Red Wings over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea

315 Pages·2002·3.43 MB·english

by  Xiaoming Zhang

RED WINGS OVER THE YALU
EXAS A&M UNIVERSI
T 80 T
Y
✩ ✩
MILITARYHISTORY SERIES
Joseph G. Dawson III, General Editor
 
Robert Doughty
Brian Linn
Craig Symonds
Robert Wooster

Red
Wings
over
the Yalu
China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea
Xiaoming Zhang
     
Copyright ©  by Xiaoming Zhang
Manufactured in the United States of America
All rights reserved
First edition
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, .-.
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zhang, Xiaoming, –
Red wings over the Yalu : China, the Soviet Union, and the air
war in Korea / Joseph G. Dawson, general editor.
p. cm.— (Texas A & M University military history series ;
no. )
Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ––– (cloth)
. Korean War, –—Aerial operations, Chinese.
. Air power—China—History. I. Dawson, Joseph G., –
II. Title. III. Series.
..  
.'–dc 
To my father, a veteran of the PLAAF

Contents

List of Illustrations

List of Maps

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction
CHAPTERS

. Aviation and the Chinese Revolution: A Historical

Perspective

. Fledgling Years: The Emergence of the People’s

Liberation Army Air Force
 
. Promise, Decision, and the Airpower Factor
 
. From Defending China to Intervention in Korea
 
. Months of Frustration: Plans and Preparations
 
. Soviet Air Operations in Korea
 
. China Enters the Air War
 
. From MiG Alley to Panmunjom

. Conclusion: Estimations, Lessons, Retrospect, and

Future Perspectives
  
Appendix A. PLAAF Aviation Troops, –
  
Appendix B. Soviet VVS/POV Forces in China, –

Appendix C. Soviet PVO Forces in Korea, November ,
   
–July ,

Appendix D. CPV Air Forces in Korea, December, –
 
July,

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Illustrations
 
Liu Yuti, a d Aviation Division pilot
fl  
A eet of Chinese La- aircraft
 
A formation of Chinese Tu- s

Students from the First Elementary School in the city of Xi’an

Mao Zedong meets with Kim Il Sung

Chinese leaders discuss plans for intervening in Korea

Peng Dehuai upon his appointment as CPV commander
  
F- s of the th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, USAF

Fang Ziyi and Li Han pose with pilots from the division’s th
 
Flying Group, th Regiment
fi
Li Han, the rst Chinese aviator credited with shooting down

a U.S. aircraft in Korea
ff 
Chinese MiGs await the order to take o
fi 
Engineers at work on an air eld in North Korea
 
A B- formation approaches its target in North Korea

Zhao Baotong, China’s leading Korean War ace
 
Wang Hai and pilots of his st Flying Group, th Regiment,
 
d Fighter Aviation Division

Liu Yuti describes how he shot down an aircraft
 
Gao Yueming and his crew beside a Tu-
 
Wang Tianbao poses with his La-
Surviving bomber crewmen pose with maintenance personnel

after a bloody mission
 
A group of F- pilots pictured at Kimpo Air Base, Korea
 
Zhang Jihui poses in the cockpit of his MiG- bis
fi 
Wang Hai at a mission debrie ng with Liu Yalou
Acting Commander Yuan Bing and Political Commissar Gao
 
Houliang of the d Aviation Division
 
Yao Changchun of the th Aviation Division
 
Lu Min of the th Fighter Aviation Division
ff 
Chinese air force ground crews preparing for takeo