Takhli RTAFB was established in the 1950s. In the late 1950s, the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used Takhli as operating base for CIA resupply of Tibetan freedom fighters. CIA-operated
C-130A Hercules transports flew men and supplies over Indian airspace, with the consent of Prime Minister
Nehru, for parachute drops into
Communist Chinese-occupied
Tibet. Political considerations with regards to Communist forces engaging in a civil war inside Laos and fears of the civil war spreading into Thailand led the Thai government to allow the United States to covertly use five Thai bases beginning in 1961 for the air defense of Thailand and to fly reconnaissance flights over
Laos. Under Thailand's "gentleman's agreement" with the United States, RTAF bases used by the USAF were commanded by Thai officers. Thai air police controlled access to the bases, along with USAF Security Police, who assisted them in base defense using sentry dogs, observation towers, and machine gun bunkers. All USAF personnel were fully armed after 1965. The USAF airmen at Takhli were under the command of the United States
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). Takhli was the location for
TACAN station Channel 43, and was referenced by that identifier in voice communications during air missions. The APO for Takhli was APO San Francisco, 96273.
United States Advisory Forces The initial squadrons and units deployed to Takhli were placed under the command and control of the
Thirteenth Air Force, headquartered at
Clark Air Base in the
Philippines. Thailand-based aircraft flew missions mostly into Laos until the 1964
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which expanded the air war into
North Vietnam. In 1962, the U.S. Military Assistance Group in
South Vietnam was upgraded to
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), a promotion which gave it authority to command combat troops. Shortly thereafter, the Military Assistance Command, Thailand (MACT) was set up with a similar level of authority in order to aid Thailand in resisting communist aggression and subversion. The USAF component of the U.S. Pacific Command was PACAF.
Seventh Air Force, another
Numbered Air Force of PACAF was headquartered at
Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam, although the Seventh controlled many units based in Thailand. Thai sensitivities about units based in Thailand reporting to a headquarters in South Vietnam caused a shift whereby the Seventh Air Force was ostensibly subordinate to Thirteenth Air Force for administrative matters (and therefore referred to as
Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force). The commander, Seventh Air Force, played a dual role as MACV's deputy for air operations. In July 1962, the 6011th Air Base Squadron was organized, the first "host" unit at Takhli RTAFB.
F-100 Super Sabre deployments The first USAF personnel began arriving at Takhli RTAFB on 10 February 1961 when the
27th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) from Cannon AFB, New Mexico began deploying
F-100D Super Sabres to the base to attack the
Pathet Lao who were overrunning most of northwestern Laos. At Takhli, base support for the rotating
Tactical Air Command (TAC) F-100 squadrons was provided by the 6011th ABS. In an organizational change, the 331st Air Base Squadron replaced the 6011th ABS at Takhli in July 1963 as the host unit at Takhli. The first recorded combat loss was an F-100D (56–3085), shot down on 18 August 1964 over Laos. The Clark F-100s remained at Takhli until 20 August 1965 on a rotating basis. F-100 Super Sabre squadrons deployed to Takhli were: •
522d Tactical Fighter Squadron (27th TFW) : Deployed: 13 February-c. 7 March 1961; 5 February-15 June 1962; 12 December 1962-c. 15 February 1963; 16 March-6 May 1964; 8 August-15 November 1964; 15 August-25 November 1965 •
523d Tactical Fighter Squadron (27th TFW) : Deployed: 5 September-20 November 1961; 12 October 1962-c. 15 January 1963; 17 September-20 November 1963; 12 June-4 September 1964; 22 March-30 June 1965 •
524th Tactical Fighter Squadron (27th TFW) : Deployed: 10 February-16 June 1961; 30 October-14 November 1961; 9 June-c. 27 June 1963; 21 January-19 March 1964; 1 December 1964 – 28 March 1965 •
510th Tactical Fighter Squadron (405th TFW) The
80th Tactical Fighter Squadron, deployed to Takhli between 26 June–26 August 1965 from the 6441st TFW, at Yokota AB, Japan. Tactical Air Command began deploying F-105 squadrons in March 1965 as follows: •
563d Tactical Fighter Squadron 7 April 1965 – August 1965 •
562d Tactical Fighter Squadron August 1965 – Dec 1965 •
334th Tactical Fighter Squadron August 1965 – February 1966 •
335th Tactical Fighter Squadron November 1965 – December 1966 On 2 March 1965 Takhli-based F-105s participated in the first airstrike of
Operation Rolling Thunder. The permanent assignment of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing to Takhli in December 1965 ended the temporary squadron rotations from continental US bases. On 31 October 1965 Takhli-based F-105s conducted a joint operation with the US Navy to attack North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites. A specially equipped Navy
A-4E Skyhawk accompanied a group of F-105s on an airstrike near
Kép. The A-4 detected the
Fan Song radar and then observed the launch of
SA-2 SAMs nearby. The F-105s attacked the launch site, while the A-4 attacked the radar site, being shot down in the process. More Navy jets attacked both sites and a third launch site. In mid-1965 the rescue detachment was redesignated Detachment 2,
38th Air Rescue Squadron.
