Chongqing Baishiyi Airport (), or Baishiyi Air Base, is a People's Liberation Army Air Force base and formerly the main civil airport serving

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

, China, located about northwest of the city center. It reverted to military use after the opening of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport on 21 January 1990.

History

During War of Resistance/World War II, the airport was known as Peishiyi (Paishihyi) Airfield (''Wades-Gile'')/Baishiyi (''Standard Pinyin''), and was the Chinese Air Force base for the 4th Pursuit Group composed primarily of Polikarpov I-15 and

I-16 I16 may refer to: * Interstate 16, an interstate highway in the U.S. state of Georgia * Polikarpov I-16, a Soviet fighter aircraft introduced in the 1930s * Halland Regiment * , a Japanese Type C submarine * i16, a name for the 16-bit signed integ ...

fighter squadrons assigned for the defense of then-wartime capital of Chongqing; an I-15bis fighter of 21st PS, 4th PG piloted by Maj. Liu Zhesheng shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-21 heavy-bomber over Bashiyi air base on 6 June 1940. The airport was then used by the United States Army Air Forces

Fourteenth Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organizatio ...

as the U.S. entered the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Baishiyi was a command and control base, being used late in the war as the headquarters of the 68th Composite Wing, which controlled the combat operations of the 23d Fighter Group and the

308th Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. In addition C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft used the airport flying troops and supplies into the area as well as combat wounded to rear areas. The Americans remained at the airport after the war ended, the facility becoming the headquarters of the China Air Service Command, which supplied equipment and other logistical support to American and Chinese forces, along with being headquarters of

. The American units began closing down in early 1946, with the last personnel of the 10th Weather Squadron departing the facility on 31 July 1946.

Former airlines and destinations

Between 1939 and 1949, Baishiyi airport had served destinations internationally and domestically, and was the third airport ever in China to be put to operation. Before 1990, it was a primary hub for China Southwest Airlines.

Accidents and incidents

* On the night of 18 January 1988,

China Southwest Airlines flight 4146 China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146 was an Ilyushin Il-18 that crashed near Chongqing, China, on 18 January 1988 with the loss of all 108 passengers and crew. The crash was caused by poor maintenance. Flight Flight 4146 was a scheduled domest ...

, an

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...

arriving from Beijing, crashes into a terrain 5 kilometers from the airport due to an inflight fire caused by an engine fire and explodes, killing 108 of its occupants.

References

External links

Airfields & Seaplane Anchorages China

USAFHRA Document Search – Peishiyi
{{authority control Airports in Chongqing Defunct airports in China Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in China Chinese Air Force bases Airports established in 1936 1936 establishments in China