In April 1956, in accordance with the order of the Central Military Commission, the 10th Regiment of the Chinese Naval Aviation Corps was transferred to Shanghai Dachang Airport for training on the modification of MiG-17Φ fighters, and completed the modification training task at the end of June.
The MiG-17Φ fighter has superior performance over the MiG-15 Bis aircraft, and the aircraft can reach supersonic speeds of Mach 1.03 with the accelerator turned on, with a maximum ceiling of 17,000 meters. After training in complex weather and night flights, the 10th Regiment modified MiG-17Φ fighters and later J-6 aircraft, and the combat effectiveness of the unit was markedly improved.
After the end of the modification, while the pilots of the regiment went to the Hangzhou Sanatorium for recuperation, the regiment commander Yu Kailiang unfortunately contracted hepatitis A and went to Shanghai 411 Hospital for hospitalization. When he was discharged from the hospital, the doctor wrote on Yu Kailiang's physical examination book and discharge certificate: "After returning to the team, pay attention to rest, not be overly tired, only allow a small number of test flights, and re-examine once every three months to six months." ”
Yu Kailiang returned to the army in early September. Due to the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait at that time, the combat readiness and training tasks were extremely busy, but the training tasks of the whole regiment were delayed, and only 57% of the annual training tasks were completed in 1~8 months. For this reason, division commander Li Wenmo instructed at a flight training seminar held by the division: If Regiment Commander Yu is ill, he should fly as much as he can, and his skills should be maintained. However, it is necessary to make every effort to fulfill the annual training tasks of the whole regiment on the premise of fulfilling the combat readiness tasks.
But during that time, the regimental leadership of the 10th regiment had one after another physical problems. Political commissar Zhu Qingmei was hospitalized due to cirrhosis of the liver, and Wang Kun, deputy commander of the flight regiment, was hospitalized for stomach problems. Although Yu Kailiang's health had not yet recovered, and the hospital only approved him to participate in a small number of test flights, he could not leave the training of the whole regiment alone, and he resolutely threw himself into combat and training despite his illness.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the whole regiment, 95 percent of the annual training tasks had been completed by December, that is, 43 percent of the annual training tasks had been completed in more than three months. According to the flight diary, Yu Kailiang's personal flight lasted 7 hours and 1 minute in the air during the three flight days organized in September, 14 sorties flew in 7 hours and 5 minutes in the eight flight days organized in October, Yu Kailiang flew a total of 30 sorties in 14 hours and 12 minutes in the 13 flight days organized in November, and Yu Kailiang flew 5 sorties in 1 hour and 51 minutes in the three flight days organized in December.
This kind of large flight volume made Yu Kailiang's body overwhelmed, excessive fatigue, pain in the liver area, general weakness, and a significant decline in physique. When he returned to his dormitory after the flight on December 1, he felt that his body was no longer able to support him. The aviation doctor then called the doctor of the health team to inject him with 50% glucose, but because the doctor was sloppy and did not examine carefully, he used spoiled glucose, and before the doctor left, he had unbearable chills all over his body and soon lost consciousness.
The doctor was frightened and immediately called Director Liang. The three immediately sent Yu Kailiang to the health team for rescue treatment, and did not sleep all night, and Yu Kailiang did not wake up until 6 o'clock in the morning. Director Liang personally called to report the rescue of Yu Kailiang to division commander Li Wenmo. When Division Commander Li came to see Yu Kailiang, he repeatedly told him to rest for a few days and to participate in fewer flights from now on.
Soon after this medical accident, Deputy Regiment Commander Wang Kun was discharged from the hospital and returned to the unit, and Yu Kailiang handed over the flight training task to Wang Kun in charge, focusing on combat preparedness. He was on combat duty every day, with three combat sorties, in addition to 4 flight days.
As the head of the regiment, he had to grasp the work of the whole regiment, but his health was not good, and the medical accident that occurred on December 1 had a great impact on Yu Kailiang's health. Although the division commander repeatedly stressed that he should not fly a large amount, Yu Kailiang still practiced what he preached, and still actively participated in flights, combat duty, and combat sorties several times within a month. But it also left chronic hepatitis disease as a result.
