Xi’an Xiguan Airport
i’an Xiguan Airport (Chinese: 西安西关机场) (IATA: SIA, ICAO: ZLSN) is the former airport serving Xi’an, capital of China’s Shaanxi Province. It was closed on 1 September 1991, when all flights were transferred to the new Xi’an Xianyang International Airport.[2][3]
History
During World War II, the airport was known as Hsian Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourteenth Air Force as part of the China Defensive Campaign (1942–1945). The Americans used the airport primarily as a photo-reconnaissance airfield, with unarmed P-38 Lightnings, equipped with aerial cameras flew over Japanese-held territory providing intelligence to the Chinese ground forces. In addition, P-61 Black Widow night interceptor aircraft flew from the airport, providing defense against night bombing raids by the Japanese, along with P-47 Thunderbolts day fighters and C-47 Skytrain 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.
