Airport Vehicles and Gangways in Tainan Airport Apron 20130810

Tainan Airport (; formally "") is a commercial airport located in South District,

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. It is shared with

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

Tainan AFB. In January 2011, the Civil Aeronautics Administration approved the airport to handle international flights.

History

20th Century

In 1935 during Japanese rule, Tainan Airport was proposed by the

Tainan Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Tainan City, Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Yunlin County. Population Administrative divisions Cities and districts In 19 ...

government due to the need for civil transportation in

southern Taiwan The regions of Taiwan are based on the historical administrative divisions. However, most of the definitions are not precise. Division into two regions * Eastern and Western Taiwan: the Central Mountain Range separates Taiwan into east and west. : ...

. The airport was opened on June 26, 1937, with regular flights to Matsuyama Airport (modern-day

Taipei Songshan Airport Taipei Songshan Airport is a regional airport and military airbase located in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. The airport covers an area of . The civilian section of Songshan Airport has scheduled flights to domestic destinations in Taiwa ...

) operated by

Japan Air Transport was the national airline of the Empire of Japan from 1928 to 1938. History Commercial aviation began in Japan with the privately held Japan Air Transport Institute, which pioneered passenger service between Sakai, Osaka and Tokushima on Shikok ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

broke out, this airport was converted to a base for the

Tainan Air Group was a fighter aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The flying portion of the unit was heavily involved in many of the major campaigns and battles of the first year o ...

. During the war this airport was named ''Eineisho Airport'' by the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

, to distinguish it from two other, smaller airports located in what is nowadays known as Yongkang and Gueiren District. After the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

government took over Taiwan, this airport was handed over to the

while still maintaining civil flights. Between 1955 and 1979 the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

was stationed at this airport, once equipped with

tactical nuclear weapons A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...

on F-4 aircraft from Clark AB with pilots from Clark's

405th Fighter Wing The 405th Air Expeditionary Wing (405 AEW) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time. Currently, it is believed that the 405 AEW is inactive. History : ''F ...

on alert. From 12 March - 1966 to 31 July 1974. The

12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Deployed from

Kadena Air Base (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...

Okinawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

, to Tainan Air Base, from 27 January – 19 February 1955, 3 September – 30 November 1955, equipped with

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing ...

, 3 March to 2 April 1955,

26th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smalles ...

was also deployed from

Naha Air Base , formally known as the , is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force formerly under control of the United States Air Force. It is located at Naha Airport on the Oroku Peninsula in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. History Imperial Period Naha Air ...

, to Tainan Air Base. On November 1956, the 336th Fighter-Day Squadron Deployed from

, to Tainan AB. On 20 October 1957, the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

6200th Air Base Wing (also known as the Tainan Air Base Group) was activated to support the 7th Tactical Missile Squadron (later redesignated the 868th Tactical Missile Squadron which was coming from the CONUS.

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

Carl C. Lee became the first commander of the Tainan Air Base Group. Another redesignation on 18 August 1958 changed the unit's name to the 6214th Air Base Group). On 1958, the A Company of the

802nd Engineer Aviation Battalion 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number o ...

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

was deployed to Tainan Air Force Base for infrastructure work, construction of new base buildings, and laying of new concrete runways. The

868th Tactical Missile Squadron The 868th Tactical Missile Training Squadron is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with the 868th Tactical Missile Training Group, at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where it conducted training with ...

was stationed here from 1958 to 1962, which operated

MGM-1 Matador The Martin MGM-1 Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile designed and built by the United States. It was developed after World War II, drawing upon their wartime experience with creating the Republic-Ford JB-2, a ...

s, probably under the ultimate control of the

United States Taiwan Defense Command The United States Taiwan Defense Command (USTDC; zh, t=美軍協防台灣司令部) was a sub-unified command of the United States Armed Forces operating in Taiwan. History The United States Taiwan Defense Command was originally formed as the ...

. On 7 April 1965, the

552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing The 552d Air Control Wing is an operational wing of the United States Air Force. It has been based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma since July 1976, operating the Boeing E-3 Sentry. It includes the 552d Operations Group, 552d Maintenance Gro ...

dispatched a

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

from

McClellan Air Force Base McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base located in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, northeast of Sacramento, California. History For the vast majority of its operational lifetime, McClell ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to Tainan Air Base. From 8 February 1966, the 6214th Air Base Group changed the unit's name to the 6214th Combat Support Group. From 20 November 1965, the

523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron The 523d Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 27th Operations Group stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 17th Bombardment Squ ...

of the

maintained a Detachment at Tainan Air Base (Initially equipped with

F-100D Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of US ...

, converted to

F-4D Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and ...

in 1970). The following are the units that the 405th Fighter Wing once stationed the detachment at Tainan Air Base in Taiwan： * 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron (Tail Code: PN) (20 November 1965 – 31 August 1973) (F-100D, F-4D) * 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Tail Code: PN) (31 August 1973 – 31 July 1974) (F-4) The

of the U.S. Air Force sent units of the

510th Fighter Squadron The 510th Fighter Squadron is part of the 31st Operations Group at Aviano Air Base, Italy. It is a combat-ready F-16CM fighter squadron prepared to deploy and fly combat sorties as tasked by NATO and US combatant commanders. The squadron wa ...

equipped with

fighters to Tainan Air Base from December 1959 to August 1967. On 13 May 1966 – 21 July 1966, the VMFA-314 and VMFA-323 of the

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

Fighter/Attack Squadrons in

MCAS Iwakuni is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS I ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

were Temporary duty assignment (TDY) to Tainan Air Base. They were supported logistically by the 6214th Combat Support Group in support of the

327th Air Division The 327th Air Division is an inactive air division of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was assigned to Thirteenth Air Force throughout its existence. It was last stationed at Taipei Air Station in Gongguan, Taipei Taiwan, where it was i ...

