Chu Lai Air Base was a military airport inChu Lai,Vietnam, operated by theUnited States Marine Corps between 1965 and 1970. It was located nearTam Kỳ city, the largest city inQuảng Tín Province. Abandoned after the end of theVietnam War, it was reopened asChu Lai Airport in 2005.

Chu Lai Air Base
Part of Chu Lai Base Area
Chu Lai,Quảng Nam Province in Vietnam
Site information
Operator	United States Marine Corps (USMC) United States Army (US ARMY)
Location
Chu Lai Air Base
Coordinates	15°27′18″N108°41′24″E / 15.455°N 108.69°E /15.455; 108.69 (Chu Lai Base Area)
Site history
Built	1965 (1965)
In use	1965-1972 (1972)
Battles/wars	Vietnam War Operation Starlite
Airfield information
Elevation	1,759 feet (536 m)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 10,000 feet (3,048 m) Concrete

First squadron to land at Chu Lai was VMA-225 (pre-arranged) 1 June 1965 along with VMA-311 arriving simultaneously. No A-4 Squadrons at that time were All Weather. VMA-225 was equipped with the A-4C model, and VMA-311 with the A-4E.

On 8 March 1965, the U.S.9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed atDa Nang to protect theDa Nang Air Base from possible communist attack.

On 6 May units from theArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)2nd Division and3rd Battalion, 9th Marines secured the Chu Lai area. On 7 May, the3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3rd MEB), composed of the4th Marine Regiment,3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, elements ofMarine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) andNaval Mobile Construction Battalion 10 landed at Chu Lai to establish a jet-capable airfield andbase area.^[1]

At first, only a "short airfield for tactical support (SATS)" was installed. The SATS consisted of a 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) runway with an aluminum surface of interlocking lightweight metal alloy planking, a catapult and a carrier deck-type arresting gear. It also included a tactical airfield fuel dispensing system.

The base of soft sand at Chu Lai caused much difficulty with the installation of the SATS, but the first landing of anDouglas A-4 Skyhawk was made on 1 June 1965, by Colonel John D. Noble, Commanding Officer of MAG-12 from Marine All- Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 (VMA-225) landed. On the same day, the first combat mission was flown, led by Lieutenant Colonel R. W. Baker, CO of VMA-225. The aircraft took off usingjet-assisted takeoff rockets on the partially completed runway as the Seabees continued lengthening the runway. It was involved inOperation Starlite on 18 August 1965, when the Marines made a pre-emptive strike on gatheringNational Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF) forces who were preparing to attack the base.^[2][3]

By mid-October 1965, the base was home to more than 80 A-4 Skyhawks from MAG-12.

On the night of 27 October 1965 the NLF penetrated the air base destroying 2 A-4s and severely damaging a further six. The Marines killed 15 of the attacking 20-man sapper squad.^[1]: 125

In September 1966, a new 10,000 feet (3,000 m) runway, with taxiways, was completed, just west of the SATS strip.^[4] With the opening of the new runway,Marine Aircraft Group 13 with threeMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II squadrons arrived at Chu Lai^[5] and remained until September 1970.

In April 1967, Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533 (VMA(AW)-533), equipped with theGrumman A-6A Intruder all-weather attack aircraft, arrived to provide air support for Marines inI Corps, and to deliver ordinance on targets in North Vietnam under all weather conditions.^[6]

On the morning of 31 January 1968 as part of theTet Offensive, the NLF attacked the base with rockets and mortars triggering an explosion in the bomb dump. MAGs 12 and 13 suffered three aircraft destroyed and 23 damaged.^[7]

The last Marine sorties were flown from Chu Lai by aircraft from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314) on 11 September 1970.^[8]

From 1967 the54th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) withBell UH-1D Huey's were deployed here.^[9]

A PAVN rocket attack on the base on the night of 4/5 May 1970 resulted in 12 U.S. killed and 33 wounded.^[10]

The Marines departed Chu Lai on 13 October 1970, turning control over to the United States Army.^[11]

  This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.

• http://vimeo.com/10196438 video of the construction of the airfield and air operations
• Video showing the construction of Chu Lai from the Moving Image Research Collection at the University of South Carolina