Since many of the most famous examples of Chinese military equipment demonstrate a clear Russian influence, many myths also affect the Russian Federation, which, as it is believed, sells unique technologies for a song and does not fight against Chinese industrial espionage. The reality is much more complicated.
The PLA Air Force was established on November 11, 1949, following the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the civil war.
If you touch on the origins of the Chinese Air Force, you will find that first aid to China by aircraft, spare parts, specialists and pilots was provided back in 1939.
Origins
Before the start of Soviet military aid, there were several small fighter factories in China. In Nanchang, for example, there was a factory for the production of Fiat fighters. It is also known about attempts to establish from spare parts the assembly of Curtiss Hawk III biplanes.
Curtiss Hawk III Chinese assembly and Kuomintang insignia.
On 1937-28-10, the first group of Soviet I-16 fighters arrived in Suzhou from the USSR.
Aircraft of the 70th IAP at a field airfield in China.
Soon after the start of deliveries of Soviet aircraft, the Chinese government decided to host the production of Soviet aircraft. On July 9, 1938, Yang Ze, the Chinese ambassador to the USSR, discussed this issue with the Soviet government. On August 11, 1939, a protocol was signed between the USSR and China on the construction of an aircraft assembly plant in the Urumqi region. The protocol provided for the assembly at the plant up to 300 I-16s per year from Soviet units, parts and assemblies. The first stage of the plant was completed on September 1, 1940. In Soviet documents, the plant was named "aircraft plant No. 600". However, the I-16 produced in Urumqi (apparently, type 5 and UTI-4 were produced there) never got to the Chinese. In April 1941, there were 143 mothballed I-16s at the plant, stored there for 6-8 months. At the same time, a decision was made to return these aircraft to the Union. The return began after the outbreak of the war. The machines were assembled, flown around, camouflaged, followed by acceptance by military pilots and ferry to Alma-Ata. By September 1, 111 aircraft were overtaken, one I-16 was lost in the mountains. The remaining 30 I-16s and 2 UTI-4s left for Alma-Ata by the end of the year. During 1941-42, plant No. 600 was engaged in the manufacture of individual units for the I-16, but new aircraft were never built here.
There is also evidence that the Chinese have mastered the unlicensed production of "donkeys" on the basis of the Italian-Chinese enterprise SINAW in Nanchang. On December 9, 1937, production there was curtailed by order of Mussolini. They managed to evacuate the machine park of the SINAW plant to Chongqing by river routes in the first half of 1939. The machines were installed in a cave 80 m long and 50 m wide. It took a year to equip the new plant, and the enterprise was named "2nd Air Force Aircraft Workshops". Work on preparing the release of copies of the I-16 fighters began even before the arrival of the machines from the SINAW plant. The Chinese I-16 received the designation "Ch'an-28 Chia": Ch'an - the ancient Chinese feudal code of honor; "28" - the year since the founding of the Republic of China, 1939 from the birth of Christ; "chia" - "first". In another way, the designation can be written as "Chan-28-I". Drawings, as in Spain, were filmed from parts of "live" I-16 fighters. There were not enough machines, and the humidity in the caves reached 100%. Based on real conditions, the technology of gluing the monocoque skin of the fuselage was completely changed. Product quality control methods remained primitive and time-consuming. Metal spars, landing gear and wheels are of Soviet production, they were supposed to be dismantled from faulty aircraft. Engines M-25 - from faulty I-152 and I-16, Wright-Cyclone SR-1820 F-53 engines with takeoff power of 780 hp were also used. with. (they were on the Chinese Hawk-III biplane). Two-blade propellers were supplied from the Soviet Union in spare parts kits for I-16 fighters, in addition, Hamilton Standard propellers could be removed from Hawk-II fighters. Armament - two large-caliber machine guns "Browning". Assembly of the first Chan-28-I fighter began in December 1938, the first aircraft was completed only in July 1939. The aircraft received serial number P 8001. The fighter passed extensive ground checks before it took off for the first time. Flight tests were completed successfully. As far as we know, only two single-seat Chan-28-I fighters were built. With the appearance of Zero fighters in the skies of China, the already not too great performance of the Chinese pilots on the I-16 dropped to almost zero. It made no sense to make the obviously outdated fighter mass produced.
