page_title: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base
section_title: 6234th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional)
hierarchical_section_title: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base / History / 6234th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional)
caption_attribution_description: English: 18th Tactical Fighter Wing F-105s deploying to Korat RTAFB, Thailand 1965 Republic F-105D-25-RE Thunderchief 61-0204 identifiable, was retired to MASDC as FK0009 Oct 7, 1976.
context_page_description: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base is a base of the Royal Thai Air Force in northeast Thailand, approximately 250 km northeast of Bangkok and about 8 km south of the centre of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, the largest province in Thailand.
  During the Vietnam War, from 1962 to 1975, Korat RTAFB was a front-line facility of the United States Air Force in Thailand.
  During the 1980s and early-1990s, the airfield was jointly operated as a civil airport for Nakhon Ratchasima. This ended with the opening of Nakhon Ratchasima Airport in the early-1990s.
context_section_description: In April 1965, the 6234th Air Base Squadron was organized at Korat as a permanent unit under the 2d Air Division to support the TDY fighter units and their operations. This squadron was in existence until the end of April when it was discontinued and the 6234th Combat Support Group, the 6234th Support Squadron, and the 6234th Material Squadron were designated and organized as a result of a 3 May 1965 Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) special order.
  The 6234th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) was activated in April 1965 as part of the 2d AD with Colonel William D. Ritchie, Jr. as commander. The wing had responsibility for all air force units in Thailand until permanent wings were established at other bases.
  Known deployed squadrons to Korat attached to the 6234th TFW were:
  67th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) February–December 1965
  12th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) February–August 1965
  357th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) 12 June-8 November 1965 when it was reassigned to Takhli RTAFB.
  469th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) remained on TDY at Korat until 15 November 1965 when it was permanently assigned to the 6234th.
  68th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-4C Phantom II) 25 July - 6 December 1965. This was part of the first deployment of the Phantom II to Southeast Asia, with two other squadrons (47th and 431st TFS) deploying to Ubon RTAFB. The squadron specialized in NIGHT OWL (night strike and flare) tactics and this was their main mission at Korat.
  421st Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-105D) 20 November 1965 on.
  Wild Weasel Detachment (former 531st Tactical Fighter Squadron) (F-100F Super Sabre) November 1965 – July 1966.
  On 3 April 1965 the 67th TFS launched the first unsuccessful US airstrike against the Thanh Hóa Bridge.
  In 1965, the 6234th TFW and its subordinate units operating F-100s, F-105s, and F-4Cs flew 10,797 sorties totalling 26,165 hours. The wing's efforts merited the Presidential Unit Citation in March 1968.
caption: 18th Tactical Fighter Wing F-105s deploying to Korat RTAFB, Thailand 1965
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