Xi'an Xiguan Airport was an airport that served

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

, capital of

Northwest China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

province. It was the city's main airport until it was replaced by the newly opened

Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, as well as the whole Guanzhong area. Covering an area of , Xi’an Airport has four terminals: T1 ...

on 1 September 1991.

History

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

Zhang Xueliang Zhang Xueliang ( zh, t=張學良; June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also commonly known by his nickname "the Young Marshal", was a Chinese general who in 1928 succeeded his father Zhang Zuolin as the commander of the Northeastern Army. He is bes ...

of the

Fengtian Army The Northeastern Army, also known as the Fengtian Army (see terminology), was a Chinese army that existed from 1911 to 1937. General Zhang Zuolin developed it as an independent fighting force during the Warlord Era. He used the army to control ...

, and as the Chinese warlord battles raged,

Feng Yuxiang Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a Chinese warlord and later general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. A ...

and

Yan Xishan Yan Xishan (; 8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960; also romanized as Yen Hsi-shan) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China from June 1949 to March 1950 as its last premier in mainland China and first premi ...

sought to subjugate the Nationalist government of

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, 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 ...

Chiang Kai-shek; the Young Marshall however sided with the Nationalists, and the

Nationalist Chinese Air Force Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

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 command ...

. 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 (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

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 specifically as a night fighter. Named for the North American spider ''Latrodect ...

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-bombe ...

day fighters and

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

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.

Former airlines and destinations

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

CAAC CAAC or Caac may refer to: * Civil Aviation Administration of China The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the civil aviation authority of the People's Republic of China, under the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic ...

. 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 a Chinese airline headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China. It started operations in 1989. In 2002, the airline, along with China Yunnan Airlines, merged into C ...

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