- Soviet Fighters in
the Sky of China
V
- (1937-1940)
- by Anatolii
Demin
- Aviatsiia
i Kosmonavtika 1.2001
- translated by
George M. Mellinger, Twin Cities Aero Historians
-
- {For Russian
names I have used a simplified version of the Library of Congress system;
for Japanese names, the rendition common in Western literature. Except for a very few well-known exceptions (Beijing, Chiang
Kai Shek) Chinese names and places have proven very difficult.
I have been given by a friend a table for transliterating Pinyan
phonetics into Cyrillic, and have tried to work it backwards to obtain
Pinyan from the Russian. I am
not confident of any success. I
ask your indulgence, and any corrections the knowledgeable may wish to give.
-GMM}
-
- Upon their
return to the motherland our volunteers left behind in China all their
aviation equipment. Already in
January 1940 the 32nd squadron was ordered to Chengdu for
retraining on the I-15bis and I-16. In
March 1940 at Baishiyi aerodrome the 29th squadron received from
our volunteers 11 I-15bis. Perhaps the aircraft were sent for maintenance to Langzhou
and the other maintenance plants established in China specifically for
repair of Soviet aviation equipment. The
25th squadron was sent to Langzhou for overhauled I-15bises in
July. They remained there for
defense of the city and air base against air attacks.
The 7th squadron was maintained at strength with
overhauled I-15bis and I-16s throughout the whole of 1940.
-
On December 16, 1940 at Taipinsi airbase,
at Chengdu the new 11 Fighter Air Group was formed, comprising the newly
organized 41, 42, 43, and 44 squadrons.
The pilots were chosen from among the graduates of the military
aviation schools. At the very
beginning of their organization they used 20 I-15bis, 15 I-16,and 5 Hawk 75,
received from maintenance factories, and also four new I-153 “Chaiki”.
-
Remaining without the cover of the Soviet
volunteers, the Chinese pilots were unable to achieve serious success in
battles against the Japanese. Not
having adequate training, they lost too many experienced pilots under
non-combat circumstances. Thus
on May 25,1938 the deputy
- commander of
the 3rd Air Group, Major Lin Zuo crashed during a training
flight. He was developing
ground attack tactics on an I-15 after overhaul in a maintenance factory. On August 20, 1938, while taking off in a repaired I-16 the
commander of the 22nd squadron, Wang Yuanbo was killed.
Nor did Sy Xianren, the commander of the 24th squadron
last long. On February 4,1939
he flew in his fighter on administrative duties from Hunan to Tungliang
(Sichuan Province), but in the air he met with a group of Japanese fighters
and was killed. On March 3,
1940, Liu Kai, a pilot of the 22nd squadron defending Kunming,
and Lieutenant Mei Erdang from the fighter group of the local flying school
collided during a training flight in the I-15bis and were killed. On March 9, 1940 two pilots of the 22nd squadron
at Lianshan collided during a training flight on the I-15 bis, and the
aircraft were destroyed.
-
Flying accidents also happened during air
battles. On January 4, 1940
Aircraft No. 2104, returning from battle, was destroyed during landing when
it ran into a tree on the edge of the landing ground. I-15bis (No. P-7106) flew a night interception mission on
April 22,1940, but after the air combat the pilot lost his orientation and
crashed while making a forced landing on the river.
Due to equipment failure, another fighter (No. .P-7117) made a forced
landing on a dike. On May 30,
1940 while returning from battle to Guangyangba airfield, a pilot of the 23rd
squadron on landing flew into a pit where munitions were stored and was
killed. On September 12, 1940
Captain Deng Youde of the 7th squadron, returning from a combat
patrol with deputy commander of the 28th squadron, Cao Shizhong,
to their aerodrome at Yangzhou, suffered an accident at Guangyangba,
destroying Hawk III No. 2219. On
October 4,1940, the 28th squadron in order to save it from Zeros,
received an order from the staff of 3 Army to disperse from Chengdu.
