penetrated the north perimeter with explosives and captured the bomb storage area. The Airborne attempted a counterattack against the 25th Regiment, but were forced back and then squeezed between the PAVN and by 09:30 the PAVN had captured the base. LG Nghi ordered his remaining forces to retreat from the base to the Ca Na peninsula () south of the base and after cutting through the perimeter fence a large group of RVNAF, ARVN and South Vietnamese civilians fled the base joining up with the 11th Airborne outside the base. At midnight on 17 April the ARVN Airborne attacked a PAVN force on Route 11, but in the confusion of the attack LG Nghi, his command group and CIA Agent James Lewis became separated and at 02:00 were captured by the PAVN. As the base was falling an A-37 braved the PAVN fire and landed rescuing RVNAF 92nd Wing commander Colonel Le Van Thao. Of the Wing's 72 A-37s, only 24 escaped on 16 April with the rest having been shot down or abandoned. Post 1975 VPAF use With its capture, Phan Rang Air Base became a VPAF base. It is unclear to what extent the former USAF facilities were used, although aerial imagery shows that a large amount of the station was torn down over the years, the large base simply being too big for the VPAF, in addition the 04R/22L runway was inactivated, and today is almost obliterated. A few of the hangars remain standing, others have been torn down. The large aircraft parking ramp and concrete aircraft shelters remain, although the shelters appear to have been left unused. Steel and sand revetments also remain on the ramp. The captured aircraft at Phan Rang AB were later used by the VPAF in missions during the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. The A-37s flew most of the ground support missions in those conflicts, being more suited to the role than the VPAF's MiG-17s and MiG-21s. Several squadrons of captured UH-1H Hueys were also operated by the VPAF for many years from Phan Rang. The base is now used by the VPAF 937th Fighter Regiment equipped with Sukhoi Su-30MK2Vs, Sukhoi Su-27SK and Su-27UBK fighters. See also Republic of Vietnam Air Force United States Air Force in South Vietnam United States Pacific Air Forces Seventh Air Force References Bibliography Endicott, Judy G. (1999) Active Air Force wings as of 1 October 1995; USAF active