Early one morning in 1950, a fashionable incident occurred in the Fifth Aviation School of the Jinan Air Force. Two instructors were teasing a passing young woman on the street, and Yang Silu, who was the chief of staff of the aviation school at the time, was passing by, and when he saw this, he was furious, stepped forward to stop him, and took out his gun. What people didn't expect was that these two instructors not only did not repent, but had an arrogant attitude towards Yang Silu, calling "You are nosy". Yang Silu was immediately furious, and once fell into a dangerous situation of stalemate. In the end, although the incident was quelled, it became the fuse for a major decision for Yang Silu in the future. Why did Yang Silu become so angry? What kind of identity did these two instructors have, and what kind of major decision did Yang Silu make? Let us find out.
Yang Silu's bumpy life journey
Yang Silu was born in 1917 from a poor family and dropped out of school since childhood. In 1933, at the age of 16, Yang Silu joined the Red Army and began his revolutionary career. In the ranks of the Red Army, Yang Silu experienced the vicissitudes of life and personally experienced the arduous Long March.
In October 1935, after the Red Army entered the base area in northern Shaanxi, Yang Silu was incorporated into the International Division of the Young Communist Party and assigned to Xiao Hua's guard as a guard. Xiao Hua, who was the same age as Yang Silu, later became the founding general. Soon after, Yang Silu was transferred to Liu Yalou's guard team and served for Liu Yalou. Liu Yalou also later became the founding general.
In the smoke of war, Yang Silu grew into an outstanding soldier step by step. He participated in the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and made great contributions. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Yalou personally named Yang Silu and asked Yang Silu to work in the Air Force.
At first, Yang Silu was a little hesitant to enter the unfamiliar field of the Air Force. At that time, he had two options to choose from: one was to serve as chief of staff at the aviation academy, and the other was to serve as commander of the corps in the reserve section. After careful consideration, Yang Silu chose the former because he hoped to learn the knowledge of the Air Force in the aviation school system.
Liu Yalou expressed his appreciation for Yang Silu's choice and encouraged: "You think well, think right, and have ambition. With the determination to study with an open mind, Yang Silu came to the Fifth Aviation School of the Air Force.
However, Yang Silu encountered some infuriating incidents at the aviation school, which eventually prompted him to make up his mind to learn to fly. One morning on May 1, 1950, a hilarious incident occurred in the aviation school.
At that time, two instructors were molesting a passing young woman on the street. These two people not only have obscene words, but also have an arrogant and unreasonable attitude. When Yang Silu passed by, he was furious when he saw this, stepped forward to stop him, and took out his gun.
Surprisingly, these two instructors not only did not repent, but had an arrogant attitude towards Yang Silu, calling "You are nosy". The two sides fell into a dangerous confrontation for a time, which was finally calmed down by the mediation of the principal, Fang Ziyi.
Afterwards, Yang Silu learned that the two instructors were originally pilots of the Kuomintang Army and the puppet Manchukuo Army, and they had lived an arrogant life in the old era. During the War of Liberation, they chose to revolt and join the people's army, but they were given preferential treatment because of their professional skills, which bred pride and complacency.
At noon the next day, another infuriating incident occurred. At that time, the aviation school issued a new flight suit to the pilot, and one pilot scoffed at this and threw the flight suit aside in front of Yang Silu, with an extremely arrogant attitude. Yang Silu ordered him to pick it up, but the pilot ignored it and disdained Yang Silu's identity.
This series of events made Yang Silu deeply touched. He realized that the reason why he was despised by these pilots was that he did not know how to fly. "It's because I can't fly a plane that they do. Yang Silu made up his mind to learn to fly and solve this problem fundamentally.
The reasons for Yang Silu's transfer to the Air Force and his initial encounters
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Yalou personally asked Yang Silu to work in the Air Force by name. For this old subordinate who once served as a guard for himself, Liu Yalou is very important.
At that time, Yang Silu had two positions to choose from: one was to serve as chief of staff at the aviation school, and the other was to serve as commander of the corps in the reserve section. After careful consideration, Yang Silu finally chose the former. He hopes to learn the knowledge of the Air Force in the aviation school system and lay a solid foundation for his future career in the Air Force system.
Liu Yalou expressed his appreciation for Yang Silu's choice and encouraged: "You think well, think right, and have ambition. With the determination to study with an open mind, Yang Silu came to the Fifth Aviation School of the Air Force and served as chief of staff.
However, Yang Silu encountered some infuriating incidents at the aviation school, which eventually prompted him to make up his mind to learn to fly. One morning on May 1, 1950, a hilarious incident occurred in the aviation school.
