Military base "Cam Ranh", Vietnam

During the Vietnam War , the Kamran base was located in the south of the country and served as a major rear for the US Navy. American engineers have erected a convenient airfield and a new port for the deployment of warships. The airfield was the site of the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing and the 483rd Tactical Transport Wing of the US Air Force. Contrary to the opinion of some military experts, the B-52 bombers were never deployed here.

In 1972, the US transferred the Kamran base to the use of the Vietnamese army. On April 3, 1975, the city was occupied by northern Vietnamese troops. This happened during the Spring Offensive.

The history of the creation of a Russian military base in the "Kamran"

From the mid-60s of the last century, the Soviet fleet began to develop the World Ocean and carry out military service there. Ships and submarines, Soviet air force aircraft were in the ocean for the purpose of maintaining security in the region.

The increase in the number of ships floating in the ocean and the widespread use of military aviation required logistical and technical support. Not having bases abroad, the Main Staff of the Navy deployed work, during which new points were designated for the basing of Soviet ships and aircraft on the territory of countries friendly to the Soviet Union.

What caused interest in the "Cam Ranh"?

Kamran base, previously used by US troops, has become attractive to the armed forces of the Soviet Union for its advantageous strategic position and convenience for the location of ships and aircraft.

The successful geographic location of the region made it possible to control the Malay and Singapore straits, conduct research in the field of radio reconnaissance, direction finding of the Persian Gulf zone and the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, the Philippine Sea and the East China Sea.

The countries of the ASEAN bloc were also located here, which had an accelerated pace of technical development. They had large oil reserves on the shelf and large volumes of purchases of innovative equipment and raw materials for armament.

How does the "Kamran" military object display a photo? The base with the Binhba Bay, in which it, in fact, is located, are located inside the peninsula. The depth and size of the bay make it possible to base different classes of ships and ships.

In addition, the Kamran peninsula has a huge natural advantage, which played an important role in the deployment of the base. There is a huge amount of fresh water, which is suitable for use.

In addition, the remaining berths, roads and buildings erected by the Americans are extremely convenient for use.

Signing of the lease agreement

At the end of 1978, a delegation of representatives from the USSR visited Vietnam. It was the highest command structure of the Navy and the Pacific Fleet. On December 30, the main clauses of the treaty were agreed upon, and then a protocol was signed, which became the basis for negotiations on the creation of the PIR and its joint use with Vietnam.

On May 2, 1979, a bilateral agreement was signed, signed by the leaders of the USSR and the SRV. The contract envisaged a free lease of the base for a period of 25 years.

How many naval vessels could be on the base?

In accordance with the signed agreement, ten Soviet naval vessels, eight submarines with a floating base and six naval vessels of another purpose were allowed to stay at the Vietnamese military base of "Kamran".

At the aerodrome, sixteen missile-carrying aircraft, nine reconnaissance aircraft and three air transport vessels were allowed to station.

Depending on the military-political situation and on the basis of an agreement between the USSR Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the SRV, the number of ships and aircraft was allowed to increase.

Beginning of development of the territory

The base of the Navy "Kamran", a photo of which is presented below, began to be developed in May 1979. The first were Soviet warships. In the same year, the nuclear submarine K-45 moored to the Vietnamese port in the summer. Soon the airfield of the base "Kamran" was occupied by aircraft of the Pacific Fleet.

In the winter of 1979, Admiral S. Gorshkov, Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, arrived at an important site, such as the Kamran base. The whole day was devoted to acquaintance with the military object.

The first military Pacific fleet arrived at the base in April 1980. It consisted of 54 people. Then was added and a group of signalmen from 24 people. The staff was housed in old Vietnamese houses and tents.

From 1983 to 1991, the 17th squadron of operational assignment was deployed in Cam Ranh, and from August 1991 to December 1991, eight ASESK.

What tasks were pursued by the naval forces of the Soviet Union?

A number of tasks were assigned to such a strategic facility as the Russian base in Cam Ranh, the naval command and the government of the USSR.

