Cam Ranh Air Base was a part of the large Cam Ranh Bay logistics facility built by the United States. Looking north from Harbormaster's Office, Pier 5, ammo pier, August 1969 Accordingly, the Naval Support Activity Saigon, Detachment Cam Ranh Bay, was redesignated the Naval Support Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, a more autonomous and self-sufficient status. In 2001, the Russian government informed Vietnam that it would be withdrawing from Cam Ranh Bay completely. C-130s from Tan Son Nhut and Nha Trang made pickups at Cam Ranh, as did C-123s. 834th Air Division's 2nd Aerial Port Group included the 14th Aerial Port Squadron which operated the aerial port facilities on the airfield. By September, they had employed 1,800 Vietnamese workers for the work, over half of whom were women.On 1 January 1966, the 20th and 39th Engineer Battalions and the 572nd Light Equipment Company arrived at Cam Ranh Bay to construct another pier at the port, and added a DeLong pier to the causeway at the ammunition depot.During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army maintained the The Cam Ranh Support Command was the logistical organization controlling the port and depot at Cam Ranh.Looking south from Harbormaster's Office, Piers 1 - 4, 4 being the Sea-Land pier, August 1969 Ammunition and medical supplies were parachuted into 75-foot (23 m)-square drop zones while the camps were under attack. By the end of the year, the Army engineers had added equipment storage platforms, a petrol-oil-lubricants storage area, and port cantonment and support facilities.Also in mid-1965, the American construction consortium RMK-BRJ and engineers of the Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN returned to construct a new airfield starting with a temporary 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway with 2.2 million square feet (200,000 square meters) of AM-2 aluminum matting to accommodate jet fighter-bombers.
On many occasions the C-7s flew emergency airlift missions to airstrips and combat areas that no other aircraft could reach. Most notable were those in support of special forces camps in the central highlands. Once the roads were in place to carry heavy equipment, the engineers lengthened the existing pier to 600 feet (180 m) to provide an additional berth for deep-water freighters. As a vital logistic complex, Cam Ranh Bay continued to function long after the Navy's combat forces withdrew from South Vietnam as part of the By the early spring of 1975 North Vietnam realized the time was right to Initially, Cam Ranh Bay was chosen as the safe haven for these South Vietnamese troops and civilians transported by boat from Da Nang. In 1966 a new ramp was constructed on the west side of the airfield to handle airlift operations. In time, the Cam Ranh Bay facility accomplished major vessel repair and dispensed a greater variety of supply items to the anti-infiltration task force. A greater allocation of resources and support forces to the shore installation resulted in an improved ability to cope with the buildup of combat units. This project was completed in mid-1964. Cam Ranh-based C-130s were involved in the resupply of Khe Sanh, airdrops into A Loi Airfield in the A Shau Valley, the evacuation of Kham Duc and countless other combat airlift operations. Between 1 and 3 April, many of the refugees just landed at Cam Ranh reembarked for further passage south and west to On 3 April 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Cam Ranh Bay and all of its military facilities. For the United States Air Force use of Cam Ranh Bay, see The Vietnam War Handbook, Andrew Rawson, The History Press (2008), p. 155.Operational Report, Lessons Learned Headquarters US Army Support Command, period ending 31 July 1970, signed BG H. R. Del Mar, dated 31 July 1970 (The Vietnam War Handbook, Andrew Rawson, The History Press (2008), p. 157.Recollection, Stephen Knowlton, CPT, 124th Transportation Command, August 1969 - July 1970; The Vietnam War Handbook, ibid., p. 156; Senior Officer Debriefing Report, signed COL Frank Gleason, dated 28 July 1969, p. 7 (T-5 jetty upgrade in operation January 1969).The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, by Marc Levinson, Princeton University Press (2016) p. 243.The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, p. 260; USAF withdrawal and South Vietnamese use of Cam Ranh Air BaseMikesh, Robert C. (2005) Flying Dragons: The South Vietnamese Air Force.
Cargo and personnel would arrive from the United States into the logistics facilities at Cam Ranh Bau by ship and also by large The first USAF unit to be stationed at Cam Ranh AB was the From Cam Ranh AB the wing carried out close air support, interdiction, and combat air patrol activities over both Vietnams and Laos. At the direction of the Navy's Officer in Charge of Construction RVN (OICC RVN), the American construction consortium RMK was directed to begin construction of a 350-foot (110 m) long pier and causeway. Cam Ranh Bay became the center of coastal air patrol operations with the establishment in April 1967 of the U.S. Army depots provided common supplies, while Seventh Fleet light cargo ships While the concentration at Cam Ranh Bay of Market Time headquarters and forces during the summer of 1967, the demand for base support became extraordinary. In August 1968 pinpoint night airdrops were accomplished at Duc Lap, Ha Thanh and Tonle Cham Special Forces camps.
Following the capture of the In March 1970, as part of the Vietnamization process and phase out of the F-4C, the aircraft and personnel of the 12th were dispersed, and fighter operations at Cam Ranh Bay AB were halted, the F-4C's were transferred back to the United States and assigned to the With the transfer of jurisdiction of Cam Ranh AB to the Because of its close proximity to Cam Ranh Bay, Cam Ranh Airfield became an important part of the airlift system operated by 315th and 834th Air Divisions. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force units all had compounds and units assigne… Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, and the basing there of In the beginning the shore facilities at Cam Ranh Bay were extremely limited, requiring interim measures to support assigned naval forces. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force units all had compounds and units assigned to the Cam Ranh Bay facility from its opening in 1965 until its closure in 1972 as part of the drawdown of United States military forces in South Vietnam.