U.S. use of U-Tapao during the Vietnam War
Prior to 1965, the base at U-Tapao was a small RTN airfield. At
Don Muang Air Base near
Bangkok, the USAF had stationed
KC-135 Stratotankers to
refuel combat aircraft over the skies of
Indochina. Although Thailand was an active
participant in the
Vietnam War, with a token ground force deployed to the South Vietnam as well as involved in the largely secret
civil war in Laos, the presence and the visibility of USAF aircraft near its capital city was causing a degree of political embarrassment for Thailand's military government. and
B-52 at U-Tapao, January 1970 The
B-52 Stratofortess was first used in the Vietnam War in June 1965; aircraft from the
7th and
320th Bomb Wings were sent to bomb suspected
Viet Cong enclaves in South Vietnam, the operation being supported by KC-135As stationed at
Kadena Air Base on
Okinawa. In September 1966, two radio-relay KC-135A
Combat Lightning aircraft and their personnel were ordered to deploy to U-Tapao to support air operations over North Vietnam. The expansion of U-Tapao RTN airfield began in October 1965; the runway was built in eight months, and the base was completed slightly more than two years later. The runway was opened on 6 July 1966. With the completion of U-Tapao, most U.S. forces were transferred from Don Muang, and U-Tapao RTNAF became a front-line facility of the
USAF in Thailand from 1966 to 1975. The USAF forces at U-Tapao were under the command of the U.S.
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), with the Strategic Air Command (SAC) units being a tenant unit. The
APO for U-Tapao was APO San Francisco, 96330
4258th Strategic Wing The
4258th Strategic Wing (SAC) was activated in June 1966 at U-Tapao under the
3rd Air Division, headquartered at
Andersen Air Force Base on
Guam. The wing was charged with the responsibility of supporting refueling requirements of USAF fighter aircraft in Southeast Asia, plus conducting bombing missions on a daily basis. Steadily progressing and adding to the mission, U-Tapao welcomed its first complement of KC-135 tankers in August 1966. By September, the base was supporting 15 tankers. From 1966 to 1970, 4258th wing tankers flew over 50,000 sorties from U-Tapao. The
Seventh Air Force (
PACAF) wanted additional B-52s missions flown in the war zone. B-52 missions from Andersen and Kadena, however, required long mission times and aerial refuelling en route. Having the aircraft based in South Vietnam made them vulnerable to attack. It was decided that, as the base at U-Tapao was being established as a KC-135 tanker base, to move them all out of Don Muang and to also base B-52s at U-Tapao where they could fly without refuelling over both North and South Vietnam. In March 1967, the Thai Government approved the stationing of B-52s at U-Tapao; on 10 April 1967, three B-52 bombers landed at U-Tapao following a bombing mission over Vietnam. The next day, B-52 operations were initiated at U-Tapao and by 15 July, B-52s were typically operating from U-Tapao. Under
Operation Arc Light, wing bombers flew over 35,000 strikes over South Vietnam from 1967 to 1970. lost power in the outside right engine (#4) on takeoff at U-Tapao and crashed, killing all four crew members.
Known SAC units at U-Tapao U-Tapao was initially more of a forward field than it was a main operating base, with responsibility for scheduling missions still remaining at Andersen AFB. Small numbers of aircraft were drawn from each SAC B-52D unit to support the effort in Thailand. Known squadrons which deployed B-52 and KC-135 aircraft and crews to U-Tapao were: •
2nd Bombardment Squadron •
6th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) •
9th Bombardment Squadron •
77th Bombardment Squadron •
69th Bombardment Squadron •
322nd Bombardment Squadron •
325th Bombardment Squadron •
328th Bombardment Squadron •
329th Bombardment Squadron •
337th Bombardment Squadron •
346th Bombardment Squadron •
348th Bombardment Squadron •
367th Bombardment Squadron •
393rd Bombardment Squadron •
486th Bombardment Squadron •
528th Bombardment Squadron •
716th Bombardment Squadron •
736th Bombardment Squadron •
764th Bombardment Squadron •
305th Air Refueling Squadron •
911th Air Refueling Squadron •
912th Air Refueling Squadron •
920th Air Refueling Squadron These units deployed usually on 90 days tours. U-Tapao based B-52s flew in support of US Marines in the
Battle of Khe Sanh in early-1968. Under
Operation Niagara waves of six B-52s, attacking every three hours, dropped bombs as close as from the perimeter of the outpost. A total of 2,548 B-52 sorties were flown in support of the defense of Khe Sanh, dropping a total of 54,129 tonnes (59,542 tons) of bombs. U-Tapao based B-52s also bombed the southernmost part of North Vietnam near the
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. Four provisional squadrons were organized under the 307th: In May 1970 USAF tactical airlift C-130s that had been based at Don Muang Air Base moved their operations to U-Tapao and the 6th Aerial Port Squadron followed in July. The C-130s were withdrawn in late-1971 but returned in April 1972.
