Laohwangping Airfield

Laohwangping Airfield
Part of Fourteenth Air Force
Guizhou Province, China
Laohwangping Airfield
Coordinates	27°00′00″N 107°45′35″E
Type	Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Battles/wars	China Defensive Campaign 1942-1945

P-51 Mustang flightline, Laohwangping Airfield, June 1945.

Laohwangping Airfield is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield, located approximately 1 mile west of Jiuzhou Zhen (Guizhou Province) in the People’s Republic of China.

History

The airfield was the primary home of the 35th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, which flew unarmed P-38 Lightning photo-reconnaissance aircraft from the airfield beginning in February 1945 until the end of the war. It was also the home of the 23d Fighter Group 76th Fighter Squadron, equipped with P-51 Mustangs in February 1945.

Records indicate this was most likely a very temporary facility, with a compressed earth runway with tents and small wooden buildings used for a support facility. It appears to have been closed and dismantled in September 1945 after the war ended, with the land being returned to agricultural use. The available satellite image of this area of China is very low resolution and it is difficult to determine if any relics of the airfield exist.

References

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

• Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
• Airfields & Seaplane Anchorages China
• USAFHRA Document search - Laohwangping