Thanks to the unremitting efforts of the comrades of the whole regiment, by the end of 1956, according to the requirements of the training program, the 10th Regiment had entered the ranks of Category A regiments, and could undertake combat missions under the four meteorological conditions of day, night, day, and night.
On this basis, the 10th Regiment vigorously plunged into the new subject training in 1957 and worked hard to raise the construction of the 10th Regiment to a new level.
In January 1958, the 10th Regiment was transferred to Liuting Airport in Qingdao City, Shandong Province in accordance with the order of the Central Military Commission. Yu Kailiang led all the air crews and some ground crews to be idled to Liuting Airport, and successfully and safely completed the transfer and defense tasks. Before the personnel of the ground transfer organs and other personnel arrived, they had already begun to familiarize themselves with the situation in the defense area, carried out training, and entered combat duty, and achieved results on 18 February. On the same day, Hu Chunsheng and Shu Jicheng shot down a Kuomintang RB-57 high-altitude reconnaissance plane over Haiyang County, Shandong Province.
In August 1958, the Kuomintang authorities created tensions in the Taiwan Strait. On the night of August 10, the 10th Regiment received an urgent order to be transferred to Fuzhou Airport within 24 hours. The air and ground staff made all preparations overnight and transferred to Fuzhou Airport on the morning of August 13. As soon as the plane landed, the Kuomintang Air Force dispatched two RF-84 reconnaissance planes to reconnoitre, and Ma Mingxian led the squadron to take off in a MiG-17ф fighter to meet the enemy, but the two enemy planes were each damaged by Chen Yishu and Cheng Kaixin.
On the night of June 11, 1964, one P2V-7 electronic reconnaissance plane of the Kuomintang Air Force took off from Hsinchu Airport in Taiwan and headed north, from Xinhailian City, Jiangsu Province to Laiyang, Shandong Province.
In December 1964, with the approval of Chairman Mao Zedong, the 10th Regiment was transferred to Luqiao Airport to fight the enemy's RF-101 reconnaissance aircraft. At 14:58 on December 18, the Pishan radar first discovered the enemy plane, and at 14:59:10, Wang Hongxi took off to maintain a course of 180 degrees and a speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour to intercept the enemy plane. At 15:04:50, Wang Hongxi found that the enemy plane was 2 kilometers below right, with an altitude difference of 1,000 meters.
In order to occupy a favorable position, Wang Hongxi continued to make a right turn and narrowed the distance between him and the enemy plane, and at this time, the speed of the enemy and our planes was similar, and it was difficult to get close to the enemy. At 15:06:10, at an altitude of 9,700 meters (slightly lower than the enemy plane) and at a distance of 669 meters, Wang Hongxi fired three artillery shots in unison, and in an instant, the enemy plane rose into thick smoke and crashed into the sea 29 kilometers northeast of Phishan, and Xie Xianghe, a major combat officer of the 4th Brigade of the 5th Wing of the Kuomintang Air Force, was parachuted and captured alive.
At the beginning of 1965, Chairman Mao Zedong ordered the 10th Regiment to be transferred to Haikou Airport on Hainan Island. On 24 March, an unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance plane from the United States invaded the sky over Wanning and was shot down by Wang Xiangyi. On March 31, an unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance plane, invaded from Yangmei City, at an altitude of 17,600 meters, and was shot down by Shu Jicheng.
On April 18, 1965, the Ministry of Defense issued an order awarding the 10th Regiment of Naval Aviation the honorary title of "Eagle Regiment of the Sea and Air". There were more than 140 people in the regiment who made meritorious contributions, Chairman Mao Zedong met with representatives of the 10th regiment 25 times, and 79 representatives were received by Premier Zhou Enlai.
The glorious achievements of the 10 th Naval Aviation Regiment show that a unit with strong combat effectiveness is the result of strict requirements and strict training, and attention is paid to the cultivation of a sense of discipline and a fine fighting style. Many years have passed, and Yu Kailiang feels extremely pleased and proud that he can work hard for the growth and expansion of this unit.