Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base

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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.

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, Dong Muang was used as a major command and logistics hub of the United States Air Force.

USAF Arrival At Don Muang

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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.

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.

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.

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

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

Two milestones occurred early in 1962. The Military Assistance Group in South Vietnam was renamed U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV} on 6 Feburary. 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 agression and subversion". As a result, the Military Assistance Command, Thailand (MACT) was set up on 15 May 1962 at Don Muang.

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:

• 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.

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.

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.

Other units attached to Don Muang RTAFB were the following:

• 509th Fighter Interceptor Squadron - 4 F-102's
• 452nd Air Refueling Squadron - 4 KC-135's
• 315th Air Division - 4 C-130's

USAF withdrawl 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 captial was causing political embarassment to the Thai government.

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 recieved its first complement of USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) KC-135 tankers in August 1966. By September, the base was supporting 15 tankers.

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.

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

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