ICM Nakhon Phanom Air Base

To counter the offensive of Ho Chi Minh's troops, American leadership decided in the spring of 1966 to deploy B-26K combat aircraft in Southeast Asia. They were stationed in northeastern Thailand, as this was geographically close to the likely combat zones. They were based at the Thai airfield of Nakhon Phanom. To remain in Thailand, the B-26K Counter Invaders were designated as A-26A, since the country officially did not allow the deployment of bombers on its territory. This also included aircraft from the 609th Special Operations Squadron. Most Counter Invader combat missions took place because the Vietnamese air defense posed a serious threat to relatively slow piston aircraft. Alongside the B-26K, the light piston aircraft O-2 Skymaster was also stationed in Nakhon Phanom. These were also used for special missions, and some of them had a black fuselage paint scheme for night flights.