Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base

Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base is located on Mactan Island in Cebu, Philippines, and shares a runway with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. It was built by and was a facility of the United States Air Force until the American military bases left the country in 1991 and it became a Philippine Air Force (PAF) base.LocationMactan Air Base is located on Mactan Island, off Cebu City in the province of Cebu in the Central Visayas. Mactan Island is best known as being the location where the Spanish explorer, Ferdinand Magellan was killed by the forces of Lapu-lapu during his circumnavigation of the earth.HistoryMactan Air Base began life as an emergency field for the American Strategic Air Command bombers to recover in the event of a war. This emergency field was basically barren with only a few permanent structures and a 10,000-foot concrete runway. By 1965, the only permanent structures on the field were a Philippine Air Force (PAF) operations building-cum-airline terminal and the PAF BOQ. There was also a squadron of PAF F-86s on base.As the Vietnam War escalated, the base was rapidly built up. At its height, it became a permanent C-130 base housing at least the 772nd and 774th Troop Carrier Squadrons of the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing (later renamed as "Tactical Airlift" Squadrons and Wing) as well as becoming a crew rest stop for C-124 and C-133 crews to relieve congestion at Clark Air Base. The C-124 Operations Squadron was the 606th Military Airlift Support Squadron or 606th MASS.