The following goals were set:

• Provide electricity to all vessels in the parking lot at the port of "Kamran", as well as supply the aircraft with food and water;
• Maintain the MTS reserves at the same level, issue and deliver to the passing ships technical and skipper support;
• Transit communications between ships and ships of the Pacific and Indian Ocean;
• Use the airfield of the Kamran base for the distribution of anti-submarine aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft;
• Maintain its own infrastructure;
• To develop and support Russian-Vietnamese friendship and cooperation.

What goals were facilitated by the use of the database?

The use of such a strategic facility as the "Kamran" base for the Soviet Navy greatly facilitated the solution of issues related to the provision of the necessary stocks of ships and aircraft, the tasks of which included solving problems of varying degrees of complexity.

"Kamran" was the only military base of Soviet Russia, which was located at a distance of 2500 miles from the nearest Soviet port.

"Kamran" as a pledge of peace

The Kamran base was the largest military base of the USSR abroad. At the same time, it acted as a counterweight to the US Navy Subic Bay in the Philippines. This provided an opportunity to preserve peace and stability in Southeast Asia.

The basics of Soviet aviation

According to the 1986 data, a separate mixed aviation regiment of the OCAP was stationed at the airfield of the Kamran base, which included more than four Tu-95 aircraft, four Tu-142 aircraft, about twenty Tu-16 aircraft, about fifteen MiG units -25, two An-24 transport planes and three Mi-8 helicopters. In addition, a base with anti-submarine and missile weapons was assigned to the flight regiment.

Construction of the garrison and residential facilities in Vietnam

What agreement was signed about such a strategically important facility as the base of "Kamran" (Vietnam)? 1984 marked a new agreement. The agreement between the USSR and Vietnam, signed on April 20, presupposed the construction of a garrison and other infrastructure facilities at the expense of material aid to Vietnam by the USSR.

In the period from 1985 to 1987, the construction and erection organization of the Soviet Union Zagranechstroy, which led E.Bobrenev, erected 28 objects for various purposes. It also built residential houses.

At that time the garrison was about 6,000 men, counting people employed in construction projects. The agreement of April 20, 1984 provided for the transfer of objects to the Vietnamese side for gratuitous use.

The first batch of objects was erected in December 1987, after which they were commissioned by Soviet specialists on the basis of rent-free rent.

Reduction of the presence of Soviet troops on the basis of "Kamran"

The number of Soviet troops on the base began to decline by the end of 1980. As an article in the Pravda newspaper on January 19, 1990 says, the reduction in the presence of Soviet troops in Cam Ranh was part of measures to reduce the strength of the USSR armed forces in East Asia and occupy them with a purely defensive position in the Pacific region.

At the end of 1989, the Mig-23 and Tu-16 planes were redeployed from there. By the beginning of 1990 there was only one squad of variable composition, consisting of ten aircraft.

From the beginning of 1992 to 1993 in the "Kamran" was the 119th brigade, which includes a variety of ships and aircraft. Since the fall of 1993, this brigade has also been abolished. The remaining units fell into the subordination of 922 ITPOs.

In the early 90's a lot of port facilities were transferred to the Vietnamese side in permanent possession.

The naval base "Kamran" existed until 2002.

What did the infrastructure include?

What kind of infrastructure belonged to Soviet and Russian military specialists?

From the 90s until the abolition of the ITP in Cam Ranh (April 2002), Soviet and then Russian specialists used a number of facilities. The base of the Kamran Navy (Vietnam) had:

• The military garrison, which included the headquarters and barracks for the personnel;
• Dining room, designed for 250 people;
• Bakery;
• Bath-and-laundry factory;
• Club building;
• Secondary school;
• Eighteen residential houses;
• A warehouse of material means;
• Car park together with special technical equipment.

The pier area included:

• Tank farm for storage of lubricating and combustible materials.
• Two refrigerators with a capacity of 279 tons to store food products.
• Twelve repositories of metal for materiel.
• Two water intake devices, consisting of six wells for filing a garrison water. One of them functioned exclusively for water supply of ships and aircraft.
• The central diesel power plant, whose capacity was 24,000 kW. It was designed to supply electricity to all garrison buildings, as well as the SPV facilities in the "Kamran".

