Xi'an Xiguan Airport () was the airport serving

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

, capital of China's

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...

. It was closed on 1 September 1991, when all flights were transferred to the new

Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is the main airport serving Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, as well as the whole Guanzhong area. Covering an area of , it is the largest airport in Northwest China, and the second largest airport in Northern C ...

History

The Xi'an Xiguan Airfield was built in 1924 under directives of Young Marshall Chang of the

Fengtian Army The Fengtian clique () was one of several opposing military factions that constituted the early Republic of China during its Warlord Era. It was named after Fengtian Province (now Liaoning), and operated from a territorial base comprising the t ...

, and as the Chinese warlord battles raged,

Feng Yuxiang Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a warlord and a leader of the Republic of China from Chaohu, Anhui. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. He was ...

and

Yan Xishan Yan Xishan (; 8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960, ) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China. He effectively controlled the province of Shanxi from the 1911 Xinhai Revolution to the 1949 Communist victory in ...

sought to subjugate the Nationalist government of

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

; the Young Marshall however sided with the Nationalists, and the

Nationalist Chinese Air Force Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

units began their stationing at Xi'an Xiguan Airfield, specifically the 6th Reconnaissance-Attack/Scout-Attack Group composed of O2U-1 light-attack/scout-bombers in 1929–30, which were deployed in the

Central Plains War The Central Plains War () was a series of military campaigns in 1929 and 1930 that constituted a Chinese civil war between the Nationalist Kuomintang government in Nanjing led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and several regional military commande ...

. During the War of Resistance-World War II, the airport was known as Hsian Airfield and was used by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

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 part of the China Defensive Campaign (1942–1945). The Americans used the airport primarily as a photo-reconnaissance airfield, with unarmed

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

s, equipped with aerial cameras flew over Japanese-held territory providing intelligence to the Chinese ground forces. In addition,

P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night fight ...

night interceptor aircraft flew from the airport, providing defense against night bombing raids by the Japanese, along with

P-47 Thunderbolts The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...

day fighters and

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

transports flying in supplies and ammunition to support friendly forces in the area. The Americans closed their facilities at the airport after the end of the war in September 1945.USAFHRA Document Search - Hsian
/ref> By the 1980s, the airport was too small to handle rapid increase of local and foreign tourists and the terminal grew inadequate and the airport could no longer expand. On September 1, 1991, the airport was closed and all the flights and vehicles left at the airport were transferred to the new Xianyang Airport. The site of the airport was then converted into a civil park. Ilyushin Il-18D, CAAC AN1191976

Former airlines and destinations

Some Airlines operated in Xi'an Xiguan Airport in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly Chinese airlines, such as

CAAC The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible fo ...

. Before 1991, it was also a hub for

China Northwest Airlines China Northwest Airlines Co., Ltd. (中国西北航空公司) was an airline based in China, with its headquarters in Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China. It started operations in 1989. In 2002, the airline, along with China Yunnan Airlin ...

References

{{authority control Defunct airports in China Airports established in 1924 Airports disestablished in 1991 1924 establishments in China 1991 disestablishments in China Airports in Shaanxi Transport in Xi'an Buildings and structures in Xi'an 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

History

Former airlines and destinations

See also

References