As a result of “difficulties” I-15bis (No.7218 ) was smashed in a
forced landing beyond the aerodrome, the pilot suffering fatal injuries.
-
By the summer of 1940 the Chinese drew up
the main strength of their fighter aviation for the defense of Chengdu and
Chongqing, concentrating the ir units at Guangyangba (18 Squadron),
Liangshan (22 and 23 squadrons), Baishiyi (23 Squadron from July 2), ,
Shuangliu (5 Air Group). At the
end of June the Aviation Committee again reorganized the fighter units.
The 4 Air Group was assigned one squadron with the I-16 and three
with the I-15bis (with nine fighters in each).
Since there wee insufficient fighters, they were taken from the 3 and
5 Air Groups. The 4 Air Group
also received the last nine Hawk IIIs of 18 Squadron.
Opposing them on the airfields of Hankow there were about 130 bombers
of Naval Aviation, which according to Japanese information from the middle
of May to the beginning of September 1940 completed 168 day and 14 night
attacks (3717 sorties). On
eight missions Army bombers were attacked to them (22 sorties).
-
Sharp air battles often occurred in the
skies of Chengdu and Chongqing. The
Taiwanese maintain that during the second half of May many sorties were
flown over Chongqing by the airmen of the 26th and 27th
squadrons. On June 16m 1940,
four groups totaling 114 Japanese aircraft conducted a massive night attack
on Chongqing. Wang Benhua, a
pilot of the 24th squadron led 4 I-16s into battle. Aircraft No. 2414 was shot down, but the remaining three
Lastochki after refueling shot down as a group a single Japanese near Fuling.
On June 28, four I-16s of the 26th squadron and three
aircraft from the 24th squadron took to the air to oppose an
attack by Japanese bombers. I-16
No. 2405 blundered into a hail of fire and made a forced landing at
Changzhou. On the night of July
4 at Chongqing, a pilot of the 32nd squadron took off in an I-16
for combat duty, but due to uninterrupted Japanese attacks on the city he
was unable to return to base, and after exhausting his fuel, was killed
making a landing short of the airfield.
On July 16, Deng Shoukang, a pilot of the 21st squadron
was shot down and baled out, but later died of loss of blood from his
wounds. On July31, the deputy
commander of the 24th squadron led a group of seven I-16s on a
night interception. As the
Taiwanese write, “due to the fact that the aircraft did not have identical
flight performance, only the commander and two other aircraft (No.s 2418
& 2420), were able to reach altitude.”
All three aircraft were shot down and the pilots Chen Shaocheng and
Wang Yunglung were killed.
-
The Japanese write that “these were the
heaviest attacks of the entire war in China”, and admit that they also
“suffered heavy losses”. Nine
bombers failed to return to their aerodromes, and 297 aircraft were damaged;
the main cause of losses seemed to be not anti-aircraft fire but fighters.
On several missions, losses exceeded the acceptable (for them) level
of 10%. They understood that
they could straighten the situation only by establishing air supremacy over
the target.
-
But the quickly arriving Fall of 1940
brought the Chinese Air Force new attacks and new losses.
Perhaps it was a genuine shock of r both the pilots and the command
staff. In the middle of
September 1940 a new Japanese fighter first appeared in the skies of China,
the Mitsubishi A6M (“Type 0” or “Zero”).
From the very first combat sorties, it seemed like nothing so much as
a pogrom of Guomindang aviation. If
on September 12, the Chinese lost only one already far from “New Hawk”,
only a day later mounting losses forced the Aviation Committee to issue an
order to its pilots about the discontinuation of all participation in
battle.
-
The Japanese claim that 12 Zeros (Leader -
Lieutenant Ekoyama) flew their first attack on Chongqing on August 19,
escorting 50 bombers, but did not meet the Chinese in the air.
The following day they repeated the attack.
