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During the first years of its existence, the AVRK received assistance from France – which under the terms of the November 1953 treaty of independence had the right to keep a [[French Military Mission in Cambodia|military mission]] in Cambodia –, the United States, Japan, [[Israel]], and [[West Germany]],<ref>Conboy, ''FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975'' (2011), p. 224.</ref> who provided training programs, technical aid, and additional aircraft. The French delivered in 1954–55 fifteen [[Morane-Saulnier Alcyon|Morane-Saulnier MS 733 Alcyon]] three-seat basic trainers,<ref name="shortfinals.wordpress.com">[http://shortfinals.wordpress.com/2013/06/29/morane-saulnier-ms-733-alcyon-a-trainer-with-gallic-flair/ "Morane-Saulnier MS.733 Alcyon – a trainer with Gallic flair!".] ''Shortfinal's Blog'', 29 June 2013. Retrieved: 1 January 2014.</ref> and Japan delivered three [[Fletcher FD-25|Fletcher FD-25 Defender]] single-seater [[ground-attack aircraft]] and three Fletcher FD-25B two-seat trainers,<ref>Grandolini, ''Air Enthusiast'' 37 (1988), p. 39.</ref><ref name="SIPRI Arms Transfers Database">[http://armstrade.sipri.org/arms_trade/trade_register.php SIPRI Arms Transfers Database]</ref> whilst deliveries by the United States [[Military Assistance Advisory Group]] (U.S. MAAG) aid program – established since June 1955 at Phnom Penh – of fourteen [[North American T-6 Texan|North American T-6G Texan]] trainers, eight [[L-19 Bird Dog|Cessna L-19A Bird Dog]] observation aircraft, three [[de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver|de Havilland Canada DHC L-20 Beaver]] liaison aircraft,<ref>Grandolini, ''Air Enthusiast'' 37 (1988), p. 40.</ref> seven [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] transports (soon joined by with two additional C-47 transports bought from Israel) and six [[Curtiss C-46 Commando|Curtiss C-46F Commando]] transports<ref name="SIPRI Arms Transfers Database"/> allowed the AVRK to acquire a limited light strike capability, as well as improving its own reconnaissance and transportation capabilities.
A small Helicopter force also began to take shape, with the delivery in 1958–59 of three [[Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw]]s by the US MAAG,<ref name="SIPRI Arms Transfers Database"/> followed in 1960 of two [[Aérospatiale Alouette II|Sud Aviation SA 313B Alouette II]]<ref name=" World Air Forces 1971 pg. 924-925">{{cite web | last = | first = | author-link = | title = World Air Forces 1971 pg. 924-925| publisher = | date = | url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%201040.html | doi = | access-date = 2013-03-14}}</ref> by the French and of two [[Sikorsky H-19|Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw]]s by the Americans in 1963.
Although Cambodia was theoretically forbidden of having fighter jets under the terms of the [[July 1955]] [[Geneva Accords (1954)|Geneva Accords]], the AVRK did receive its first jet trainers in September 1961 from France, in the form of four [[Fouga Magister|Potez CM.170R Fouga Magister]]s modified locally in 1962 to accept a pair of [[M2 Browning#.50 Browning AN/M2|AN/M2 7,62mm aircraft guns]] and under-wing rocket rails. By the end of the year, the AVRK aligned 83 airframes of American, Canadian and French origin, though mostly were World War II-vintage obsolescent types well past their prime –
The baptism of fire of the AVRK came the following year when its FD-25 Defenders and T-6G Texan armed trainers supported Khmer Royal Army troops in [[Takéo Province]] fighting a cross-border incursion by Vietnamese militiamen from the [[Hòa Hảo]] militant sect fleeing persecution from the neighbouring [[Republic of Vietnam]].<ref>Conboy, ''FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975'' (2011), p. 213.</ref> The obsolete Texans and Defenders were eventually replaced in August that year by sixteen [[North American T-28 Trojan|North American T-28D Trojan]] trainers converted to the fighter-bomber role.<ref>Nalty, Neufeld and Watson, ''An Illustrated Guide to the Air War over Vietnam'' (1982), p. 114.</ref> Also under the U.S. MAAG program, the AVRK received in March 1963 four [[Cessna T-37 Tweet|Cessna T-37B Tweet]] jet trainers;<ref>Love, Greer and Sewell, ''A-37/T-37 Dragonfly in action'' (1991), p. 16.</ref> however, unlike the Fougas provided earlier by the French, these airframes had no provision for weapon systems, since the Americans resisted Cambodian requests to arm them.<ref name="Conboy, 2011 p. 214"/>
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====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 security regiment aligning three battalions, receiving the designation of '''1st Air Fusiliers Regiment''' ({{lang|fr|1er Regiment de Fusiliers de l'Air}} – 1 RFA). Between July 1971 and December 1972, Air Force battalions were rotated through intensive infantry training courses manned by the [[U.S. Army-Vietnam Individual Training Program]] (UITG) 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 (SAR) missions, crash-site recovery and VIP protection. The KAF Security command under Colonel [[Sou Chhorn]] was augmented in 1974 when a second unit was brought to strength at Kampong Cham Airbase, which became the '''2nd Air Fusiliers Regiment''' (French: ''2éme Regiment de Fusiliers de l'Air'' – 2 RFA).<ref>Conboy, ''FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975'' (2011), pp. 218; 224, note 9.</ref> 2 RFA battalions were trained in-country by the [[Khmer Special Forces]] at the Ream Infantry Training Centre near Kampong Som.<ref name="McCouaig, 1991 p. 15">Conboy and McCouaig, ''South-East Asian Special Forces'' (1991), p. 15.</ref> By April 1975, KAF Security troops totalled some 1,600 airmen organized in six light infantry battalions, equipped with an assortment of outdated and modern
