To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1958, the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution was built in Beijing. It is currently the largest museum of its kind in China. It has permanent and temporary exhibitions. Recent temporary exhibitions included War and the Agrarian Revolution, Anti-Japanese Military Action, Civil War, Korean War, Ancient Military Armor and Equipment, and Exhibition of Uniforms and Military Equipment.
The exhibition halls of the museum display military uniforms, equipment and weapons from the time of hostilities against militaristic Japan, uniforms, equipment, weapons, armored vehicles, cruise and ballistic missiles, boats and jet aircraft adopted after the formation of the PRC. There are also items received by the Chinese side as gifts from diplomats and military representatives and captured as trophies during armed conflicts.
The main building of the museum is 95 m high and consists of 7 floors with two wings over four floors. The emblem of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, 6 m in diameter, is located at the top of the main building. The name of the museum was given by Chairman Mao, and now a plaque with his name hangs over the front gate. For the manufacture of a gate with a height of 5 meters, the metal of the spent cartridges was used.
There are 43 exhibition halls in the museum, divided into eight themes:
- Revolutionary struggle led by the Chinese Communist Party.
- National defense and development of the army of the People's Republic of China.
- The great campaign of the Chinese communists.
- China's military diplomacy.
- Weapon.
- Military affairs of the ancient Chinese dynasties.
- Military technology.
- Military art.
The museum contains over 1200 documents, over 1800 cultural monuments and over 10 works of art. The historical exposition is located on the third floor and occupies 3 halls in the east and west wings. In the halls of the main exposition, located in the basement, on the first floor and on the eastern, western and southern parts of the second floor, there are about 300 units of large-sized equipment and weapons, as well as more than 1,700 units of small arms and knives.
On the ground floor of the museum, there is a rich collection of aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles. On the second floor there are stands with cold arms and firearms, as well as artillery, anti-tank, engineering and aviation ammunition. The lower floor is mainly occupied by armored vehicles, artillery systems and anti-aircraft installations. Today we will walk through the hall with aviation equipment.
On the ground floor, in the aviation and rocketry hall, directly opposite the main entrance, there is a long-range Xian H-6 bomber. This aircraft, which is a licensed copy of the Soviet Tu-16, has been serially built at the Xi'an aircraft plant since the late 1950s and for a long period of time was the main Chinese carrier of nuclear bombs.
Like the Soviet prototype, the H-6 bomber was armed with three movable 23 mm defensive mounts and a fixed 23 mm cannon in the bow. In total, the aircraft had seven Type 23-2 23 mm cannons (Chinese version of the AM-23). Modern models of the H-6 are devoid of artillery weapons, self-defense against missiles and fighters should be carried out using dropped heat and radar traps and jamming equipment.
Early modifications of the H-6 were decommissioned or converted into tanker aircraft. Currently, variants are being operated, adapted for the suspension of cruise missiles, equipped with a satellite navigation system and electronic warfare equipment. The most modern production model N-6K is equipped with WS-18 (D-30KP-2) turbofan engines and modern digital avionics. The bomber-missile carrier, adopted by the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army of China in 2011, is capable of carrying a combat load weighing up to 12 tons. The armament range includes strategic cruise missiles for the CJ-10A (a copy of the X-55). The combat radius is 3000 km.
To the left of the bomber is a Soviet-made MiG-15 jet fighter with tail number "079". The explanatory plate says that on this machine, the Chinese pilot Wang Hai (the future commander of the PLA Air Force) personally shot down 4 enemy aircraft during the Korean War, he also has 5 victories achieved together with other pilots (according to other sources, these are presumably shot down or damaged aircraft).
A Shenyang J-2 fighter is installed next to the MiG-15. This is the Chinese version of the improved modification of the MiG-15bis. Fighters of this type were produced in Shenyang. The training spark is known as the JJ-2.
Although nothing is known about the use of Chinese "encores" on the Korean Peninsula, fighters of this type were actively used in the 1950s in air battles over the Taiwan Strait and were in service with the PLA Air Force until the early 1980s. From the mid-1960s, these machines were mainly supposed to be used for strikes against ground targets.