Pay attention to the enlarged fairings of the wing armament, which are not typical for the Soviet I-16 models.
Chinese "Chan-28-I".
The Chinese also used SB-2-M-103 bombers during the Sino-Japanese War.
The first aircraft arrived in China shortly after the start of serial production of SB-2-M-103 at Plant No. 125 at the end of 1939. The bombers entered service with the squadrons of the Chinese Air Force, whose personnel consisted of Soviet volunteers.
Major Ivan Polbin next to his SB-2.
However, it was at this time that the withdrawal of Soviet volunteers from China began. The USSR continued to support China's resistance to Japanese aggression, but now preferred to provide purely material assistance. The recall of Soviet volunteers had an extremely negative effect on the combat capability of the Chinese Air Force. Inexperienced Chinese pilots were destroying planes in full, and inexperienced technicians did not provide proper maintenance of materiel. The Chinese put the Security Council on lockdown instead of attracting aircraft to participate in hostilities. On December 27, 1939, three SB bombers with crews from the last remaining Soviet volunteers in China, taking off from the Hinzhang airfield, attacked Japanese troops in the Kunlun Pass area. The bombers escorted the last three effective Gloucester Gladiator fighters from 28th Squadron. After the withdrawal of Soviet volunteers from China, all the surviving SB were concentrated in the 1st and 2nd groups of the Chinese Air Force.
In total, from October 1937 to June 1941, China received 1250 Soviet aircraft. Soviet military experts advised the Kuomintang military leaders, and Soviet pilots on Soviet planes covered the Chinese Kuomintang troops from the air. In addition, it was decided to build a plant on the territory of Xinjiang to which aircraft components would be delivered from the USSR, which would move further under their own power, or, rather, "in their summer." The transfer of Soviet aircraft to China along the Alma-Ata - Lanzhou route became systematic and received the code name "Operation Z". Moreover, no later than 1939, the Soviet leadership organized a training center in Urumqi, where Soviet instructors trained Chinese pilots to fly the R-5, I-15 and I-16 aircraft.
Chinese pilot in front of his I-16, June 1941
The Soviet Union played a significant role in their creation and armament. Since the mid-1950s, the production of Soviet aircraft began at Chinese factories. The Great Leap Forward, the severance of relations with the USSR and the Cultural Revolution caused serious damage to the Chinese Air Force. Despite this, the development of its own combat aircraft began in the 1960s. After the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR, China began modernizing its Air Force, purchasing Su-30 fighter-bombers from Russia and mastering the licensed production of Su-27 fighters.
The PLA Air Force took part in the Korean War (1950-1953), during which the Joint Air Force was created, consisting of Chinese and North Korean aviation units. During the Vietnam War (1965-1973), Chinese aircraft shot down a number of American unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and several planes that had invaded the country's airspace. For one reason or another, the PLA Air Force almost did not take part in the Sino-Vietnamese War (1979).
Of course, it is impossible to list everything that was transferred to China: we are talking about hundreds of types of various products. But even a small listing will show that the cooperation was complex, encompassing all areas at once and made it possible to raise the Chinese industry to the level demanded at that time.
All weapons, the production of which was then mastered in the PRC with Soviet help, were at a high world level, something could even be considered the best and superior to Western counterparts. One can only guess what heights the Chinese military-industrial complex would have reached after such a start, if not for the subsequent events: the cooling of relations with the USSR, the recall of Soviet specialists from the country in 1960, and subsequently the cultural revolution. This slowed down the development of the production of a number of types of weapons, the transfer of which to Chinese enterprises was just beginning.
Therefore, for example, the Chinese were able to sort out the serial production of the J-7 and H-6 aircraft only in the 1970s. During the Cultural Revolution, most military programs not related to the creation of strategic weapons suffered from the reduction of state resources, political campaigns (including sending the intelligentsia to re-education in the countryside), and the general disorganization of Chinese science and the education system during that period. International isolation also played a role, primarily the lack of ties with the USSR, which had become China's main military adversary.
Nevertheless, work on copying Soviet weapons continued. Why Soviet? The army had to be re-equipped, the existing production base was created with the help of the USSR, many engineers studied with us and knew the Russian language, and the Western countries, even after the normalization of US-Chinese relations in the early 1970s, were not eager to transfer technology to the Chinese for a long time.
