Note: this text is taken verbatim from 13th AF material.
TAKHLI ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE BASE
Takhli Royal Thai
Air Force Base [ as of June 1972 ] is the home of the F-4 Phantom fighters of the 49th TFW. Included in the 49th TFW are the Organizational Maintenance Squadron, Avionics Maintenance Squadron, Munitions Maintenance Squadron, Field Maintenance Squadron, and the 7th, 8th, 9th and the 417th Tactical
Fighter Squadrons.
Major Units: Aircraft Assigned--:
F-4D, HH-43, KC-135 and F-86
Runway Length.,
9,000-feet, concrete asphalt
Takhli RTAFB is also the home of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing and the 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of the Royal Thai Air, Force, flying the F-86 Sabrejet.
49th Tactical Fighter Wing
11th Air Refueling Squadron
6499th Combat Support Group
27th USAF Dispensary
2083rd Communications Squadron
Det. 8, 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group
4th Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Thai Air Force
Hospital Facilities:
25-bed-dispensary
Miles from Bangkok:
130-miles north-northwest
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base is located 130 miles north north-west of Bangkok. United States Air Force personnel began arriving at Takhli in early 1961 to support a detachment of F-100 Supersabres from the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing, Cannon AFB, N.M. The base continued to support F-100 rotational units until March 1965, when F-105 Thunderchiefs from the United States- replaced the F-100s.
The rotational Thunderchief units were replaced in late 1965, when the F-105-equipped 355th TFW was deployed permanently from McConnell AFB, Kan., to Takhli. Assigned to the wing were the 333rd, 354th and 357th Tactical Fighter Squadrons and a Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron made up of EB-66 aircraft.
From March 1965 until April 1971 the 355th TFW participated in all the major strikes against North Vietnamese logistical areas. Among the targets hit by the 355th were the Yen Bay Arsenal and storage complex, Viet Tri Railroad and highway bridge, Hanoi petroleum storage complex, Dap Cau railroad and highway bridge, Phuc Yen petroleum storage. and Thai Nguyen railroad station and yard.
All U.S. Air Force units left Takhli RTAFB by April 1971. On May 5, 1972, about 35 members of the PACAF advance party returned to prepare for the arrival of the F-4s of the 49th TFW from Holloman AFB, N.M. and the KC-1355 of the 11th Air Refueling Squadron from Altus AFB, Okla. These units were deployed from the U.S. as part of President Nixon's plan to protect the remaining forces in Vietnam and halt the increased communist aggression in Southeast Asia.
The 49th TFW, which helped write the spectacular history of American air power during World War II and the Korean War, today maintains its place of importance. With its four fighter squadrons it is the largest combat fighter wing in Tactical Air Command and the only wing in the Air Force to be dual-based. Since arriving at Holloman AFB in 1968, the wing has deployed to its second home in Germany on three occasions to increase its proficiency in the operating techniques unique to the European environment. For the. flawless manner in which the wing redeployed to Holloman on the first exercise, dubbed Crest Cap I, the wing was awarded the coveted Mackay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year for 1969.