In November 1951, the Chinese Volunteer Air Force dispatched a bomber formation to carry out air raids on the U.S. and South Korean troops entrenched on the island, when the 2nd Brigade of the 22nd Regiment of the 8th Division of the Air Force led its own nine Tu-2 bombers under the cover of fighters of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions to carry out a devastating air raid on the radar and intelligence facilities of the enemy forces on Yamato Island, successfully completing the first bombing mission of Yamato Island.
Yamato Island geographical location
Pre-war training
The 8th Air Division was born in the early days of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. On November 27, 1950, the division was established in Siping, Jilin Province, and belonged to the air force structure of the Northeast Military Region (later returned to the 3rd Air Force). Wu Kai, president of the First Aviation School of the Air Force, was transferred to the commander of the 8th Air Division, Ge Zhenyue was appointed as the political commissar, and the 22nd regiment and 24th regiment under his command were formed on the basis of the 504th Infantry Regiment and the 510th Regiment respectively. Each regiment has 3 flying groups.
Volunteer bomber fleet
In January 1951, the 8th Air Division was equipped with 70 aircraft of various types, including 64 Tu-2 bombers, 4 Tu-2 trainers, and 2 Polish-2 communication aircraft, which were modified by the Soviet Air Force Advisory Group with the help of China. In the past four months, the 8th Air Division has completed the training subjects from single aircraft to air bombardment of division formations. In early May, Soviet advisers returned home.
On October 13, the 8th Air Division was transferred to Shenyang Yuhongtun Airport and began an intense pre-war training exercise. The range used during training is still the Taipingchuan bombing range at Siping Airfield. In view of the characteristics of the Air Force, especially the bombing units, the party committee of the 8th Air Force put forward the slogan of "fighting the first battle and striving for the first merit," and divisions, regiments, and brigades mobilized at all levels to carry out in-depth political and ideological work. The entire unit was full of vigor in pre-war training, and the enthusiasm for battle was fully mobilized, and it only waited for an order from its superiors.
Li Han
In the face of the powerful opponent of the US Air Force, the difficulties encountered by the young Chinese Air Force can be imagined. On January 29, 1951, Li Han, commander of the 28th Brigade of the 4th Air Division, opened a record and beat an F-84 US plane into the air, shattering the myth of the invincibility of the US Air Force. The fearless spirit of the fighter units in daring to fight and win has greatly boosted the combat morale of the pilots of the bomber units.
Pull out the enemy's bridgehead
In August 1951, in order to paralyze our rear, the US military, while launching the summer offensive, concentrated its air force and launched a large-scale "aerial war Chinese" with the main goal of destroying the railway line. However, the intelligence agencies established by the US military and the South Korean army on the islands of Da, Kowa are extremely threatening to our military's combat operations.
The islands of Yamato and Kowa are located at the southern tip of the Tetsuzan Peninsula on the west coast of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, about 70 kilometers from the mouth of the Yalu River. The island and its vicinity of Linden Island and TanDo are home to more than 1,200 South Korean "White Horse Troops" and about 400 us and South Korean military intelligence agencies. Yamato Island is equipped with high-powered radars, counters, and eavesdropping equipment to collect intelligence from the enemy and instruct enemy aircraft to bomb a stronghold of our northeastern town and military targets. The headquarters of the Volunteer Army decided to remove this bridgehead of the enemy.
Volunteer bomber unit
On the night of November 5, 1951, the first unit of the 50th Army of our Volunteer Army conquered Linden Island. In order to coordinate the combat operations of the ground forces and consolidate the vested victory, the Air Liaison Division decided to use 9 Tu-2 bombers of the 8th Air Division to prepare for battle by 14:00 on November 6, and bomb the enemy intelligence and command structure in the village of Yamato-dong on Yamato Island. The route of the bomber was: Fengji fort at Yuhongtun Airport - Phoenix City - Andong (Dandong) Jiangqiao - Yamato-dong on Yamato Island - Iron Mountain - Langtou Airport. The formation is a brigade wedge, each aircraft carries 8 100 kg anti-personnel explosive bombs and 1 100 kg incendiary bomb, all using instantaneous letter battalions, when attacking targets, horizontal bombing is used, enter once, according to the signal of the brigade's long plane, the bombing height is 2000 meters. The 2nd Air Division (stationed at Phoenix Airfield) formed a joint formation with 16 La-11 fighters and Tu-2 bombers to carry out the full escort mission; the 3rd Air Division (stationed at Langtou Airport) served as air cover in the course of the 8th Air Division's mission with the strength of two regiments of MiG-15 aircraft.
The Air 8th Division opened its banner and won
After receiving the order of the Air Liaison Division, the Party Committee of the 8th Air Division immediately held a meeting to analyze and judge the situation, study the battle plan, and determine that this task was carried out by the 22nd Regiment and the 2nd Brigade. The captain of the brigade received an operational order that night. After receiving the task, the troops were full of joy. Because this was the first time that the Volunteer Bombing Force had returned fire with a bomb against the American invaders. During the pre-war training, the 1st Squadron of the brigade had created the best result of all 18 bombs hitting the target. In order to win the first battle, our pre-war flight preparations are serious, serious, meticulous and thoughtful. In order to clearly understand and remember the terrain and features of the target, dozens of flight personnel gathered in a circle and knelt on a large-scale map to carefully distinguish them; when they received aerial photos sent by the special plane sent by the Air Liaison Division, dozens of pairs of eyes were concentrated on yamato Cave on yamato Island, the enemy's command structure. Everyone said that we should take the bomb of revenge to destroy the enemy, so that the enemy can also taste the taste of being bombed.
