hotchpotch/wikipedia-multilingual-ir-pairs huggingface dataset:
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
During the Vietnam War (or Second Indochina War), Tan Son Nhut Air Base (then using the alternative spelling "Tân Sơn Nhứt") was an important facility for both the US Air Force and the VNAF. Tan Son Nhut Air Base served as the focal point for the initial United States Air Force deployment and buildup in South Vietnam in the early 1960s. After 1966, with the establishment of the 7th Air Force as the main USAF Command and Control Headquarters in South Vietnam, Tan Son Nhut functioned as a Headquarters base, a Tactical Reconnaissance base, and as a Special Operations base, focusing on areal defoliation (Operation Ranch Hand). With the drawdown of US forces in South Vietnam after 1971, the base took on a myriad of organizations transferred from deactivated bases in the country.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Between 1968 and 1974, Tan Son Nhut Airport was one of the busiest military airbases in the world.  During the last days of South Vietnam, Pan Am schedules from 1973 showed Boeing 747 service was being operated four times a week to San Francisco via Guam and Manila.Continental Airlines operated up to 30 Boeing 707 military charters per week to and from Tan Son Nhut Airport during the 1968-74 period.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
It was from Tan Son Nhut Air Base that the last U.S. Airman left South Vietnam in March, 1973.  The Air Force Post Office (APO) for Tan Son Nhut Air Base was APO San Francisco, 96307.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
In September 1961, the first permanent United States Air Force (USAF) unit, the 507th Tactical Control Group from Shaw Air Force Base South Carolina deployed sixty-seven officers and airmen to Tan Son Nhut to install radars and began monitoring air traffic and training of South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) personnel to operate and service the equipment. This organization formed the nucleus of what became a tactical air control system for a vast fleet of South Vietnamese and American aircraft.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
During October 1961, four RF-101Cs and a photo processing unit from the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at Yokota AB Japan, arrived at Tan Son Nhut and joined the combat reporting post, with the reconnaissance craft flying photographic missions over South Vietnam and Laos within a few days of their arrival.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The RF-101C was the only Voodoo version to serve in Vietnam. The 67th TRW was soon followed by detachments of the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Kadena AB, Okinawa, which also flew RF-101 reconnaissance missions over Laos and South Vietnam, first from bases in Thailand and then from South Vietnam. These reconnaissance missions lasted from November 1961 through the spring of 1964.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
RF-101Cs flew pathfinder missions for F-100s in the first USAF strike against North Vietnam on February 8, 1965. They initially operated out of South Vietnam, but later flew most of their missions over North Vietnam out of Takhli RTAFB, Thailand. Bombing missions against the North required a large amount of photographic reconnaissance support, and by the end of 1967, all but one of the Tactical Air Command RF-101C squadrons were deployed to  Southeast Asia.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The reconnaissance Voodoos at Ton Son Nuht were incorporated into the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in February 1966.  33 RF-101Cs were lost in combat in Southeast Asia—24 to Anti-aircraft artillery and small arms fire, 5 to Surface-to-air missiles, one to a MiG-21, one in a sapper attack on its base at Tan Son Nhut AB, and two to unknown causes. Six were lost in operational (non-combat related) accidents while serving in Southeast Asia. More than 30 RF-101Cs were lost in accidents during their early years of service, mainly due to pilot inexperience.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The last 45th TRS RF-101C left Tan Son Nhut on November 16, 1970, bringing the era of Voodoo participation in the Southeast Asia War to an end.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
During January 1962 a detachment of a dozen Fairchild C-123 Provider transports arrived in South Vietnam to provide tactical airlift support for South Vietnam's hard-pressed ground troops. Called "Mule Train", its primary purpose was to give the ground forces an assault capability via airdrop or insertion. Yet the unit also saw a great need for logistic support entailing daily delivery of supplies to remote sites in Vietnam.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
On 13 November 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy approved a recommendation to increase the mobility of South Vietnam's hard-pressed military. The White House authorized the Air Force to deploy a squadron of Air Force C-123 Providers and 40 Army H-21 Shawnee helicopters to assist South Vietnam's forces.  On Dec. 6, the Defense Department ordered the 346th Troop Carrier Squadron (Assault) to the Far East for 120 days TDY "to participate in a classified training mission" in the official jargon of the day. A second Mule Train squadron, the 777th Troop Carrier Squadron (Assault), arrived in South Vietnam on June 15, 1962. Eventually, both squadrons were placed under the 315th Air Commando Wing.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Most sources fix Jan. 2, 1962, as the date that the initial group of aircraft arrived at Tan Son Nhut AB in South Vietnam.  All of the initial Mule Train missions were dedicated to carrying cargo. One-hundred-kilo sacks of rice were a major item, and at least one pilot over-grossed his aircraft by figuring them in at 100 pounds. The most typical commodities were live ducks, chickens, pigs, and cows, packed in locally made pens of wood and, when necessary, parachuted into the outlying camps. Mule Train aircraft also transported many Vietnamese natives. On more than one occasion, a Mule Train crew would smell smoke in the aircraft and find a traveler cooking food in the aircraft's cargo compartment.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
