Pleiku Air Base

the civil airport use of this facility after 1975

Pleiku Air Base is a former air force base in Vietnam. It was established by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) in 1962 at an undeveloped airstrip, and was used by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War in the II Corps Tactical Zone of South Vietnam. It was captured by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in March 1975 and was abandoned for many years. Today, the facility has just redeveloped as Pleiku Airport。

In January 1962, the U. S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam requested the Department of Defense contract construction agent, the U. S. Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN (OICC), to design and construct a 6000 feet (1829 m) runway at Pleiku. The MAAG wanted the air field to be operational as a top priority by 1 July 1962. Although the design had not yet been started, the OICC tasked RMK BRJ, the construction contractor, to begin work on 19 January. They installed 6,000 feet of pierced steel plank (PSP) runway with over runs, a parallel taxiway, and aprons at a cost of $2.7 million. In December 1962 Pleiku Air Base was activated by the RVNAF as Air Base 62 and in March 1964 Air Base 62 became the RVNAF 62nd Tactical Wing. On 15 September 1965 this detachment was redesignated as Detachment 9, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. By December 1969 B Flight had been reduced to two AC 47s as the aircraft was increasingly phased out of USAF service. The 1878th Communications Squadron was designated and organized at Pleiku Airport on 1 November 1965, part of the 1964th Communications Group. It was reassigned 1 January 1972 and moved to Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. The 633d Combat Support Group was activated at the base on 14 March 1966 taking over the duties of the provisional 6234th Air Base Squadron which had managed construction and other activities at the base after the RVNAF moved to Nha Trang. The A 1 equipped 1st Air Commando Squadron moved to Pleiku on 1 January 1966 from Bien Hoa Air Base where it had operated as part of Farm Gate. During its active service, the 9th ACS flew combat missions, including air support for ground forces, air cover for transports, day and night interdiction, combat search and rescue support, armed reconnaissance, and forward air control. Its mission was to provide close air support, day and night interdiction, and visual and photo reconnaissance. The only unit assigned to the 633d Special Operations Wing was the 6th Special Operations Squadron equipped with 20 A 1E/H which deployed to Pleiku on 29 February 1968.

By the early spring of 1975 North Vietnam realized the time was right to achieve its goal of re uniting Vietnam under communist rule, and so launched a series of small ground attacks to test U. S. reaction. When these attacks failed to draw a military response from Washington, the PAVN staged an attack on Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. Ban Me Thuot controlled Highways 14 and 21, vital lines of communication from the southern Central Highlands to Saigon and the coast. On the night of 9 March 1975, the PAVN struck the city and Pleiku airfield with artillery, mortars, and rockets. By the next afternoon, over half of Ban Me Thuot was in enemy hands, despite fierce resistance from ARVN defenders. RVNAF air strikes destroyed five PAVN tanks but during one strike, a bomb accidentally hit ARVN sector headquarters severely disrupting communications. At Pleiku airfield, the small ARVN garrison came under attack and was forced to defend the control tower, preventing attempts to fly in reinforcements. ARVN reinforcements were diverted to Buon Ho, north of the city, far from the battle. On the airfield, the PAVN had destroyed an O 1, a CH 47, and ten UH 1s, although three damaged UH 1s had managed to escape. Fierce fighting continued for three more days but by 14 March the situation was hopeless. During the four day battle the RVNAF flew over 200 sorties, inflicting heavy losses on the PAVN, but to no avail. No aircraft were lost in the air, but three A 37s at Pleiku were destroyed by 122 mm rockets on 11 March when the PAVN rocketed the airfield. The day Ban Me Thuot fell, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu called an emergency high level meeting at Cam Ranh Bay. During this meeting Thieu made the decision to attempt an orderly withdrawal from the Central Highlands around Kontum and Pleiku in order to conserve forces and regroup for a counter attack. Unfortunately for the South Vietnamese, the commander of the region, General Phạm Văn Phú, misinterpreted this order and directed an immediately evacuation of both cities. The commander of the 6th Air Division at Pleiku, BG Pham Ngoc Sang was given forty eight hours to evacuate the airfield and immediately requested UH 1s, CH 47s, and C 130s to fly RVNAF personnel and their dependants out of Pleiku. On 16 March artillery fire began hitting the city and ARVN troops began a retreat to the coast along Highway 7B. At Pleiku airfield sixty four aircraft were abandoned with little effort to destroy them before evacuating and large quantities of fuel and ordnance were left behind undamaged and ready for the PAVN to use.

After the seizure of the base by the PAVN in 1975, the captured RVNAF aircraft were either destroyed or flown out to other airfields and Pleiku Air Base was abandoned, apparently remaining so for many years. Today, a small airport terminal building has been erected on the pad of one of the former USAF hangars. The former base facility has been torn down and a few streets remain, the land now being used for agriculture; none of the former base buildings remain. The large aircraft parking ramp remains but is largely abandoned, along with the jet taxiway which is unused. The former USAF control tower and large fire department building on the flightline remains standing; their current use is undetermined.