== Facilities ==
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By 1975, Khmer 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 overseas for maintenance and general overhaul at the [[Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company|HAECO]] in [[Hong Kong]], but there is no record that these airframes were ever returned to Cambodia.<ref name="autogenerated218"/>
The Khmer Rouge did
[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] [[Lockheed AC-130|AC-130 gunship]]s and [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] [[Grumman A-6 Intruder|A-6A Intruder]] and [[LTV A-7 Corsair II|A-7E Corsair II]] attack jets bombed the facility during the [[Mayaguez incident]] on May 15, 1975.<ref>Chun, ''The Last Boarding Party: The USMC and the SS Mayaguez 1975'' (2011), pp. 47; 51.</ref><ref>Mersky, Crutch and Holmes, ''A-7 Corsair II Units 1975-91'' (2021), p. 14.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/aa-eastasia/cambodia/cam-af1-aircraft.htm|title = Aviation Royale Khmere/Khmer Air Force Aircraft}}</ref> As for the other airframes, lack of trained pilots, poor maintenance and a chronic shortage of spare parts ensured that only a handful of these were still airworthy when the AFKLA was neutralized by the PAVN in February 1979 during the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1983/1983%20-%201422.html|title= World Air Forces 1983 |page=358 |publisher= flightglobal.com |date=|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref>
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In 1955–56, AVRK officers adopted a new distinctive [[blue-grey]] overseas dress uniform, consisting of a tunic and slacks modelled after the U.S. Air Force M1947 service dress. On active service, the blue dress uniform was worn with a light blue shirt and blue-grey tie, replaced on formal occasions by a white shirt and black tie. The American-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). The front fly and pocket flaps were secured by gilt buttons bearing the standard FARK emblem, replaced after March 1970 by the FANK emblem; a short-sleeved light blue shirt was worn in lieu of the tunic on hot weather.
A light blue-grey working uniform, consisting of a shirt and pants whose cut followed that of the earlier M1945 tropical dress, was also adopted for all-ranks<ref>Conboy and Bowra, ''The War in Cambodia 1970–75'' (1989), p. 22.</ref> though AVRK ground personnel in the field often wore the standard ARK French all-arms M1947 drab green fatigues ({{lang|fr|Treillis de combat Mle 1947}}). Female personnel were issued light blue and working blue-grey short-sleeved blouses based on their male counterparts' versions, except that the blouses' front fly closed on the left side, and were worn with a matching blue-grey knee-length skirt.<ref>Conboy, ''FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975'' (2011), p. 248.</ref> After March 1970, as part of the
Pilots were issued Khaki and Olive Green (OG) [[flight suit]]s, with both French and US patterns being worn. Privately purchased Thai camouflaged flight suits in "[[ERDL pattern|Highland]]" pattern were worn by Khmer Air Force [[Douglas AC-47 Spooky|Douglas AC-47D Spooky]] gunship aircrews on occasion, such as the members of the first contingent sent in May–June 1971 to Udorn Airbase in [[Thailand]] for gunship training.<ref>Davis and Greer, ''Gunships, A Pictorial History of Spooky'' (1982), p. 14.</ref><ref>Conboy and Bowra, ''The War in Cambodia 1970-75'' (1989), p. 43, Plate E1.</ref> A
===Headgear===
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In 1956, the AVRK adopted a new blue-grey service peaked cap with crown of "Germanic" shape – very similar to that worn by [[Royal Lao Air Force]] (RLAF) or [[Republic of Vietnam Air Force]] (VNAF) officers –, with a gold braid chinstrap, black cap band, and black lacquered leather peak (edged gold for general officers). It was initially worn with the standard gilt metal FARK cap device, replaced after March 1970 by a distinctive AVNK/KAF silver cap badge.<ref name="Bowra, 1989 p. 23">Conboy and Bowra, ''The War in Cambodia 1970-75'' (1989), p. 23.</ref><ref name="Conboy, 2011 p. 231">Conboy, ''FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975'' (2011), p. 231.</ref> A blue-grey overseas [[flight cap]] (with silver cord piping in the flap for officers) styled after the French M1957 sidecap, was also adopted; after 1970 it was sometimes worn with a miniature metal or cloth embroidered version of the AVNK/KAF cap badge.<ref name="Conboy, 2011 p. 231"/>
Besides regulation headgear, unofficial Olive Green and camouflage [[baseball cap]]s (black or red embroidered versions were adopted by some Cambodian pilots who attended advanced courses abroad)<ref>Conboy and Bowra, ''The War in Cambodia 1970-75'' (1989), p. 24.</ref> and
===Footwear===
White and brown low laced leather shoes were prescribed to wear with either the white summer dress and the earlier AVRK khaki service/work uniform for all-ranks and, after 1956 black ones were required for Air Force officers wearing the new blue-grey officers' dress uniform on formal occasions. On service dress, all Air Force ground personnel wore brown leather
===Air Force ranks===
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