There was no pretense that this was a South Vietnamese cargo operation, nor was there any training of Vietnamese for the task. Vietnamese were employed as "kickers" to move the cargo out the rear on re-supply drop.  The C-123 was a relatively simple and rugged aircraft. Its systems could take the heat and humidity of Vietnam better than more sophisticated aircraft. Tough landing gear and glider-strong fuselage could take the rough landings on short airfields, where stopping depended upon a slow approach, touching down on the edge of the airstrip, then full reverse and a steady, heavy foot on the anti-skid brakes.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Soon, the Mule Train route structure became linked to the hard-surface runways at Da Nang, Tan Son Nhut, Nha Trang, Bien Hoa, Pleiku, Ban Me Thuot, Huế, Da Lat, Sóc Trăng, Qui Nhơn, and Vũng Tàu. Virtually every Mule Train sortie began or ended at one of these airfields, but intermediate stops could be anywhere.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Two C-123 aircraft were maintained at Da Nang to support northern outposts.  The Mule Train crews were experienced in assault work, but they had to improvise for conditions in Vietnam. It was difficult to decide exactly where to drop paratroops over the rough terrain, and much depended upon the map-reading ability of the crew.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The die was cast on June 28, 1962, when 16 C-123s and 12 South Vietnamese C-47s dropped paratroops under adverse weather conditions about 35 miles north of Saigon. The operation went off well despite a 500-foot ceiling.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
On other occasions, the C-123s would load up troops from the South Vietnamese airborne brigade in Saigon to fly to the relief of a village that had come under attack. Over the village, the C-123 pilot would reduce power, drop flaps, and spiral down to the drop altitude and give the paratroopers a green light to jump.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
At times, C-123 crews were uncomfortable with the assault role. South Vietnamese Special Forces were sometimes capricious about when and where they would fight. Straight cargo operations were hazardous enough, especially during the monsoon season when South Vietnamese troops were socked in in the mountainous valleys. To execute the mission, the C-123s would line up in a proper direction, let down in the undercast, and if they did not break out by a given altitude, would climb back up. There were usually 800-foot ceilings in the valleys, and most of the time they broke out.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Mule Train missions during 1962 became extremely diverse, with the C-123s serving in roles ranging from duck delivery to napalm bombing. In the latter role, the Provider carried nine wooden pallets, each holding three 55-gallon drums of napalm mixed with gasoline. With a good kicker, the load could go out the back ramp in less than five seconds and leave a pattern of flame 1,200 feet long.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
In October 1962, there began what became known as the Southeast Asia Airlift System. Requirements were forecast out to 25 days, and these requirements were matched against available resources. The 315th Troop Carrier Group and 8th Aerial Port Squadron came into being and set the stage for tighter control of airlift operations.  The era of the Mule Train operation was over. It left behind a record of success and a collection of procedures and techniques for cargo work in Southeast Asia.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Additional USAF personnel arrived at Tan Son Nhut in early 1962 after the VNAF transferred two dozen seasoned pilots from the 1st Transportation Group at Tan Son Nhut to provide aircrews for the newly activated 2nd Fighter Squadron then undergoing training at Bien Hoa Air Base. This sudden loss of qualified C-47 pilots brought the 1st Transportation Group's airlift capability dangerously low.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
In order to alleviate the problem, United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, on the recommendation of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) Vietnam, ordered thirty USAF pilots temporarily assigned to the VNAF to serve as C-47 co-pilots. This influx of U.S. personnel quickly returned the 1st TG to full strength.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The Americans arrived at Tan Son Nhut during March and April 1962 and immediately began flying with Vietnamese crews. Unfortunately, problems arose between the Americans and Vietnamese and by August the situation had so deteriorated that the 1st Transportation Group commander. Nguyen Cao Ky urgently appealed for closer cooperation and understanding between the two groups. The situation seemed to gradually improve and although there were still problems, the two groups developed a closer working relationship.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Unlike the USAF Farm Gate personnel at Bien Hoa Air Base, the C-47 co-pilots actually became part of the VNAF operational structure - though still under U.S. control. Because of their rather unusual situation, these pilots soon adopted the very unofficial nickname, The Dirty Thirty.
