page_title: Bien Hoa Air Base
section_title: 604th Air Commando Squadron A-37A Combat Dragon Program
hierarchical_section_title: Bien Hoa Air Base / American use during the Vietnam War / 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing / 604th Air Commando Squadron A-37A Combat Dragon Program
caption_attribution_description: English: 90th Attack Squadron - Squadron Photo - Bien Hoa Air Base RVN July 1967
context_page_description: Bien Hoa Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about 25 km from Ho Chi Minh City, across the Dong Nai river in the northern ward of Tân Phong, and within the city of Biên Hòa within Đồng Nai Province. The boomburb city is densely populated and rings the base, despite the astronomical level of agent orange toxins simply left there for decades. The base is scheduled to begin cleanup by 2019.
  During the Vietnam War the base was used by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. The United States used it as a major base from 1961 through 1973, stationing Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine units there.
context_section_description: On 17 July 1967 the 604th Air Commando Squadron flying the A-37A Dragonfly began arriving at the base to test the A-37 in combat over three months under a program named Combat Dragon.
  Testing began on 15 August flying 12 close air support sorties daily, increasing to 60 by 5 September. In late October, some of the planes moved to Pleiku Air Base to perform armed and visual reconnaissance missions and night interdiction flights in the Tiger Hound operational area over southeastern Laos. The tests ended successfully in mid-December with only one aircraft lost and the squadron was then attached to the 14th Air Commando Wing at Nha Trang Air Base but it continued to fly out of Bien Hoa.
caption: 90th Attack Squadron - Squadron Photo, July 1967
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