Chengkung Airfield (呈贡机场) is a former

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 ...

airfield in

Chenggong County Chenggong District () is one of seven districts of the prefecture-level city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The district was approved to build from the dissolution of the former ''Chenggong County'' () by the State Co ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, at in the suburb of

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

. After its demolished during the PRC era, its current site is Chenggung New District No. 1 Elementary School (呈贡新区第一小学).

History

WWII

Construction of the airfield began in November 1942, with the airfield opening on 27 January 1943. Chengkung was a major terminal for "

the Hump The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and t ...

" trans-Himalayan transport aircraft between

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and China for

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell AF ...

and

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies 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 ...

and

C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...

aircraft. In addition,

Air Technical Service Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

maintained a maintenance and supply facility at the base to support the airlift operations over the Himalayas. In addition to the transport mission, Chengkung was used by the 374th and 375th Bombardment Squadrons, flying

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

heavy bombers from the field beginning in March 1943. The 23rd Fighter Group and

76th Fighter Squadron The 76th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to the 476th Fighter Group and stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The squadron is equipped with the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, Fairchild R ...

staged

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

fighters from the field beginning in October 1943. Also the 16th Fighter Squadron, with

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

s arrived in October. Photo-reconnaissance aircraft used Chengkung throughout the war, flying combat intelligence missions over Japanese-held territory until 30 September 1945 when operations ceased and the facility was closed.

Agricultural use

Later, under the PRC era, the airfield has been dismantled, the land being used for agriculture. The only remnants of the base are parts of the main runway, which can be discerned in aerial photography. Taxiways and dispersals are largely removed, although some remain as single-lane roads connecting agricultural fields.

Current site: School

Its current site is Chenggung New District No. 1 Elementary School (呈贡新区第一小学). On 12 June 2017, the school held a ceremony to endorse "Kunming Flying Tigers Elementary School" as its official nickname. The ceremony was attended by

Raymond Greene Charles Raymond Greene (17 April 1901 – 6 December 1982) was a British doctor and an accomplished Mountaineering, mountaineer. Biography Greene was born in Berkhamsted.Consulate General of the United States at Chengdu. The nickname is presented by the Yunnan Flying Tigers Research Institute (云南省飞虎队研究会).

References

* Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983.
Airfields & Seaplane Anchorages China

USAFHRA search Chengkung

External links

{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in China Airports in Yunnan Airports established in 1943 Transport in Kunming