In a sense they were the first U.S. airmen actually committed to combat in Vietnam, rather than being assigned as advisors or support personnel.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The original Dirty Thirty pilots eventually rotated home during early 1963 and were replaced by a second contingent of American pilots. This detachment remained with the VNAF until December 1963 when they were withdrawn from Vietnam.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Starting in 1962, the 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron began rotating Convair F-102A Delta Dagger interceptors to Tan Son Nhut Air Base on a rotating basis to provide air defense of the Saigon area in the event of a North Vietnamese air attack.  These rotations from Clark ended in July 1970.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
F-102's and TF-102's (two seat trainer version)were deployed to Tan Son Nhut initially because ground radar sites frequently painted small aircraft penetrating South Vietnamese airspace from the north. To determine if the unknown aircraft were infiltrators, drug smugglers or tourists, the F-102's were put on air defense alert, ready to scramble, intercept and identify the unknown, light aircraft that were crossing into South Vietnam.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The F-102, a supersonic, high altitude fighter interceptor designed to intercept Soviet bombers was given the mission of intercepting,identifying and, if necessary, destroying small aircraft, flying from tree top level to 2,000 ft at speeds less than the final approach landing speed of the F-102.  The TF-102, employing two pilots with one acting solely as radar intercept operator, was considered to be safer and more efficient as a low altitude interceptor.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Before the rotation ended in July 1970, pilots and F-102 aircraft from other Far East squadrons were used in the deployment. 
F-102's were also deployed to DaNang on a temporary basis.
On 8 July 1963 the MAAG units were organized as the 33d Tactical Group. The Group was equipped primarily with cargo aircraft, C-54 Skymasters, U-3Bs, VC-47, and VC-123z.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Its mission was to maintain and operate base support facilities at Tan Son Nhut, supporting the 2d Air Division and subordinate units by performing reconnaissance of Vietnam from various detachments flying RB-26 Invaders, RB-57 Canberras, and RF-101 Voodoo aircraft.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The early months of 1964 were a time of expansion, training, and comparative quiet. By midyear, the South Vietnamese Air Force had grown to thirteen squadrons; four fighter, four observation, three helicopter, and two C-47 transport. The South Vietnamese followed the practice of the U.S. Air Force, organizing the squadrons into wings, with one wing located in each of the four corps tactical zones at Cần Thơ Air Base, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Pleiku Air Base, and Da Nang Air Base
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
After the Tonkin Gulf incident, the USAF response was to deploy twelve F-102 Delta Dagger air defense interceptor aircraft, their number divided between Tan Son Nhut and at Da Nang Air Base. In addition, eight F-100 Super Sabres joined the F-102s at Da Nang, and two squadrons of B-57 Canberra light bombers landed at Bien Hoa Air Base.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The need for additional reconnaissance assets, especially those capable of operating at night, led to a classified strategic reconnaissance project which began in May 1963.  Earlier that year, the Air Force awarded the General Dynamics company a contract to modify two B-57E Canberras (55-4243, 55-4245) as all-weather high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
