Cam Ranh Base

[3]: 148  By the end of 1966, RMK-BRJ and OICC RVN completed construction of an additional 10,000-foot (3,000 m) concrete runway and taxiway at the air base.

[1]: 67  In addition between June and September US Army engineers built fuel storage areas and 30 miles (48 km) of roads and lengthened the pier before handing over the work to RMK-BMJ.

[1]: 119–20 On 26 October 1966 and on 23 December 1967, US President Lyndon B. Johnson landed at the base on his only Presidential visit to South Vietnam, meeting US military personnel.

In November 1965 315th Air Division C-130E squadrons based in Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines began "shuttle" missions out of the airfield.

[7][6]: 397  On 8 July 1966 the 903d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron was established at Tan Son Nhut AB and it maintained a detachment at Cam Ranh.

[6]: 490 On 30 August 1970 a Viet Cong (VC) rocket attack on the base destroyed two 420,000-gallon jet fuel storage tanks.

[11] On 25 August 1971 a VC sapper attack on the base's tri-service ammunition storage area destroyed over 6000 tons of munitions with a value of more than US$10 million.

[12] On 16 September 1970 the 39th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron equipped with HC-130Ps relocated from Tuy Hoa Air Base to Cam Ranh.

The unit was inactivated and Cam Ranh Air Base was turned over to the South Vietnamese government on 15 May 1972, ending USAF use of the facility.

[15][16] The Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) used the airfield as a storage facility for many of their A-1 Skyraiders, while their replacement jet F-5s and A-37s were used in operations against the PAVN from other, smaller bases.

[17] On 3 April 1975 the PAVN 10th Division advanced on Cam Ranh Bay and despite scattered resistance from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and RVNAF airstrikes by 14:00 they had captured the entire base area.

The base, aside from serving as a communications and signal-intelligence collection centre, eased Soviet logistical support of its naval forces that were deployed in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

In addition to the two piers, the Soviets added five more, as well as building two dry docks, installations to admit nuclear submarines, fuel and weapons storage facilities, and barracks.

In June 2001, the Vietnamese government announced that following the expiration of Russia's lease in 2004, Vietnam would "not sign an agreement with any country to use Cam Ranh Bay for military purposes".

[21] On 17 October that year, the Russian government announced that it would withdraw from Cam Ranh Bay completely before its rent-free lease was to expire in 2004, due to what was assumed to be a dwindling defense budget.

[24] On 25 November 2014, an agreement was signed during a visit to Sochi by Nguyễn Phú Trọng, that established standards of use of Russian warships in the port of Cam Ranh:[25] Russian ships would only have to give prior notice to the Vietnamese authorities before calling on Cam Ranh Bay, while other foreign navies would be limited to only one annual ship visit to Vietnamese ports.

[26] In January 2015, Russia's Defense Ministry said that Russian Il-78 tanker aircraft had used Cam Ranh Bay in the previous year, enabling the refueling of the Tu-95 strategic bombers conducting flights in the Asia-Pacific region.

Map of US facilities at Cam Ranh Bay in 1969
C-7B Serial No 63-9725 of the 535th Tactical Airlift Squadron , October 1971
US President Lyndon Johnson with General William Westmoreland at Cam Ranh Air Base, 23 December 1967
HH-43B of Detachment 8, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Cam Ranh, January 1968
The base during the Soviet era ( Tu-142Ms pictured)