Already without any Soviet licenses in the 1970s-1980s, buying samples of weapons from third countries and copying them, the Chinese reproduced the famous Soviet 122-mm howitzer "D-30" (type 85), infantry fighting vehicle "BMP-1 "(type 86), anti-tank missile system" Baby "(" HJ-73 "), military transport aircraft" An-12 "(" Y-8 "), portable anti-aircraft missile system" Strela-2 "(" HN -5 ") and some other weapon systems. The first original weapons were created, for example, the K-63 armored personnel carrier. Soviet prototypes were deeply revised, for example, the Q-5 attack aircraft was created on the basis of the MiG-19, and the J-8 fighter using the MiG-21 design scheme. Nevertheless, China's military and technical lag behind developed countries only increased.
List of supplied, licensed and copied equipment
Bombers
H-4. Tu-4s, received from the USSR, were removed from service in the 70s.
H-5 Harbin. A copy of the IL-28, removed from service.
In the 50s. a significant number of Il-28s were delivered to China, including torpedo bombers armed with a PAT-52 torpedo. After the deterioration of relations between the USSR and the PRC, the repair of the Il-28 was organized at the aircraft plant in Harbin, as well as the manufacture of spare parts for them. Since 1964, there began the development of serial production of the bomber, which received the designation H-5 (Harbin-5) in the Chinese Air Force. The first production vehicle took off in April 1967. In September of the same year, the H-5 variant, a carrier of tactical nuclear weapons, was created. Its first test with the release of a nuclear bomb took place on December 27, 1968. The serial production of the training and photographic reconnaissance (HZ-5) modifications of the H-5 was also mastered. China was the second largest power in the Il-28 fleet after the USSR. All versions of the aircraft are in service with the PRC at the present time. China has been actively exporting H-5 to other countries.
H-6 Xian. A copy of the Tu-16, the carrier of nuclear weapons.
Fighters
J-2. The MiG-15bis received from the USSR, removed from service.
J-4. The MiG-17F received from the USSR, removed from service.
J-5 Shenyang. A copy of the MiG-17, removed from service.
J-6 Shenyang. A copy of the MiG-19, removed from service.
J-7 Chengdu. A copy of the MiG-21.
J-8 Shenyang. An interceptor based on the J-7. This aircraft does not have a direct Soviet counterpart, although it was also created using design solutions and technologies used on the MiG-21.
Shenyang J-8F. An analogue of the Su-15?
Su-15 (original)
J-11 Shenyang. A copy of the Su-27SK.
J-13. Su-30MKK and Su-30MK2 received from Russia.
J-15. Shenyang Copy of the Su-33.
Training aircraft
CJ-5. Nanchang. A copy of the Yak-18, removed from service.
CJ-6. Nanchang. The main piston training aircraft, based on the Yak-18.
JJ-5. Shenyang. Training version J-5.
JJ-6. Shenyang Training version J-6.
J-7. Guizhou Training version J-7.
JL-8 Nanchang. Combat trainer jet, created jointly with Pakistan on the basis of the Czech L-39 Albatros.
HJ-5 Harbin. A copy of the IL-28U.
HYJ-7 Xian. Training bomber based on Y-7 (An-24).
AWACS aircraft
AR-1. Experienced, based on Tu-4.
KJ-1. Experienced, based on H-4 (Tu-4).
Y-8J (Y-8AEW), KJ-200 Shaanxi. Based on Y-8 (An-12).
KJ-2000 XAC (Nanjing). On the basis of IL-76.
Special aircraft
HD-5 Harbin. Electronic warfare aircraft, several H-5 (Il-28) bombers have been converted.
HZ-5 Harbin. Reconnaissance aircraft, a copy of the Il-28R
H-6 UAV Xian. Electronic warfare aircraft, based on the H-6 (Tu-16).
HY-6 Xian. Tanker aircraft, based on the H-6.
HDZ-6 Xian. An electronic reconnaissance aircraft based on the H-5.
JZ-5 Shenyang. Reconnaissance aircraft, based on J-5, analogue of MiG-17R.
JZ-6 Shenyang. Reconnaissance aircraft, based on the J-6, an analogue of the MiG-19R.
