Shinchiku Airfield
| Type | 127 Air Base | |
| Historical Name of Location | Shinchiku, Shinchiku, Taiwan | |
| Coordinates | 24.819547000, 120.938099000 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseShinchiku Airfield in northern Taiwan was among the largest Japanese military airfields on the island. Between 1943 and 1945, it was subjected to several attacks by China-based US Army Air Force aircraft, Philippine Islands-based USAAF aircraft, and carrier-based US Navy aircraft; in the latter portions of the war, this airfield was particularly important in that it launched strikes against US fleets in the Philippine Islands and in Iwo Jima waters, among other targets; it was also struck once by British carrier aircraft from HMS Victorious. Shinchiku, the airfield and the city together, would receive the greatest tonnage of American bombs among locations on Taiwan during WW2. After the war, it was named Hsinchu Air Base (Shinchiku had been the Japanese reading of Hsinchu, which could also be romanized in the Pinyin system as Xinzhu); it housed Republic of China Air Force units as well as the US Air Force 1131st Special Activities Squadron. In 1958, Republic of China Air Force jets based in Hsinchu engaged in combat with Communist Chinese MiG-17 jets over Wenzhou Bay, Zhejiang Province, China; 9 MiG-17 jets were shot down in combat, making this engagement the largest aerial battle over the Taiwan-China region during the Cold War. At least one of the MiG-17 jets were destroyed by air-to-air missiles, thus also making this one of the first such victories in history. In 1998, it became a mixed military-civilian facility.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Update: Jan 2015
Shinchiku Airfield Interactive Map
Photographs
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Shinchiku Airfield Timeline
| 23 Nov 1943 | The USAAF commenced operations with the new P-51A fighter in Asia when eight P-51 fighters from Claire Chennault's 23rd Fighter Group escorted B-25 Mitchell bombers in an attack on the Japanese airfield in Shinchiku Prefecture (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
| 25 Nov 1943 | Aircraft of US Army 14th Air Force (14 B-25 bombers, 16 P-38 and P-51 fighters) attacked Shinchiku Airfield in Shinchiku (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. US claimed 50 Japanese aircraft destroyed, but Japanese records showed only 4 shot down and 13 destroyed on the ground. 25 Japanese servicemen were killed, and a further 20 were wounded. 2 US aircraft were damaged. US journalist Theodore Harold White observed this attack in one of the bombers. |
| 12 Oct 1944 | VT-18 squadron aircraft from USS Intrepid attacked Shinchiku Airfield in Shinchiku (now Hsinchu) in northern Taiwan. |
| 12 Oct 1944 | Carrier aircraft from USS Bunker Hill attacked Shinchiku Airfield in Shinchiku (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
| 13 Oct 1944 | US Navy carrier aircraft attacked Shinchiku Airfield in Shinchiku (now Hsinchu), Taiwan, destroying 4 hangars, 8 shops, and 2 barracks. |
| 14 Oct 1944 | Carrier aircraft from USS Intrepid attacked Shinchiku (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. At Shinchiku Airfield, one Ki-44 aircraft on the ground, five twin-engine aircraft on the ground, and 1 hangar building were destroyed. At the natural gas experimentation station about four miles east of the airfield, three hits were scored, with one hitting the lab building, another destroying the warehouse, and the last damaging the methane plant; 34 workers were killed at the station. |
| 17 Jan 1945 | USAAF XX Bomber Command launched 90 or 92 B-29 bombers from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China against Shinchiku Airfield in northern Taiwan; 78 or 79 of them made it over to the target area, damaging hangars, barracks, and other buildings. This was to be the final B-29 mission against Taiwan. |
| 13 Apr 1945 | Avenger aircraft from HMS Victorious attacked Shinchiku Airfield in Taiwan, causing unknown damage to the runways. |
| 15 Apr 1945 | US B-24 bombers based in the Philippine Islands struck Shinchiku Airfield (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
| 5 May 1945 | US B-24 bombers based in the Philippine Islands struck Shinchiku Airfield (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
| 20 Jun 1945 | US B-24 bombers based in the Philippine Islands struck Shinchiku Airfield (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
| 8 Jul 1945 | US B-24 bombers based in the Philippine Islands struck Shinchiku Airfield (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
| 11 Jul 1945 | US B-24 bombers based in the Philippine Islands struck Shinchiku Airfield (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
| 8 Aug 1945 | US B-24 bombers based in the Philippine Islands struck Shinchiku Airfield (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. |
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| WW2-Era Place Name | Shinchiku, Shinchiku, Taiwan |
| Lat/Long | 24.8195, 120.9381 |
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