Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base


Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base or Nakhon Ratchasima Royal Thai Air Force Base is a base of the Royal Thai Air Force in northeast Thailand, approximately 200 km northeast of Bangkok and about 4 km south of the centre of the city of Nakhon Ratchasima in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province, the largest province in Thailand.
During the Vietnam War, from 1962 to 1975, Korat RTAFB was a front-line facility of the United States Air Force in Thailand.
During the 1980s and early-1990s, the airfield was jointly operated as a civil airport for Nakhon Ratchasima. This ended with the opening of Nakhon Ratchasima Airport in the early-1990s.

Units

Korat RTAFB is the home of the 1st RTAF Wing, consisting of three squadrons. The airfield has a single 9,800 + foot runway with a single, full-length parallel taxiway.
102 Squadron flies 15 F-16A-15ADF and one F-16B-15ADF Fighting Falcon air defense airplanes acquired from the USAF and delivered to the RTAF in 2003 and 2004. These airplanes were acquired under the code name "Peace Naresuan IV".
103 Squadron flies eight F-16A and four F-16B acquired under the code name "Peace Naresuan I", five F-16A under the code name "Peace Naresuan XI", and three F-16A and four F-16Bs acquired from the Republic of Singapore Air Force and delivered in late 2004. All F-16s are the block 15 version.
A detachment of 1 UH-1H Iroquois helicopters from 203 Squadron, Wing 2 is also based at Korat.

Cope Tiger

Korat RTAFB is a major facility for the Cope Tiger exercises, an annual, multinational exercise conducted in two phases in the Asia-Pacific region.
Cope Tiger involves air forces from the United States, Thailand, and Singapore, as well as U.S. Marine Corps aircraft deployed from Japan. US naval aircraft have also been involved in Cope Tiger. The flying training portion of the exercise promotes closer relations and enables air force units in the region to sharpen air combat skills and practice interoperability with US forces. Pilots fly both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat training missions.
Participating American aircraft have included the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, F/A-18A/C Hornets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-16C/D Fighting Falcons, E-3B/C Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems aircraft, KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft, C-130H Hercules airlift aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters.
Thai Forces fly F-16A/B Fighting Falcons, F-5E Tigers and ground attack L-39's, and Alpha Jets of 231 Squadron. Singaporean forces fly F-5Es, F-16C/D Fighting Falcons, KC-130B Hercules, E-2C Hawkeye, CH-47SD Chinooks and AS-532UL Cougars.
More than 1,100 people participate, including approximately 500 US service members and 600 service members from Thailand and Singapore.
Over the last few years, Cope Tiger has widened to include CSAR assets and in 2007 for the first time RTAFB Udon Thani was also used as a base during this exercise. These included a C-130E Hercules from 36 Airlift Squadron, 374 Airlift Wing in 2006, and a G-222 and a C-130H from the RTAF in 2007.
Since the 1980s United States Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet fighters have used Korat as a base during Cobra Gold exercises.

History

The origins of Korat Air Base dates back to the Japanese Occupation of Thailand during World War II. The Japanese Army established facilities on the land later used to build Korat Air Base, and a small support airfield was established there for logistics support of the facility and for the Japanese occupation forces in the area. After the end of the war, the facilities were taken over by the Thai government as a military base. Various Japanese facilities were used by the RTAF until the 1960s.
In 1961, the Kennedy administration feared a communist invasion or insurgency inside Thailand would spread from the Laotian Civil War. Political considerations with regards to the communist threat led the Thai government to allow the United States to covertly use five Thai bases for the air defense of Thailand and to fly reconnaissance flights over Laos under a "gentleman's agreement" with the United States. An advisory force of Army personnel was sent to Thailand and their first reports indicated that significant infrastructure improvement in the country would be needed in order for US forces to land in the Gulf of Siam and move north to the expected invasion areas along the Mekong River between Laos and Thailand.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers were deployed and established a headquarters at the RTAF airfield that later became Korat RTAFB. The first facilities were built on the north side of the runway. They included a hospital, some barracks and some warehouses for equipment that was flown in using the existing runway. Under the agreement, United States forces using Thai air bases were commanded by Thai officers. Thai air police controlled access to the bases, along with USAF Security Police, who assisted them in base defense using sentry dogs, observation towers, and machine gun bunkers. The Geneva Accords of 1962 ended the immediate threat, but both Camp Friendship and Korat RTAFB were developed as part of the buildup of forces in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
The USAF mission at Korat RTAFB began in April 1962, when one officer and 14 airmen were temporarily assigned to the existing base as the joint US Military Advisory Group. The army was engaged in the construction of Camp Friendship. Once completed, army forces moved into Camp Friendship, turning the facilities north of the Korat RTAFB runway over to the Thai armed forces.
South of the existing runway, construction of a large air base was begun to support a full USAF combat wing. In July 1964, approximately 500 airmen and officers were deployed to begin construction, and the completion of essential base facilities was completed by October 1964, although due to its primitive nature, the air force living area was known for several years as "Camp Nasty" in counterpoint to the Army facility at Camp Friendship. The army retained a portion of the aircraft parking ramp for logistical support of Camp Friendship. The APO for Korat RTAFB was APO San Francisco, 96288

