Quang Lang Air Base is a former

Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF; ), officially the Air Defence - Air Force Service (ADAF Service; ) or the Vietnam Air Force (), is the Aerial warfare, aerial, Anti-aircraft warfare, air and Space warfare, space defence service branch of ...

(VPAF) ''(Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam)'' military airfield located near the town of Duc Son, Nghệ An Province approximately northwest of

Vinh Vinh () is the capital of Nghệ An province and an economic and cultural center of North-Central Vietnam. A key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the city is situated in the Southeast of ...

History

On 19 January 1972, while escorting an

RA-5C The North American A-5 Vigilante is an American carrier-based supersonic bomber designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) for the United States Navy. Before the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations, it was designated A3 ...

on a photo-reconnaissance mission over the base, Lieutenant

Duke Cunningham Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham (born December 8, 1941) is an American former politician, Vietnam War veteran, fighter ace and convicted felon. A member of the Republican Party, Cunningham represented three California districts in the United S ...

and Lieutenant j.g.

William P. Driscoll William Patrick "Willy Irish" Driscoll (born March 5, 1947) is a retired commander in the United States Navy and a highly decorated flying ace. Driscoll, a Naval Flight Officer, and air crewmate Duke Cunningham, a Naval Aviator, were their ser ...

VF-96 Fighter Squadron 96, or VF-96 ''Fighting Falcons'' was an aviation unit of the United States Navy in service from 1962 to 1975. When assigned to Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) their tailcode was NG, and their radio callsign was ''Showtime''. Orig ...

flying an

F-4B The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowers ...

engaged and shot down a VPAF

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: "''Balalaika''", because its planf ...

. The base was attacked during Operation Proud Deep Alpha in late December 1971. More than 160 craters appeared in photographs after about two hundred bombs had been dropped, however the

Pierced steel planking Marston Mat, more properly called pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP), is standardized, perforated steel matting material developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the r ...

runway was broken in only fourteen places and was quickly repaired.

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

television indicated that two MiG–21s were blown on their backs at the base. On 6 March 1972, LT Garry Weigand and LTJG Bill Freckleton of

VF-111 Fighter Squadron 111 (VF-111), also known as the ''Sundowners'', was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy. Originally established as Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) on 10 October 1942, it was redesignated as VF-11A on 15 November 1946, redesig ...

flying an F-4B engaged and shot down a VPAF

MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...

near the base. Also on 6 March, while escorting an RA-5C near the base, an F-4J of

VF-51 VF-51, Fighter Squadron 51 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy known as the "Screaming Eagles". It was originally established as VF-1 on 1 February 1943, redesignated as VF-5 on 15 July 1943, redesignated as VF-5A on 15 November 1946, ...

engaged a MiG near the base but the kill was unconfirmed. On 15 June 1972, during

Operation Linebacker Operation Linebacker was the codename of a U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 air interdiction campaign conducted against North Vietnam from 9 May to 23 October 1972, during the Vietnam War. Its purpose was to halt or slow th ...

U.S. fighter-bombers again attacked the base cratering the runway. The base was attacked again on 18 June with further damage to the runway.

Current use

The base has been abandoned and turned over to farmland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quang Lang Air Base Installations of the Vietnam People's Air Force