Bien Hoa Air Base

Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) military airfield in South Central southern Vietnam

Bien Hoa Air Base (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 northern ward of Tân Phong, and within the city of Biên Hòa within Đồng Nai Province. The boomburb city is densely populated and rings the base, despite significant levels of Agent Orange toxins simply left there for decades. Cleanup and remediation began in 2019. During the Vietnam War the base was used by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF). The United States used it as a major base from 1961 through 1973, stationing Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine units there.

Bien Hoa is located on flat grounds in a rural area northeast of Saigon. The French Air Force established an air base, the Base aérienne tactique 192, which was very active during the First Indochina War. In February 1953 the French Air Force established a facility at Bien Hoa to overhaul its F8F Bearcats. In April 15 airmen and USAF civilians from the 6410th Materiel Control Group arrived in Saigon to help the French set up their F8F overhaul facility and they were deployed to Bien Hoa. In December 1960, the U. S. Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam (MAAG) requested the U. S. Navy, as the designated contract construction agent for the Department of Defense in Southeast Asia, to plan and construct several jet capable airfields in South Vietnam, including at Bien Hoa. In December 1961, the American construction company RMK BRJ was directed by the Navy's Officer in Charge of Construction RVN to begin construction of a new concrete runway, the first of many projects built by RMK BRJ at the Bien Hoa Air Base over the following ten years. A Company, 501st Aviation Battalion arrived during December 1964 with Bell UH 1 Hueys. The deployment of the B 57s would be the first deployment of jet combat aircraft to Vietnam, however as this was a violation of the Geneva Protocols which forbade the introduction of jet combat aircraft to Vietnam, the squadrons were ostensibly assigned to the 405th Fighter Wing at Clark Air Base and carried out rotational deployments to South Vietnam on a 'temporary' basis. During the next few weeks, more B 57Bs were moved from Clark to Bien Hoa to make good the losses of 5 August and to reinforce the original deployment. The B 57s shared an open air, three sided hangar with the RVNAF resulting in overcrowding that forced 18 of the B 57s to be sent back to Clark in October. With the activation of the 38th Air Rescue Squadron on 30 June 1965 the detachment at Bien Hoa was renamed Detachment 6. The Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended reprisal attacks against the North Vietnamese but President Lyndon Johnson ordered the replacement of the lost aircraft and convened a National Security Council working group to consider available political and military options. On 6 November the RVNAF led by Air Vice Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ launched a 32 aircraft retaliatory attack against a VC base area, claiming to have killed 500 VC. The FC 47s began daytime patrols on 15 December with their first engagement on 21 December killing 21 VC. The first night mission took place on the night of 23/4 December. Also joining them in June and July were an Australian Infantry Regiment and a New Zealand Artillery Battery. Both served under the 173rd. The New Zealand battery was attached as the third battery of the U. S 3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment. Australian and New Zealand forces remained under U. S command until June 1966 when they were given their own tactical area of responsibility (TAOR) at Nui Dat in Phước Tuy Province. This became the 1st Australian Task Force.

