Kép Air Base
| Kép Air Base | |
|---|---|
| Part of Vietnam People's Air Force | |
 A USAF RF-101C overflies Kep in 1966 | |
  Kép Air Base | |
| Coordinates | 21°23′23″N 106°15′09″E / 21.38972°N 106.25250°E |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  Vietnam People's Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1965 |
| In use | 1965-Present |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
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Kép Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) (Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam) military airfield located near the town of Kép, Bắc Giang Province approximately 60 km (37 miles) northeast of Hanoi.
History
Vietnam War
A September 1965 CIA intelligence briefing stated that Kép airfield had been extensively improved with the runway lengthened to 6000 ft allowing for jet fighter operations and photo-reconnaissance indicated that 8 aircraft, identified as MiG-15s or MiG-17s were at the airfield.[1] In April 1966 the CIA concluded that a small number of MiG-21s had possibly deployed to Kép from Phúc Yên Air Base.[2]
On 24 April 1967, jets from VA-112 and VA-144 attacked Kép in the first U.S. airstrike on a VPAF airfield of the Vietnam War.[3]
On 1 May 1967 during a sortie against Kép a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk of VA-76, shot down a MiG-17 with Zuni rockets, this was the only MiG kill by an A-4 during the Vietnam War.[4]
A Regiment-sized unit of Korean People's Air Force MiG pilots known as Doan Z (Group Z) flew from Kép from late 1967 through 1968.[5]
Kép, Phúc Yên and Hòa Lạc were targeted on the first night of Operation Linebacker II on 18 December 1972.
Current use
The VPAF 927th Fighter Regiment operating MiG-21s and Su-30MK2s is based at Kép.
References
- ^ "Weekly Report the situation in South Vietnam" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 22 September 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "Implications of the recent jet fighter clashes over North Vietnam" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 1966. p. 5. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ Nichols, John (1987). On Yankee Station: The Naval Air War Over Vietnam. United States Naval Institute. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-87021-559-9.
- ^ Grossnick, R (1997). United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995. Naval Historical Center. ISBN 0-16-049124-X.
- ^ "North Korean Pilots in the Skies over Vietnam" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. November 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2015.