Qionglai Air Base

Qionglai Air Base
PLAAF
Qionglai Air Base PLAAF
Site history
Built	1943
In use	Current
Battles/wars	World War II

Qionglai Air Base is a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) located west of the city of Chengdu, the capital of the province of Sichuan in Southwestern China. More precisely, the facility is located approximately 3 km southwest of Wangsi Town (Wangsizhen, in Dayi County) and 2 km northeast of Sangyuan Town (Sangyuanzhen, part of Qionglai City), just to the east of 318 National Road. This entire area is located in the northwestern part of the Sichuan Basin, not far from the foothills of the great Qionglai Mountains.

Based at the Qionglai Air Base is the 4th Transport Division - U/I Air Regiment (Y-7H). The unit flies the

Xian Y-20 strategic transport are also stationed at this base with the 12th Regiment.^[1]

The base is under the Western Theater Command.^{[citation needed]}

History

Built during

Wade-Giles

transcription, as Chiung-Lai (A-5). It was one of four B-29 bases established by the Americans in China.

From its base at

Himalayan Mountains), since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible.^[3]

On June 15, from Kuinglai, the group participated in the first American Air Force attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the

Claire L. Chennault at Fourteenth Air Force, the B-29s struck the main Japanese Army supply base in China at Hankow Dec. 18. They used incendiary bombs, which destroyed the military storage area and left Hankow burning for three days. It was a preview of things to come in 1945, when the B-29s would use firebombs with devastating effect against the highly inflammable wood and paper structures in the Japanese home islands.^[3]

The commander of the

Yenan, and improved an emergency landing field at Yenan for the use of B-29s. "General Mao offered to build airdromes for us up in the north," LeMay said. "He told me, ‘I can construct any number you wish.’ I replied that frankly we couldn't supply the ones we already had, down there in Chengtu."^[3]

When the B-29 bombers were moved from India in April 1945 to the newly captured bases in the Mariana Islands, the USAAF use of Kuinglai Airfield ended. With the departure of the Americans, the airfield was turned over to Chinese authorities.^{[citation needed]}

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

^ "Who Cares About China's Stealth Fighters or Aircraft Carriers: The Y-20 is Here". 18 October 2019.
^ Craven, Wesley Frank; James Lea Cate. "Vol. V: The Pacific: MATTERHORN to Nagasaki, June 1944 to August 1945". The Army Air Forces in World War II. U.S. Office of Air Force History. [1]
^ ^a ^b ^c The Matterhorn Missions, The Air Force Association Magazine, March 2009

Qionglai Air Base

History

See also

References

Further reading