In October 1950, in the face of the "aggressiveness" of the United States, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out. As a result, the newly founded New China had no choice but to go head-to-head with the United States, the world's number one military power.
Soon after the outbreak of the war, the United States' powerful military strength was fully revealed, and the US military relied on its absolute superiority in air power to carry out large-scale wanton and indiscriminate bombardment of Chinese and DPRK ground forces, rear communications, supply lines, and military installations. It has not only caused a major blow to the Chinese and DPRK troops, but also made it difficult for the ground forces to cooperate in operations.
In this regard, it was decided to send the Volunteer Air Force, which was being formed, to participate in the war. And it was at this time that Zhang Jihui, who served as the captain of the 4th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Air Force, was ordered to enter the Korean battlefield.
February 10, 1952, may have been an ordinary day for Zhang Jihui at the time, but a few hours later, he would create a miracle of air warfare that shook the whole country and the world was in an uproar.
On the morning of 10 February, the US military dispatched 18 F86 fighters to cover the situation, and dispatched 16 strategic bombers in two batches to bomb the railway transportation line near Yuri.
These actions of the US military were detected by our radar, and the headquarters of the Volunteer Army quickly made an emergency response, sending 34 MiG-15s of the 4th Division of the Volunteer Air Force to the sky above the theater of operations to intercept them, and Zhang Jihui also participated in the operation.
During the flight, wingman pilot Shan Zhiyu spotted a trail of planes flying in the distant sea, and it was obvious that the enemy's plane was not far ahead.
In order to learn about the situation of the enemy's planes and to seize a high and advantageous position, the group leader Zhang Jihui asked his wingman Shan Zhiyu to abandon the auxiliary fuel tank of the plane together, break away from the formation, and quickly climb to an altitude of more than 10,000 meters to reconnoiter the enemy's situation at full speed.
However, when they reached the combat altitude to look for enemy planes, the enemy planes evaporated like a world and disappeared without a trace. During the search, the plane piloted by Zhang Jihui and the wingman and aircraft formation piloted by Shan Zhiyu gradually drifted away. Just as Zhang Jihui was about to descend to the height and catch up with the formation, the enemy situation suddenly occurred.
Eight U.S. F86s suddenly swooped down from the clouds behind their fighters, and it was obvious that the enemy had already discovered the formation of volunteer fighters, and they must have climbed to a higher place to hide. Now that I see the two fighters Zhang Jihui and Shan Zhiyu who are alone, they will naturally not let it go.
The first two US planes had already bitten them, and once they were bitten in an air battle, it meant that the situation was very dangerous.
In the face of sudden danger, Zhang Jihui asked Shan Zhiyu not to panic to stabilize the formation, and at the same time increased the throttle to climb up and speed up, and then turned sharply to the right to get rid of the chasing bite.
When turning right, Zhang Jihui found that because his altitude was higher than that of the enemy plane, the enemy plane was one beat slower in its climb during the pursuit, and then made a turn to the left, quickly turning the disadvantage into a powerful situation. The roles were reversed, and the enemy's long plane was actually bitten back by Zhang Jihui.
The enemy plane saw that he was bitten, and accelerated several times in the intention of getting rid of Zhang Jihui, and Zhang Jihui** would let him succeed. Seeing that it could not get rid of it, the enemy plane quickly climbed up and flew in the direction of the sun, trying to get rid of the pursuit with the help of the dazzling sunlight.
"I knew at the time that this was a veteran, because it was difficult to observe the front in the sun during the pursuit, it was very dazzling. But we learned how to deal with it, so I avoided the sun from the side and still bit him. ”This is Zhang Jihui's memories after the war, and he described it this way.
Seeing that it was still unable to get rid of Zhang Jihui, the enemy plane adopted another tactic and quickly dived downward, hoping to get rid of it with the help of the fighter's superior horizontal operation performance. Zhang Jihui naturally knew the gap between his fighter plane and the enemy plane, and he was not fooled, but followed and bit the enemy plane from above.
