Yên Bái Air Base

Airport in Vietnam

Yên Bái Air Base

Part of Vietnam People's Air Force
Coordinates| 21°43′58.8″N 104°51′14.4″E﻿ / ﻿21.733000°N 104.854000°E﻿ / 21.733000; 104.854000
Type| Air Force Base
Site information
Controlled by|  Vietnam People's Air Force
Site history
Built| 1960s
In use| 1967-Present
Battles/wars|
Vietnam War

Airfield information

* IATA: none
* ICAO: VVYB

Summary
Runways
| Direction | Length  | Surface

|
|

ft  | m
13/31  | 9,170  | 2,795  | Concrete

Yên Bái Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) (Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam) military airfield located north-northwest of Yên Bái.

## History

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### Vietnam War

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On 15 November 1967 F-105s of the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron bombed the base as part of a Commando Club guided bombing mission.

In February 1969 the 925th Fighter Regiment was formed at the base operating the MiG-17F and Shenyang J-6.[1]

On 10 May 1972 a VPAF J-6 of the 925th Fighter Regiment ran out of fuel after a combat air patrol mission, deadsticked from an altitude of 1,400 meters, descending too rapidly, and overran the runway overturning and exploding, killing the pilot instantly.[1]: 63

On 1 June 1972 F-4D #65-0784 was shot down by a VPAF J-6 near the base, the weapons system operator Capt Roger Locher successfully evaded capture for 23 days before being rescued.[2]

On 27 September 1972 USAF jets attacked the base, destroying one MiG-21 on the ground and damaging another.[3]

On 30 September 1972 U.S. jets attacked the base destroying two MiG-17s on the ground.[4]

In late 1972 USAF F-111 Aardvark strike bombers attacked the base, rendering it temporarily inoperable, the only time Yên Bái was inoperable during Operation Linebacker II.[5]

### Current use

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The VPAF 931st Fighter Squadron operating Su-22M-4/UM-3K is based at Yên Bái.

## References

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1. ^ a b Toperczer, István (2001). MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-84176-162-6.
2. ^ Hukee, Byron (2013). USAF and VNAF A-1 Skyraider Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Publishing. pp. 43–4. ISBN 9781780960708.
3. ^ "Heavy air attacks continue against North Vietnam". The New York Times. 28 September 1972. p. 3.
4. ^ "U.S. planes raid 4 bases in North and claim 5 MiG's". The New York Times. 1 October 1972. p. 1.
5. ^ "Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. The F-111 in Southeast Asia, September 1972-January 1973". Directorate of Operations Analysis, CHECO Harvest Division: Pages 49, 50.