In the early morning of August 23, 1956, in the air in the eastern part of Qushan Island, Zhejiang, a fierce roar of machine guns broke the silence. After a period of chase, the situation seemed to be starting to change. "
Ground command, report to you, all the shells have been used up, all hit the target. Repeat once and hit the target with all. "The calm voice came from a MiG-17 fighter.
Subsequently, people could see that the large US reconnaissance plane that was hit rotated several times in the air, quickly fell at an almost vertical angle, and finally fell into the sea, splashing a huge splash.
The MiG-17 fighter successfully completed the mission and returned safely to the base. Who is the pilot of this fighter? How does he accomplish his mission in an emergency? Will the enemy give up easily when shooting down a US reconnaissance plane?
In 1956, not long after the founding of the People's Republic of China, this land that had experienced a hundred battles was in ruins. Although the flames of war and the smoke of gunpowder have been far away, the hidden danger of war has not been eliminated.
The political power and state building are still unstable, and the Kuomintang is eyeing Taiwan in the near future, and there are European and American imperialist countries secretly peeping into the country. According to statistics, from 1951 to 1953 alone, the United States and other relevant forces conducted reconnaissance and harassment of China's airspace as many as 30,000 times.
Relying on the complete air force and the large number of military talents, they have wantonly acted on our borders. Therefore, our defense fighters have always been vigilant since the day of their founding.
On August 22, 1956, the summer heat faded a little at night, the weather was clear, and the bright moonlight sprinkled on the calm sea surface of the East China Sea, and the breeze was blowing, which was originally a peaceful picture.
However, the silence was shattered by the sudden blaring of sirens from the radar. The soldiers quickly operated the precision instruments, and the tension heated up sharply.
The radar detected a large P4M-1Q reconnaissance aircraft, which took off from the direction of Japan and flew towards Shandong and Jiangsu in our country, apparently on execution"Scout missions"。
This reconnaissance plane has already flown into the airspace over the territorial waters of our country, an absolute provocation against our country. In order to obtain more accurate data, its flight altitude is constantly decreasing, completely disregarding the dignity of our country and the air force stationed there.
This kind of behavior is absolutely not allowed in the international community, and the US military is well aware of this.
After a period of time over China's territorial waters, they temporarily return to the high seas to give the impression that they are about to leave, but after a while, they turn back and wait for a second incursion and harassment.
They have played this little trick more than once or twice, and our army has long been familiar with it.
In the past, they were observing the whole situation, but now we find that the US military seems to have only sent this reconnaissance plane, and we naturally will not let it do whatever it wants.
Sure enough, at 23:41 that night, the radar showed that the reconnaissance plane had greatly adjusted its flight direction, and it was obviously not heading towards the open sea or its take-off site, but its destination was clearly the Zhoushan Islands of our country.
This is no joke, as the two important port cities of Shanghai and Ningbo, near the Zhoushan archipelago, are densely populated.
In order to support the huge fuselage of the large reconnaissance aircraft P4M-1Q, it is necessary to use dual power of piston and turbojet, which has strong power and sufficient horsepower.
It is characterized by its high speed and long range. To fly such a reconnaissance aircraft and record intelligence, a crew of at least a dozen people is needed. If this kind of reconnaissance plane that sorts out alone dares to infringe on China's territorial waters, it will inevitably be equipped with **.
If left unchecked, let it fly over any city and fire a few shots, and the consequences are unimaginable.
As a result, Chu Futian, deputy commander of the Second Division of the Air Force Aviation Department stationed in the Shanghai area, immediately made a decision: "The fighter plane is ready to take off to meet the enemy!" ”
This skirmish began in August 1956 with the quiet night sky as the stage.
Zhang Wenyi, a 27-year-old pilot of the 6th Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Air Force Aviation Department, who had already become an experienced pilot, was appointed at the end of the day.
Zhang Wenyi: A milestone in the career of an Air Force pilot Zhang Wenyi was born in Dali County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province. In 1949, at the age of 20, Zhang Wenyi joined the army and began his air force career.
With a thirst for knowledge and a love for flying, he rose step by step from an ordinary pilot to squadron leader and now the regimental chief of navigation. Each of his titles is an affirmation of his abilities.
During his flying career, he once shot down a Kuomintang B-17 aircraft. This aircraft was the world's first all-metal fuselage bomber, and it was also an advanced model owned by the Kuomintang at that time.
The B-17 bomber has a large size, a long range, and a speed that is not slow, so it can be said that it is powerful in all attributes. At that time, the air force of our army was relatively backward in equipment, and there was no automatic aiming and pursuit function.
Pilots need to rely on the naked eye to judge the trajectory and speed of enemy aircraft while dodging bullets and trying to hit the target during a 360-degree rotation flight.
Zhang Wenyi's success is the result of his unremitting efforts over the years, and it is also the embodiment of his love and dedication to the cause of the Air Force.
The requirements for our pilots are extremely high, because bullets are limited. If they can't shoot down the enemy before they run out of bullets, the pilot can only face being chased by the enemy until he dies.
Zhang Wenyi, an ace pilot who shot down a B-17 bomber, had a tougher battle with the P4M-1Q reconnaissance plane than he expected.
At this moment, although the starry sky in the middle of the night is bright, the visibility is extremely low, and these objective conditions cannot change his firm determination.
He knows that as a good pilot, the meaning of life is to face challenges calmly and without fear of defeat.
