On April 5, 1904, Tang Duo was born in a farming family in Hunan. In 1925, he was sent by the Nationalist government to study in the Soviet Union, where he worked in Soviet aviation for 28 years. Because during his time in the Soviet Union, Tang Duo fought a bloody battle with the Nazis in the air and achieved brilliant results and received the Order of Lenin.
Tang Duo served in the Soviet Union for more than twenty years and made outstanding contributions to the construction of the Soviet Air Force. When the Soviet Patriotic Campaign ended, Tang Duo returned to China in 1953. After that, he worked at the Harbin Military Engineering College. In 1955, Tang Duo was awarded the rank of major general.
Although Tang Duo was born into a peasant family, his father was very prestigious in the local family. In 1918, Tang Duo graduated from the Hunan First Normal School. Later, he participated in the May Fourth Patriotic Movement. While in Beijing, Tang Duo was also helped by Yang Kaihui's father, Yang Changji.
Later, Tang Duo went to France to study with several classmates. In 1921, Tang Duo was convicted of "excessive extremist" by the French government for participating in the student movement, and was finally deported back to China. The extradition of students from France to their home countries has caused a shock nationwide.
Although Tang Duo could not go to school in France, he returned to Shanghai and received attention from all walks of life. Fudan University and China Public School opened their doors to him. Soon after, Tang Duo entered a Chinese public school to continue his studies.
However, because most of the school's courses were taught in English, Tang Duo knew that his English foundation was weak and he could not understand the teacher's speech. In the end, he was forced to give up the opportunity to study at a public school in China. Later, when he heard that the governor of Hunan Province was in Shanghai, he and several classmates asked him for help.
Soon, Tang Duo received an invitation from shanghai Sino-French Tonghui Industrial and Commercial School. However, Tang Duo only studied at this school for one year, and then followed Sun Yat-sen's footsteps south to Guangzhou. Under the influence of Sun Yat-sen's idea of "saving the country through aviation", Tang Duo was determined to learn to fly.
Soon after, Tang Duo was recommended by Tan Yanmin to Yang Xianyi of the Aviation Bureau. In 1919, Yang Xianyi established China's first air force flying team in Fujian. Subsequently, Sun Yat-sen appointed Yang Xianyi as the head of the Aviation Bureau.
Yang Xianyi heard about Tang Duo's ambitions and was very fond of them. He recommended that Tang Duo intern in the aircraft factory under the Aviation Bureau, and when the time was ripe, he could learn to fly at the school opened. Tang Duo was very excited, "Whether it is an apprentice or an intern, as long as you can learn to fly, you can do it from scratch!" ”
The aircraft factory in Dashatou, Guangdong Province, although it also has plant and equipment, is very simple. What's more, what is most lacking here is professional aircraft manufacturing talent. With the successful construction of the aircraft factory, Sun Yat-sen took Soong Ching Ling to inspect it many times.
Yang Xianyi hired two American engineers, and finally overcame many difficulties with Chinese engineers, and finally referred to the sample aircraft and built China's first biplane, two-seat military aircraft. On the day of the test flight, Sun Yat-sen and his wife, Soong Ching-ling, went to watch it together.
At that time, there were still two empty seats on the plane, and Sun Yat-sen asked everyone who wanted to test fly together. Standing next to Sun Yat-sen, Soong Ching Ling took a step forward, and under the attention of a group of pilots, Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching Ling completed the first test flight, which left a deep impression on Tang Duo.
In September 1924, Marshal Sun Yat-sen's Office decided to open an aerospace school in the name of the state to cultivate aviation talents for the country. The first phase selected 1 pilot and 3 interns, and Tang Duo was one of them.
In 1925, Tang Duo immediately ushered in graduation. Liu Yun, the school leader, found him and told him the good news; went to the Soviet Union to continue his studies. Before leaving, Tang Duo wrote a letter to his parents at home and sent home some of the living expenses left over from the weekdays.
After the group arrived in Moscow, Tang Duo followed his classmates and began to learn to fly. While studying in Moscow, Tang Duo joined our party. After graduating from the flight school, Tang Duo was sent to the Soviet Air Combat Academy to continue his studies.
This period of further study experience has further improved Tang Duo's flying skills. Just at this time, news of Wang Jingwei's rebellion came from the country. The Soviet government also announced to Tang Duo and others a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek: All those who remained in the Soviet Union would return to serve in china.
However, the Soviet government also announced a message. If the student voluntarily returns to china, he will not be retained; if he does not want to return, he can stay in the Soviet Union for further study. This time, Tang Duo chose to continue to stay abroad for further study.
In 1928, Tang Duo not only obtained a flight diploma, but also was awarded the rank of Soviet air lieutenant. Subsequently, he was assigned to the Soviet Air Brigade as a lieutenant pilot. Later, Tang Duo began to learn about aircraft radio in Moscow.
In 1941, German fascists attacked the Soviet Union. Tang Duo and his classmates asked for battle together, hoping to go to the front line. However, the school refused their request. Until 1944, Tang Duo received an order from his superiors, and he served as the deputy head of the 74th Regiment Internship Regiment and immediately set out for the front.
Tang Duo joined the battle with the Pe-2 bomber and later continued the battle with the Il-2 bomber. In battle, pilots are often killed or wounded. At this time, the plane must return immediately, carry the dead and wounded comrades down, and continue the battle.
In June 1945, Tang Duo was ordered to return to Moscow. For his heroic performance in the war, he was awarded the highest medal of the SOVIET Union. In his 28 years in Moscow, Tang Duo was awarded a total of 4 medals and 3 medals, which is a high recognition of his work.
On April 9, 1953, Tang Duo returned to China with his wife and children. Standing on the homeland where he had been away for nearly 3 years, Tang Duo felt a lot of emotions in his heart. After China sent special personnel to bring Tang Duo's family to Beijing, they were arranged to live in the Guest House of the Central Military Commission.
Eventually, at the recommendation of General Chen Geng, Tang Duo worked at the Harbin Military Engineering College. Tang Duo's military theoretical knowledge and combat experience were very rich, and under his leadership, harbin military engineering cadets gradually built a rather large-scale air force engineering department.
In 1955, our army implemented the rank system for the first time. At that time, Tang Duo could be awarded the rank of major general, but because he did not participate in the agrarian revolution, the war of resistance against Japan and the war of liberation in China. Some people are worried that Tang Duo's award of title may be criticized by others.
However, Premier Zhou believed that although Tang Duo had not participated in any domestic battles. However, Tang Duo participated in the Soviet Union's patriotic anti-fascist campaign and showed great courage in the war. Coupled with the fact that Tang Duo awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Union as early as 1945, it is very reasonable to award Tang Duo the rank of major air general.
Although Tang Duo did not receive the Order of the Republic, he still deserves the admiration of the Chinese people. In the eleven years of his military work in Kazakhstan, Tang Duo not only completed a number of experimental teaching and drills, but also cultivated a large number of talents for the cause of China's air force.
Although Tang Duo left the army, he has always paid attention to the development of the blue sky cause in the motherland. He has made many suggestions for the construction of the Air Force, and has always been sick to work. On November 20, 1983, Tang Duo died of a sudden illness at the age of 80 while attending the meeting.