The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea is of great significance in the history of the development of China People’s Liberation Army. The harsh war has accelerated the transformation of our army from a single infantry unit to a modern combined army of various services and arms, and promoted the modernization of the people’s army. The growth of the People’s Air Force is a typical example.
The People’s Air Force grew rapidly in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
On January 21, 1951, the Chinese people’s Volunteer Army Air Force engaged in the first air battle with the US Air Force. The 28th Brigade, 10th Regiment, 4th Division of the Volunteer Air Force injured a US plane. From the shooting photographic film of Captain Li Han, it was the F-84 bomber that was hit. At this time, they took off together with the Soviet Air Force and studied actual combat for only one month.
Sun Weitao (then Secretary and Translator of Air Force Commander Liu Yalou): Even the Soviet expert can’t believe it. You pilots are the only ones who went up and died. Commander Liu (Yalou) said that we can’t wait. War is about fighting and building while learning from war.
Li Hanqi won, and his classmates in the old aviation school in Northeast China were all ready to try.
Liu Yudi (then the captain of the 1 ST Brigade of the 7 th Regiment of the 3 rd Division of the Volunteer Air Force): Liu Yalou attended the meeting. He pointed to your name, Liu Yudi, Mou Dunkang, Wang Hai and Lin Hu. You guys, can you be like Li Han? Can you get off the plane? At that time, we didn’t speak and didn’t dare to speak, so what did we say at the meeting? Later, after the meeting, we ate and drank together, and two glasses of wine would embolden us. Wine would embolden us. I went to propose a toast to Liu Yalou. I said that Commander Liu and Li Han could get off the plane, so we could fight. As long as we were told to get on, we could get on and get off the plane!
Liu Yudi, a first-class combat hero of the Air Force, set a record of shooting down four enemy planes in an air battle.
Sun Weitao (then Secretary and Translator of Air Force Commander Liu Yalou): How bold is Liu Yudi? When firing at enemy planes, don’t fire at a distance of 600 meters, and fire at a distance of 400 meters in Liu Yudi. The shrapnel exploded in front of my eyes. To that extent, the Soviet instructor was surprised, too brave, too brave. He said it was too brave. If you don’t fight, you will hit it.
Li Han, Wang Hai, Lin Hu, Liu Yudi, Zhang Jihui, Zhao Baotong, Lu Min … The first generation of pilots of the People’s Air Force, with quick occupation, fierce attack and not afraid of death, established the famous "MIG Corridor" with the fearless spirit of "fighting bayonets in the air", that is, the airspace north of Qingchuan River and south of Yalu River. In the 200-mile "MiG Corridor", the air control does not belong to the US military!
Zhao Baotong, the "king of air combat" in the history of the People’s Air Force, shot down 7 American planes and wounded 2 others, creating the highest personal record of volunteers pilots.
Wang Hai, later the fifth commander of the Air Force, led his team to engage in fierce battles with the US Air Force for more than 80 times, shooting down and injuring 29 enemy planes. On December 3, 1952, over the Qingchuan River, Wang Hai led 12 MiG-15s against the 51st Brigade, the ace flying team of the US Air Force, and won with a record of 6: 1.
Wang Hai (then the captain of the 1st Brigade, 9th Regiment, 3rd Division of the Volunteer Air Force): We have a saying in Jiaodong that Lao Tzu is not afraid of death, so don’t pin his head and melon seeds on his belt. As long as he is not afraid of death, you can’t die. The more he is afraid of death, he will die first. That’s what I mean. Right? I just thought, you in the United States are also a person, and we in China are also a person, and we were nurtured and grown up in Mao Zedong Thought at that time, right? Lao Tzu is not afraid of death, and there is nothing, so there is not a coward in my brigade.
On August 2, 2020, 94-year-old General Wang Hai left us. In the last years, he encouraged young pilots like this.
Wang Hai (then the captain of the 1st Brigade, 9th Regiment, 3rd Division of the Volunteer Air Force): Oh, I’m flying into the J -20. I hope young people will fly well!
In the process of learning from the Soviet Air Force and fighting with the US Air Force, China’s Air Force grew up in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and the Vietnam War became stronger. In actual combat, they put forward the tactics of "one domain, multiple layers, four systems", with high and low coordination, step-by-step attack and flexible operation; In November 1951, the 8th Air Division was able to cooperate with the 50th Army of the Volunteers to bomb Dahe Island and carry out joint air-ground landing operations. By the end of the Korean War, China Air Force had 10 fighter aviation divisions and 1 regiment, and 3 bomber aviation brigades participated in the war, shooting down 330 enemy planes and injuring 95 enemy planes. It lost 231 aircraft. By the end of 1953, the People’s Air Force had grown to 28 divisions and 70 regiments, with more than 3,000 aircraft of various types.
As mentioned just now, the first volunteer air force to shoot down the enemy plane of the US military was the heroic pilot Li Han, who came from the famous Air Force 4 Division. This heroic unit fought in the DPRK five times in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. In March 1956, it was awarded the honorary title of "China People’s Liberation Army Air Force First Division" by the Central Military Commission. Let’s take a look at the daily training and mission of the young pilots who passed on this heroic unit.
The ace troops of air combat victory continue to defend the air and space security of the motherland.