355th Tactical Fighter Wing On 8 November 1965 the
355th Tactical Fighter Wing made a permanent change of station from McConnell AFB to Takhli without personnel or equipment as the host unit at the base. The provisional 6235th TFW was inactivated and the equipment and personnel at Takhli were absorbed into the new wing structure. Previously, all of the 355th's squadrons at McConnell had been deployed to various bases in Southeast Asia, two of which were reassigned to Takhli (357th, 354th TFS) and brought back under its control. Squadrons of the 355th were: •
354th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 28 November 1965 – 10 December 1970 F-105D/F (RM; reassigned from 8th TFW, Kadena AB, Okinawa) •
357th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 29 January 1966 – 10 December 1970 F-105D/F/G (RU; reassigned from 6234th TFW, Korat RTAFB) The rotational TDY 334th TFS and 335th TFS squadrons transferred their aircraft to the newly assigned permanent squadrons at Takhli. The detachment from the 12th TFS returned to its main unit at Korat and the 44th TFS moved to Korat when the decision was made to consolidate the units of the Wild Weasel mission.
B-66 Destroyer Operations As part of the electronic countermeasure (ECM) weaponry that the USAF employed against North Vietnamese air defenses, variants of the
Douglas B-66 were adapted to serve in the electronic countermeasures role as radar jamming aircraft. All of the bombing equipment was removed and replaced by electronic jamming equipment and chaff dispensing pods were carried. They would join strike aircraft during their missions over North Vietnam to jam enemy radar installations. During January 1966 the
42d Electronic Countermeasures Squadron arrived from flying RB-66C and WB-66s variants of the B-66 on photo reconnaissance and electronic warfare missions.
Operation Ranch Hand The herbicide spraying missions began in Vietnam in 1961, and it has recently been revealed that some took place from Thai bases, including Takhli, as early as 1966. This pre-dates the USAF receiving permission to use herbicides for clearing areas on and around Thai bases for area and perimeter defense, which was given in 1969. The missions in 1966 defoliated areas surrounding parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos, near the Vietnam border and north of the
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone and had the approval of both the Thai and Laotian governments.
C-123 aircraft were used on the missions. The missions were extensive enough to have required pre-positioning or maintaining stocks of the herbicides. ====
F-111A Combat Lancer==== In early 1968, the USAF decided to rush a small detachment of F-111As to Southeast Asia for combat test and evaluation under a program known as
Combat Lancer. Six F-111As of the
428th Tactical Fighter Squadron,
474th Tactical Fighter Wing were allocated to the
Combat Lancer program, and departed Nellis AFB for Takhli on 15 March 1968. By the end of that month, 55 night missions had been flown against targets in North Vietnam, but two aircraft had been lost. 66–0022 had been lost on 28 March, and 66-0017 on 30 March. Replacement aircraft had left Nellis, but the loss of a third F-111A (66-0024) on 22 April halted F-111A combat operations. However, the aircraft remained poised for combat, but they saw little action before their return to the United States in November. It is speculated that this failure could also have contributed to the two earlier losses had the failure caused a pitch down while at low altitude.
