Muang Phalan TACAN Site (also known as Lima 61 Alternative or L-61A) was a U.S. Air Force facility built in the village of Muang Phalan,
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.
History
Muang Phalan TACAN Site was established by the U.S. Air Force in April 1967 as part of
Operation Bright Light to create a network of
TACAN
A tactical air navigation system, commonly referred to by the acronym TACAN, is a navigation system initially designed for naval aircraft to acquire moving landing platforms (i.e., ships) and later expanded for use by other military aircraft. It p ...
sites to support air operations over
southern Laos and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. The site operated as TACAN Channel 77.
On 25 December 1967 the site was attacked by the
People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...
who overran the facility killing the two "sheep-dipped" technicians from the
1st Mobile Communications Group.
[ A replacement TACAN site was installed at Mukdahan, Thailand.][
]
Current use
The site is abandoned and turned over to farmland and housing.
See also
* Lima Site 85
References
Military installations of the United States in Laos
Military installations closed in 1967
Military airbases established in 1967
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