"No problem factory, no problem sky. ”This sentence was said by Lieutenant General Wang Bingzhang, former director of the Fifth Research Institute (Missile Research Institute) of the Ministry of National Defense, and in just 12 words, it reflects the outstanding contributions made by the revolutionaries of the older generation to the motherland's missile and aerospace industry.
Wang Bingzhang, a native of Anyang, Henan Province, was born in a poor family in 1914. But due to the poverty of his family, at the age of 15, because he could not pay the tuition, he had to drop out of school and go home to farm, and he was unwilling to be a farmer for a lifetime, so he decided to join the army and serve the country.
In 1929, Wang Bingzhang heard that the troops of General Feng Yuxiang of the Northwest Army were recruiting, so he went to defect. At that time, it coincided with the opening of a radio school in the Northwest Army, and Wang Bingzhang, who had studied at school, took the exam and was admitted with excellent results. But the good times did not last long, in the Central Plains War, the Northwest Army was defeated, and the troops had to accept the reorganization of Nanjing, and the radio school was also reorganized into the communication battalion of the 26th Route Army.
In 1931, the 26th Route Army launched the famous "Ningdu Uprising" in Ningdu, Jiangxi, Wang Bingzhang was the personal guard of Ji Zhentong, the commander of the 74th Brigade, and also joined the Red Army with the troops, and since then he has embarked on the revolutionary road. After joining the Red Army, the 26th Route Army was reorganized into the Red Fifth Army Corps, with Ji Zhentong as the commander of the corps, as his cronies and guards, and Wang Bingzhang was promoted to the head of the herald squad of the corps headquarters.
After joining the Red Army, Wang Bingzhang grew up very rapidly, and ideologically he worked hard to learn communism and strictly demanded himself by the standards of party members; On the battlefield, he was not afraid of sacrifice, fought bravely, and received many awards for meritorious service. From 1932, Wang Bingzhang successively served as the head of the supplementary regiment of the Red First Army Corps, the chief of the combat section of the headquarters of the Red First Army Corps, and participated in the Long March with the Red Army.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Red Army in northern Shaanxi was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, with three main divisions under its jurisdiction, of which the 115th Division was adapted from the Red First Army Corps, so the post of chief of the combat section of the 115th Division was still held by Wang Bingzhang, who was the chief of the combat section of the Red First Army.
In 1939, the 115th Division advanced to Shandong, and Wang Bingzhang was appointed as the commander of the Luxi Military Region and the deputy commander of the 3rd Brigade (343rd Brigade), acting brigade commander. By the time the Liberation War broke out, he was already the commander of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and the commander of the 11th Column.
In 1949, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country established the Air Force Command, and Wang Bingzhang served as the chief of staff of the Air Force, becoming the first batch of senior air force generals in New China. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Wang Bingzhang was responsible for training and organizing air force units, and in the later battles, he advantageously supported the Volunteer Army, making great contributions to the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
In 1955, at the first award ceremony of New China, Wang Bingzhang was awarded the rank of founding lieutenant general, and was awarded the second-class eighty-one medal, the first-class independent freedom medal, and the first-class liberation medal.
In 1960, Wang Bingzhang, then the first deputy commander of the Air Force, suddenly received a notice from his old superior, Liu Yalou, then commander of the Air Force, saying that the organization had decided to let him take charge of missile research work. At first, Wang Bingzhang thought that the old leader was joking, so he didn't care, but when he saw the appointment notice, he immediately became anxious and said loudly: "I can only fight wars in my life, and I can build missiles, isn't this a duck to the shelf?" ”
Liu Yalou also expressed helplessness when he heard this, and explained: "This is the decision of the superiors, it doesn't work if you yell at me, if you have the ability, you can go to the prime minister to complain, if the prime minister says that you won't let you do it, then you don't have to go." ”
Unexpectedly, Wang Bingzhang really found the prime minister's office, and directly said that he had a low level and was a big boss, and he couldn't do such a delicate job as missile research, and hoped that the organization could change someone to do it. The prime minister, who was immersed in work, looked up at Wang Bingzhang and asked: "You said that you can't do it with a low level, then you recommend a person with a high level to me, and I won't let you do it." Wang Bingzhang thought about it, but he couldn't think of a suitable candidate, so he could only shake his head, but the prime minister clapped and said: "It's you, you have to do it if you can't do it!" ”
On March 8, 1960, the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense was established, with Liu Yalou as president and Wang Bingzhang as vice president. At the meeting, the premier told Wang Bingzhang in a serious tone that missile research is of great importance, is the top priority of New China's scientific and technological and national defense development, and is a strong support for New China to straighten its back in the international community.
Although he said that he could not do it, as a member of the Communist Party, it was his duty to obey orders, so Wang Bingzhang immediately devoted himself to the work of missile research and development. In order to do a good job in missile research, Wang Bingzhang innovatively proposed the "large-scale combat method" and applied the tactical methods in fighting a war to missile research. By convening scientists and scientific research personnel to form a scientific and technological army, we have jointly overcome one technical problem after another, and have achieved brilliant results.
In November 1960, a few months after taking office, China launched the "Dongfeng No. 1" short-range ground missile, which marked the beginning of China's missile industry from imitation to self-design. Wang Bingzhang was also appointed president of the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense because of his outstanding work ability.
Later, under his leadership, the Fifth Academy successively developed the "two bombs" nuclear missile, the "Dongfeng-3", "Dongfeng-4", and "Dongfanghong-1" artificial satellites, opening a new page in China's aerospace history.
When it comes to missile research and two bombs and one satellite, many people first think of Mr. Qian Xuesen, a patriotic scientist, but above him, the person in charge of the missile research and development work is General Wang Bingzhang, in fact, he is the core figure of the new China's missile research and development, and I salute the old general!