Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base is the main operating and command base for the Royal Thai Air Force. It is located in the northern suburbs of Bangkok. It is jointly used by civil authorities as Bangkok International Airport and is the busiest commercial airport in Southeast Asia. The Royal Thai Air Force is the airforce of Thailand. ... Bangkok from the Chao Phraya River at sunset, July 2004 The Wat Phra Kaew temple Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep ( ), or Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon is the abbreviation of its full ceremonial name Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani... Bangkok International Airport (or also Don Muang International Airport) (Thai ท่าอากาศยานกรุงเทพ, also Don Mueang, Thai ท่าอากาศยานดอนเมือง) is an airport in Bangkok, Thailand (, ). The airport was officially opened on March 27th 1914, although the field had been in use earlier. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, Dong Muang was used as a major command and logistics hub of the United States Air Force. Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerospace branch of the United States armed forces. ...

USAF Arrival At Don Muang

The official American military presence in Thailand started in April 1961 when an advanced party of the USAF 6010th Tactical (TAC) Group arrived at Don Muang at the request of the Royal Thai government to establish an aircraft warning system. USAF PACAF badge. ... For other uses, see April (disambiguation). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

Also in April 1961, a small detachment of F-102 "Delta Daggers" were sent to Don Muang under Operation Bell Tone. Their mission was to bolster the defense capabilties of the Royal Thai Air Force. The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger fighter aircraft was part of the backbone of the United States air defenses in the late 1950s. ...

Then in November 1961, Four RF-101C reconnassance aircraft of the 45th Tactial Reconnassance Squadron and their photo lab arrived. The RF-101's were sent to assist Royal Thai AF RT-33 aircraft in performing aerial recon flights over Laos. Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military aircraft flown by the USAF and the RCAF. Initially designed as a long-range bomber escort (known as a penetration fighter) for the Strategic Air Command, the Voodoo served in a variety of other roles, including the fighter bomber, all-weather...

Royal Australian Air Force Avon; Lockheed C-133 and Douglas C-124 Globemaster. Photographed at Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base, Bangkok Thailand - June 1962

Two milestones occurred early in 1962. The Military Assistance Group in South Vietnam was renamed U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV} on 6 February. The other being a joint communication from Secratary of State Dean Rusk and Thai Foreign Minister Thanat Koman on 6 March in which the United States "firm intention... to aid Thailand, its ally and historic friend in resisting communist aggression and subversion". As a result, the Military Assistance Command, Thailand (MACT) was set up on 15 May 1962 at Don Muang. 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV, pronounced as mac vee) was the United States command structure during the Vietnam War from 1962 until the wars end. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. ... David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909 – December 20, 1994) was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ...

In November 1962 the 2nd Air Division assumed control of the 6010th TAC Group. In August the group was redesignated the 35th Tactial Group. The 35th TAC group consisted of the following units: Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ...

• 35th Air Base Squadron - Located at Don Muang.
• 331st Air Base Squadron - Located at Takhli RTAFB.
• 332nd Air Base Squadron - Located at Ubon RTAFB.
• Det #1, 35th Tactical Group - Located at Korat RTAFB.

Gulf Of Tonkin Incident

By mid-1964 the situation in Southeast Asia was ambiguous. North Vietnam was determined to take over South Vietnam. Communist rebel forces were making military and politicl gains in Laos. The United States was taking over the role of "protector" from France in the area and the fear was that Communism would prevail over the democratic governments in the region. However there was no real justification for a full-scale American military involvement in the region. For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ...

On 31 July 1964 the Gulf of Tonkin Incident occoured. It was a pair of alleged attacks by North Vietnamese gunboats on two American destroyers, the USS Maddox and the USS C. Turner Joy, off the North Vietnamese coast in the Gulf of Tonkin. As a result, President Johnson would order more forces to support the west-allied South Vietnam government, and additional USAF forces were dispatched to Thailand, beginning a large scale United States military presence in Southeast Asia. July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... Chart showing the US Navy’s interpretation of the events of the first part of the Gulf of Tonkin incident The was a pair of alleged attacks by North Vietnamese gunboats on two American destroyers, the USS Maddox and the USS , in August of 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin. ... There were three American destroyers named the U.S.S. Maddox. ... USS Turner Joy (DD-951) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer in the United States Navy. ... The Gulf of Tonkin is located to the east of Vietnam. ... President Johnson can refer to two different people who were President of the United States: Andrew Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

In July 1965 the 35th TAC Group was redesignated the 6236th Combat Support Group and again in April 1966 it was redesignated the 631st Combat Support Group. In March 1965 there were 1342 enlisted men stationed at Don Muang RTAFB, with their primary mission to provide support for all USAF units and detachments assigned to the base or other bases in Thailand. Look up July in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... For other uses, see April (disambiguation). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Look up March in Wiktionary, the free dictionary March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Units assigned to Don Muang RTAFB by 1969 were the following: 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

• Host Unit - 631st Combat Support Group - 2 C-47s
  • Det #4 315th Air Division - 7 C-130Es
  • 509th Fighter Interceptor Squadron - 5 F-102s
  • 452nd Air Refueling Squadron - 4 KC-135s

Douglas DC-3 VH-AES at Avalon in 2003. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the main tactical air transport aircraft of the United States and UK military forces. ... The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger fighter aircraft was part of the backbone of the United States air defenses in the late 1950s. ... The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling tanker aircraft, first manufactured in 1956 and expected to remain in service into the 2020s. ...

