Former Gangshan Naval Aviation Dormitories (Xingcun)

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原岡山日本海軍航空隊宿舎群(醒村)

US aerial bombardment of Okayama (Gangshan) airfield and naval arsenal, October 16, 1944
1944年10月16日美軍轟炸岡山機場及海軍航空廠航空照片 — US Military, Public Domain

A surviving complex of 1940s Japanese Navy aviation officer dormitories in Gangshan District, originally built for the Kaohsiung Naval Air Group and the adjacent 61st Naval Air Arsenal. The buildings bear scars from the devastating October 1944 US bombing raids on Gangshan. Designated a cultural landscape in 2017, the site preserves tangible evidence of the air war over southern Taiwan.

Prefecture
Kaohsiung
City
Kaohsiung
Region
Taiwan
Significance
Regional
Today
Still In Use
Access
Open To The Public
Location accuracy
Approximate
Period
1940–1945

Images

Reproduced photograph of Kaohsiung being bombed by US forces
翻拍高雄被美軍轟炸照片 — Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
US bombing of Takao harbor and surrounding military installations
美軍轟炸高雄港及周邊軍事設施 — US Navy, Public Domain

History

The Former Gangshan Naval Aviation Dormitories (原岡山日本海軍航空隊宿舍群), known locally as Xingcun (醒村, 'Awakening Village'), is a preserved cluster of Japanese colonial-era military housing in Gangshan District, Kaohsiung. The complex consists of five two-story brick buildings with sloped roofs, along with an assembly hall and officers' club.

During the Japanese colonial period, the Imperial Japanese Navy selected Gangshan as the site for a major naval aviation base — the Kaohsiung Naval Air Group (高雄海軍航空隊). Adjacent to the airfield, the Navy constructed the 61st Naval Air Arsenal (海軍第61航空廠), a large-scale aircraft manufacturing and repair facility. The dormitories housed senior aviation officers and their families.

On October 12, 1944, the US launched a massive air raid against the Gangshan complex. According to Chinese-language accounts, about 130 B-29 sorties struck the airfield and the 61st Naval Air Arsenal over a six-day period, dropping 859.75 tons of bombs (another figure given is about 590 tons). The arsenal — one of the most important aircraft production facilities in the Japanese Empire's southern territories — was reduced to rubble. The dormitory buildings survived but sustained significant damage, and bomb scars remain visible on their walls to this day.

After the ROC government took over Taiwan in 1945, the former Japanese naval base became the Air Force Training Command headquarters, and Xingcun became housing for Air Force Academy flying instructors. The village was named after a dormitory of the same name in Chengdu, Sichuan.

In 2009, two buildings (A and F) were designated as historic structures. In 2017, the entire complex was registered as a cultural landscape. The site is adjacent to the Air Force Academy and the Aviation Education Exhibition Hall (航空教育展示館).

Categories

Air Raid Site (primary)Memorial

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Related themes

Sources

  1. 高雄大空襲 - 維基百科Website
  2. 原岡山日本海軍航空隊宿舍群 (醒村) - 維基百科Website
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