After the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, US planes frequently intruded into China's northeastern airspace, and reconnaissance planes and bombers taking off from Japan, the Philippines, and other US military bases also infiltrated China's east and southeast coasts, constantly reconnoitring and provoking day and night. At that time, China's air defense force was weak, and US planes repeatedly intruded into the skies over Qingdao, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and other cities, and were arrogant.
On September 20, 1952, our air force fought the first battle of New China's territorial air defense, and the flag was victorious.
At about 5 o'clock in the morning of the same day, a US B-29 bomber appeared 130 kilometers southeast of Shanghai, at an altitude of 1,500 meters, and quickly approached Shanghai. After the alert radar of the East China Air Defense Force discovered the enemy's situation, the 2nd Air Force Division stationed at Jiangwan Airport immediately dispatched fighters to intercept it. He Zhongdao and Li Yongnian, pilots of the 6th Regiment of the 2nd Air Division, who were on combat duty, flew MiG-15 fighters and quickly took to the air.
Early Chinese Air Force.
He Zhongdao was the chief plane, and Li Yongnian was the wingman, and under the guidance of the ground command post, the two planes flew over the waters of Chongming Island to discover the target. The B-29 bomber was bulky, and the early model had 5 turrets in the nose, front and rear and belly, each with two 127 mm machine guns, the improved model was increased to a total of 12 machine guns. In the years when air-to-air missiles were not yet on the battlefield, the B-29 bomber was not easy to deal with.
However, the B-29's ** system has a weakness, in order to adapt to the flight mission at an altitude of 10,000 meters, the crew compartment is fully enclosed and pressurized, and the machine gun can only be operated by remote control. The MiG-15 fighter is armed with one 37 mm cannon and two 23 mm cannons, which makes it more agile to operate.
He Zhongdao and Li Yongnian opened fire from a distance of 100 meters from the enemy plane, but they missed, and then the two planes approached and attacked from different angles, hitting from an altitude of 600 meters to 100 meters, firing four times one after another, and finally hitting the enemy plane. When He Zhongdao shot the enemy plane for the third time, he hit a distance of 100 meters before pulling up and breaking away, and his wing was also hit by a shot*** There was no major problem, and both of them saw the enemy plane fall with thick smoke.
It was later verified that the air battle successfully shot down a US B-29 bomber, and the first battle of the new Chinese Air Force to defend its territorial airspace made a good start. He Zhongdao and Li Yongnian were both commended by the Air Force, and each recorded a great meritorious service.
The US military reacted strongly to this and dispatched a large number of warships to carry out activities in the waters east of Zhejiang and the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seek an opportunity to retaliate. During the National Day of 1952, the situation along the entire southeast coast was tense. From the early morning of 30 October to the evening of the same day, more than 30 enemy planes intruded into the vicinity of the Yangtze River estuary, Hangzhou Bay, and Nanjing, and four of them flew over the downtown area of Shanghai.
Although our air force units dispatched a large number of fighter planes to intercept them, they lacked combat experience under complex meteorological conditions, and their radar system support capabilities and command support capabilities were insufficient, and they failed to achieve combat results. The air force held its breath from top to bottom, and soon another fierce air battle was fought.
Radar command post somewhere in the Air Force.
At 7:01 a.m. on 22 November of the same year, the alert radar of the Shanghai Air Defense Force discovered that a large enemy plane was flying from the northeast at an altitude of 500 meters and a speed of 400 kilometers per hour, heading towards the mouth of the Yangtze River. This time, it was Yang Muyi, the pilot director of the 6th Regiment of the 2nd Air Division, who took wingman He Zhongdao to intercept together.
At 7:35 a.m., two MiG-15 fighters of the Chinese Air Force spotted an invading large enemy plane over the waters east of Hengsha Island. At that time, our pilots and ground command did not know that it was the PB4Y-2 anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the US military, known as the "patrol police" in the Pacific.
PB4Y-2 is developed by the United States on the basis of the B-24 heavy bomber, equipped with very advanced electronic equipment, can be used as an air communication platform and electronic reconnaissance, the maximum range of 4500 kilometers, the maximum flight altitude of 6400 meters, a crew of 11 people, can carry 5800 kg of bombs, and is equipped with 12 127 mm machine gun, which can be described as armed to the teeth.
After discovering the target, Yang Muyi ordered to throw away the auxiliary fuel tank, reduce the altitude to 500 meters, and approach the enemy plane from a different direction with He Zhongdao to open fire. After Yang Muyi broke away for the first time, he didn't see He Zhongdao's wingman, so he didn't have time to think about it, so he immediately turned around and fired the cannon for the second time.
The enemy plane lowered its altitude while returning fire, and the two sides hit a height of only 50 meters from the sea from 500 meters in the air, and when Yang Muyi opened fire for the third time, he was only 300 meters away from the enemy plane, and he clearly saw that the shells hit the target. After turning around and attacking again, Yang Muyi saw that the enemy plane had fallen. After the war, according to the pilot's description and images taken by the onboard camera, as well as information from various sources, it was confirmed that the PB4Y-2 was shot down.
But at the end of the battle, Yang Muyi still couldn't find He Zhongdao's wingman, and the ground command post couldn't contact him. Later, the wreckage of He Zhongdao's plane and his body were found in the sea area where the incident occurred. Judging from various circumstances, it should be that when He Zhongdao fired at the enemy plane for the first time, because the distance was too close, he was strafed by the machine guns of the enemy plane, and He Zhongdao was directly shot and died.
According to his comrade-in-arms Song Chinese, then deputy commander of the 6th Air Force Regiment, He Zhongdao was a native of Shanxi, joined the army in 1947, and was transferred from the army to the air force through selection in 1949, studying at the Fifth Aviation School of the Jinan Air Force, and was in the same class as Song Chinese. He Zhongdao is tall, very handsome, usually doesn't like to talk, and his temper is a little stubborn, everyone calls him "Little Shanxi".
As early as October 1951, He Zhongdao and his comrades-in-arms participated in the air battle to resist US aggression and aid Korea.
In November 1952, on the day of the US military PB4Y-2 patrol plane, because He Zhongdao made the first contribution to fighting B-29 in the first air battle before, Yang Muyi shot down a US B-26 bomber in North Korea, both of them have rich combat experience, and the division commander asked them to fight as the first echelon, but he did not expect He Zhongdao to die in the battle, only 21 years old. Yang Muyi was credited with another great merit, but He Zhongdao's merit could only be awarded posthumously.
The comrades-in-arms of the 6th Regiment were very sad and regretful, and they all expressed their desire to take revenge on He Zhongdao. Five months after He Zhongdao's death, Song Chinese and his comrades-in-arms flew out to fulfill their promise and shoot down a more advanced P2V large reconnaissance plane with more crew members of the US military. Avenging his dear comrades-in-arms, Song Chinese felt very relieved. Later, Song Chinese became the deputy commander of the 4th Air Force.