At that time, two instructors were molesting a passing young woman on the street. These two people not only have obscene words, but also have an arrogant and unreasonable attitude. When Yang Silu passed by, he was furious when he saw this, stepped forward to stop him, and took out his gun. Surprisingly, these two instructors not only did not repent, but had an arrogant attitude towards Yang Silu, calling "You are nosy". At one point, the two sides were locked in a dangerous standoff.
Afterwards, Yang Silu learned that the two instructors were originally pilots of the Kuomintang Army and the puppet Manchukuo Army, and they had lived an arrogant life in the old era. During the War of Liberation, they chose to revolt and join the people's army, but they were given preferential treatment because of their professional skills, which bred pride and complacency.
At noon the next day, another infuriating incident occurred. At that time, the aviation school issued a new flight suit to the pilot, and one pilot scoffed at this and threw the flight suit aside in front of Yang Silu, with an extremely arrogant attitude. Yang Silu ordered him to pick it up, but the pilot ignored it and disdained Yang Silu's identity.
This series of events made Yang Silu deeply touched. He realized that the reason why he was despised by these pilots was that he did not know how to fly. "It's because I can't fly a plane that they do. Yang Silu made up his mind to learn to fly and solve this problem fundamentally.
Yang Silu's decision caused an uproar within the aviation school. Many people were not optimistic that he would be able to learn to fly. After all, Yang Silu was 33 years old at the time, and in the history of world aviation, there was no precedent for learning to fly an aircraft at the age of 30. What's more, Yang Silu is not only old, but also does not have a high level of education, can such a person learn to fly well? Can he handle an emergency when he is in the air?
Even Yang Silu's Soviet advisers did not advise him to do so, thinking that "it would be a pity if one day you flew a glorious plane." But this time, Yang Silu was determined to learn to fly, and no one persuaded him.
Yang Silu learned to fly at the age of 33
Yang Silu was determined to learn to fly, which caused an uproar within the aviation school. Many people are not optimistic that he can learn to fly, because Yang Silu was 33 years old at the time, and in the history of world aviation, there is no precedent for learning to fly an airplane at the age of 30. What's more, Yang Silu is not only old, but also does not have a high level of education, can such a person learn to fly well? Can he handle an emergency when he is in the air?
Even Yang Silu's Soviet advisers did not advise him to do so, thinking that "it would be a pity if one day you flew a glorious plane." But this time, Yang Silu was determined to learn to fly, and no one persuaded him.
To become a pilot, you must not only learn to fly an airplane, but also master all aspects of theoretical knowledge. However, Yang Silu dropped out of school since he was a child, and the little knowledge he had was also learned after joining the army, just like a person who has just learned the laws of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to calculate calculus.
At the beginning of studying, Yang Silu couldn't keep up with the course at all. His exposure to theoretical books such as "Principles of Flight", "Aircraft Construction" and "Principles of Engines" was like reading a book from heaven. Yang Silu knew very well in his heart that there was a gap between his classmates, so he decided to work several times more hard than others to overcome.
To put it simply, it means that others learn for one or two hours, and he learns for five or six hours, even if he sleeps, Yang Silu is also talking about professional knowledge. In just a few months, Yang Silu passed the theoretical knowledge level.
But the harder ones are yet to come. It is not difficult to fly an airplane to the sky, but the difficult thing is to complete all kinds of training tasks, not just to drive smoothly, after all, they fly an airplane to the sky, it is to take off to fight.
At that time, most of the aviation schools were Soviet instructors, Yang Silu could not understand Russian, and the Soviet instructors could not communicate with him, so they could only hit his legs with his sense of piloting. Once, because of a problem with the translation, the accelerator should have been closed, but it turned out to be stepping on the accelerator, and the plane almost had an accident.
After coming down from the sky, the Soviet instructor also had palpitations, and he ran to the school leader to make a fuss: "I don't dare to bring such a student, so you should ask another master." But all this did not change Yang Silu's mind.
What is even more difficult is that Yang Silu not only has to learn theoretical knowledge, but also has to complete various practical flight training tasks. During the training process, he encountered many difficulties, but he never gave up.
One day in 1951, Yang Silu had to complete an aerobatic training, that is, to do a "somersault cloud" maneuver in the air. This action requires the aircraft to make a vertical 360-degree loop in the air, which is an important assessment item to test the pilot's skills.
The weather conditions were not ideal that day, with thunderstorms and turbulence, but Yang Silu still decided to carry out the mission. After he lifted off in the training plane, he began to do the "somersault cloud" maneuver. But just as it was doing the vertical loop, the plane suddenly entered a strong air flow and began to jolt violently.