US advisory forces

The first USAF units at Korat were under the command of the US Pacific Air Forces. Korat was the location for TACAN station Channel 125 and was referenced by that identifier in voice communications during air missions. The mission of the USAF at Korat was to conduct operations in support of US commitments in Southeast Asia: North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. During the Vietnam War, pilots from Korat RTAFB primarily flew interdiction, direct air support, armed reconnaissance, and fighter escort missions.
In mid-June 1964 2 HU-16s of the 33d Air Rescue Squadron were deployed to Korat to act as airborne rescue control ships in support of Yankee Team bombing operations over Laos. They would remain at Korat until June 1965 when they were moved to Udorn RTAFB and then to Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam and replaced at Korat by HC-54s.
In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident on 31 July 1964, the 6441st Tactical Fighter Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan deployed 8 F-105D Thunderchiefs of the 36th Tactical Fighter Squadron to Korat on 9 August and commenced operations the following day. The 36th TFS remained at Korat until 29 October then returned to Japan. It was replaced by the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron, also flying F-105Ds, which was deployed from the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. From 30 October through 31 December 1964, F-105s from the 80th Tactical Fighter Squadron were deployed from the 41st Air Division, Yokota AB, Japan.
On 14 August 2 HH-43Bs were deployed to Korat to provide base search and rescue. In mid-1965 this unit was redesignated Detachment 4 38th Air Rescue Squadron.
In December 1964, the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed to Korat from Kadena AB, Okinawa. The 44th would rotate pilots and personnel to Korat on a Temporary duty assignment basis from 18 December 1964 – 25 February 1965, 21 April–22 June 1965 and 10–29 October 1965.
The 44th TFS returned to Kadena AB, Okinawa and assignment to the 18th TFW, but on 31 December 1966, it became only a paper organization without aircraft. The high loss rate of the F-105s in the two combat wings at Korat and Takhli RTAFB required the squadron to send its aircraft to Thailand as replacement aircraft. The 44th remained a "paper organization" until 23 April 1967, when it returned to Korat, absorbing the personnel, equipment and resources of the 421st TFS.

6234th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional)

In April 1965, the 6234th Air Base Squadron was organized at Korat as a permanent unit under the 2d Air Division to support the TDY fighter units and their operations. This squadron was in existence until the end of April when it was discontinued and the 6234th Combat Support Group, the 6234th Support Squadron, and the 6234th Material Squadron were designated and organized as a result of a 3 May 1965 Pacific Air Forces special order.
The 6234th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated in April 1965 as part of the 2d AD with Colonel William D. Ritchie, Jr. as commander. The wing had responsibility for all air force units in Thailand until permanent wings were established at other bases.
Known deployed squadrons to Korat attached to the 6234th TFW were:
On 3 April 1965 the 67th TFS launched the first unsuccessful US airstrike against the Thanh Hóa Bridge.
In 1965, the 6234th TFW and its subordinate units operating F-100s, F-105s, and F-4Cs flew 10,797 sorties totalling 26,165 hours. The wing's efforts merited the Presidential Unit Citation in March 1968.