The museum exhibits a Tu-2 piston bomber. Chinese volunteers fought on aircraft of this type during the Korean War. Despite significant losses, in a number of cases, the crews of Chinese bombers achieved high results.
One of the most successful operations was the bombing of the Hedao Islands, located a few kilometers from the mouth of the Yalu River. The purpose of the operation was to destroy the American observation posts and radar stations that controlled the "MiG alley". According to Chinese data, during an air raid on November 6, 1951, nine bombers dropped 8100 kg of bombs. At the same time, all the targets were hit, and the enemy suffered heavy losses.
Unfortunately, the track record of the bomber presented in the museum is not known; the explanatory plate only says that Tu-2 aircraft were operated in the PLA Air Force from 1949 to 1982.
In addition to the PLA Air Force combat aircraft that fought in Korea, the museum's collection contains their opponents. UN forces in Korea used North American P-51 Mustang piston fighters - mainly for strikes against ground targets. Sometimes they fought defensive air battles with jet MiG-15s, successfully operated against the Chinese and North Korean Il-2 and Il-10 attack aircraft, and were involved in intercepting Tu-2 bombers. The Mustangs have shot down several Yak-9U and La-11 fighters.
The explanatory plate for the P-51D fighter says that in the late period of the liberation war, the People's Liberation Army of China captured several fighters belonging to the Kuomintang army. It is known that in 1946 the Kuomintang had about a hundred Mustangs. In August 1949, the PLA Air Force Mustang squadron based at Nanyuan Airport reached operational readiness. At the founding ceremony of the PRC, nine P-51Ds flew over Tiananmen Square, including this plane.
The main rival of the MiG-15 during air battles over the Korean Peninsula was the North American F-86 Saber jet fighter. In 1954, the first F-86Fs arrived in Taiwan; in total, the Kuomintang Air Force received more than 300 jet Sebras, which subsequently took part in air battles with PLA Air Force fighters. The last air battle between fighters from mainland China and Taiwan took place over Fujian province on February 16, 1960. Although the American-made F-86F fighters were inferior to the Chinese MiG-17F according to flight data, the battles went on with varying success. The Taiwanese pilots had the best qualifications, in addition, in the arsenal of their "Sabers" there were AIM-9B Sidewinder air combat missiles with IR seeker. For the first time "Sidewinder" was used in an air battle on September 24, 1958. On that day, a Chinese MiG-15bis was shot down by a hit from a homing air-to-air missile, pilot Wang Si Chong was killed. One of the released AIM-9Bs did not explode and fell on the territory of mainland China in Wenzhou county, which made it possible for Chinese and Soviet specialists to study the new weapon.
The exhibition at the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution in Beijing presents the "Saber" of Captain Xu Tingze, who hijacked an F-86F fighter jet in China. On June 1, 1963, a Taiwanese pilot took off from Xinzhou airfield in Taiwan and landed at Longyan airfield in Fujian province.
A Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star jet trainer is installed next to the F-86F Saber fighter. On this plane, on May 26, 1969, a crew of instructor Captain Huang Tianming and cadet Zhu Jingzhune flew from Taiwan from Taiwan.
The T-33A jet trainer was created on the basis of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star single-seat fighter, which was used at the early stage of hostilities in Korea. If necessary, the T-33A TCB could act as an attack aircraft and fight piston bombers, it was armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns and could carry a combat load weighing up to 907 kg.
Another defector was Captain Li Dawei, who hijacked a U-6A general purpose piston aircraft from Taiwan on April 22, 1983. Initially, this machine, developed by De Havilland Canada and capable of carrying 6 passengers or 680 kg of cargo, was designated DHC-2 Beaver.
After the "Beaver" began to be used by the American army in the first half of the 1950s, it was given the designation L-20, and after 1962 - U-6A. Due to its reliability, good controllability and excellent takeoff and landing characteristics, the DHC-2 Beaver enjoyed great popularity and was mass-produced until 1967.
Various piston aircraft were used to train Chinese pilots. The first TCB of the PLA Air Force was the captured Japanese Type 99 Koren (Tachikawa Ki-55).
