Yên Bái Air Base

Airfield information
Airfield information
	IATA: none; ICAO: VVYB;
Summary
Runways

Yên Bái Air Base
Yên Bái Air Base
Part of Vietnam People's Air Force
Coordinates	21°43′58.8″N 104°51′14.4″E
Type	Air Force Base
Site information
Controlled by	Vietnam People's Air Force
Site history
Built	1960s
In use	1967-Present
Battles/wars	; Vietnam War

Yên Bái Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) (Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam) military airfield located north-northwest of Yên Bái.

History

Vietnam War

On 15 November 1967 F-105s of the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron bombed the base as part of a Commando Club guided bombing mission.

In February 1969 the 925th Fighter Regiment was formed at the base operating the MiG-17F and Shenyang J-6.[1]

On 10 May 1972 a VPAF J-6 of the 925th Fighter Regiment ran out of fuel after a combat air patrol mission, deadsticked from an altitude of 1,400 meters, descending too rapidly, and overran the runway overturning and exploding, killing the pilot instantly.[1]^: 63

On 1 June 1972 F-4D #65-0784 was shot down by a VPAF J-6 near the base, the weapons system operator Capt Roger Locher successfully evaded capture for 23 days before being rescued.[2]

On 27 September 1972 USAF jets attacked the base, destroying one MiG-21 on the ground and damaging another.[3]

On 30 September 1972 U.S. jets attacked the base destroying two MiG-17s on the ground.[4]

In late 1972 USAF F-111 Aardvark strike bombers attacked the base, rendering it temporarily inoperable, the only time Yên Bái was inoperable during Operation Linebacker II.[5]

Current use

The VPAF 931st Fighter Squadron operating Su-22M-4/UM-3K is based at Yên Bái.

References

Toperczer, István (2001). MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-84176-162-6.
Hukee, Byron (2013). USAF and VNAF A-1 Skyraider Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. pp. 43–4. ISBN 9781780960708.
"Heavy air attacks continue against North Vietnam". The New York Times. 28 September 1972. p. 3.
"U.S. planes raid 4 bases in North and claim 5 MiG's". The New York Times. 1 October 1972. p. 1.
"Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. The F-111 in Southeast Asia, September 1972-January 1973". Directorate of Operations Analysis, CHECO Harvest Division: Pages 49, 50.

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[Toperczer-1] Toperczer, István (2001). MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-84176-162-6.

[2] Hukee, Byron (2013). USAF and VNAF A-1 Skyraider Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. pp. 43–4. ISBN 9781780960708.

[3] "Heavy air attacks continue against North Vietnam". The New York Times. 28 September 1972. p. 3.

[4] "U.S. planes raid 4 bases in North and claim 5 MiG's". The New York Times. 1 October 1972. p. 1.

[5] "Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. The F-111 in Southeast Asia, September 1972-January 1973". Directorate of Operations Analysis, CHECO Harvest Division: Pages 49, 50.