Hanzhong Xiguan Airport
Hanzhong Xiguan Airport 汉中西关机场 | |||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Hanzhong Airport Co. Ltd. | ||||||||||
| Location | Hanzhong, Shaanxi | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°03′49″N 107°00′29″E / 33.06361°N 107.00806°E | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
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Source:[1] | |||||||||||
| Hanzhong Xiguan Airport | |||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 汉中西关机场 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 漢中西關機場 | ||||||
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Hanzhong Xiguan Airport (Chinese: 汉中西关机场) is the airport formerly serving the city of Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province, China. It is located only 2 kilometers from the city center,[1] which severely limits its expansion possibilities. As a result, Hanzhong Chenggu Airport, a military air base located in Chenggu County northeast of the city, was converted to a dual-use airport,[2] and replaced Xiguan Airport when it was opened on 13 August 2014.[3]
History
[edit]The airport was first built in June 1937 by the Republic of China government, to replace a smaller airport that was completed only 4 years before. It was called Nancheng Airfield (南鄭機場), as the city of Hanzhong was then known as Nancheng (now romanized as Nanzheng) County. On 13 March 1938, the airport was bombed by the Japanese, and was closed until March 1939.[4]
During World War II, the airport was known as Hanchung (Nancheng) Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourteenth Air Force as part of the China Defensive Campaign (1942–1945). It was used by the Americans as a photo-reconnaissance base for unarmed P-38 Lightning aerial reconnaissance planes, which flew over Japanese-held territory gathering intelligence for the Chinese ground forces.[5] In addition, the Chinese-American Composite Wing 3d Bomb Group flew B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from the airport in 1944. The Americans closed their facilities at the end of the war in September 1945.[6]
The airport served as a military air base until civil services began in 1974.[4]
Facilities
[edit]The airport has a runway that is 1,800 meters long and 30 meters wide (class 3C), and a 600-meter terminal building.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ a b c Airport Overview Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 总投资5.8亿 陕西汉中城固机场本月底改扩建 (in Chinese (China)). Carnoc. 7 December 2011.
- ^ 汉中城固机场正式通航 (in Chinese (China)). Hanzhong city government. 2014-08-14. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28.
- ^ a b Hanzhong Airport
- ^ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
- ^ USAFHRA Document Search - Hanchung
Previously: 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers" (Dec 1941-July 1942) China Air Task Force (July 1942-Mar 1943) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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- Airports in Shaanxi
- Airports established in 1937
- 1937 establishments in China
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in China
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India Theater
- Hanzhong
- Defunct airports in China
- 2014 disestablishments in China
- Airports disestablished in 2014