Khmer National Air Force

The Khmer National Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air Khmère – AAK), commonly known by its americanized acronym KAF (or KhAF) was the air force branch of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War between 1970 and 1975.

History
Although an air wing for the fledging Khmer Royal Army was first planned in 1952, it wasn't until April 22, 1954, however, that the Royal Khmer Air Force (French: Aviation Royale Khmère – AVRK) was officially commissioned by Royal decree. Commanded by Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s personal physician, Colonel Dr. Ngo Hou and known sarcastically as the ‘Royal Flying Club’, the AVRK initially operated a small fleet of four Morane-Saulnier MS 500 Criquet liaison aircraft, two Cessna 180 light utility aircraft, one Cessna 170 light personal aircraft, and one DC-3 modified for VIP transport. At this stage, the AVRK was not yet an independent service; since its earlier personnel cadre was drawn from the Engineer Corps, the Ministry of Defense placed the AVRK under the administrative control of the Army Engineer’s Inspector-General Department.

During its early expansion phase from 1955 to 1962, the AVRK received assistance from France, the United States, and Israel, who provided training programs, technical aid, and additional aircraft. Deliveries by the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group (US MAAG) of fourteen T-6G Texan trainers, eight Cessna L-19A Bird Dog observation aircraft, three DHC L-20 Beaver liaison aircraft, and seven C-47 transports (soon joined by with two additional C-47s bought from Israel) allowed the AVRK to acquire a limited light strike capability, as well as improving its own reconnaissance and transportation capabilities.

The first flight training courses in-country were initiated on October 1954 by French instructors at the newly founded Royal Flying School at Pochentong airfield near Phnom Penh, though Khmer pilot students were later sent to France. In August 1964 the US MAAG aid program was suspended when Cambodia adopted a neutrality policy, so the AVRK continued to rely on French military assistance but at the same time turned to Australia, the Soviet Union and China for aircraft and training.

Because of its low strength and limited flying assets, the Air Force was far from being able to accomplish its primary mission which was to defend the national airspace. Although there were several airstrips other than Pochentong, they were only used temporarily as emergency landing strips and never as secondary airbases. Therefore, the Air Force was merely considered a combat support arm which provided air transport services to infantry units and occasionally, close air support to combat operations.

Pre-1970 organization
In March 1970, the Royal Cambodian Air Force had a strength of 1,250 Officers and airmen under the command of Colonel Keu Pau Ann, consisting in most part of flight crew personnel (pilots, navigators, flight engineers, radio operators, and flight mechanics) and ground technicians (air controllers, radar and radio station operators, mechanics, and auxiliary personnel). The main air elements of the AVRK Tactical Air Group consisted of four flight groups – one advanced training, one attack, one transport and liaison, and one helio – provided with a mixed inventory of 143 aircraft of 23 different types, mostly of French, American, Soviet, Chinese, Yugoslavian, and Canadian origin. Most of the aircraft and personnel were concentrated at the military airbase adjacent to the Pochentong International Airport at Phnom Penh, which also housed the Air Academy and the AVRK Headquarters, being structured as follows:


 * The Air Academy (Royal Flying School) at Pochentong operated an Advanced Training Squadron consisting of eight Yakovlev Yak-18 Max and 12 Gardan GY-80 Horizon light trainers, plus four Potez CM.170R Fouga Magister (converted to the ground attack role) and four Cessna T-37B Tweet jet trainers;


 * The Intervention Group had six Shenyang J-5, 12 MiG-17F fighter jets, and one MiG-15UTI jet trainer; 16 Douglas AD-4N Skyraider three-seat night attack aircraft (only eight were operational by 1968), and 17 North American T-28D Trojan trainers converted to the fighter-bomber role;


 * The Observation and Combat Accompanying Group had eight Cessna L-19 Bird Dog observation light aircraft.