The use of the B 57s in combat continued to increase as the VC stepped up their attacks on ARVN outposts throughout South Vietnam and the jets were also used on Operation Barrel Roll missions over Laos. On the morning of 16 May 1965, four loaded B 57s were awaiting takeoff at the base for a Barrel Roll mission, when a U. S. Navy F 8 Crusader made an emergency landing and was being inspected on the ramp. The lead B 57 suddenly exploded and burst into flames causing a chain reaction of explosions destroying other aircraft, fuel and pre armed ordnance. The explosions destroyed 10 B 57s, two A 1Es and the Navy F 8, killed 28 Americans and six Vietnamese and wounded more than 100 more and damaged 25 RVNAF A 1s in what was described as one of the "worst disasters in Air Force history". Among the dead was 34 year old USAF Major Robert G. Bell, who in 1959 had been one of the 32 finalists for NASA Astronaut Group 1. The Bien Hoa Air Base Vietnam May 16, 1965 Conflagration/Fire Accident Investigation Board concluded that the disaster was caused by the accidental explosion of a bomb on a parked B 57 triggering a series of blasts. The aircraft and the ammunition were stored too close together which allowed the fires and explosions to spread. The accident investigation board recommended improvements. In the face of such experience, engineers initiated a major program to construct revetments and aircraft shelters to protect individual aircraft. The 10 surviving B 57s were transferred to Tan Son Nhut Air Base and continued to fly sorties on a reduced scale until replacement aircraft arrived from Clark AB. The 3rd TFW briefly absorbed the assets of the 1st and 602nd Air Commando Squadrons, however in January 1966 the 1st Air Commando Squadron moved to Pleiku Air Base and the 602nd Air Commando Squadron moved to Nha Trang Air Base. On 8 February 1966 the 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron equipped with F 100Ds arrived at Bien Hoa. The main gate was near the active runway of the 145th Aviation Battalion, a U. S. Army helicopter unit. The battalion's pilots lived off base at the Honour Smith Compound, a villa on Cong Ly Street in the city of Bien Hoa, some 2 kilometers away. Some were on base or made it there before the fire got too heavy and some of the gunships took off to patrol the base perimeters. Later intelligence reported that there were three main VC units that were to attack the base; the most critical attack was to force the main gate, overwhelm the helicopter active area and prevent gunships from taking off. Other attacks were to proceed across open ground to the main Air Force bunkers and to bring mounted machine guns to sweep the base runway. Due to the battle raging at the east end of the runway F 100 fighter operations were curtailed for most of the day while USAF, RVNAF and U. S. Army forces engaged the VC. At about 16:00 two 531st TFS F 100s were launched to the east through the ground fire with the intent of delivering ordnance on the battle raging on their own airbase. The actual strike was delayed because friendly forces were so close to the enemy forces. After about an hour of waiting the separation between forces was still small but considered adequate for the F 100s to deliver. The F 100 run ins were from west to east releasing their ordnance in front of their own squadron for impact on the desired targets. This meant that crew chiefs and armorers actually got to see their aircraft in action. At the conclusion of the airstrike the F 100s landed to the east. The after action correspondence from the strike controller credited the airstrike with essentially ending the battle. This is perhaps the only time in USAF history that pilots have conducted a controlled airstrike on their own airbase. USAF losses were four killed in action with another dying of a heart attack, while 26 were wounded. VC/PAVN losses were 137 killed and 25 captured. One A 37 and one F 100 were destroyed while a further 17 aircraft were damaged. The Tet Offensive attacks and previous losses due to mortar and rocket attacks on air bases across South Vietnam led the Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Nitze on 6 March 1968 to approve the construction of 165 "Wonderarch" roofed aircraft shelters at the major air bases. From March 1969 the Combat Skyspot radar site at the base directed B 52 strikes against targets in Cambodia as part of the secret Operation Menu bombings. On 1 September 1969 with the inactivation of the 3rd Special Operations Squadron, the 4th Special Operations Squadron took over its gunship role at Bien Hoa basing three AC 47s there until it too was inactivated on 15 December 1969. The PAVN attacked the base by fire repeatedly with the heaviest attack of 101 rockets on 1 August resulting in one Marine killed. Company K, 3/9 Marines was relieved by Company I 3/9 Marines on 10 August. On 10 September a PAVN/VC sapper attack caused an RVNAF ammunition storage dump to explode killing two South Vietnamese and wounding 29 Americans and 20 South Vietnamese,

On 22 October the PAVN hit the base with 61 rockets. On 3 June 1974 the PAVN hit the base with at least 40 122 mm rockets doing minor damage to runways and destroying 500 napalm canisters, but without damaging any aircraft. Other rockets exploded in hamlets surrounding the base, killing and wounding civilians. On the morning of 15 April a PAVN sapper squad penetrated the base blowing up an ammunition dump and four PAVN 130mm field guns began shelling the base, later joined by 122mm rocket batteries which cratered the runways and severely restricted flight operations.

In March 1966 a C 123 of the 311th Air Commando Squadron carrying 6 tons of artillery shells was hit by ground fire while climbing from the base, starting a fire in the left engine, it turned back and made an emergency landing and was destroyed by fire after landing.