In March 1946, a flight school began operating in Lohang, where there were several restored Type 99 aircraft. Due to the difficulties in supplying fuel and lubricants, the aircraft were refueled with alcohol and used automobile engine oil.
The museum also houses the Nanchang CJ-6 training aircraft, created on the basis of the Yak-18. After the deterioration of Soviet-Chinese relations, the supply of aviation equipment from the USSR ceased, and the question of creating its own TCB for initial flight training arose.
When creating the CJ-6 aircraft, Chinese engineers reworked many assemblies and parts, which makes it an independent development. The main fundamental difference in the design of the CJ-6 is the fuselage made of aluminum alloys, which increased the strength and service life. Initially, the aircraft retained the M-11 engine, but later the 285 hp HS-6A engine was used. with. In 1966, an armed modification of the CJ-6B with a 300 hp HS-6D engine appeared. with.
In 1957, the construction of the Nanchang Y-5 aircraft began at the Nanchang aircraft plant, which was a licensed version of the An-2 biplane. Until 1970, 728 aircraft were built. After production was moved to Shijiazhuang, the aircraft was designated Shijiazhuang Y-5.
Subsequently, the Chinese "maize" was modernized and mass-produced until 2013. In total, over a thousand Y-5s have been built in Nanchang and Shijiazhuang. Piston aircraft of this type are still used by the PLA Air Force for the transport of goods, passengers and the training of paratroopers.
In 2019, it became known that Russia intends to purchase a batch of ten Y-5BG aircraft from China, which will operate in the interests of agriculture and forestry and forest fire prevention.
The first supersonic fighter of the PLA Air Force was the Shenyang J-6. Mass production of the aircraft, which was a licensed version of the Soviet MiG-19S, began at the Shenyang aircraft plant in the early 1960s.
Until 1981, about 3,000 J-6 fighters of various modifications were delivered to the customer. In addition to the front-line fighter and the two-seat training version of the JJ-6, interceptors and reconnaissance modifications were created in the PRC on the basis of the J-6.
In 1977, modernized all-weather fighters with radar began to enter service. J-6s of various modifications formed the basis of the PLA Air Force's fighter fleet until the early 1990s. The official farewell to J-6 in China took place in 2010. But a certain number of aircraft of this type are still available in flight test centers and aircraft factories. In addition, more than a hundred J-6s have been converted into UAVs, which serve as targets during testing of airborne guided missiles and anti-aircraft missile systems. Radio-controlled jet drones can also be used to break through air defense. Several dozen J-6 unmanned aircraft have been spotted at air bases along the Taiwan Strait.
On the basis of the J-6 fighter in the mid-1960s, the Nanchang Q-5 attack aircraft was created. This is the first combat aircraft designed in the PRC independently. The release of the Q-5 began at the end of 1969, during the period of the greatest aggravation of Soviet-Chinese relations. In total, about 1,300 jet attack aircraft were built in Nanchang.
Serial production of the Q-5 continued until the second half of the 1980s. The latest versions of attack aircraft could carry guided bombs and missiles with television or laser guidance. The Q-5 attack aircraft, along with the N-5 front-line bombers (the Chinese version of the Il-28), were the main Chinese carrier of tactical nuclear bombs for a long period of time. Currently, Q-5 aircraft are considered obsolete and are being decommissioned.
There are two jet attack aircraft in the museum's exhibition hall. Near one of them there is a sculpture of a pilot in a flight helmet.
Despite the deteriorating Soviet-Chinese relations, in 1961 a license was transferred to the PRC for the production of the MiG-21F-13 and the R11F-300 turbojet engine. In addition to blueprints and technical documentation, China received several ready-made fighters, as well as kits for the assembly of the first batch. The Chinese version of the MiG-21F-13 is known as the Chengdu J-7.
However, due to the general decline in production culture caused by the Cultural Revolution, the pace of construction of the J-7 fighters was slow. In addition, the aircraft supplied to the combat squadrons had an unsatisfactory build quality and a lot of defects.
It was possible to bring the J-7 to an acceptable level of technical reliability only in the second half of the 1970s. After that, serial production was deployed at aircraft factories in Shenyang and Chengdu. At first, the J-7I modification was serially built, without guided missiles and with enhanced cannon armament. In parallel, the production of J-6 fighters continued, which were better mastered by the industry and the technical composition of the combatant regiments.
