Bien Hoa Air Base 3.24

Bien Hoa Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam) military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about 25km from Saigon near the city of Biên Hòa within Đồng Nai Province.During the Vietnam Wars (1955–75), the base was used by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF). The United States used it as a major base from 1961 through 1973, stationing Army, Air Force (USAF), Navy, and Marine units there.OriginsBien Hoa is located on quiet, flat grounds in a rural area 25km northeast of Saigon. The French Air Force established an air base, the Base aérienne tactique 192, which was very active during the First Indochina War. On 1 June 1955, Bien Hoa Air Base became the VNAF's logistics support base when the French evacuated their main depot at Hanoi. At that time the VNAF was in its final days as an auxiliary air arm under total French control.Not long after it was established as a VNAF base the facility took on a tactical role as well as that of a depot. It was here that the VNAF's 1st Fighter Squadron (later renumbered the 514th FS) was formed on 1 June 1956. From this point Bien Hoa became the base of newly formed and continually growing air units. The VNAF 2311th Air Group, later to become an Air Wing, and the 311th Air Division were also stationed there. and the base supported the greatest number of air combat units than any other have throughout South Vietnam.