History
The airfield at Phan Rang was used by the Japanese during World War II. In the late 1940s and early 1950s the French Air Force used the same 3,500-foot runway, and abandoned the facility when French control over Indochina ended in 1954. To accommodate the expanding war in South Vietnam in 1965, the United States moved engineering and construction equipment to the abandoned French Colonial airfield located near Phan Rang in 1965.
Phan Rang Air Base was quickly expanded in 1965 to accommodate both United States and South Vietnamese Air Force fighter and helicopter units. The modernized airfield consisted of two 10,000-foot runways 04L/22R concrete and 04R/22L AM-2 planking with parallel taxiways and covered and open aircraft revetments along with several ramps and parking aprons on both sides of the runways. They were constructed with asphalt and AM-2 pierced steel aprons. In addition, a large support base was constructed with a large control tower, fire rescue units, maintenance facilities, supply warehouses, munitions storage, barracks and a wide variety of support buildings including service clubs and recreation facilities. The APO for Phan Rang Air Base was APO San Francisco, 96321
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