Liu Yudi (; 17 September 1923 – 17 February 2015) was a MiG-15 pilot of the People's Liberation Army Air Force of China. According to Chinese state source Xinhua, Liu was a flying ace during the Korean War, with 6 shootdowns. He later served as commander of the Beijing Military Region Air Force, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1988.

Biography

Born in

Cang County Cang County or Cangxian () is a county of Hebei province, China. It is under the administration of Cangzhou City. County government offices are located in Xinhua District. Administrative divisions Towns: Xingji (), Jiuzhou The term Nine Pr ...

, Hebei on September 17, 1923, Liu Yudi joined the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chinese ...

in 1938, and he joined the Chinese Communist Party the following year. After graduating from Counter-Japanese Military and Political University in Yan'an, he became a squad leader in the 358th Brigade of 120th Division of Eighth Route Army. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he participated in the 1940 Hundred Regiments Offensive led by Zhu De and

Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...

in Hebei-

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

border. In October 1946 he was accepted to the Northeast People's Liberation Army Aviation School (a predecessor of the

PLA Air Force Aviation University The People's Liberation Army Air Force Aviation University () is a military university in Changchun, Jilin, China. As of fall 2014, the university has 7 campuses, consists of 7 departments, covers a total area of 36,000 mu, with more than 19,0 ...

) and graduated in September 1948. After graduation, he became a pilot in North China Military District. In June 1950 he joined the newly created PLA Air Force 4th Mixed Brigade, working as a deputy battalion chief. During the Korean War, he flew as a member of the 3rd Fighter Division. Historian Zhang Xiaoming said Yudi shot down 4 F-84s on a single mission on November 23, 1951 but US Air Force records did not report any aircraft lost during the engagement.. After the war, he assumed various posts in PLA Air Force, including deputy commander of Beijing Military Region and commander of its Air Force. He was awarded the rank of wing commander in 1955 and the rank of

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

in 1963. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1988. He was awarded the title of "First Class War Hero of the

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...

". He was a delegate to the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

, 6th and 7th National People's Congress, a delegate to the 11th

National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (; literally: Chinese Communist Party National Representatives Congress) is a party congress that is held every five years. The National Congress is theoretically the highest body within th ...

, and a member of the 7th and 8th National Committee of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

(CPPCC). He was also a Standing Committee member of the 7th CPPCC. Liu retired in April 1990. He died of an illness in Beijing on 17 February 2015. The day before he died, PLA Air Force Commander

Ma Xiaotian Ma Xiaotian (; born August 1949) is a general who served as Commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) from 2012 to 2017. He also served as Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff and President of the PLA National Defence Universi ...

visited him in the hospital, and Liu wrote down his last words with his quivering hands: "Greatly develop bombers" ().

Personal life

Liu married Jia Zhaoquan (), who was a parachutist in the People's Liberation Army Air Force. The couple had two sons and a daughter. Liu had a granddaughter named Liu Jingjing ().

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Yudi 1923 births 2015 deaths Chinese Korean War flying aces People from Cangzhou People's Liberation Army Air Force generals People's Liberation Army generals from Hebei Delegates to the 7th National People's Congress Delegates to the 6th National People's Congress Delegates to the 4th National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Disputed flying aces Members of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 7th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference PLA Air Force Aviation University alumni Chinese military personnel of World War II