Qualla: Da Nang Air Base https://qualla.com/da-nang-air-base en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:40:53 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/6/u/g/da-nang-air-base-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Da Nang Air Base https://qualla.com/da-nang-air-base Da Nang Air Base: Introduction https://qualla.com/da-nang-air-base/ Photo credit Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0. On 8 March 1965, the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines waded ashore at Da Nang beach — the first American combat troops deployed to South Vietnam. They were greeted by South Vietnamese officials offering garlands of flowers. Within hours, they were at the airfield, where the machinery of a major war was already spinning up. The base they entered had already lived several lives: Japanese-occupied Tourane Airfield, then a French colonial facility where American C-119s flew covert supply missions, then a South Vietnamese air force base hosting the opening strikes of Operation Rolling Thunder. It would live several more before it was over.

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Image: Jpatokal | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/6/u/g/da-nang-air-base-wp/w6ug-da-nang-air-base-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Da Nang Air Base: From Tourane to the Jet Age https://qualla.com/da-nang-air-base/ Photo credit 43MZrinyiII, CC0. The airfield's modern history begins under occupation. On 14 July 1941, the Japanese government issued an ultimatum to Vichy France demanding use of bases throughout Indochina. The French acquiesced, and by late July the Japanese were operating at what they called Tourane Airfiel...

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Image: 43MZrinyiII | CC0

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/6/u/g/da-nang-air-base-wp/w6ug-da-nang-air-base-from-tourane-to-the-jet-age.mp3 0:06 2 full Da Nang Air Base: The War Comes to the Base https://qualla.com/da-nang-air-base/ Photo credit United States Marine Corps Official Photograph, Public domain. By the early 1960s, Da Nang Air Base had become a hub for the expanding American advisory effort. US Army helicopter companies arrived in January 1962, flying Piasecki CH-21 Shawnees on transport missions into I Corps — the northernmost military region of South Vietnam. The USAF'...

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Image: United States Marine Corps Official Photograph | Public domain

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/6/u/g/da-nang-air-base-wp/w6ug-da-nang-air-base-the-war-comes-to-the-base.mp3 0:06 3 full Da Nang Air Base: Under Fire https://qualla.com/da-nang-air-base/ Photo credit Timgray200, CC BY-SA 3.0. The base was never safe. Enemy forces probed and struck it repeatedly throughout the war, demonstrating that no amount of perimeter security could fully protect a fixed installation in a guerrilla conflict. The vulnerabilities were sometimes startling: on one occasion, People's A...

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Image: Timgray200 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/6/u/g/da-nang-air-base-wp/w6ug-da-nang-air-base-under-fire.mp3 0:06 4 full Da Nang Air Base: The Fall https://qualla.com/da-nang-air-base/ Photo credit Fa2f, CC BY 3.0. By late March 1975, the strategic situation in I Corps had collapsed. Panicked civilians and deserting soldiers converged on Da Nang from across the region, flooding the city and the airfield. On 27 March, refugees surged onto the runways and taxiways trying to board World Airway...

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Image: Fa2f | CC BY 3.0

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/6/u/g/da-nang-air-base-wp/w6ug-da-nang-air-base-the-fall.mp3 0:06 5 full