 * The Transport and Liaison Group operated one Douglas C-54B Skymaster four-engine transport (used as a VIP transport), one Ilyushin Il-14, two Cessna 180 Skywagons, three de Havilland Canada DHC L-20 Beaver STOL utility transports, three UTVA 60AT1 utility and liaison aircraft, six Dassault MD 315R Flamant light twin-engined transports, eight Antonov An-2 Colt, and 12 Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports.


 * The Helicopter Group operated one Mil Mi-4 Hound, one Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw, and two Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw utility and transport helicopters, plus eight Sud Aviation SA 3130 Alouette II, and three or five Sud Aviation SA 316B Alouette III light helicopters.

In addition to aircraft acquired or donated from friendly countries, the AVRK between 1962 and 1966 also incorporated on its inventory a small number of planes and helicopters flown into Cambodia by defecting South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) pilots, which included three A-1H Skyraiders and two Sikorsky H-34 helicopters.

Security Battalion
To patrol its main facilities and aircraft in Pochentong against possible acts of sabotage or enemy attacks, the AVRK command raised in 1967-68 an airfield security battalion (French: Battaillon de Fusiliers de l’Air – BFA). Similar in function to the British RAF Regiment, the BFA was organized as a light infantry battalion comprising three rifle companhies maintained primarily for airfield security duties and static defence. Permantely allocated at Pochentong airbase and commanded by Air Force Major Sou Chhom, the battalion fielded some 200-300 airmen armed with obsolete French-made bolt-action rifles and sub-machine guns.

Reorganization 1970-71
Provisionally re-designated Khmer National Air Force (French: Aviation Nationale Khmère – AVNK) in the wake of the March 1970 coup, the Cambodian Air Force remained however an Army sub-command until June 8, 1971, when it became the third independent branch of the FANK. This new status was later confirmed on December 15, when the AVNK officially changed its name to Khmer Air Force – KAF (French: Armée de l'Air Khmère – AAK).

The Pochentong raid
On the night of 21-22 January 1971, a hundred or so-strong NVA Sapper (Vietnamese: Dac Cong) 'commando' force managed to pass undetected through the defensive perimeter of the Special Military Region (RMS) set by the Cambodian Army around Phnom Penh and carried out a spectacular raid on Pochentong Airbase. Broken into six smaller detachments armed mostly with AK-47 rifles and RPG-7 rocket launchers, the North Vietnamese Sappers succeeded in scaling the barbed-wire fence and quickly overhelmed the poorly armed airmen of the Security Battalion on duty that night. Once inside the facility, the Commandos unleashed a furious barrage of small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades against any aircraft they found on the parking area adjacent to the runway and nearby buildings; one of the commando teams even scaled the adjoining commercial terminal of the civilian airport and after taking position at the international restaurant located on the roof, they fired a rocket into the napalm supply depot near the VNAF apron.

Reorganization 1971-72
New airbases were established at the provincial capitals of Battambang (Air Base 123), Kampong Cham (Air Base 125) and Kampong Chhnang (Air Base 124), and near the Khmer National Navy's (MNK) coastal naval base at Ream (Air Base 122). Secondary airfields and assorted helipads were temporally set up at Kampot, Oudong, Kampong Thom, and Stung Mean Chey near Phnom Penh.

Expansion 1972-74
By January 1975 KAF’s strength had peaked to 10,000 Officers and airmen (including airwomen) under the command of Brig Gen Ea Chhong, equipped with a total inventory of 211 aircraft of several types distributed amongst the Tactical Air Group squadrons as follows:


 * The 1st Fighter Squadron aligned 64 T-28D fighter-bombers.


 * The Mini-gunship Squadron had ten AU-24A mini-gunships.


 * The Forward Air Controller Squadron operated 45 Cessna O-1D Bird Dog reconnaissance/observation light aircraft, and 16 U-1A Otter liaison aircraft.


