History
Binh Thuy Air Base was the most southern airbase used by the VNAF and USAF in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Plans for a United States Air Force Base at Binh Thuy were developed in 1964 after the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the decision to deploy large numbers of United States forces to South Vietnam. The base was one of several air bases in the former South Vietnam built by United States Air Force RED HORSE civil engineering squadrons. The airfield was designed as a replacement for the ARVN Can Tho airfield which was located nearly in the heart of the city of Can Tho and had no room for expansion. In 1964 construction began on Binh Thuy Air Base on paddy fields that had to be drained and solidified with fill material.
Enough construction was complete that the SVNAF 74th Tactical Wing at Can Tho was moved to Binh Thuy on 1 September 1965. Air units were simultaneously moved to the base, including the 520th Fighter Squadron from Binh Hoa (A-1 Skyraider); 217th Helicopter Squadron from Tan Son Nhut (H-34 Choctaw) and the 116th Observation Squadron from Nha Trang (O-1 Bird Dog).
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