Gongxingdun Airport

Gongxingdun Airport also called Lanzhou Donggang Airport (兰州东岗机场) was an airport in Lanzhou, China. It was the primary airport of Lanzhou from the 1930s to 1970.

Gongxingdun Airport

拱星敦机场
Summary
Airport typedefunct (Military/Public)
ServesLanzhou
Coordinates36.03712°N 103.88809°E / 36.03712; 103.88809
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
1,800

History

The airport was opened after a site was selected, about 2 km from the center of Lanzhou, by the Eurasia Aviation Corporation, in the early 1930s. The airport was built with a gravel runway of 1580 meters long and 30 meters wide.[1]

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, it was under control of the 7th Fighter Aviation Division.[2] The airport was also an important landing site for Soviet aircraft sending aid to China during the war, and Chinese fighter ace and war hero Gao Zhihang led his pilots of the 4th Pursuit Group in November 1937 to receive new Polikarpov I-16 fighter here, and leading the group back to the eastern front to resume combat operations against the imperial Japanese approach to Nanjing .[3][4]

On November 5, 1937, the airport was bombed by the Japanese, and on 4 December of the same year again, during which 2 died and 4 where wounded. In the following months, the airport was under attack several times more, and air battles took place over Lanzhou through 1938 and 1939 as the Japanese were persistent to capture Lanzhou. However suffering large losses of at least 15 planes in one day, they decided to give up on taking Lanzhou.[2]

In 1937, a transport plane (number 1602) carrying 38 people crash landed without casualties at Gongxingdun Airport.[5]

In 1949 the airport was fully renovated with many facilities added. However smog and tall buildings complicated landing at the airport, which required pilot aids to be added. By 1960 the runway was paved and lengthened to 1800 meters and a width of 30 meters. In 1957, the Civil Aviation Administration of China decided that the airport's location was too restrictive for the aviation needs of Lanzhou and chose a new site for Lanzhou's main airport at Zhongchuan.[6] By 1970, Zhongchuan Airport was inaugurated and flights moved to there.

In 1976, the Gansu Aviation Sports School became based at Gongxingdun Airport.[7]

Somewhere in the next decades the airport was demolished, however the PLA Air Force still owns the site in Jiaojiawan subdistrict, which is now used for staff housing and offices.[1]

References
  1. "甘肅省已經停航的2座機場，你知道嗎？".
  2. "兰州空战：中国空战史上最惨烈的一次消耗战！". Archived from the original on 23 March 2016.
  3. "拱星墩兰州城东曾经的商贸文化娱乐中心__中国甘肃网". gansu.gscn.com.cn.
  4. "兰州空战：中国空战史上最惨烈的一次大战(图)_资讯_凤凰网". news.ifeng.com.
  5. 徐霞梅 (1 November 2016). 陨落——682位空军英烈的生死档案. Beijing Book Co. Inc. p. 111. ISBN 978-7-5126-4433-5.
  6. "甘肃省志 - 甘肃地方史志网" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2019.
  7. "甘肃省航空运动学校简介-机构设置-甘肃省航空运动学校-甘肃省航空运动学校". www.gshkyd.com.
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