 * The 1st Transport Squadron aligned 17 Fairchild C-123K Provider transports, twenty-three C-47 transports, and fourteen Douglas AC-47D Spooky gunships.


 * The Helicopter Squadron had ten Bell UH-1G gunships, 46 Bell UH-1H transports, three Sud Aviation SA 316B Alouette III light helicopters, and two Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw utility transports.


 * The Advanced Training Squadron of the Air Force Academy at Battambang Airbase operated six silvered C-47 trainers, 16 T-28B light trainers, ten Gardan GY-80 Horizon light trainers, 22 Cessna T-41 Mescalero trainers, and 24 Cessna T-37B Tweet jet trainers.

Air Force Security Regiments
Following several attacks on Cambodian airfields early in the war, the KAF Security troops underwent a major reorganization by mid-1971. The battered BFA at Pochentong was expanded accordingly from a single rifle battalion of three companies, to a full regiment aligning three battalions, receiving the designation of 1st Air Force Security Regiment (French: 1er Regiment de Fusiliers de l’Air – 1 RFA). Between July 1971 and December 1972, Air Force battalions were rotated through intensive infantry training programs in South Vietnam to upgrade their combat capabilities, with selected airmen receiving some specialized training as well – by early 1973, 1 RFA aligned two rifle battalions plus one specialized battalion trained for search-and-rescue missions and VIP protection. The KAF Security command under Colonel Sou Chhom was augmented in 1974 when a second unit was brought to strength at Kompong Cham Air Base, which became the 2nd Air Force Security Regiment (French: 2éme Regiment de Fusiliers de l’Air – 2 RFA). 2 RFA battalions were trained in-country by the Khmer Special Forces at the Ream Infantry Training Centre near Kompong Som. By April 1975, KAF Security troops totalled some 1,600 airmen organized in six light infantry battalions, equipped with an assortment of outdated US and captured modern Soviet or Chinese small-arms.

Combat history
On October 7, 1972, the NVA hit Phnom Penh once again with a spectacular Sapper attack, in which a commando force of 103 men from the 367th Sapper Regiment raided the Cambodian Army armoured cavalry headquarters located at the Olympic Stadium in the northern outskirts of the Cambodian Capital, where an armoured vehicle park was housed. The North Vietnamese raiders even managed to capture seven M-113 APCs and drove them out in column into the capital’s streets, causing panic among the inhabitants. Initially taken by surprise, Cambodian Army troops took several hours to dominate the situation, and urgent air support was requested. The Khmer Air Force response came in the form of two AC-47 gunships whose firepower succeeded in disabling all the vehicles, thus stopping the column before it could reach the city’s centre, and killing in the process 83 elements of the Sapper force and scattered the rest.

On October 1973, the KAF went on to the offensive again with Operation ‘Thunderstrike’, a nine-day’ ground assault operation in support of Cambodian Army units fighting Khmer Rouge forces south of the Prek Thnoat River. Striking in that area located south of Phnom Penh between Routes 2 and 3, T-28 fighter-bomber pilots logged a record of seventy sorties a day. Although both the 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions were already trown on the defensive and failed to capitalize on ‘Thunderstrike’ by making no significant advances, the FANK high Command was nonetheless impressed by their Air Force improved performance.

The Cambodian air force scored a major hit in March 1974, when another squadron of ten T-28 fighter-bombers guided by a single Cessna O-1D Bird Dog FAC spotter struck the NVA Dambe transhipment point in Kratie Province, where some 250 supply trucks laden with ammunitions lay hidden in a nearby plantation. After the KAF T-28 pilots dropped their 250 lb bombs over the plantation, they unexpectedly ignited a violent chain reaction which – based on the analysis of post-strike aerial reconnaissance photos – destroyed at least 125 trucks, a record for the Vietnam War.