The Zero group was led by Lieutenant Shindo, and again they could not
find any interceptors. On
September 12, a dozen Zeros led by Ekoyama, escorting 27 bombers to
Chongqing found five Chinese fighters on the ground and destroyed them.
Later it became clear that these were decoys.
-
The Taiwanese write that on that day
occurred the first air battle between the Zero and the Lastochki and Chizhi
of the 21st squadron. Two
Chinese pilots were killed and one more aircraft was hit, making a forced
landing, the wounded pilot suffering a leg shot off, and later dying from
loss of blood. perhaps the date
was misprinted, since the battle actually took place the following day,
September 13.
-
On the “unlucky day” (13th
after all) six aircraft oft he 24th squadron were forming a
barrier flight at high altitude and underwent the first sudden attack.
Squadron commander Yang Mengqing was killed at once, and his deputy
was wounded. Next the commander
of the 4th Air Group, Zhen Shaoyu led into battle the entire 22nd
squadron, and in the battle Captain Zhang Hong was killed.
A group of nine I-15bis from the 28th squadron led by
squadron commander Lei Yanjiong from the 4th Air Group engaged
the Zeros over Chongqing. Two
Chizhi were shot down. After
the battle it was found that the 4th Air Group had lost 13
fighters, with 11 more damaged. Greater
losses were suffered by the 3rd Air Group.
-
According to Japanese accounts, in the 30
minute battle the Japanese Zeros destroyed 27 I-15bis and I-16 Type 10.
Diving out of the sun onto the sleeping Chinese and hosing them with
massive fire, the Japanese pilots set panic among the Chinese airmen.
they claimed that three Chinese baled out of completely undamaged
machines, and two fleeing aircraft collided and exploded on a mountain
slope. To cap it all, the
Japanese also set fire to several fighters which had only just landed.
For their part, the Japanese suffered only light damage to four Zeros
and not one pilot was harmed. The
star was Sergeant Major”
Y. Kosiro, evidently shooting down five aircraft.
An additional I-15bis was shot down by Junior Officer Oki, in spite
of a pierced fuel tank.
-
After this massacre all the Chinese pilots
were withdrawn from combat, and they conducted only training flights.
The 4th Air Group returned to Chengdu, and from November
14, 1940 the 3rd Air Group trained at Shuangliu airbase.
During the second half of September over Chongqing only once did a
single transport fall to six Zeros.
-
In October the Chinese suffered new losses.
On the 4th of the month eight Zeros led by Ekoyama and
Shirane escorting 27 bombers, executed a massive attack on Chengdu.
The air staff of 3 Army ordered all aircraft to disperse. Six Hawk 75s of the 18th squadron flew off to
Guanxian. But on the way they
ran afoul of Japanese Zeros which set afire aircraft No. 5044 of pilot Shi
Ganzhen, who baled out, but his parachute failed to open.
Two more pilots were wounded and returned, and one Hawk 75 was burned
on the ground at Taipingsi. The
Japanese claim that they destroyed in he air five I-16s and one SB, and on
the ground 19 aircraft, and damaged one, when four Zeros (Higayashima,
Hagiri, Nakase, and Oishi) supposedly landed on a Chinese aerodrome, and the
pilots “by hand” attempted to set fire to the remaining undamaged
aircraft there. It is difficult
to determine how much truth there is in these “hunting tales”.
-
On October 5 at one of the Chengdu
aerodromes, the Japanese set fire to more than ten aircraft and a further 14
decoys. On October 26, during a new attack on Chengdu five fighters and five
other aircraft were destroyed in the air. The Taiwanese mention only that shot down during dispersal
were I-15bis (No. P-5302) and a Dewoitine D.510 of 28 Squadron, and about a
pilot of 32 Squadron, Liu Wenlin (I-15bis No. P-3587), who was shot down and
removed from the rolls. He was
wounded in the right leg and died on the way to the aid station. On December 30, at Chengdu aerodrome the Japanese supposedly
burned 18 aircraft.