Volunteer bombers
Before taking off, division commander Wu Kai, under the command of the Air Liaison Division, ge Zhenyue, political commissar of the division, and other leaders led more than a thousand troops to the airport to bid farewell to the troops, demanding that "the first battle must be won and the prestige of the volunteer army must be played!" The 8 female soldiers of the Division's Cultural and Labor Corps, holding the peace doves, flew away in the instant before take-off, and the pigeons spread their wings and flew, symbolizing that the warriors of the 8th Air Division fought heroically for peace and justice, and the banner was victorious.
At 14:35 on November 6, in accordance with the orders of the Air Liaison Division's command post, 9 Tu-2 bombers of the 22nd Regiment and the 2nd Brigade took off from Yuhongtun Airport and formed a brigade wedge with an altitude of 2,000 meters and a speed of 360 km/h. At 15:16, in the intended lot, it was combined with 16 Ra-11 fighters of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division, who were escorting. At 15:38, 24 MiG-15 fighters of the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Division, which served as cover, arrived at the predetermined airspace of Xuanchuan and Shumi Island, and took cover at an altitude of 7,000 meters, all in strict accordance with the coordinated plan.
Volunteer bombers
The joint formation was flying toward the target, and with about 5 minutes to fly away from Yamato Island, the formation made its last pre-war contact with the front command post. After 2 minutes, the bomber team identified Yamato Island by terrain and features, and the formation quickly corrected the bombing parameters. At this time, a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in the sky, which was the enemy's anti-aircraft gun shooting at our army, at this moment the aircraft group was still 3 minutes away from the target, and the captain of the brigade issued an order: "Tightly organize the formation and resolutely destroy the enemy!" Avenge the people of China and North Korea, comrades, rush! "The formation of the aircraft group is tight, like an eagle, and it is brave to move forward. At this time, the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery fire exploded more intensively in front of and behind the bomber group, flashing a ball of sparks, the air waves made the planes violently bump, our military aircraft group returned fire on the enemy's ground artillery, and the shooting director of the brigade organized all the shooters to shoot a row of machine shells at the enemy. The vengeful bomb left the bomb bay, and the entire fleet of 81 bombshells, like eyes, flew towards the target, and the explosion blossomed.
The Chinese Air Force is equipped with Soviet Tutu-2 bombers
The bombing was a success. Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang Hua, the escort fighter, said excitedly: "Wow, it exploded! Congratulations, 'Hero One'! The former commander even forgot to report the code name: "'Hero One' exploded well!" Comrades in the Army applaud you! The enemy's command post was completely shrouded in thick smoke, and the two landing craft on the shore were also blown up by the barricades. At 16:19, all of our bombers landed safely at Langtou Airport.
The US side exclaimed: "This attack will not come from the Chinese side." ”
In this combat operation, all units organized and implemented in strict accordance with the coordinated plan, the commandos and the cover team met on time, and strictly maintained the combat formation; the air command was proper, the action was sudden, the bombing was accurate, and good results were achieved; our brigade dropped a total of 81 bombs, hit 72, and the hit rate was 89 percent, completely destroying the target; more than 60 people below the commander of the enemy's operations section and the captain of the naval intelligence team were killed and injured, and 2 tons of enemy grain were blown up, 150,000 guns and shells of various kinds, and 2 ships were damaged; our plane was undamaged. As a result of the successful completion of the combat task, the superiors recorded the collective second-class merit of the brigade and the second-class merit of the brigade commander.
Volunteer pilot
After the enemy was attacked by air raids, his superior command organs sent several telegrams to inquire about the bombing of the island by our army, and sent people to the island to interrogate the local residents about the direction of the plane, the altitude of the voyage, the type of aircraft, and the number of aircraft, and to survey the bomb craters. The battle was unbelievable to the United States, and according to the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War, published by the U.S. Air Force University, "On November 6, a team of twin-engine Tu-2 spiral light bombers successfully bombed Yamato Island. The Associated Press immediately issued a radio and exclaimed: "This attack will not come from the Chinese side." The American newspaper said: "In this battle, the squad piloted a new type of bomber and carried out a successful bombing, which does not seem to be done by Asians." ”
Volunteer bombers dropped bombs
At about 15:00 every day, the activities of the enemy fighter's large group in the northern region of Korea basically ended, because it was close to dusk, and the enemy planes usually stopped moving. In this battle, our bombers took advantage of the sudden factor of the first dispatch to attack the enemy unexpectedly, leaving him overwhelmed and losing the ability to resist organized. When the enemy discovered our actions, although a number of fighter planes were taken off in an attempt to intercept us, it was too late.
In addition, the forces act in strict compliance with time and in concert. At that time, when the bomber group took off, a plane temporarily malfunctioned, and the Xue Guangshan crew who served as a backup made up the team in time to ensure that 9 aircraft were put into battle on time, and in addition, due to adequate preparations and a good idea of the bombing target, the target was found at a distance of 30 kilometers, and sufficient aiming time was obtained, so that the bomb dropped reached the expected coverage area. This led to the successful completion of the first bombing mission of Yamato Island.