main strike force. In the suppression role,
AGM-45 Shrike missiles were employed to destroy, or at least harass, the SA-2 and/or fire control radar which guided the SA-2 missiles. On 23 April 1967 the 44th TFS's primary mission became one of flying escort to the wing's regular strike force to suppress AAA and SAM fire as a Wild Weasel squadron. The 12th TFS was equipped with the F-105G and was temporarily reassigned to Takhli in June 1967. The detachment returned to its main unit at Korat and the 44th TFS was returned to Korat in September 1970 from the 355th TFW to the 388th TFW when the decision was made to consolidate the units of the Wild Weasel mission. With their return, the 6010th Wild Weasel Squadron was formed. The squadron was redesignated the 17th Wild Weasel Squadron on 1 December 1971. In February 1972, the 67th TFS returned on temporary duty to Korat from Kadena AB, this time being equipped with the EF-4C aircraft. The EF-4C was the initial Wild Weasel version of the Phantom. It was a modified version of the F-4C, designed in parallel with the F-105G Wild Weasel program. The EF-4Cs suffered from certain deficiencies which limited their combat effectiveness. For example, they were unable to carry the standard ARM. Consequently, the EF-4C was seen only as an interim Wild Weasel aircraft, pending the introduction of a more suitable type. In February 1973, after the end of combat operations in Vietnam, the 67th TFS with its EF-4C Wild Weasels were withdrawn and returned to Kadena.
F-4 Phantom II operations In mid-1968 it was decided to make the 388th an F-4 wing, and also to equip the 388th with the new F-4E and the F-105s would be transferred to Takhli and all of the F-105s in the fighter-bomber mission would be consolidated there. The Wild Weasels would remain at Korat along with the F-4s in their specialized mission. On 17 November 1968, an F-4E squadron from
Eglin AFB, Florida, replaced the single-seat F-105D Thunderchiefs of the 469th TFS. The new Phantom squadron, the first E-models in Thailand, retained the designation 469th TFS. On 10 May 1969, the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron was transferred organizationally to the 347th TFW at Yokota AB, Japan, but it remained attached to the 388th TFW at Korat. It was re-equipped with F-4Es on 5 July. On 15 October 1969, the F-105-equipped 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron was transferred and reassigned to the 355th TFW at Takhli RTAFB. The 7th ACCS played an important role in the conduct of air operations. The squadron had a minimum of two aircraft airborne 24 hours a day directing and coordinating the effective employment of tactical air resources throughout Southeast Asia. Its aircraft functioned as a direct extension of ground-based command and control authorities, the primary mission was providing flexibility in the overall control of tactical air resources. In addition, to maintain positive control of air operations, the 7th ACCS provided communications to higher headquarters. The battle staff was divided into four functional areas: command, operations, intelligence, and communications. Normally, it included 12 members working in nine different specialties. Radio call signs for these missions were
Moonbeam,
Alleycat,
Hillsboro and
Cricket.
A-7D Corsair II On 29 September 1972, the
354th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at
Myrtle Beach AFB South Carolina, deployed 72
A-7D Corsair II of the
353rd,
354th,
355th and the
356th Tactical Fighter Squadrons to Korat for a 179-day TDY. By mid-October, 1,574 airmen from Myrtle Beach had arrived as part of "Constant Guard IV". • On 15 March 1974, the EB-66s of the 42nd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron were sent to
AMARC and the squadron was inactivated. • The 354th Tactical Fighter Wing ended its rotating deployments to Korat on 23 May 1974 and returned its A-7D squadrons (353rd and 355th TFS) and aircraft to Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. • The EC-130s and personnel of 7th ACCS were transferred to the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing at Clark Air Base, Philippines on 22 May 1974. • The 552nd AEW&C returned to McClellan AFB California in June 1974, ending the
College Eye mission. • On 15 November 1974, the F-105F/G's of the 17th WWS were withdrawn and transferred to the 562d TFS/35 TFW at
George Air Force Base, California. The wars in Cambodia and Laos, however continued. With the political changes in the US during 1974, and the resignation of
President Nixon, the air power of the United States at its Thailand bases did not respond to the collapse of the
Lon Nol government to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia during April 1975 nor to the takeover of Laos by the Pathet Lao. Ultimately, the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam during March and April 1975 and the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam also was not opposed militarily by the US. The only missions flown were aircraft of the 388th TFW providing air cover and escort during
Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Americans from Phnom Penh, Cambodia and
Operation Frequent Wind the evacuation of Americans and at-risk Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam. the political climate between Washington and the government of PM
Sanya Dharmasakti had soured. Immediately after the news broke of the use of Thai bases to support the
Mayaguez rescue the Thai Government lodged a formal protest with the US and riots broke out outside the
US Embassy in Bangkok. The Thai government wanted the US out of Thailand by the end of the year. The USAF implemented
Palace Lightning, to withdraw its aircraft and personnel from Thailand. On 30 June 1975, the 347th TFW F-111As and the 428th and 429th TFS were inactivated. The F-111s were sent to the
422d Fighter Weapons Squadron at
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 347th became an F-4E wing at
Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. In late 1975, there were only three combat squadrons at Korat, consisting of 24 F-4Ds of the 34th TFS, 24 A-7Ds of the 3rd TFS, and six AC-130H "Spectre" aircraft of the 16th Special Operations Squadron. The 34th TFS shut down, and flew their aircraft to Hill AFB, Utah, in December of that year. • The 16th Special Operations Squadron transferred to Hurlburt Field, Florida on 12 December 1975 • The 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron was transferred to Clark AB, Philippines on 15 December On 23 December 1975, the 388th TFW and its remaining squadron, the 34th TFS, transferred to Hill AFB, Utah. After the departure of the 388th TFW, the USAF retained a small flight of security police at Korat to provide base security and to deter theft of equipment until the final return of the base to the Thai Government. The USAF officially turned Korat over to the Thai Government on 26 February 1976.
Other major USAF units assigned • Det. 17, 601st Photo Flight (MAC), (HQ - 600th Photo Squadron) • 1974th Communications Squadron and Group (Tenant AFCS) • 1998th Communications Squadron (Tenant AFCS) • American Forces Thailand Network (Tenant AFRTS) • Detachment 7, 6922 Security Wing
RTAF use after 1975 After the US withdrawal in 1976, the RTAF consolidated the equipment left by the departing USAF units in accordance with government-to-government agreements, and assumed use of the base at Korat. The American withdrawal had quickly revealed to the Thai Government the inadequacy of its air force in the event of a conventional war in Southeast Asia. Accordingly, in the 1980s the government allotted large amounts of money for the purchase of modern aircraft and spare parts. Thirty-eight F-5E and
F-5F Tiger II fighter-bombers formed the nucleus of the RTAF's defense and tactical firepower. The F-5Es were accompanied by training teams of American civilian and military technicians, who worked with members of the RTAF. In addition to the F-5E and F-5F fighter-bombers,
OV-10C counter-insurgency aircraft, transports, and helicopters were added to the RTAF inventory. In 1985 the United States Congress authorized the sale of the F-16 fighter to Thailand. By the late 1980s, Korat, Takhli, and
Don Muang RTAFB outside
Bangkok, which was shared with civil aviation, were the primary operational holdings of the RTAF. Maintenance of the facilities at other bases abandoned by the United States (Ubon, Udorn) proved too costly and exceeded Thai needs and were turned over to the Department of Civil Aviation for civil use. Nakhon Phanom and U-Tapao were placed under the control of the
Royal Thai Navy. Nonetheless, all runways on the closed or transferred airfields were still available for military training and emergency use. ==Camp Friendship (United States Army)==