Sapper attack On 10 January 1972, three communist sappers attempted to destroy B-52s in a sapper attack using grenades and satchel charges. One attacker was apparently killed in the attack, while the other two managed to cause minor damage to three B-52s before fleeing the base.
Operation Linebacker In late March 1972, the North Vietnamese launched a full-scale offensive across the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, supported by tanks and heavy artillery. By this time, the US was no longer in the forefront of the ground war, with South Vietnamese units taking the lead. However, the US was still providing air power, and President Nixon ordered a large increase on US airpower in response to the invasion. Although there had been no campaign of strikes into North Vietnam since the end of
Rolling Thunder, the Nixon Administration ordered a new air offensive, initially code named Freedom Train, later becoming
Operation Linebacker, with relatively few restrictions on targets that could be hit. At this time 51 B-52s were based at U-Tapao.
Operation Linebacker II In late-1972 the Nixon Administration ordered an all-out air offensive against North Vietnam. The bombing raids, codenamed
Operation Linebacker II, began on 18 December 1972 involving heavy attacks by almost every strike aircraft the US had in theater, with the B-52 playing a prominent role. The initial plan scheduled attacks for three days. Along with heavy strikes by USAF and Navy tactical aircraft, 129 B-52s in three waves (approximately four hours apart) from the
307th Strategic Wing at U-Tapao RTNAF and B-52Ds and B−52Gs of the
43d Strategic Wing and the
72 Strategic Wing (Provisional) both at Andersen AFB. The U-Tapao-based B-52Ds were able to carry more bombs and perform more sorties than the other units which operated less capable versions and had to fly much further to reach targets in North Vietnam. On 13 April, the Eagle Pull evacuees were flown to U-Tapao on HMH-462 helicopters. After their arrival, the Vietnamese were sequestered in tents near the runway. The adjacent parking ramps and grassy areas were being filled to capacity with South Vietnamese helicopters and aircraft. VC-47A 084 of
Air America crashed on landing on a flight from Tan Son Nhut. On 30 April the South Vietnamese government surrendered. The handful of RVNAF planes that had been performing last-ditch air strikes completed their missions and flew to U-Tapao. The former RVNAF C-130s that had arrived in Thailand were flown out to Singapore, while 27 RVNAF
A-37s, 25 F-5s, and 50 UH-1s at U-Tapao were loaded by helicopter and barge onto for transport to the US.
Mayagüez incident On 12 May 1975, less than two weeks after the fall of Saigon, a unit of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge Navy seized the American-flagged container ship
SS Mayaguez, taking the crew hostage. A U-Tapao based US Navy
P-3 Orion was one of the first aircraft sent to locate the
Mayaguez. On 13 May, Seventh Air Force commander Lieutenant General John J. Burns and his staff developed a contingency plan for volunteers of the
Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base 56th
Security Police (SP) Squadron to be dropped onto the containers on the decks of the Mayaguez. The next morning, 75 SPs from the 56th boarded helicopters of
21st Special Operations Squadron to proceed to U-Tapao for staging. A CH-53 #68-10933 crashed, killing 18 SPs and the five-man flight crew. The hasty attempt to effect recovery of the vessel and her crew using only USAF resources was abandoned. U-Tapao then served as a staging point for
U.S. Marines to deploy aboard the remaining CH-53s of the 21st SOS and
HH-53s of the
40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron and assault
Koh Tang Island some 195 nautical miles from U-Tapao, where the
Mayaguez crew was believed to be held. the political climate between Washington and the government of PM Sanya 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 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group left on 31 January 1976,
USAF major units at U-Tapao • 4258th Strategic Wing (1966–1970) • 307th Strategic Wing (1970–1975) • Young Tiger Tanker Force (1966–1975) • Strategic Wing (Provisional), 310th (1972) • Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Wing (Provisional), 340th (1972) • 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (1972–1976) • Air Division (Provisional), 310th (1972) • 11th USAF Hospital • 635th Combat Support Group • 1985th Communications Squadron • 554th CES (Red Horse – Combat Engineers) == Current military use ==