. From 10 June 1966 - 15 December 1969, the 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron deployed F-102As Detachment from Clark Air Base, Philippines to Tainan Air Base. Air Asia Corporation, headquartered at this airport, prospered during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

due to the need for aircraft maintenance by the United States Armed Forces. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

the United States deployed nuclear weapons on Taiwan. Nuclear weapons are known to have been stored at

Tainan Air Force Base Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...

until their withdrawal was ordered in 1972. On 31 August 1973, the F-4D Detachment of the

withdrew from Tainan Air Base to Clark AB

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and changed to the

90th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 90th Fighter Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 3d Operations Group, 3d Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, Pacific Air Forces. The squadron is equipped with the F-22 Raptor fighter. The 90 FS is one o ...

deployed a detachment to Tainan, until 31 July 1974. On 31 July 1974, the 6214th Combat Support Group changed name to the 6214th Air Base Group. From 1 December 1974, the 6214th Air Base Group was reorganized to the 6214th Air Base Squadron, and Tainan AB had been placed in caretaker status. On 31 May 1975, the 6214th Air Base Squadron was dissolved. File:1959年，台南空軍基地內的美軍TM-61C屠牛式飛彈.jpg, The TM-61C missile deployed at Tainan Air Base by the

in 1959 File:F-102 deployed to Tainan Air Base, Taiwan in 1969.jpg, 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, i ...

F-102A-51-CO Delta Dagger 56-0968 was ready to take off from Tainan Air Base in 1969 File:Tainan Air Base 1969.jpg, Tainan AB in 1969 File:Tainan Air Base in 1969 (2).jpg, Tainan AB in 1969 File:Tainan Air Base in 1969 (3).jpg, Tainan Air Base Theater with Air Asia in the background, 1969 File:台南空軍基地，美國空軍第6214空軍基地大隊招牌.jpg, Signboard of USAF 6214th Air Base Group in Tainan AB, 1974 File:台南空軍基地，美國空軍第6214空軍基地大隊總部.jpg, Headquarters of the 6214th Air Base Group, 1974

21st Century

Tainan Airport was the third busiest domestic airport after

and

Kaohsiung Airport Kaohsiung International Airport () is a medium-sized civil airport in Siaogang District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, also known as Siaogang Airport (). With nearly seven million passengers in 2018, it is the second busiest airport in Taiwan, after T ...

until the

Taiwan High Speed Rail Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a pri ...

was opened. With passenger numbers dropping significantly,

Far Eastern Air Transport FAT Taiwan Inc., () doing business as Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), was an airline with its head office in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan ( Republic of China). Established in 1957, it operated domestic services from Taipei and Kaohs ...

suspended its service between Tainan Airport and

on 1 March 2008, ending the carrier's 50-year service history at Tainan Airport. Its competitor, TransAsia Airways, also had to downgrade the aircraft it used from a jet (

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fam ...

) to a

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

(

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

) to maintain revenue, and finally decided to end service to the airport as of 1 August 2008. Because of the shared use with the Air Force, the airport terminal was built quite a distance away from the airfield. Passengers disembark at the

apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...

and board shuttle buses to the terminal. The shared use with the Air Force also means some flights have to be cancelled when the Air Force conducts exercises. In January 2011, the Civil Aeronautics Administration approved the airport to handle international flights. The first scheduled International flights began on 18 July 2013 to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, with a 3 times weekly service by

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (in ...

using

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

s. Since March 2014 this flight's frequency has increased but the aircraft used was downgraded to smaller Embraer E-190, operated by China Airlines' subsidiary

Mandarin Airlines Mandarin Airlines () is a Taiwanese regional airline based in Taipei, Taiwan, whose parent company is China Airlines. The airline operates domestic and regional international flights, while its parent company focuses on international operations. ...

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Based units

* 1st Tactical Fighter Wing ** 1st Tactical Fighter Squadron –

AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo The AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo (), commonly known as the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), is a multirole combat aircraft named after Chiang Ching-kuo, the late President of the Republic of China. The aircraft made its first flight in 1989. It ent ...

** 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron –

** 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron –

** 1st Maintenance and Supply Group ** 1st Base Service Group **Magong Air Base Service Squadron ** 1st Military police Squadron ** 9th Military police Squadron

Accidents and incidents

On 24 February 1969,

Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104 was a short-haul flight from Kaohsiung International Airport to Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan using a Handley Page Dart Herald aircraft that crashed on 24 February 1969 upon its approach for an emergenc ...

, a Handley Page Dart Herald with 36 passengers and crew board, crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Tainan. Everyone on board was killed. On 16 April 1977, a

FEAT Feat or FEAT may refer to: * ''FEAT'' (album), a 2012 The Hood Internet album * Feat (d20 System), concept in role-playing game system d20 * ''Feat (stato di natura)'', a 2020 album by Francesca Michielin * An abbreviation for ''featuring'', use ...

Douglas C-47A B-247 was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident. On 21 March 2003, TransAsia Airways flight 543 (Airbus A321 registration B-22603) on a flight from

to Tainan Airport, collided with a truck that was on runway 36R. None of the 175 passengers and crew were killed or injured but the two occupants in the truck were injured and the aircraft was written off. In 2015 two

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

F/A-18C Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now par ...

s made an unscheduled landing at the base after one of them developed an engine anomaly in-flight. The aircraft were accommodated in an air force hangar until a C-130 full of American technicians could be flown in to check them out.

References

External links

Wikimapia - Tainan Airport

Web Site - Tainan Airport
{{authority control Airports in Taiwan Airports established in 1937 Buildings and structures in Tainan Republic of China Air Force