Son Tay Raid From 10 November 1970,
Special Forces and Air Force Special Operations personnel of the
Joint Contingency Task Group and two
MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft staged at Takhli in preparation for
Operation Ivory Coast, the attempt to rescue US
prisoners of war (POWs) from the
Son Tay prison camp in North Vietnam. Upon re-opening the base for Linebacker, most of the barracks had been stripped of all plumbing and electrical fixtures after the 1970 closing. •
8th Tactical Fighter Squadron •
9th Tactical Fighter Squadron •
417th Tactical Fighter Squadron Along with the F-4s, other units that were deployed to Takhli were: •
11th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135) from Altus AFB, Oklahoma •
8th Tactical Fighter Wing's
AC-130 Spectre gunships from Ubon RTAFB, which became the Det 1,
16th Special Operations Squadron. •
92d Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135) from Fairchild AFB, Washington During this deployment the 49th flew more than 21,000 combat hours over just about every battle zone from
An Loc to Hanoi. During five months of combat, the wing did not lose any aircraft or personnel. The unit received an
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device for its participation.
366th Tactical Fighter Wing On 30 June the
366th Tactical Fighter Wing was reassigned to Takhli from Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, taking over host unit responsibilities from the 49th TFW. From Takhli 366th TFW aircrews flew air superiority missions over Vietnam. In late October the squadrons of the Holloman-based 49th TFW returned home. The Da Nang-based 4th and 421st TFSs were transferred to the
432 Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at
Udon RTAFB on 31 October 1972. The 366th TFW was inactivated in place on 31 October 1972, being reactivated the same day without personnel or equipment at
Mountain Home Air Force Base,
Idaho.
474th Tactical Fighter Wing With the departure of the 366th, the
474th Tactical Fighter Wing (Deployed) equipped with F-111s arrived at Takhli on TDY from Nellis AFB on 27 September 1972. The 474th TFW flew F-111As. Operational fighter squadrons of the 474th were: • 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron • 429th Tactical Fighter Squadron • 430th Tactical Fighter Squadron Their first combat mission, started only hours after their arrival at Takhli, resulted in the disappearance of one of the aircraft and a week-long cancellation of F-111 missions. The F-111s returned to action, losing a further three aircraft in the next six weeks of airstrikes. The 474th's F-111s also participated in
Operation Linebacker II in December 1972 flying 154 night/single-ship sorties into the high-threat area of North Vietnam with the loss of 2 aircraft. In early 1973, with the suspension of bombing in North Vietnam and the resumption of peace negotiations, inflight refueling requirements decreased markedly. As a result, in late January 1973 many of the augmented tankers of the 11th Air Refueling Squadron and the 92nd Air Refueling Squadron returned to the US. The 430th TFS returned with the 474th TFW to Nellis AFB on 22 March 1973.
347th Tactical Fighter Wing On 30 July 1973 the TDY of the 474th TFW ended. The 428th and 429th TFS were assigned to the newly transferred
347th Tactical Fighter Wing from Mountain Home AFB which arrived on 30 July 1973. For a brief two-week period the 347th flew combat operations into
Cambodia until 15 August, when the final mission of
Constant Guard IV was flown. After the cease-fire, the wing was maintained in a combat-ready status for possible contingency actions. The F-111s engaged in more than 4,000 sorties with a loss of only six aircraft. During January 1974 the Secretary of Defense announced a realignment of Thailand resources, with the final pullout of air resources by the end of 1976. On 12 July the 347 TFW's F-111s and the AC-130 gunships from the 16th SOS were transferred to
Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. Detachment 10,
3d Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group which had deployed to Takhli on reopening of the base was inactivated in July. On 31 July 1974 phase down of operations at Takhli RTAFB was completed ahead of schedule, and the base was officially returned to the Thai Government on 12 September. All remaining US personnel departed on 14 September.
Thai Air Force use after 1975 After the US withdrawal from Thailand in 1976, the RTAF consolidated the equipment left by the departing USAF units in accordance with government-to-government agreements, and the RTAF assumed use of the base at Takhli. 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. From 13–17 December 1982
Commando West V was held. This marked the first visit of a PACAF tactical unit to Thailand since the early 1970s. ==See also==