Zheng Shaoyu (; 1911–1942), also spelled Cheng Hsiao-yu (Wades-Gile), was born in Qu County of Sichuan province. In 1933–1934, he passed initial qualifications for admission into the China Central Aviation School at Jianqiao Airbase. He graduated top-3 in the class in 1935. When the War of Resistance/World War II broke out between China and the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

following the 7/7 Incident, then-Lieutenant Zheng Shaoyu was attached to the 22nd PS, 4th PG at Zhoujiakou Airbase of the centralized

Chinese Nationalist Air Force Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

in anticipation of operations in the northern front. On 13 August 1937, his fighter squadron would immediately be redirected from Zhoujiakou to Hangzhou Airbase, southwest of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

to engage the

Imperial Japanese The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

at what will be the first major battle of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in Asia; the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan The also ...

. Lt. Col. Zheng Shaoyu was the fourth commanding officer of the famed " Zhihang Fighter Group" (the 4th PG), after Capt Wang Tianxiang, Col.

Gao Zhihang Gao Zhihang (; 14 May 1907 – 21 November 1937) was a flying ace of the Republic of China in the Second Sino-Japanese War. On August 14, 1937, the 4th Air Force Group commanded by Gao shot down six Japanese planes over Jianqiao, while sufferi ...

himself, and Capt. Li Guidan to die in the war against Imperial Japan. Zheng Shaoyu was portrayed in the patriotic war drama ''

Heroes of the Eastern Skies ''Heroes of the Eastern Skies'' (; pinyin: ''jianqiao yinglie zhuan''), is a Chinese war drama filmed in Taiwan, R.O.C. and based on the true story of a small group of Chinese flying aces in 1937 at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, s ...

'' (1977).

References

Bibliography * Cheung, Raymond. ''OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES 126: Aces of the Republic of China Air Force''. Oxford: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2015. . * 徐 (Xú), 露梅 (Lùméi). ''隕落 (Fallen): 682位空军英烈的生死档案 - 抗战空军英烈档案大解密 (A Decryption of 682 Air Force Heroes of The War of Resistance-WWII and Their Martyrdom)''. 东城区, 北京，中国: 团结出版社, 2016. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Shaoyu Republic of China Air Force personnel Chinese aviators Military personnel of the Republic of China killed in the Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese World War II flying aces 1911 births 1942 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942