-
From October 8 to the end of the year the
Zero completed 22 missions, shooting down two aircraft and destroying a
further 22 on the ground. The
Japanese claim that in 1940 the Zero completed more than 150 sorties,
shooting down up to 60 aircraft, and destroying more than 100 on the ground.
They admit damage to only 13 Zeros and not one loss.
If there is any exaggeration here, it is not large, the Chinese and
Taiwanese, do not recall any shot down Zero.
Finally, in particular they write that “in November the largest
portion of aircraft were destroyed. The
single hawk 75 remaining in the 18th squadron flew to Chengdu.
On December 1, the 18th Squadron ceased to exist”. The situation was similar in the other fighter squadrons.
-
In the words of the historians of the
People’s Republic of China, “after the appearance of the Japanese Zero
with its excellent flying characteristics, the situation of Chinese aviation
became even worse. The
shrinking air forces
continually suffered losses, and by the end of 1940 only 65 aircraft
remained. Adding to this
problem, the Soviet volunteers were recalled, and the Chinese Air Force was
left isolated, with no resources remaining for combat flights.
In order to reduce losses and to preserve combat power, the Chinese
Air Force was forced to avoid air battles, completing very few combat
sorties.
-
Such a situation continued to the end of
1941, while the Japanese, on the other hand, abandoned all restraint.
Exploiting their qualitative and quantitative supremacy, they
continually conducted massive attacks on Chengdu and Chongqing, as a rule
consisting of more than a hundred bombers.
The Zeros attacked the airbases, trying to wipe from the face of the
earth the remnants of Chinese Air Force.
-
In this critical situation the Guomindang
government of China again turned to the Soviet Union for help.
After receiving a pledge from Chiang Kai Shek to support a common
front for battle against the Japanese and loyal relations with the communist
party, shipments resumed. To
the beginning of 1941 the Chinese actually used the credits from the first
two agreements of 100 million dollars and the third of 84.6 million dollars.
From the last credits came an additional approximate 200 fighters and
bombers. In all, by the
beginning of 1941 the Chinese had received 885 fighters and bombers from the
Soviet Union.
-
Among these was an “asymmetric” Soviet
response to the appearance in the air of the Japanese Zero, - the I-153
Chaika. Having received its
baptism of fire at Khalkin Gol, and having not performed badly in air battle
against the Ki-10, A5M,
and Ki-27 (Type 97), it was a major modification of the Chizh, and while
doubtlessly not unfamiliar technology, nonetheless was still an innovation.
According to various sources, the Chinese received 70-93 Chaika
machines.
-
At that time at Aviation Factory No.1
building the I-153 there continually arose serious problems with the quality
of the metal used for joints an d detailed parts.
Even during the course of its first battle experience in Mongolia in
the summer of 1939, there were occasions of vibration of the forward metal
fittings of the wing frames and separation of the bands due to poor quality.
Not infrequently vibrations
of he ailerons and the upper wing covering led to the
destruction of the Chaika. There
were occasions when the exhaust pipe tore loose, leaking of the fuel and oil
pipes, cracks in the motor,
there was no insulation between the fuel tanks and pilot, etc.
-
An indirect example of the quality of the
production I-153s, of which a quantity were sent to China, is an incident of
August 27, 1939. The Chief of
the Aviation Supply Administration, Brigade Commander Alekseev reported to
the Commissar of Defense about the brave deed of the military representative
at Factory No.1, test pilot of the Aviation Supply Administration, V. I.
Arady: “During a test flight of an I-153... a fire erupted at an altitude
of 1000 m over the central aerodrome. Comrade
Arady immediately shut off the ignition, and landed the aircraft.. On the
ground Arady took measures to dampen the flames, simultaneously summoning
help, with which the fire was extinguished.
With his skilled and brave deed, Comrade Arady not only managed to
save his life, but also prevented the destruction of the airplane.
