The 1st Fighter Brigade (1st BDE,

Chinese 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 ...

: 第1航空旅;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

: ''Dì 1 hángkōng lǚ''), sometimes called 1st Air Brigade, previously 1st Fighter Division, is a fighter aircraft unit of the Chinese

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

(PLAAF) based at

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

province. Part of the

Northern Theater Command Air Force The Northern Theater Command Air Force is the air force under the Northern Theater Command. Its headquarters is in Shenyang, Liaoning. The current commander is Li Qiaoming and the current political commissar is Fan Xiaojun. History On 1 Februar ...

, the brigade was originally established as the first division level formation of the PLAAF, established 19 June 1950. In the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

the unit shot down 92 airplanes. It was the first in PLAAF history to fight in

air combat ''Air Combat'' is a 1995 combat flight simulator developed and published for the PlayStation by Namco. Players control an aircraft and are tasked with completing a series of missions, with objectives ranging from destroying formations of enem ...

, provide close air support, perform night bombing operations and more. It is also the only air brigade of the

to participate in five Chinese national day parades (1st, 10th, 35th, 50th and 60th national day parades). The unit's MUCD is 93056.

History

4th Mixed Brigade

The 1st Fighter Aviation Mixed Brigade originates from the 4th Mixed Brigade of the

. In 1950, Commander of the Air Force

Liu Yalou Liu Yalou (; April 1910 – 7 May 1965) was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army who served as the inaugural commander-in-chief of the PLA Air Force During the Chinese Civil War, he was chief of staff of Lin Biao's army group, whi ...

telegraphed Political Commissar of the Second Aviation School Li Shian and both agreed to form the first aviation unit. Fang Qiang will become brigadier-general while Li Shian will be the political commissar. While arranging the name of the Mixed Brigade,

decided on the name 4th Brigade as he claimed that the name "First Brigade" would entice arrogance within the unit. The brigade was decided to be reformed into the 4th Mixed Brigade by the Central Military Commission during 19 June 1950 in

Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport () was an airport for Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province and former capital of the Republic of China. It is located south of Xinjiekou, the center of Nanjing, and is surrounded on three sides by the Qinhuai Ri ...

. This is to counter the bombing of Shanghai and various other cities by the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

and to prepare for the invasion of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

in the future. As the first air brigade of the People's Liberation Army, its members were mostly graduates 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 ...

. The aircraft of the brigade includes fighter aircraft,

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s and attack aircraft. The officer corps were arranged in the style of the

Third Field Army The Third Field Army was one of the five main forces of the Communist Party's People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War. It was established in early 1949. Initially known as the East China Field Army, it was formed by the New Fourth ...

. The brigade concentrated all the air power of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and thus included of many types of aircraft. The brigade was split into four regiments, which are the 10th Regiment, 11th Regiment, 12th Regiment and 13th Regiment, which all had differing numbers of airplanes and airplane types.

4th Division

The 4th Mixed Brigade was moved to

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 flowin ...

on 8 August 1950 and was undergoing patrols of airspace near Shanghai by 19 October in the same year. Under the orders of

, the brigade was relocated to

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...

by brigadier-general

Fang Ziyi Fang Ziyi (; 21 January 1917 – 17 March 2015) was a major general in the People's Liberation Army Air Force of China. He served as Deputy Commander of the Air Force of Beijing Military Region and Deputy Commander of the Air Force of Guangzhou M ...

in preparation of the

. The brigade was joined up with the Third Division (currently: 3rd Fighter Aviation Division) of the

and Soviet MiG fighter equipment. The 4th Mixed Brigade was reorganized and renamed into the 4th Division. The 4th Division was split into two regiments, 10th and 12th regiments. Each regiment comprised three squadrons, each with 10 aircraft. The entire division included 60 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s, two Yakovlev Yak-12s and one Guard battalion with a total of 1983 personnel. The 4th Division was sent off personally by Generals

Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

and

on 30 November 1950. An order from the

to rotate squadrons into Dandong Langtou Airport for providing air support was received on 4 December 1950. The 10th Regiment was the first to be deployed to Dandong Langtou Airport. Li Han was the first Chinese pilot credited with shooting down a U.S. aircraft. He would later lead another attack which saw no Chinese losses and one American casualty. 10th Regiment returned to

to recover on 3 March 1951. The 12th Regiment was assigned to combat roles and deployed in July 1951 but delivered subpar combat performance. Pilot Zhao Zhichai being ambushed by American forces and shot down, navigation errors, mid-air collisions between friendly aircraft and the death of regimental commander Zhao Dahai led to the division's temporary relief from combat missions. On 12 September 1951, the division resumed operations which was its third deployment. It engaged in battles eight times in total and resulted in 26 American aircraft being shot down and 8 damaged American aircraft. However, the 4th Division also faced losses with 14 MiG-15s shot down and 6 damaged. The 3rd Division took over combat missions in Dandong Langtou Airport and the 4th Division was returned to base. The 4th Division participated in an award ceremony later on, Hua Longyi was awarded a Special Class Meritorious while Zou Yan and five others were awarded First Class Meritorious Service. The division reentered the

on 16 January 1952 as their fourth deployment. Zhang Jihui and his wingman Dan Zhiyu fought and won against an American

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

lead by flying ace George Andrew Davis Jr. The division fought 17 battles, shot down 17 and damaged 6 American aircraft for the duration of its deployment. It was recalled back to Liaoyang in June 1952 to receive upgrades and by the end of the year all the MiG-15s were fully upgraded into MiG-15bis. The 4th Division was deployed for the fifth time on 15 March 1953 to Dagushan Airport. It took part in 29 battles, shot down 24 F-86, 1

