Hanzhong Xiguan Airport () is the airport formerly serving the city of

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...

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), Ni ...

, China. It is located only 2 kilometers from the city center,Airport Overview
which severely limits its expansion possibilities. As a result,

Hanzhong Chenggu Airport Hanzhong Chenggu Airport , or Chenggu Air Base, is a dual-use military and civil airport serving the city of Hanzhong in Shaanxi province, China. Located in Chenggu County northeast of Hanzhong, it replaced the old Hanzhong Xiguan Airport, wh ...

, a military air base located in

Chenggu County Chenggu County () is a county of Hanzhong, in the southwest of Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi ( ...

northeast of the city, was converted to a dual-use airport, and replaced Xiguan Airport when it was opened on 13 August 2014.

History

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 (), 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.Hanzhong Airport
/ref> During

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 opposing ...

, the airport was known as Hanchung (Nancheng) 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 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 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 ...

aerial reconnaissance planes, which flew over Japanese-held territory gathering intelligence for the Chinese ground forces. 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.USAFHRA Document Search - Hanchung
/ref> The airport served as a military air base until civil services began in 1974.

Facilities

The airport has a runway that is 1,800 meters long and 30 meters wide (class 3C), and a 600-meter terminal building.

References

Airfields & Seaplane Anchorages China
{{authority control 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

History

Facilities

See also

References