Comrade Arady, has had a previous experience of fire in the air
(while fulfilling a special government assignment), in which he was burned
on the face and hands. For
successfully fulfilling a government assignment, Comrade Arady on 14.XI.38
was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. I nominate him for the Badge of Honor.” I am careful not to assert whether the pilot earned his first
order in China or in Spain ( the other place where heroic deeds were being
done). In an order on the award
of decorations, the “Spaniards” and “Chinese” are represented
together. It is also unclear
where the saved Chaika ended up- in Spain, or China, or retained “for
internal use”.
The reason for the fire is also unclear; in the archive instead of
the report of an accident
commission usual in such cases, there was report signed by Alekseev himself
about the catastrophe of 9 April 1940: “Senior test pilot military
representative at Factory No.1, Captain B. I. Arady completed a test flight
of I-153 No.7533. He crashed in the Staraya Khlebnikovo region.
The commission is investigating.”
The report of incident commission is missing.
-
The courageous Captain Bela Ignatevich
Arady, evidently a Hungarian and a internationalist, who had fled Hungary,
fell in a sharp battle with a “childhood illness” of the new fighter
intended for the Soviet Air Force and also for the internationalists of all
continents. But the Chinese
pilots, even with little flight and combat experience, to a great degree
were troubled less by the undeveloped Chaika than by the enemy.
And thus in 1940-1941 it was very difficult for them.
-
Withdrawn from the destructive (for them)
battles with the Zero, the Chinese pilots began to be sent for the new
fighter from November 1940. At
the end of the month the pilots of the 27th squadron were the
first, at Hami (Sichuan Province). At
the end of the year attached to them were pilots of the 5th Air
Group (receiving 26 I-153s), with the 17th, 26th, and
29th squadrons, and in January - February 1941 sent to Hami were
the 3rd Air Group (17 Chaiki) and
4th Air Group (20 I-153 and 35 I-16), with the 7th,
8th, 21st, 23rd, and 28th
squadrons. With out the Chaika remained only the pilots of the 24th
squadron, receiving the I-16 III. (Which type of I-16 was so designated by
the Chinese is unclear, in any case there is information that they received
I-16s with the M-62 motor,
or mounted it themselves, as our engineers did at Khalkin Gol.)
-
With the new aircraft the Chinese began to
return to their basic deployment locations in February - March 1941, though
the 26th Squadron with 14 I-16 IIIs was sent to Lanzhou for
defense against air attacks. During
the transfer flights the Chinese again suffered non-combat losses.
Returning to Chengdu the 5th Air Group contrived to wreck
four new I-153. The 3rd
Air Group lost 5 new I-16 IIIs on May 1 when, during the flight eastward the
SB formation leader lost its course. All
the fighters ran out of fuel and were wrecked in forced landings to the
south of Tianshui (Gansu Province). The
fate of the pilots is unknown.
-
But these were still only the blossoms -
the berries were yet to come. On
March 14, the Japanese Zeros made a new attack on Chengdu.
For the Chinese, that air battle, evidently became nominal, later
they often wrote in hieroglyphs “air battle 314” (that is “the air
battle of March 14”). The
Taiwanese did not report the complete list of losses, but from fragmentary
information it is possible to discover that of the 17 aircraft of the 3rd
Air Group which had just flown from Hami, 11 took part in the battle and all
were destroyed, and the pilots killed.
The commander of the 5th Air Group, Huang Xinrui led nine
new I-153s, and his deputy Ceng Zeliu another 11 Chaiki. As the Taiwanese write, “the flying quality of the I-153
was unable to compete with the might of the Japanese, and Ceng Zeliu was
shot down directly over the aerodrome of Shuangliu airbase.” Also shot down was the commander of the group, Huang Xinru,
who made a forced landing at Sumatou, and died of his wounds two days later.