General Dynamics was chosen to make modifications to the B-57E as it had extensive experience in modifying Canberras with the RB-57D and RB-57F projects and turning the B-57 into a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft equipped with various electronic and imagery equipment.  The forward nose section of the B-57Es were modified to house a KA-1 36-inch forward oblique camera  and a low panoramic KA-56 camera used on the Lockheed U-2. Mounted inside the specially-configured bomb bay door was a KA-1 vertical camera, a K-477 split vertical day-night camera, an infrared scanner, and a KA-1 left oblique camera. The modified aircraft were redesignated RB-57E.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The 2d Air Division was desperate for tactical intelligence and on arrival the pilots that ferried in the RB-57Es were immediately assigned to the Division as combat crews and briefed on missions by Divisional intelligence officers on the reconnaissance  flights they would make.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The first mission was flown on 7 May 1963 by the highly-classified Patricia Lynn squadron (Detachment 1, 33d Tactical Group, later 6250th Combat Support Group, later 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing) operating from Tan Son Nhut AB.  The Detachment flew nighttime reconnaissance missions to identify Viet Cong base camps, small arms factories, and storage and training areas.  The sorties yielded results that heretofore only had been wished for.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The nighttime imagery showed Communist training and base camps; small, hidden factories and storage dumps that RF-101 Voodoo crews had flown over during the day and had been unable to locate from the air.   The existing RF-101s in 1963 could only photograph a few kilometers (they had to fly very low) per flight with their cameras. The RB-57Es could image the whole border with Cambodia in 2 1/2 flights at 16,000 to 17,000 feet with superior results.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
From then on, the Patricia Lynn crews both night and day missions over South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and areas of North Vietnam until 1971, being some of the last USAF tactical aircraft to be withdrawn from the country.  The RB-57Es carried the call-sign "Moonglow".  Some missions were flown at low-level over single targets, others consisted of 4-6 specific targets.  At night RB-57Es flew the canals and rivers in the Mekong Delta and southern part of South Vietnam. The sampans were easy to spot with the "real time" IR if the crew could keep over the canal which was difficult in the darkness.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The United States began Operation Steel Tiger over the Laos Panhandle and the DMZ on April 3, 1965, to locate and destroy enemy forces and materiel being moved southward at night into South Vietnam, and to fly bomb damage assessment reconnaissance runs over targets attacked in the secret war in which the United States was engaged there.  These flights teamed with B-57B bombers operating out of Bien Hoa AB and a C-130 Hercules flare ship.  Three more aircraft were subsequently modified in 1964/65 bringing the number of aircraft to five.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Two RB-57Es were lost in combat operations. The first (S/N 55-4243) was lost as a result of a fuselage fire caused by small arms while on a low level reconnaissance mission in August 1965. The crew ejected safely when near Tan Son Nhut Air Base. The second aircraft (S/N 55-4264) was lost on Oct. 15, 1968, after an engine fire started by ground fire forced the crew to eject.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
A sixth Patricia Lynn aircraft (55-4257) joined the team in 1968, as a replacement for the combat losses. This aircraft had a Terrain Following Radar designed to allow the aircraft to fly at a constant altitude, which would, in theory, produce better reconnaissance photos. Unfortunately, the aircraft flew so low (500–1,000 feet) that the infrared film was used up before the entire assessment area could be photographed.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
A 1968 update, under the Compass Eagle program, gave the back-seater a video display to monitor the IR scanner system. This allowed the crew to call in strikes on targets in real time, instead of having to return to base to get imagery developed, by which time the enemy would have likely moved on
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
There were frequent changes and updating of the equipment, including the installation of 12-inch focal length KA-82 and 24-inch focal length KA-83 cameras. The infrared equipment was useful in spotting Viet Cong river traffic at night along the Mekong Delta southeast of Saigon.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
In 1969/70, Patricia Lynn missions were flown into Laos and into Cambodia including Barrel Roll strikes in 1969. The Patricia Lynn operation was terminated in mid-1971 with the inactivation of the 460th TRW and the four surviving aircraft returned to the United States.
