Yao Xian (; 27 April 1927 – 3 March 2018) was a Chinese fighter pilot and lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). He fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Korean War, and later served as Deputy Commander of the

Lanzhou Military Region The Lanzhou Military Region was one of seven military regions in the People's Republic of China. It directed all People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police forces in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Ngari Prefecture in n ...

Air Force and then concurrently as Commander of the Beijing Military Region Air Force and Deputy Commander of the Beijing MR.

Early life

Yao Xian was born on 27 April 1927 to a peasant family in Zhuguantun Village (), Yutian County, Hebei Province. His original name was Wei Yaoxian (). He went to school at the age of seven, but joined the local resistance force when he was 13 after the Japanese invasion of China.

Career

He joined the Chinese Communist Party in June 1945, and was selected to undergo pilot training at the

Northeast People's Liberation Army Aviation School 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, ...

(a predecessor of the PLA Air Force Aviation University) in April 1948. He was deployed in the newly established 7th Mixed Brigade after graduating in June 1950, just before the Korean War broke out. In 1951, Yao's unit, the PLAAF

4th Fighter Aviation Division The 4th Aviation Division is a formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Initially established in 1950, it served in Korea under Commander Fang Ziyi and Commissar Ye Songsheng, flying Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s. It ended it ...

(reorganized from the 7th Mixed Brigade) was deployed to fight in North Korea. Yao participated in his first air battle on 2 October 1951, as a wingman of the squadron leader , in the airspace above Anju, South Pyongan. He served as a deputy squadron commander, later promoted to commander. On 17 May 1953, in an air battle north of Pyongyang, Yao Xian's squadron shot down four American F-86 Sabre fighters, while losing two MiG-15s. During the war he was credited with shooting down one American F-86 jet and damaging two others, and awarded the First-Grade Merit. After the Korean War, Yao was successively promoted to regiment commander, division commander, and deputy corps commander. In 1978, he was appointed deputy commander of the

Air Force. He was transferred to the Beijing Military Region Air Force (MRAF) in 1987, and promoted to Commander of the Beijing MRAF and concurrently Deputy Commander of the Beijing Military Region in 1990. He was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1988. He retired in January 1993.

Personal life

In 1956, Yao Xian married Mao Yufang (), a textile worker from Liaoyang, who first saw him on the cover of the ''Hangkong'' (Aviation) magazine and met him when he went to her factory to give a speech. She had already been admitted to Qingdao Textile Institute, but gave up the opportunity to attend university to marry him.

Death

Yao Xian died in the morning of 3 March 2018, on the same day as his friend and colleague, fellow Korean War veteran and PLAAF lieutenant general

Lin Hu Lin Hu may refer to: * Lin Hu (warlord) (1887–1960), warlord of the Old Guangxi clique * Lin Hu (general) Lin Hu (; 26 December 1927 – 3 March 2018) was a Chinese aviator, fighter pilot and lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Arm ...

. They were born in the same year and graduated from the same aviation school.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao Xian 1927 births 2018 deaths People's Liberation Army Air Force generals Deputy commanders of the Beijing Military Region Chinese Korean War pilots PLA Air Force Aviation University alumni People's Liberation Army generals from Hebei People from Tangshan 20th-century Chinese military personnel