Khe Gát Airfield

Khe Gát Airfield
	Sân bay Khe Gát
	Part of Vietnam People's Air Force
Coordinates	17°39′35″N 106°13′04″E
Type	Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	Vietnam People's Air Force
Condition	abandoned
Site history
Built	1969
In use	1969-72
Battles/wars	; Vietnam War; Battle of Dong Hoi

Khe Gát Airfield (Vietnamese: Sân bay Khe Gát, also known as Khe Phat Airfield[1][2][3]) was a military airfield in Bo Trach District, Quang Binh, Vietnam. It was built within seven months in 1969 and played a major role for the Vietnam People's Air Force during the Battle of Dong Hoi in April 1972.[4] Nowadays it is part of the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

History

On 19 April 1972, two MiG-17s piloted by Lê Xuân Dị and Nguyễn Văn Bảy "B" took off from the airfield.[5] At approximately 17:00, one of the MiG-17s scored a direct hit on USS Higbee with a BETAB-250 (250 kg, 550 lb) bomb, after failing to hit its target twice on two previous attack runs. The attack crippled Higbee's 5-inch gun turret, impaired its steering and propulsion, and wounded 4 sailors on deck.[6] Another MiG-17 simultaneously aimed its bombs at USS Oklahoma City but missed the target.[6] The U.S. later responded by bombardment against Vinh and Dong Hoi on the same day and the following, and an air strike by 33 aircraft on April 22 at the airfield, destroying one MiG and damaging another on the ground.[7]

References

"KHE PHAT AIRFIELD NORTH VIETNAM, CIA-RDP83-01074R000300200006-0" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 21 July 1973. Retrieved 8 May 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
"KHE PHAT AIRFIELD NORTH VIETNAM 40 NAUTICAL MILES FROM TRACK, CIA-RDP85T00339R000400070003-2" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 21 July 1973. Retrieved 5 March 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Department of Defense Appropriations for 1973: Hearings ... 92d Congress, 2d Session, pt. 8-9. United States Congress House Appropriations. 1972. p. 4.
"Vietnam Military History Museum".
Toperczer, Itsván (2001). MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841761626.
Gutzman, Philip (2010). Vietnam: Naval and Riverine Weapons. p. 34. ISBN 9780557177431.
Boniface, Roger (2008). MIGs Over North Vietnam: The Vietnam People's Air Force in Combat, 1965-75. Stackpole Books. p. 85. ISBN 9780811706964.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "KHE PHAT AIRFIELD NORTH VIETNAM, CIA-RDP83-01074R000300200006-0" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 21 July 1973. Retrieved 8 May 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[2] "KHE PHAT AIRFIELD NORTH VIETNAM 40 NAUTICAL MILES FROM TRACK, CIA-RDP85T00339R000400070003-2" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 21 July 1973. Retrieved 5 March 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[3] Department of Defense Appropriations for 1973: Hearings ... 92d Congress, 2d Session, pt. 8-9. United States Congress House Appropriations. 1972. p. 4.

[4] "Vietnam Military History Museum".

[5] Toperczer, Itsván (2001). MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841761626.

[Gutzman-6] Gutzman, Philip (2010). Vietnam: Naval and Riverine Weapons. p. 34. ISBN 9780557177431.

[7] Boniface, Roger (2008). MIGs Over North Vietnam: The Vietnam People's Air Force in Combat, 1965-75. Stackpole Books. p. 85. ISBN 9780811706964.