Further improvement of the J-7 in China was largely due to the outright theft of Soviet MiG-21MF fighters supplied to North Vietnam through Chinese territory. In the 1980s, Chinese designers relied on Western aid. In the 1980s and 1990s, modifications with modern airborne radars and avionics, equipped with fairly advanced melee missile systems, were created and adopted. The production of the most advanced modification, the J-7G, continued until 2013. In the PRC, about 2,400 fighters of the J-7 family were built, about 300 machines were exported. The reason for the great longevity in the PLA Air Force of a clearly outdated fighter is its relatively low cost, ease of maintenance and low operating costs. Until now, several air regiments of the "second line" are armed with Chinese clones of the MiG-21. Single J-7s and JJ-7s are also actively used as training aircraft in aviation units armed with modern fighters.
After the J-7 was adopted, it was clear that this front-line fighter was not very suitable for the role of the main air defense interceptor. This required an aircraft with a longer flight range, equipped with a powerful radar, automated guidance equipment from ground command posts and armed with medium-range missiles. The PLA Air Force leadership, fearing Soviet and American long-range bombers, demanded the creation of a supersonic fighter-interceptor capable of reaching an altitude of 20,000 m, with a combat radius of at least 700 km. Chinese designers did not reinvent the wheel and, taking as a basis the well-mastered aerodynamic design of an airplane with a delta wing, they created the J-8 interceptor. This aircraft looks very much like the J-7, but has two engines, it is much larger and heavier.
The first flight of the J-8 fighter took place in July 1965, but due to the general decline in industrial production caused by the Cultural Revolution, production aircraft began to enter combat units only in the early 80s. By that time, the fighter, equipped with a very primitive radar sight and armed with two 30-mm cannons and four melee missiles with PL-2 TGS, no longer met modern requirements. In addition, the technical reliability of the first J-8s turned out to be very low. All this affected the volume of serial construction of the first modification of interceptors, according to Western data, they were built a little more than 50 units.
In the second half of the 1980s, the PLA Air Force began operation of the improved J-8A interceptor. In addition to better assembly and the elimination of a significant part of "children's sores", this model was distinguished by the presence on board the Type 204 radar with a detection range of about 30 km. Instead of 30-mm cannons, a 23-mm Type 23-III cannon (Chinese copy of the GSh-23) was introduced into the armament, and in addition to PL-2 missiles, improved PL-5 heat-seeking missiles could be used. Despite the improvement in the combat characteristics of the modernized J-8A, relatively few were built, and they entered the regiments, where the interceptors of the first modification were already in operation.
In the early 1990s, in order to improve the combat performance, part of the J-8A was modernized by installing a radar capable of seeing targets against the background of the earth, a new fire control and state identification system, a radar radiation receiver and semi-automatic navigation equipment operating on signals from radio beacons. The modified interceptor is known as the J-8E. Despite the improvements, the J-8E was not up to date. The main disadvantages of this fighter were considered the modest characteristics of the radar and the lack of medium-range radar-guided missiles in the armament. Although the J-8A / E no longer satisfied the realities of the 21st century and their radars and communications equipment could be easily suppressed by onboard electronic warfare equipment of modern bombers, and missiles with TGSN, launched at a distance of no more than 8 km, had low noise immunity to heat traps, the operation of interceptors lasted until 2010. Two J-8s have escaped scrapping and serve as museum pieces. In the second half of the 1980s, serial production of J-8II interceptors with side air intakes and a powerful radar began, but there are no such aircraft in the museum's collection yet, although they are also considered obsolete.
In the next part of the photo tour of the halls of the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution, we will look at the ballistic, cruise and anti-aircraft missiles presented here, and also briefly get acquainted with the history of their creation and use.
When looking at the exhibits in the museum, you pay attention to the fact that all samples of aviation and rocketry have been carefully restored and are in very good condition. The halls, open to visitors, have recently undergone major renovations, while retaining the interior details and finishes used in the construction of the museum in the mid-1950s.