Known RB-57E Patricia Lynn aircraft were:
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Martin B-57E-MA 55-4243  Modified to RB-57E in 1963. Lost in combat with Detachment 1, 6250th Combat Support Group, when hit by ground fire Aug 5, 1965 and caught fire while on return to base.
Martin B-57E-MA 55-4264. Modified to RB-57E in 1965.  Lost in combat with Detachment 1, 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Oct 25, 1968 after being hit by ground fire 3 mi SW of Truc Giang, South Vietnam.  Both crew ejected safely and were rescued.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Martin B-57E-MA 55-4257. Modified to RB-57E in 1968.  Equipped with terrain-following radar.  Converted to EB-57E in 1971 and transferred to ADC 4677th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron, Hill AFB, Utah.  Retired to MASDC in 1979.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The 505th Tactical Air Control Group was assigned to Tan Son Nhut on 8 April 1964. The Unit was primarily responsible for controlling the tactical air resources of the US and its allies in South Vietnam, Thailand, and to some extent Cambodia and Laos. Carrying out the mission of providing tactical air support required two major components, radar installations and forward air controllers (FACs).
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The radar sites provided flight separation for attack and transport aircraft which took the form of flight following and, in some cases control by USAF Weapons Directors. Forward Air Controllers had the critical job of telling tactical fighters where to drop their ordnance. FAC's were generally attached to either US Army or ARVN (Army of Vietnam) units and served both on the ground and in the air.
Squadrons of the 505th were located as follows:
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The TASS units flew either the O-1G Birddog, O-2 Skymaster, or OV-10 Bronco.
Maintenance support was provided by the 505th Tactical Control Maintenance Squadron first based at Tan Son Nhut and later at Bien Hoa Air Base
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The 619th Tactical Control Squadron was responsible from the Mekong Delta to Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands from 8 Apr 1964-15 Mar 1973.  During this period its primary mission was to operate and maintain  air control management center capable of operating 24 hours a day in order to control air traffic and operate direction finding equipment.  Detachments of the 619th TASS were located as follows:
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
Attacks against Americans in South Vietnam continued. On Christmas Eve 1964, the bombing of a residence for American officers at Saigon brought the United States to the brink of bombing North Vietnam. The Johnson administration's reluctance to directly engage North Vietnam ended on 7 February 1965, when the Viet Cong attacked an American detachment near Pleiku, killing eight and wounding 104 American soldiers.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
President Johnson approved Operation Rolling Thunder, a limited and carefully paced program of air strikes that more closely resembled the graduated response to the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba than the recommendations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for a vigorous and extensive bombardment. Despite the reliance on gradual escalation, the Johnson administration struck directly at North Vietnam in an attempt to save South Vietnam unilaterally, regardless of the weakness or incompetence of the military government in Saigon, abandoning a policy of partnership with the South Vietnamese that worked toward political stability and economic progress as conditions leading to a military victory in the South.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The United States Air Force now had four distinct air wars on the mainland of Southeast Asia, as the offensive against North Vietnam took its place alongside the attacks in South Vietnam and in northern and southern Laos. In 1965, United States Air Force was not fully equipped, suitably trained, nor doctrinally prepared for the situation in Southeast Asia. The transition from massive retaliation to flexible response and the shift from nuclear to conventional weapons remained incomplete.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
As part of the Operation Rolling Thunder buildup, several Tactical Air Command F-100 Super Sabre squadrons wee deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base:
The 481st was deployed on temporary duty from the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing, Cannon AFB, New Mexico.  The 416th was a PACAF 31st Air Division squadron that was moved to TSN from Bien Hoa AB.  The 418at returned to the United States; the 416th returned to Bien Hoa.
新山一空軍基地 越南共和國（南越）空軍使用情形
The first tasks facing the USAF, however, were to set up a workable organizational structure in the region, improve the area's inadequate air bases, create an efficient airlift system, and develop equipment and techniques to support the ground battle.