Deputy Division Commander Chu Futian was also nervously paying attention to the battle situation, he knew the strength of this pilot director, but the complexity of the battle situation determined that he could not be 100% sure.
Therefore, it is necessary to be cautious and take every step of the way. The MiG-17 fighter plane piloted by Zhang Wenyi is not equipped with real-time radar, so he needs to rely on the exchange of information with the ground command in order to locate the enemy's reconnaissance plane.
The guidance in the headset is only a general direction, and Zhang Wenyi can only rely on his own eyes to find the target. This is a difficult task, and once Zhang Wenyi delays time, he may miss the best opportunity to intercept, and our side will fall into passivity.
In the command room, Deputy Division Commander Chu Futian looked at him nervously. Suddenly, Zhang Wenyi spotted an unusual plane, which was a large plane, only more than 800 meters away.
Zhang Wenyi confidently reported the news to the ground. The reconnaissance plane had been in China's airspace for 23 minutes and was still heading straight for Ningbo without any fear.
Chu Futian of the ground command calmly gave the order: "MiG-17, shoot it down." ”
Zhang Wenyi (right) Zhang Wenyi immediately adjusted the direction of his flight, and his wings pierced through the sky and approached the enemy's reconnaissance plane. In the early morning of the 23rd, a fierce air chase battle kicked off.
Although the enemy's P4M-1Q reconnaissance plane, which suffered its own consequences, was huge, it could not compare with Zhang Wenyi's MiG-17 fighter plane, and its speed was significantly behind. Under Zhang Wenyi's straight-line pursuit, the distance between the two sides became closer and closer.
When the distance was reduced to 700 meters, Zhang Wenyi manipulated his good partner MiG-17 and fired the first round of cannons.
In an instant, a blinding flash of fire erupted in the night sky, but due to the slight distance and the natural fall of the trajectory, it did not hit the target.
Zhang Wenyi, the experienced pilot, made a mistake in the first round and did not affect his focus. The enemy reconnaissance plane, sensing that the situation was not right, immediately turned around.
At this time, Zhang Wenyi had basically locked on the position of the reconnaissance plane, and the other party was too large and not flexible enough, so it was difficult to get rid of it for a while.
When the distance between the two sides was reduced to 400 meters, Zhang Wenyi began a second round of cannon attacks, and the bullet accurately hit the wing of the reconnaissance plane, making it impossible to fly again.
At this time, sixteen people on the reconnaissance plane, realizing that they might be overconfident, began to get nervous, and they immediately adjusted their direction, hoping to be able to safely return to the airfield where they took off.
Zhang Wenyi took advantage of this opportunity to flexibly dodge the bullet attack of the reconnaissance plane and narrowed the distance to about 300 meters. He knows that the most important thing now is to be calm and not rely on any great skill.
Under the illumination of the moonlight, Zhang Wenyi slowly adjusted the position of the crosshair, waiting for the injured reconnaissance plane to appear again.
Without hesitation, he fired all the remaining bullets, and with the sound of "bang bang-", not a single shell fell into the sea, but all hit the fuselage of the reconnaissance aircraft.
Zhang Wenyi piloted the MiG-17 in the air and deftly avoided a reconnaissance plane that was blazing with flames. He tilted his head and saw the enemy plane's flight altitude gradually decreasing, until it finally plunged straight into the sea.
Reports to the ground command that the enemy P4M-1Q reconnaissance aircraft has crashed and the mission is complete. The pilot calmly reported on the situation and then returned to the base in style.
While a tense situation was resolved, it set off a chain reaction.
In the United States, after learning that the reconnaissance plane had been shot down and that 16 members of the crew were missing, they began to accuse our country of provoking incidents, lacking humanitarian spirit, and mutilating soldiers from other countries.
However, they ignore the fact that the air battle took place in the airspace of our country. Nonetheless, we do not want to respond to this matter. On 25 August, the US Seventh Fleet appeared in the waters of the East China Sea.
This fleet includes 3 aircraft carriers, as many as 49 cruisers, destroyers, submarines, etc., as well as more than 200 aircraft. Their momentum is violent, as if they want to "ask for an explanation".
None of our fighters flinched, ready for the challenge. At the same time, they also received another order: to search for the bodies of the people on the fallen reconnaissance plane.
After some time, we found the remains of 2 pilots, but due to the long immersion, the remains were already unrecognizable, and their identities could only be confirmed by clothing and some belongings.
We did not threaten the other side with this, but did not hesitate to return these remains to the American side.
These remains were found in China's territorial waters, and the actual situation of that battle situation can be guessed by international forces.
The US side was unjustified in the first place, and now the evidence is ironclad, and they cannot argue. They sent a large fleet over, and in the end they had to go back untouched. In the end, only four of the 16 pilots who were killed along with the reconnaissance plane were found.
It is worth mentioning that the main pilot at that time was named James Dean, and when he carried out that reconnaissance mission, he had just been married for more than three months.
Dean's wife, Schiavo, and his friend Rumsfeld, convinced that he was still alive, kept looking for clues, and even came to China to find them themselves.
However, the military archives clearly record the late night of August 22 and 23, 1956, and there is no possibility of falsification.
Zhang Wenyi, the pilot who shot down the reconnaissance plane, later became an air force attache at the embassy in the United States. When national sovereignty and security are threatened, it is the duty of the fighters to defend the Motherland, putting life and death on the line.
They have relatives and a country behind them, and this is something they swear to defend to the death.