Lockheed F-94 Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached o ...

and damaged 3 F-86. Due to the signing of the

Korean Armistice Agreement The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전협정; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a complete cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United Sta ...

on 7 July 1953, the 4th Division was ordered to stop all combat operations and returned to its base in Liaoyang. During the

, the 4th Division was tasked with protecting the supply chains and key locations of the People's Volunteer Army. Its aircraft took off in total of 4058 times, fought in 914 air engagements with 43 of its pilots successfully downing enemy aircraft. It has 64 shot down enemy aircraft, 24 damaged enemy aircraft in total with the losses of 55 aircraft and 25 damaged aircraft. 1,424 men of the division has been awarded for their service.

1st Division

After the end of the

, the 4th Division was decided to be renamed into 1st Division by the party committee of the

. The 10th Regiment, 11th Regiment (formed in 1954) and the 12th Regiment under the 1st Division were also renamed into 1st Regiment, 2nd Regiment, 3rd Regiments respectively. 46 wings of

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...

aircraft were imported from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

to equip the division in October 1958. The division undergone upgrades in

Tongzhou District, Beijing Tongzhou District (, alternate spellings ''Tungchow'' ''Tungchou'' (T'ung-chou), or Tong County during 1914–1997) is a district of Beijing. It is located in southeast Beijing and considered the eastern gateway to the nation's capital. Downt ...

. In 1959, the 1st Regiment and 3rd Regiments were re-based to

Anshan Anshan () is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population ...

. The 1st Regiment was temporary reformed into a night flying unit under the direct control of the division leader. It was than shortly changed into a division independent regiment. 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments were renamed into 1st, 2nd and 3rd Large Squadron respectively. On 15 November 1964, 2nd Large Squadron leader Xu Kaitong piloting a Chinese

Shenyang J-6 The Shenyang J-6 ( Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Design and ...

managed to bring down a

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

Ryan Model 147 The Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug is a jet-powered drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, produced and developed by Ryan Aeronautical from the earlier Ryan Firebee target drone series. Beginning in 1962, the Model 147 was introduced as a reconnais ...

unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in the stratosphere, becoming the first recorded instance of an aircraft being shot down in the stratosphere. While defending the airspace of China, the division damaged 4 enemy airplanes in total. During 8 August 1968, the 2nd Large Squadron and 3rd Large Squadron was re-based to Chifeng Yulong Airport, the 1st Large Squadron joined up in Chifeng Yulong Airport on 14 September 1968. All of the Large Squadrons were tasked with protecting the airspace surrounding

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

1st Fighter Aviation Division

During May 1970, the

ordered the 1st Division to be renamed 1st Fighter Aviation Division. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Large Squadrons has also been renamed into 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments. From 1979 to 1983, the aircraft of the 1st and 3rd Regiments were systematically upgraded into the

Chengdu J-7 The Chengdu J-7 (Chinese: 歼-7; third generation export version F-7; NATO reporting name: Fishcan) is a People's Republic of China fighter aircraft. It is a license-built version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, and thus shares many s ...

and

Shenyang J-8 The Shenyang J-8 ( Chinese: 歼-8; NATO reporting name: Finback) is an interceptor aircraft developed by the 601 Institute (Shenyang) in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was conceived in the early 1960s as a low-risk program based on e ...

respectively. The division was the first unit in the

to adapt the

. The 1st Regiment was being upgraded with the Shenyang J-8B in 1992 while the 2nd Regiment was upgraded with the Chengdu J-7E. Two types of third-generation aircraft were later incorporated into the division. On 3 February 2009, upgrades made to the division(

Chengdu J-10 The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (; NATO reporting name: Firebird), is a medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft capable of all-weather operations, configured with a delta wing and canard design, with fly-by-wire flight contr ...

Shenyang J-11 The Shenyang J-11 ( Chinese: 歼-11; NATO reporting name Flanker-B, -L) is a twin-engine jet fighter of the People's Republic of China whose airframe is derived from the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27. It is manufactured by the Shenyang Aircraft ...

/ J-11B, Shenyang J-8F) were shown in CCTV-7 Military·Agriculture Channel. The 1st Fighter Aviation Division became the focus of the

for upgrades and became one of the most advanced divisions in the

. Headquartered in

, the division was split into three sub units: first, second and third regiments. Both first and third regiments are stationed in

while the second is stationed in

Chifeng Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to the ...

1st Fighter Brigade

In the late 2010s, the 1st Fighter Division was reduced in status to a brigade, in line with a PLA-wide changeover to primarily brigade formations. In 2021, the 1st Brigade transitioned to the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter. The

China Aerospace Studies Institute The China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) is a United States Department of the Air Force think tank which examines all facets of the People's Republic of China and Chinese Communist Party's efforts to project power in the air and space domai ...

of the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

identifies these aircraft as tail numbers 61022, 61023, 61026, 61027, 61120, 61121, 61125, 61127, and 61128.

References

External links

''1st Fighter Division'' at SinoDefense

at Scramble Magazine - Dutch Aviation Society {{DEFAULTSORT:1st Fighter Aviation Division (People's Liberation Army Air Force) Brigades of the People's Liberation Army Anshan Fighter aircraft units and formations of the People's Republic of China 1950 establishments in China