Of 11 Chaiki of the 28th squadron included in the 5th
Air Group, the Zeros immediately shot down the squadron commander Zhou
Lingxiu and another pilot. The other shot-down pilot made a forced landing on the water,
but was strafed on the surface. Also
participating in the battle were three I-15bis of the 32nd
squadron received at the beginning of the year from depot overhaul.
Squadron commander Chen Pengyang was shot down, and the lightly
wounded pilot, Qin Bei escaped by parachute.
In the 17th squadron all were killed, and several aircraft
were lost from the 8th squadron.
According to Japanese sources, on that day they destroyed 24
aircraft, and possibly destroyed, or damaged another three.
-
The 4th Air Group was lucky; it
had still not completed retraining, and returned to Shuangliu airbase only
in April. Until then they
avoided engagement with the enemy, as that order had recently been given by
the Aviation Committee to all active air units engaged in reorganization.
The 3rd Air Group transferred five of six remaining Chaiki
to the 5ht Air Group and the last to the 11th, anc functionally
ceased to exist. Only five I-16
IIIs flown in to Chengdu from Hami at the beginning of August remained for
combat duty. Later the 5th
Air Group disbanded. At first
their mission was the interception of Japanese reconnaissance aircraft, for
which they were reinforced with 5 Chaiki.
But on May 22, as a result of air attacks, 17 aircraft of the 5th
Air Group were sent to Nanzheng (Henan Province) in order to defend ti from
the Japanese blows. While
refueling at Tianshu (Gansu Province) they were al destroyed on the ground.
the newly appointed commander of the group, Lü Enlung was relieved
of command. On June 6 the group
receive 6 I-153s for opposing night attacks, but on July 1 it was disbanded.
-
Something similar occurred on May 26 with
the 29th Squadron. Eighteen
I0153s led by squadron commander Yu Pingxiang flying from the region of
Gansucheng to Lanzhou, but along the way they encountered Japanese fighters.
Immediately the commander and pilot Zhang Senyi were shot down, both
baling out. The remainder followed deputy squadron commander Tan Zhouli,
but when they landed for refueling, the remaining 16 Chaiki were destroyed
on the ground by the Japanese.
-
Evidently the only Chinese victory in the
first half of 1941appears to be a bomber shot down over Lanzhou on May 21.
At Xigucheng aerodrome there was a duty flight of eight I-153s of the
21st squadron commanded by Zhen Sheng.
On that day they gave battle to 27 Japanese bombers.
-
Concentrating almost all remaining aircraft
and combat pilots at the training centers where the fighters of the 4th
Air Group had become instructors, the Chinese fighter aviation virtually
refused to give battle to the Japanese, limiting themselves to intercepting
reconnaissance aircraft. At the end of July1941the remaining I-16 IIIs of the 4th
Air Group were concentrated at Liangshan and Baishiyi airbases near
Chongqing, for this purpose, but without results.
The 11th Air Group, which had formed at the end of 1940
also did not take part in battle with the I-16 and I-15bis, occupying
themselves with training flights at Qungla until 1942.
-
Meanwhile the Japanese continued to conduct
massive attacks on the Chinese cities. On July 28, 1941 108 Japanese aircraft executed an attack
into Sichuan Province. Only
seven aircraft of the 27th Squadron were able to oppose them..
The I-153 (No. P-7237) of Lieutenant Gao Chunchou was shot down,
falling into an ambush. While opposing an attack on Chengdu at dawn on August10
Captain Ou Yangdeng of the 21st squadron was killed.
His aircraft No. 7261, flying with the remnants of the 5th
Air Group was hit and crash landed, the pilot dying from lack of medical
attention. the next day the
Japanese conducted another dawn attack on Chengdu, and four I-153s of the 29th
squadron took to the air. Squadron
commander Tang Zhouli and two of his deputies, Wang Chongshi and Huang
Rongfa were killed. The
Taiwanese also state that the fiancee of the last, Yang Quanfang shot
herself on August 16.
