|
DaNang Main
Airbase, used
primarily for jet aircraft, was shared by the USAF (which used
Runway 17L on the left) and the US Navy and US Marine Corps (which shared
Runway 17R to starboard). DaNang Main is pictured in mid-1967, with
its parallel
runways visible through the haze. |
". . . DaNang Air Base was the most northerly
major air base in the Republic of Vietnam . . . located in the
northeast coastal area, 85 miles . . . south of the
Demilitarized Zone where the 17th Parallel separated [North and
South Vietnam]. . . .Situated
on flat, sandy ground on the south side of the major port city
of DaNang, the area was ideal for an
airfield, having unobstructed approaches to its north/south
runways. Once little more than a provincial airfield, the base
expanded to 2350 acres . . . with two 10.000 ft. . . . asphalt
runways with concrete touchdown pads, parallel taxiways, and a
heliport. . . . The base became a joint operating airfield when
U.S. Forces came to the aid of the South Vietnamese. As the
number of VNAF units at DaNang continued to increase, so did
those of the USAF, and U.S. Marine air units swelled the
capacity of the base beyond its limits. Covered and open
aircraft revetments were constructed on concrete and asphalt
parking aprons. In addition to these permanent assigned combat units, the
airfield was an on-and off-loading port for the huge,
C-5s,
and contract commercial flights of the Military
Airlift Command, as well as a
civil terminal for the various domestic airlines. DaNang became the world's busiest airport in the single
runway category. In the mid-1960s, 1,500 landings and takeoffs
were recorded on peak days, besides having two extra traffic
patterns for helicopters at the edge of the airstrip. When a parallel runway was added in 1966, Da Nang rivaled Tan
Son Nhut as the world's busiest
airport. By 1968 an average month saw the number of takeoffs and
landings of fixed-wing aircraft exceeding 55,000. With
helicopter activities added, the figure approached 67,000.
During the winter monsoon at least 4500 of these landings were
normally ground-controlled approaches. For the air war over North
Vietnam, DaNang was considered
the most suitable diversionary airfield in case of emergency.
Landings of this nature became commonplace for Thailand-based
USAF fighter bombers. reconnaissance aircraft, strike aircraft
from the Navy aircraft carriers stationed in the South
China Sea, and damaged aircraft
of all air units stationed throughout South
Vietnam |
| From: Wapedia.com |
|
|
|
|
|
Images of DaNang Main That
Linger In the Mind |
|
|
|
Above: An F4C --
or Fox Four Charlie, in Vietnam War slang -- takes off
from DaNang Main in 1967 |
|
|
|
"It was probably Aug or Sept
1969. The F4 had battle damage from an air strike
and was coming back to DaNang. He was going to
land on Runway 17 Right and try to catch the arresting
cable that was installed on that runway. The
landing gear on the F4 would not come down and the
center line fuel drop tank could not be jettisoned, all
of this and more, due to the aforementioned battle
damage. He tried to snag the cable but missed, he
was going to go around and make another attempt but out
of reaction, he pushed the thrust levers up too far and
lit the afterburners on both engines. This after
the center line fuel tank had struck the runway and was
leaking lots of JP4 jet fuel. The aircraft, pilot
and RIO [Radar Intercept Officer] became a very large fire ball ending up on the
right side of the runway about 2/3d of the way
down. My crew chiefs and I watched all of this
from our hangar in utter amazement." Anyone remember the EC-121 (Super Constellation) that
crashed at DaNang AFB, trying to land on Runway 35
Right? Approximately January 1970 -- destroyed the
Super Connie and about 6 F4's as it cart-wheeled into
the wonder shelter revetments right in front of the
366th Tactical Fighter Wing Headquarters. . . . I
watched it out of my office window, about 1500 meters
away." |
|
| Ron Allari, "B" Detachment,
Delivery Platoon, 1969-1970 |
|
|
|
|
"I have no idea if this is the same
incident or not, but I was on a scatback run to pick up
messages and witnessed an F-4 coming in with an obvious
emergency. Fire trucks were all out with lights
flashing. On his approach, I could see no obvious
smoke or flames but upon landing, the F-4 began a slow
spin, wheels still in contact with the runway. It
spun several times before coming to a stop and the
trucks were on it immediately. It never did
explode but I heard later that both [crewmen] had died. I
have no idea of the date, but it seems to me it was in
the evening, around dusk." |
|
| Ron Berryman, "B" Detachment
and HQ, Imagery Interpretation, 1969-1970 |
|
|
|
|
"Bill Harris wants to know if anyone
at Detachment B remembers this incident. An F-4
crash on the airstrip at DaNang. Evidently, the
pilot panicked, tried to land the jet without ejecting
fuel tanks, crashed and burned on landing, killing both
pilot and navigator? Bill can't find any information
on this occurring. He witnessed this, so he knows it
happened but doesn't remember the date." |
|
| Don Skinner, "B" Detachment,
Reproduction Section, 1969-1970 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I recall a B-52 crashing and buring at DaNang
Main some time in '68. Seems it had battle damage and enough
'uumph' for one pass. Don't recall which runway, but it was
south bound. It touched down about the halfway point.
It didn't stop before it had passed over the Perimeter Road and
out into the minefield. Only survivor was the tail
gunner. I didn't witness this. It was seen by the crew
waiting on "the blue canoe" from Saigon. The only
thing left was the tail assembly, and that was still there when I
went home in late June '68." |
|
| Bob Crowell, "B" Detachment,
Delivery Platoon, 1966-1968 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marble Mountain Air Facility
|
|
Above: The Marble Mountain
Air Facility served small craft and helicopters of the
US Army and the US Marine Corps. Lost in this poor
resolution photograph are the many small aircraft parked on perforated steel plating
(PSP) hardstands in the dark areas to the upper left and
center. "B" Detachment's U6A deHavilland Beaver, Good Guy 182, was
based at Marble Mountain in 1967. Successor "B" Detachment aircraft were
based at DaNang Main.
|
|
Below: In this more detailed view of the air field, the
photographer is following a flight of UH-1 Huey helicopters to
landing. Despite the multi-directional and hovering
capabilities of rotary wing aircraft, they were obliged to
follow the same contact, approach, landing and taxi procedures as observed by the pilots of fixed wing aircraft. This
flight, which is in an in "trail" formation -- strung
out single file, one behind the other -- already has three aircraft on the active runway two others -- visible in the
center of the photograph, just above the turn in the airfield's
peripheral roadway -- approaching the "outer marker,"
or the leading edge of the landing surface. These
helicopters will move down the runway, hovering a few feet above
the blacktop, like a fixed-wing aircraft, until they reach the
appropriate turn-off from the active to a taxi-way leading to
their unit's tie-down area or to a safe area for the unloading
or disarming of weapons not expended during the mission. The
Marble Mountains, which gave the airfield its name and which
were the site of considerable Viet Cong activity, are visible at
the top of the photo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photo Credit: Gene Zwarycz,
"B" Detachment, Imagery Interpretation, 1967-1968 |
|
|
|