JZ-7 Chengdu. Reconnaissance aircraft based on J-7.
JZ-8 Shenyang. Reconnaissance aircraft based on J-8.
JWZ-5. The N-4 (Tu-4) bombers converted into the carriers of the UAV BUAA "Chang Hing-1".
Y-8MPA Shaanxi. Anti-submarine aircraft, based on Y-8 (An-12).
Y-8 C3I Shaanxi. Air command post, based on Y-8 (An-12)
Tu-154M / D EIC. An electronic reconnaissance aircraft based on the Tu-154.
Helicopters
Mi-4.
Mi-8.
Ka-28.
Finally
At one of the military airfields, a farewell ceremony was held with the last J-6 fighters. "Veteran" is not just quietly written off to the reserve. The fighter, who has served faithfully for more than forty years, was given a ceremonial farewell in China.
The last batch of fighters was used for training purposes in the Jinan Military District. Now the J-6 will be disassembled and transported to one of the PLA Air Force warehouses, where it will be reassembled and stored carefully. Some of the vehicles will add to the museum collections, because we are really talking about the legendary combat vehicle.
The J-6, a copy of the Soviet MiG-19, belongs to the first generation of supersonic fighters produced in China under a Soviet license.
In addition, this is the most massive aircraft produced in the entire history of the Chinese aviation industry. For more than 20 years, about 4,000 combat vehicles were produced in the PRC.
In the Soviet Union, the production of MiG-19s was discontinued in 1957 - they were supplanted by more modern and faster machines. The fate of the Chinese relative of the "nineteenth" was much happier.
The beginning was laid in the late 50s. In 1957, an agreement was signed between the Soviet Union and China on the licensed production of the MiG-19P and the RD-9B engine. The MiG-19P was an all-weather interceptor equipped with a radar and two cannons (in China it was named J-6). A little later, Moscow and Beijing signed a similar agreement on the MiG-19PM, which was armed with four air-to-air missiles. The PRC in 1959 received a license for the MiG-19S with cannon armament.
The USSR handed over technical documentation and five disassembled MiG-19Ps to the Chinese side. And in March 1958, the Shenyang aircraft plant began assembling fighters.
(Brief information about the Shenyang aircraft factory - The Shenyang aircraft factory was created on the basis of an aircraft factory abandoned by the Japanese. The official opening date of the factory is July 29, 1951. Subsequently, the production of the MiG-15UTI (JianJiao-2 or JJ-2) was established at this plant [2], single-seat fighters were not produced, since by that time representatives of the PRC were already negotiating the start of licensed production of more advanced MiG-17. The aircraft were equipped with WP-5 engines (Wopen-5, which were a copy of the Soviet VK-1).
Shenyang factory today.
The first aircraft from the supplied Soviet spare parts took off on December 17, 1958. And the first flight of the Chinese-built J-6 took place at the end of September 1959, on the 10th anniversary of the formation of the PRC.
However, it took another four years to establish in-line production of these machines. In-line assembly of the J-6 in Shenyang began only in December 1963.
Since the mid 60s. The J-6 was the main vehicle protecting the air borders of the PRC. From 1964 to 1971, pilots of the Air Force and Aviation of the Chinese Navy in J-6 destroyed 21 intruder aircraft of the PRC airspace. Among them is the Taiwanese amphibian HU-6 Albatross, shot down over the sea on January 10, 1966. Not without losses - in 1967, two J-6 fighters were destroyed in a battle with Taiwanese F-104C Starfighters.
The J-6 fighters and modifications created on its basis formed the basis of the striking power of the Chinese aviation until the second half of the 1990s. China used fighter jets during the armed conflict with Vietnam in 1979, which is often called the "first socialist war."
The aircraft is unique not only for its long history, but also for its wide distribution throughout the world. Export versions of the J-6 were designated F-6 and FT-6 (training version). China supplied these fighters extensively to countries in Asia and Africa. The first buyer was Pakistan in 1965. Export modifications of the J-6 also entered service with the Air Forces of Albania, Bangladesh, Vietnam, North Korea, Kampuchea, Egypt, Iraq (through Egypt), Iran, Tanzania, Zambia, Sudan and Somalia.