Since 1995, the military base in Vietnam, "Cam Ranh", a photo of which is presented in this article, included the following units:

• Management of the ITP;
• Financial service;
• A communication node;
• Aviation commandant's office;
• Clothing service;
• A warehouse for storing fuel;
• Food service;
• Laundry;
• Military commandant's office;
• Department of Marine Engineering;
• Separate security company;
• The sanitary department;
• Fire department;
• Field institution;
• Naval hospital;
• High school.

How many people lived in the garrison?

From 1995 to 2002 in the garrison lived about 600-700 people. This was the minimum number of specialists whose goal was to ensure the normal life of the garrison. They carried out the main strategic tasks of the ITP.

The tragic incident on the basis of "Kamran"

"Kamran" (Navy base) became the site of the tragedy in 1995. On December 12, when landing at the airport's base, three Su-27 fighters, part of the squadron "Russian Knights", were destroyed. They returned home from an air show that took place in Malaysia.

Relations between Russia and Vietnam over the years of the base stay

All the activities of such an important facility as the military base in Cam Ranh were held in an atmosphere of close cooperation with Vietnamese specialists. Our military hand in hand worked with the SPS seamen, who were serving nearby, on the peninsula.

In addition to the joint solution of military-strategic tasks, cooperation in the sphere of culture and sport was also noted. National holidays of Vietnam were celebrated with triumph. All this contributed to the creation of a friendly atmosphere.

And what today?

In February 2014, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that Russia intends to expand its military presence in the world. In this connection, active negotiations were held on the deployment of military facilities in Vietnam.

Shoigu noted that this military base should be refueled by Russian military aircraft designed for long-distance flights.

Since the spring of 2014, the airfield of the Kamran base began to be used to service Russian Il-78 aircraft, which provided fuel refueling in the air for military missile carriers Tu-95 MS.

Has Russia provided Cambran to Russia in full? The military base was to become open for the call of Russian warships. This issue was discussed during the visit to our country of the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. It was decided that an official agreement would be signed with Vietnam in the near future.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, our ships and vessels for service in the Pacific Ocean should only notify the Vietnamese authorities about entering the military port of Cam Ranh. This became a major event, as Vietnam became the second state after Syria, which allowed the launch of naval ships of the Russian Navy into their territory. Many military experts pointed out that an important role was played by the fact that Vietnam has long been considered a partner of Russia in the military-technical field.

In recent years, many contracts have been signed, with a total value of $ 4.5 billion. In 2014, Russia delivered six diesel submarines of class 06361 "Varshavianka" equipped with the Club-S missile system to Vietnam. A mobile coastal complex "Bastion" was installed, as well as a geographic information system "Horizon" for the PBC. Vietnam ordered military boats of the type "Molniya", frigates of the guarding purpose 11661 "Gepard-39", and also fighter planes Su-30 MK2.

And will it be tomorrow?

Will Kamran base be officially provided to Russia? Vietnam has an ambiguous position on this score. Just a few months ago, the state was in favor of the return of the Russian military to the base, provided that cooperation will not carry a military threat to third countries.

Relations between the two countries should be exclusively peaceful. This position was voiced on May 17 by the Vietnamese ambassador in our country Nguyen Thanh Sean. He noted that the Vietnamese policy is based on not making military alliances with one state as opposed to another.

As the diplomat noted, in this context, the provision of Kamran ports is a priority. The purpose of cooperation between the two countries will be to provide maritime services, repair of ships and the development of military equipment to preserve peace and stability in the Pacific region.

Nguyen Thanh Sean stated that Hanoi intends to continue cooperation with Moscow in the field of defense. They were also told that Vietnam always perceived Russia as a friendly partner.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that Russia's military bases can be deployed in Cuba and Vietnam. Specific terms of placement were not indicated. It was noted that negotiations are under way in this direction.

Dmitry Peskov explained the possible basing in these countries of the national interests of our country. Peskov also noted that the situation in the international arena over the past two years has become extremely tense, and significant changes have been made to Russia's security policy.

And here's an unexpected turn of events. A few days ago, information appeared about the impossibility of finding Russia at such an object as the Kamran base. Vietnam made an official announcement. This was announced at a briefing in Hanoi by the Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hai Binh. According to him, Vietnam refuses to allow military bases of other countries, including Russia, to enter its territory.