Yang Silu made a quick decision and turned on the anti-stall device, but the plane was still violently turbulent and was out of control for a while. At this critical juncture, Yang Silu was calm and calm, used the professional knowledge he had learned, and took the correct lifting action in time, and finally made the plane resume stable flight.
After landing, Yang Silu's instructor praised him repeatedly, praising him for being unchaotic, witty and decisive, and a "real flying expert". Yang Silu said that this is all due to the firm grasp of theoretical knowledge.
During a training session in 1952, Yang Silu had to complete an "extreme gliding" maneuver, that is, turning off the engine and using the inertia of the aircraft to taxi a distance in the air. This maneuver is very demanding on the pilot's skills, and the slightest mistake may lead to a tragedy in the middle of the air.
In accordance with the prescribed procedures, Yang Silu first lifted the plane to a high altitude, then turned off the engine and entered the gliding state. But at this moment, the plane suddenly entered a downward air flow and began to sink violently. Yang Silu immediately turned on the engine and pulled up the nose, but the plane continued to sink.
Just when the plane was about to crash into the ground, Yang Silu took a bold "flying close to the ground" action, which made the plane fly at an altitude of only a few meters above the ground for a distance, and finally saved the plane from the almost crash.
After landing, Yang Silu's instructor was extremely surprised and praised him for being "bold and careful, and skillful in driving". Yang Silu said that this is a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
It was on the premise of working several times more than others that Yang Silu finally learned to fly. During the two years he was learning to fly, he had no entertainment, no pastime, and threw himself into it, which created a miracle. What's more critical is that in the aviation school, Yang Silu was the first to fly solo, earlier than other students.
Yang Silu created a miracle and became the first pilot of the old Red Army
During the two years that Yang Silu learned to fly in the aviation school, he made many times more efforts than others. He had no entertainment, no pastime, threw himself into it, and finally created a miracle - in the aviation school, he was the first cadet to fly solo, earlier than the others.
In 1952, Yang Silu successfully completed all theoretical and practical courses, passed various examinations, and obtained a pilot's license. This marked him as a qualified pilot.
After graduation, Yang Silu was transferred to the commander of the 19th Air Force Division. As a division commander, he not only had to command the daily training of the troops, but also commanded the officers and men of the division to deal with various actual combat exercises.
In a large-scale exercise in 1953, Yang Silu personally piloted a fighter plane into the air and commanded the pilots of the whole division to carry out a ground attack. During this exercise, Yang Silu displayed outstanding flying skills and command skills, and won high praise from his superiors.
In 1954, Yang Silu was appointed as the principal of the 11th Air Force Aviation School. In this new role, he began to use what he had learned to train a new generation of professional pilots.
As the principal, Yang Silu is extremely strict with the students. He insisted on personally leading the team to train, correcting the students' flight movements one by one, and for some basic movements, he even asked the students to "do it with their eyes closed".
Under Yang Silu's strict requirements, the quality of pilot training of the 11th Aviation School has been rising, and it has soon become a leader in the air force system. Groups of outstanding pilots have come out of here and contributed their own strength to the modernization of national defense.
In September 1955, Yang Silu was awarded the rank of colonel, the first senior rank he received after working in the Air Force system. Previously, he for a long time maintained the rank of senior non-commissioned officer.
In 1961, Yang Silu was promoted again and was awarded the rank of Air Force General. The attainment of this rank is not only an affirmation of his personal ability, but also a commendation for his contribution to the modernization of the Air Force.
As a general, Yang Silu's main responsibility is to be responsible for the Air Force's combat readiness training and pilot training. Under his leadership, the combat effectiveness of the Air Force has been continuously improved, and the flight level of pilots has also been rising.
In 1964, during a large-scale all-army training, Yang Silu personally led the team to participate in a live-fire exercise. During this exercise, he piloted a fighter plane to hit the target accurately many times, earning him the reputation of "marksman."
Despite his advanced age, Yang Silu still often pilots fighter planes to carry out missions, and sets an example for the pilots of the whole army with practical actions. Some people advised him to pay attention to safety, but he always said: "I am from the old Red Army, how can I back down at this time?"
In 1969, Yang Silu retired. In the years since, he has devoted himself to summarizing his flying experience and teaching it to the younger generation of pilots. It was not until 1976 that he passed away at the age of 59.
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Yang Silu's life can be described as legendary. As a veteran of the Red Army, he began to learn to fly at the age of 33, but eventually became a leading figure in the Air Force and was known as the "first pilot of the old Red Army". With his practical actions, he interpreted the enterprising spirit of a revolutionary soldier who never stops.