Operational hazards
On March 17, 1973, a disgruntled pro-Sihanouk KAF pilot, Capt So Patra, flew his T-28D fighter-bomber into downtown Phnom Penh and made a sudden dive-bomb attack over the Presidential Palace at the Chamkarmon District. A total of 43 people were killed and another 35 injured in the bombing, after which the pilot flew to Hainan Island in the South China sea.

On November 19, 1973, the Presidential Palace was struck yet again by another dissident pilot, Lt Pich Lim Khun, who subsequently deserted by flying its T-28D to Khmer Rouge-held Kratie Province. As a result of this second air strike, President Lon Nol purged the KAF of who were considered to be disloyal elements.

On April 14, 1974, for the third time in the war, a defecting Cambodian pilot attempted an aerial assassination of the nation's chief executive. That morning, a T-28D fighter-bomber flown by the defector Khiev Yos Savath, dropped four 250 lb bombs over the FANK General Staff Headquarters (EMG). Two landed about 60 feet (about 19 meters) from where Lt Gen Sak Sutsakhan was chairing a cabinet meeting. Although the officials managed to escape unscathed, the bombs claimed the lives of seven people and several others were injured.

Final operations 1974-75
It was only at the final months of the war that the Cambodian Air Force finally managed to exceed all previous performances. Taking full advantage of their air superiority, the KAF employed all available airframes to the limit – ranging from T-28D fighter-bombers, UH-1G helicopter gunships, and AC-47D and AU-24A gunships to T-37B jet trainers converted to the ground attack role, and even C-123K transports serving as improvised heavy bombers – launched an unprecedented number of combat sorties against Khmer Rouge forces massing around Phnom Penh. Operating against relatively light enemy anti-aircraft defences, Cambodian T-28 pilots logged over 1,800 daytime missions during a two-month period alone whilst the AU-24s and C-123s carried out at night bombing operations against entrenched enemy 107mm rocket positions north of the capital.

Besides combat sorties, the KAF was also involved in last-minute evacuation efforts. On April 12, 1975, its T-28s and UH-1s provided air cover to the evacuation of the US Embassy staff (Operation Eagle Pull). The Air Force command also kept on stand-by seven UH-1H transport helicopters at an improvised helipad mounted on the grounds of Phnom Penh’s National Stadium in the Cércle Sportif complex, ready to evacuate key members of the government. However, three of the machines had to be abandoned due to technical malfunctions when the evacuation finally took place on the morning of April 17. Amongst the small group of high-profile evacuees who boarded the remaining four helicopters heading for Kampong Thom was the KAF commander Brig Gen Ea Chhong.

Despite their best efforts, the overstretched Khmer Air Force alone could not prevent the defeat of the Cambodian Army and stem the tide of the advancing Khmer Rouge forces. On April 16 KAF T-28s flew their last combat sortie by bombing the Air Force Control Centre and hangars at Pochentong upon its capture by insurgent units. After virtually expending their entire ordnance reserves, 97 aircraft – consisting of 50 T-28Ds, 13 UH-1Hs, twelve O-1Ds, ten C-123Ks, seven AC-47Ds, three AU-24As, nine C-47s, and three T-41Ds – escaped from Pochentong, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang, and Ream airbases and auxiliary airfields flown by their respective crews (with a small number of civilian dependants on bord) to safe haven in neighbouring Thailand.

The rest of the KAF personnel that remained in Cambodia – including the ground technicians, some pilots, and those airmen serving on the 1st Air Force Security Regiment at Pochentong – had no choice but to surrender, with most of them being executed by the Khmer Rouge. The last stand of the Khmer Air Force took place at Kampong Cham Air Base, where the airmen of the 2nd Air Force Security Regiment continued to resist for another week despite the official capitulation order, until they run out of ammunition. The airbase commander, together with his deputy, the local ground technicians and the airmen of the Security battalions were captured and reportedly executed in a gruesome manner. Later unconfirmed reports however claim that a few qualified ex-KAF pilots and technicians escaped this fate by being pressed into service in the Air Force of the new Communist Regime to fly and maintain the remaining French- and US-made aircraft left behind.