F-102's In Southeast Asia

USAF Convair F-102 from Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base flying over Thailand in Vietnam War camoflage motif

F-102's were primarily interceptors assigned to the Air Defense Command in the United States, however it was over the skies of Southeast Asia that the F-102 was to achieve its only taste of combat. Aircraft from the 590th Fighter Interceptor Squadron were transferred to Tan Son Nhut AB near Saigon in South Vietnam in March 1962 to provide air defense against the unlikely event that North Vietnamese aircraft would attack the South. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ... Look up March in Wiktionary, the free dictionary March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...

F-102As continued to be based there and at Don Muang until being withdrawn in 1969. 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

F-102As also stood alert at Bien Hoa AB and Da Nang AB in Sout Vietnam and at Udorn RTAFB in Thailand.

The F-102A was finally withdrawn from Southeast Asia in December 1969. The F-102A established an excellent safety record with almost ten years of flying air defense and a few combat air patrols for SAC B-52s, only 15 F-102As were lost. Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

Although a few missions were flown over North Vietnam, the Southeast Asia-stationed F-102As are not thought to have actually engaged in air-to-air combat, although one of F-102A of the 509th FIS was lost to an air-to-air missile fired by a MiG-21 while flying a CAP over Route Package IV on 3 February 1968. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN), or less commonly, Vietnamese Democratic Republic (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa), also known as North Vietnam, was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, September 2nd1945 and was recognized by the Peoples Republic of China and the... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Two F-102As were lost to AAA/small arms fire and four were destroyed on the ground by the Viet Cong and eight were lost in operational accidents.

USAF withdrawal from Don Muang

By 1966 the USAF and Thai Air Force had established a major presence in Thailand, with the Americans operating out of six Royal Thai Air Bases. At Dong Muang the USAF had stationed KC-135 air refueling tankers from Strategic Air Command (SAC) for refueling tactical combat aircraft over the skies of Indochina. Thailand was officially neutral in the Vietnam War and the visibiliy of the large USAF Boeing tankers in its capital was causing political embarrassment to the Thai government. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling tanker aircraft, first manufactured in 1956 and expected to remain in service into the 2020s. ... SAC shield The Strategic Air Command or SAC (1946-1992) was the branch of the United States Air Force in charge of Americas bomber-based and ballistic missile-based strategic nuclear arsenal, as well as the infrastructure necessary to support their operations (such as tanker aircraft to fuel the...

The USAF 7th Air Force wanted to have additonal KC-135's in Thailand and the soulution reached was to expand the Naval airfield at U-Tapao and base the tankers there. Expansion of U-Tapao began in October 1965, with the completed new facility opening at the end of 1967. The 11,000-foot runway became operational on 6 July 1966. U-Tapao received its first complement of USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) KC-135 tankers in August 1966. By September, the base was supporting 15 tankers. Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

The opening of U-Tapo also allowed the United States to route most of it's logistics requirements in Thailand to be routed through that facility rather than having large cargo aircraft arrive in the Thai capital.

By 1970 most USAF operations had moved out of Don Muang, however administrative personnel coordinating activities along with Military Assistance Command, Thailand (MACT) staff were assigned to the base until 1975. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Don Muang RTAFB Today

Don Muang is an active Royal Thai Air Force base, the home of the 1st Air Division, and consists primarily of non-combat aircraft.

• 601 Transport Squadron flies C-130h/h-30.
• 602 Royal Flight flies Airbus A310-324, Boeing 737, BAe 748 Srs 208
• 603 Transport Squadron flies G222, BAe 748 Srs 208
• 604 Communications Squadron flies T-41D, Cessna 150H
• 606 Survey Squadron flies Learjet 35A, Merlin IV, N22B Nomad, Arava 201 and King Air 200 mapping aircraft

See also

• United States Air Force In Thailand

External links

• World Aero Data on this airport (VTBD)

Coordinates: 13.91667° N 100.6° E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically); large version (pdf) The geographic (earth-mapping) coordinate system expresses every horizontal position on Earth by two of the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system which is aligned with the spin axis of the Earth. ...

• Maps and aerial photos
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  • Topographic map from TopoZone
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