At 9 o’clock in the morning, a 2-on-2 "air battle" was about to begin. Yao Kai, a super pilot who played on behalf of the Red Party, took off his fighter plane. However, shortly after taking off, the battlefield situation changed.
Yao Kai, Deputy Chief of Staff of an Air Force Aviation Brigade: My wingman has been locked by the opponent, has entered the inescapable zone, and was directly hit by the opponent.
The shooting down of the wingman meant that Yao Kai had to confront two blue fighters at the same time, and it was almost impossible to win in the case of one to two.
With rich experience and tacit cooperation, the wingman made a move before being shot down, which made the situation instantly clear.
Yao Kai, Deputy Chief of Staff of an Air Force Aviation Brigade: Before being shot down, I had lured my opponent within an optimal launching distance. At that time, when I turned around, I fired a missile and shot down my opponent.
The situation of 1-to-2 instantly turned into 1-to-1. After a series of heavy tactical maneuvers, Yao Kai launched the final attack on the blue fighter.
Yao Kai, Deputy Chief of Staff of an Air Force Aviation Brigade: I found one of my best attack windows, fired a missile and shot him down.
Yao Kai, which made the impossible possible, came from China’s first aviation unit, and its predecessor was Air 4 Division, which became famous in World War I in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Since 2014, this unit, which has a special relationship with the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, has carried out the escort mission of the volunteers’ martyrs’ remains for seven consecutive times.
Yu Changyi, pilot of a brigade of Air Force Aviation: Our unit is the trump card of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. On the way to welcome the remains of martyrs back to China, we went through this journey again. My heart was heavy, but I was proud to welcome them home.
Every escort mission is a spiritual baptism for officers and men, and this baptism also gives everyone in this unit a deeper understanding of defending the peace and tranquility of the motherland.
The bright spot on the radar is approaching, and a rapidly approaching foreign fighter plane keeps the warning signal in the cockpit continuous, but Lowe has no intention of retreating.
Luo Wei, a pilot of an air force aviation brigade: Having seen his badge and number clearly, the other plane immediately pressed the slope to us and compressed the interval, which interfered with our tracking and monitoring. I immediately made an S-turn behind his tail and followed him all the time. When the other side found that they couldn’t get rid of me by hovering or pressing the slope, they left our coastline and flew to the high seas.
Safeguard the peace of the motherland in the most dangerous places and defend the air and space security of the motherland in nine days. With the deepening of the strategic transformation of the People’s Air Force, the flying track of this "ace" unit is getting farther and farther, and the list of tasks is getting more and more: the whole system is trans-regional maneuvering, the distant sea police patrol mission, and the plateau live ammunition shooting … The number of "firsts" they have created has been refreshed repeatedly, and these firsts have also witnessed their mission in the capacity building of "actual air force, transformation air force and strategic air force".
Just now, we also mentioned that during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the only joint air-ground landing operation of the Volunteers was to land on Dahe Island. In that year, another heroic unit of the Air Force, the Air Eighth Division, carried out air missions. During the war, less than a year after the establishment of the Air Eighth Division, our first bombing mission was carried out. Now, in the information age, what is their combat effectiveness? Follow the reporter into the air force to bomb a certain aviation regiment.
"Yamato Island Spirit" Inspires Air Force Ace Forces to Win the Sky and Space.
When carrying out the mission of bombing the size and island, the Air Eighth Division experienced the extreme moment of nine minutes of air combat.
Yang Zhukui (87 years old), former pilot of Chinese people’s Volunteer Army Air Eighth Division: When we are alive and our comrades are in a group, it takes nine minutes. Generally, the battle will be solved in one or two minutes in air combat. As an air combat, it takes you more than nine minutes, which is quite long and rare in history.
The Air Force bombed Sun Qichao, a pilot of a certain aviation regiment; 70 years ago, we bombed the heroic deeds of Yamato Island, and in recent years, we went out to the island chain, went out to the West Pacific and patrolled the South China Sea. Now it has become the norm. These are the operational missions of our army in the new era, so I still feel glorious and proud in such an army.
Seventy years ago, this division was not afraid of strong enemies, and defended the country and played a national and military power. Today, defending national sovereignty and interests, the "Yamato Island Spirit" has become more emboldened. On the tarmac of an air force aviation division, H -6K fighters, known as the God of War, nervously and orderly mounted ammunition, and they will go to strange areas thousands of kilometers away to launch live-fire assaults on predetermined targets.
After graduating from college, Song Chuntao has been serving in the fighter plane combat unit, performing many major tasks and flying safely for more than 4,000 hours.
Song Chuntao, head of the air force bombing aviation regiment; Simply hitting a bomb and a certain target is no longer suitable for our current combat environment or a battlefield we will face in the future. This is no longer suitable. It is more a test of our pilots’ integration into the system. I know how to hit, what ability I have, what kind of target I can hit, and when I can’t hit the situation, there are other coordinated troops to help me complete it and make up for my shortcomings to achieve this combat goal.
Sun Luyu, Deputy Head of Air Force Bombing Aviation Corps; For us, taking off is combat, and only when we go up, even if it is simple training, we should regard it as actual combat training to perform this task.
(Source: CCTV News Client)
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