Seeing that the long plane could not get rid of Zhang Jihui's pursuit and bite, several enemy planes behind quickly climbed up and surrounded it, intending to intercept Zhang Jihui and relieve the siege of the long plane. Seeing this, the wingman Shan Zhiyu made a fatal dive, and the frightened US military plane that surrounded him quickly evaded and flew away.
At this time, Zhang Jihui stepped on the accelerator of the aircraft to the end, narrowed the distance and successfully locked on the enemy aircraft. At a distance of more than 600 meters, he fired three shots in a row, and the enemy plane instantly smoked, spun at great speed and smashed down to the ground.
Another enemy plane, seeing that the long plane had been shot down, made an irregular flight in a panic, preparing to escape. Zhang Jihui and Shan Zhiyu** will give him such an opportunity to bite this enemy plane again**, and the enemy army will fall apart directly in the air.
In less than two minutes, the two enemy planes were reimbursed, which can be described as wonderful.
Unfortunately, Zhang Jihui's plane was bombed and damaged by several other enemy planes, and in order to cover Zhang Jihui's evacuation, Shan Zhiyu died heroically at the age of 24 while flying the plane and fighting with the US plane.
Because of Shan Zhiyu's sacrifice of his life, Zhang Jihui was able to evacuate and return safely.
After the war, the Volunteer Army Field Patrol found the wreckage of the U.S. F86 plane that was shot down by Zhang Jihui at the beginning on the slope north of Sanguang-ri in Bona County.
In the wreckage of the plane, the volunteer patrol found the remains of a US military pilot and found the military number plate on his body. However, the patrol members did not know English at the time, and they did not know who they were.
And when the US pilot's number plate was handed over along with other things, the eye-catching line on his number plate made the entire Volunteer Army military headquarters and the Volunteer Air Force boil. The number plate reads: George. Andrew. Major Davis.
Who is this person, let's put it this way, he should belong to the "trump card of aces" among the US pilots. In the U.S. Air Force, including the world, it can be said that the reputation is well-known and thunderous.
George. Andrew. Davis, recognized as an "air hero" in the United States, has more than 3,000 hours of flying experience in World War II, and has participated in 266 air battles.
On the Korean battlefield, Davis once achieved the achievement of shooting down 14 fighters of the Chinese and North Korean armies within a few months of entering the DPRK, and was praised by the US military as a "MiG hunter." He did not expect to meet Zhang Jihui, and he also "capsized in the gutter" under the numerical advantage of 8 to 2, which is really funny.
The news that Davis was killed by the Volunteer Air Force spread far and wide, causing an uproar throughout the United States, and major newspapers around the world also published this bombshell news one after another. A lot of the United States doesn't want to believe that their heroes are gone. The commander of the US Far East Air Force, Willan, called it: a tragic defeat. The New York Times even called this the darkest page in the history of the United States since Pearl Harbor.
After the war, there was a lot of uproar about Zhang Jihui's shooting down of Davis's plane. First, the Soviet side claimed that it was shot down by its air force, and because there was no evidence, it grinded its tongues. Later, many people questioned that Zhang Jihui was impossible, and he did not have the skills to kill such a "mythical character" with a 2-on-8 attack.
To this I would like to say:The shedding of blood and sacrifice for the country cannot be questioned at all.
On the Korean battlefield, the Volunteer Army is backward, hungry and cold, and what if it is as strong as the US Army?What about the 300,000 shells falling in Shangganling?If you don't fight, it's enough, and if you do, you will be asked if you are convinced!
There is no tactics, no technology, no advanced **, there is only the determination and courage to show the sword in the face of the enemy and see death as home.
Later, Zhang Jihui, who was awarded a first-class combat hero by the state, responded to this matter, he did not discuss too much about how he destroyed the enemy plane, but more when he talked about his comrade-in-arms Shan Zhiyu, his eyes were moist.
After Shan Zhiyu's sacrifice, Zhang Jihui cut off a tuft of his comrade-in-arms' hair and carried it with him until the end of the war. It can be seen that the comradeship is deep ......