In 1949, when Siye was marching into Zhongnan, Liu Yalou received instructions from Chairman Mao to go to the Soviet Union, win Soviet assistance, and form the Air Force of New China. After the official establishment of the PLA Air Force, Liu Yalou naturally served as the first commander, and after Liu Yalou, Wu Faxian, Ma Ning, Zhang Tingfa and others successively served as air force commanders, all of whom made certain contributions to the development and growth of the air force.
Today we want to tell the story of Zhang Tingfa, the fourth commander of the Air Force. Zhang Tingfa was born in 1918, a native of Shaxian County, Fujian, during the agrarian revolution, Zhang Tingfa joined the Red Army and participated in the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" battle with the Central Red Army. After the failure of the fifth counter-"encirclement and suppression", Zhang Tingfa participated in the 25,000-li Long March, and in 1935, after the meeting between the Red First Army and the Red Fourth Front, Zhang Tingfa was transferred to the Red Fourth Front, after which he followed the Red Fourth Front Army three times across the grassland and reached northern Shaanxi and won the victory of the Long March.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, Zhang Tingfa fought in the north and south of the Great River under the leadership of our Party, participated in large-scale battles such as the Huaihai Campaign and the Battle of Crossing the River, and was one of the heroes of the founding of New China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Tingfa participated non-stop in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and returned to China in 1953.
After returning to China, Zhang Tingfa was assigned to work in the Air Force, served as the deputy chief of staff of the Air Force, participated in the construction of our army's air force in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and then Zhang Tingfa worked in the air force for a long time, and in 1962 served as the deputy commander of the air force, but in 1966, after the beginning of the ten-year catastrophe, Zhang Tingfa was also affected, and in 1969 and 1970 was twice sent to Yutai, Shandong and Shaanxi Dali Farm to supervise labor, and suffered great physical and mental persecution.
In 1973, before the "Tenth National Congress" was held, some old cadres and military generals returned to work, including Zhang Tingfa, after his comeback, Zhang Tingfa returned to the Air Force and served as the deputy commander of the Air Force, continuing to work hard to build the Air Force. However, during that period, Jiang Qing, Wang Hongwen and others frequently interfered in the affairs of the Air Force and disrupted the normal order of the Air Force.
In 1975, after the fourth session of the National People's Congress, Deng Gong returned to work on rectification work, and in order to restore order in the Air Force as soon as possible, 57-year-old Zhang Tingfa was appointed political commissar of the Air Force.
At the beginning of 1976, the "Gang of Four" launched the "anti-rightist overturning case", which pushed the newly restored national economy to stagnation and regression again; in this context, Zhang Tingfa also became the target of attack by Jiang Qing and others. Zhang Tingfa, who was physically and mentally exhausted, also relapsed from his old illness and was admitted to the Air Force General Hospital for treatment.
After September 9, 1976, the "Gang of Four" accelerated the pace of seizing power, and Hua Guofeng also won the support of Ye Shuai, Li Xiannian and others, and decided to fight against the "Gang of Four". At the end of September, Ye Shuai specially called Zhang Tingfa and told him that "the disease should be treated, and the troops should also take care of it."
Zhang Tingfa heard Ye Shuai's meaning, so he hurriedly went through the discharge procedures and returned to work with illness. On October 6, the "Gang of Four" was completely crushed; at first, the news was kept secret, and Zhang Tingfa did not know it; some time later, he attended a meeting of the leaders of major units of the troops stationed in Beijing chaired by Chen Xilian. At the meeting, Chen Xilian announced the news that the "Gang of Four" was crushed, Zhang Tingfa was still sick at that time, after hearing the news, his mood was particularly excited, and he fainted all of a sudden, the meeting could only be suspended, and Zhang Tingfa was also continued to be sent to the hospital for treatment.
In 1977, at the age of 59, Zhang Tingfa replaced Ma Ning as the fourth commander of the Air Force, taking full charge of the PLA Air Force. During that period, Zhang Tingfa worked conscientiously and did a lot of work in the regularization and modernization of the armed forces, and was a hero in the development and growth of the Air Force.
After his retirement, Zhang Tingfa mainly lived in Beijing, and in his later years he still cared about the development of the Air Force and the construction of his hometown. In 2010, Zhang Tingfa died of illness in Beijing at the age of 92.