-
In the words of the Chinese, “1941 was
the most difficult year for the Chinese Air Force of the entire eight years
of war. On this account, in
order to render opposition to the Japanese forces, the Chinese actively
sought new international assistance.”
-
Already by the beginning of 1941 the
commander of the 3rd Air Group, Lo Yingde with part of the
command and flying staff had been sent to Rangoon, Burma to take delivery of
the Hawk 81A (P-40C) which had been purchased in America.
But as the Taiwanese write, “after trying the combat capabilities
of these aircraft, they determined that they would not be able to stand up
against the Zero. Therefore the
transfer was declined and the aircraft were delivered to a unit of American
volunteers, C. Chennault’s Flying Tigers.
-
Unwittingly, the Japanese themselves helped
the Chinese. Preparing for the
attack on Pearl Harbor, during the second half of 1941 they transferred
almost all their Zeros from China to pacific Ocean bases.
Entry of the United States into the war against Japan at the end of
1941 was salvation for China. They
automatically fell into the category of countries to receive lend-lease
military assistance, including military aircraft.
As PRC historians write, “the power of the Chinese Air Force
gradually was restored with the help of the Americans.”
The Burma road began to work at full capacity as military cargo was
sent along it from the United States to China.
For its defense, the remaining Chinese aviation was redeployed to
Yunnan Province.
-
At the end of January 1942 eleven I-153s of
the 17th Squadron led by squadron commander Liu Qingguang, were
quartered at Kunming (Yunnan Province).
According to intentions, they were to repulse Japanese air attacks
together with the American volunteers also located there.
But after some time they were sent to Laxu airbase in Burma where
they were utilized for communications, and in May conducted military
activity attacking ground targets. On
May 3, 1942 two I-153s of the 26th Squadron were sent to the
Chanximaogong region (on the Burmese border) for battle against the drug
growers (evidently, reconnaissance and aerial destruction of the opium
plantations).
-
It is not possible to find much later
information about the combat use of our Chaiki. At the middle of July the 17th Squadron returned
to Chengdu, but it is unclear whether they took part in opposing air attacks
at the end of August 1942. Seven
I-16IIIs of the 29th Squadron participated in battle there, but
the details are not known. At
the same time, under orders of the 4th Army another seven I-16
IIIs, led by Wang Yinhua, the commander of the 29th Squadron,
flew to Lanzhou and defended the city and airbase..
In September three P-66s of the 5th Air Group,
newly received from the USA, were attached to them.
-
Except for mention of a single I-16 which
seems to have been shot down over the Burma Road in 1943 by a Japanese Ki
43, it has not been possible to uncover other information about the further
participation of our fighters in the battle for China.
From the middle of March 1942 the Chinese pilots gradually began to
rearm with American fighters, but a number of remaining Lastochki, Chizhi
and Chaiki were used for training in the flying schools and training
centers. There is no
information about the very last days of their flying careers.
-
Beginning from the end of 1941 Chinese
aviators, for the most part, after completing flight school, began to be
sent to the United States for advanced training. By March1945 a total of 1224 individuals had been sent, and
384 had been returned to participate in combat.
-
In March 1942 the first American P-43As, as
with the earlier I-16, were received by the 4th Air Group.
The pilots retrained in Kunming, and in small groups the pilots flew
in turn to India for the new fighters. the
3rd air Group sent pilots to India to receive the P-66 from the
middle of June 1942, and during a half year received 60 machines, though
they retained only 15, transferring the remainder tot he 5th and
11th Air Groups beginning in September.
-
The 7th Squadron first began to
use the P-66 for combat duty at Chongqing as early as September 1942.
Evidently, the last to turn in Soviet fighters for “combat
storage” were the pilots of the 26th, 29th and 41st
squadrons, generally a year later than the others.
The 41st Squadron began to receive the P-66 in September
1943, and the 26th and 29 th squadrons were sent to India to take
delivery of the P-40N only at the end of 1943.
The 44th squadron also received the P-40.
-
- Conclusion
follows.
-
-