Aftermath
By 1975, Cambodian Air Force losses totalled 100 aircraft, mostly due to combat attrition, training accidents, and desertions, as well for other causes – between December 1971 and January 1972 four Alouette II and one Alouette III light helicopters were sent abroad for maintenance and general overhaul at the HAECO in Hong Kong, but there is no record that these airframes were ever returned to Cambodia.

The Khmer Rouge did managed though to salvage at least twenty-two T-28D fighter-bombers, four GY-80 Horizon light trainers, ten T-37 jet trainers, nineteen T-41D trainers, seven C-123K transports, nine AU-24 mini-gunships, six AC-47D gunships, fourteen C-47 transports, twenty UH-1H and UH-1G helicopters, and three Alouette III light helicopters. Of the twelve T-28s operated by the Khmer Rouge Air Force at Ream Air Base, at least five were destroyed on the ground when the US Air Force bombed the facility during the Mayaguez incident on May 15, 1975. As for the other airframes, poor maintenance and a chronic shortage of spare parts ensured that only a handful of these was still serviceable by the time of the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978-79.

List of KAF commanders

 * Brigadier-General So Satto (1970–72)
 * Brigadier-General Penn Randa (1972–73)
 * Brigadier-General Ea Chhong (1973–75)

Air Force uniforms and insignia
AVRK officers adopted early in the mid-1950s a Royal Blue overseas dress uniform, consisting of an tunic and slacks whose cut was modelled after the French Army M1946/56 khaki dress uniform (French: Vareuse d’officier Mle 1946/56 et Pantalon droit Mle 1946/56); a light summer version in white cotton was also issued. On active service, the blue dress uniform was worn with a light blue shirt and royal blue tie, replaced on formal occasions by a white shirt and black tie; the latter combination was also worn with the white cotton summer dress. The French-style open-collar, four-buttoned tunic had two pleated breast pockets closed by pointed flaps and two unpleated pockets at the side closed by straight flaps (senior officers’ tunics sometimes had their side pockets closed by pointed flaps instead), and the sleeves were provided with turnbacks. The front fly and pocket flaps were secured by gilt buttons bearing the standard FARK emblem.

Camouflage uniforms
Privately purchased Thai camouflaged flight suits in “Highland” pattern were worn by Cambodian Air Force Douglas AC-47D Spooky gunship aircrews on occasion, such as the members of the first contingent sent in May-June 1971 to Udorn Air Base in Thailand for gunship training.

Footwear
On service dress, all Air Force ground personnel wore brown leather US M-1943 Combat Service Boots or French canvas-and-rubber ‘Pataugas’ tropical boots, and sandals; after 1970, the KAF standartized on American M-1967 black leather and Jungle boots, and South Vietnamese Bata boots, which replaced much of the older combat footwear.

Air Force Ranks
The AVRK used the same standard FARK/FANK French-style rank chart as the Army, though differing in some of its nomenclature and in color details. Flag and senior officers’ (French: Officiers généraux, officiers supérieurs et officiers subalternes) ranks were worn on light blue removable shoulder boards (with gold laurel-like leaf embroidery on the outer edge for generals) or shoulder strap slides, both with a pair of stylised wings at the inner end; NCO and airmen (French: Sous-officiers et aviateurs) ranks were worn on both upper sleeves. On the field uniform, officers’ ranks were worn on chest tabs in lieu of the shoulder strap slides; Army-style metal chevrons pinned to the chest were worn by NCOs whilst airmen (French: Hommes de troupe) wore no insignia. After March 1970 the AVNK adopted Royal Blue shoulder boards and shoulder strap slides, but the basic rank sequence remained unchanged. In 1972, some KAF officers began wearing on their flying suits or OG jungle fatigues metal pin-on collar rank insignia identical to the pattern adopted that same year by their Army counterparts.