RAAF No 2 Squadron operated Canberra bombers from Phan Rang Air Base between 1967 and 1971. Integrated with United States (US) forces, the unit conducted critical-strike missions against enemy targets. Despite operational hazards and 5 fatalities, the squadron maintained high efficiency until its withdrawal.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sent No 2 Squadron to the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in April 1967. It was the third RAAF service in the war, after No 35 Squadron's Caribous and No 9 Squadron's helicopters.
No 2 Squadron was equipped with 8 English Electric Canberra medium bombers. It flew out of Phan Rang Air Base on the southern coast, some 250 km north-east of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
The squadron operated day and night missions, destroying infrastructure targets and attacking North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops.
For ground crew and support personnel at Phan Rang, the workload was intense but well organised around the aircraft. To meet daily tasking, No 2 Squadron kept 8 Canberra bombers on line. Maintenance personnel performed daily flight servicing and rectification, as well as weekly and monthly servicing.
The squadron served with the United States (US) Air Force's 35th Tactical Fighter Wing until leaving Vietnam on 14 June 1971.
Living conditions at Phan Rang were quite different from the rough early conditions at Vung Tau. Before No 2 Squadron arrived, No 5 Airfield Construction Squadron built domestic and technical facilities, including living quarters, mess facilities, technical and administrative areas, a maintenance hangar, recreation areas and sewerage. The prefabricated living quarters even had flushing toilets, which caught the attention of US personnel.
Daily life for 2 Squadron on a large US air base, working as part of a US tactical wing, was different from life at the Vung Tau base. The squadrons at Vung Tau were more closely tied to the Australian personnel and base system. Both air bases were exposed to danger, including rocket and mortar attacks and security incidents, but their daily rhythms and cultures of were quite different.
No 2 Squadron’s commitment was roughly 200 RAAF personnel operating 8 Canberra bombers at Phan Rang, with personnel rotating through during the 4-year deployment. Five squadron members died during the war, including 2 on operations.
