The 4th Aviation Division is a formation 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). Initially established in 1950, it served in Korea under Commander Fang Ziyi and Commissar Ye Songsheng, flying
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
s.
It ended its third combat tour in July 1953.
[.] It was soon redesignated the
1st Fighter Division.
The division was reestablished in 1956. It was headquartered this time at
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 ...
,
Liaoning Province
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
, in the
Shenyang Military Region
The Shenyang Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It has command and control of military and armed police forces in the three northeast provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning, w ...
. The 4th Fighter Division was believed to be equipped with 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 ...
E fighter aircraft. The 4th Fighter Division comprised the 10th Regiment and the 12th Regiment.
In 2003 the division was disbanded. Its 10th Aviation Regiment was transferred to the 30th Aviation Division as the 89th Regiment. The 4th Division was re-established, for the second time, as a transport formation at
Qionglai Air Base
Qionglai Air Base is a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) located west of the city of Chengdu, the capital of the province of Sichuan in Southwestern China. More precisely, the facility is located approximately 3 km southwest of Wang ...
the next year, in 2004.
the transport unit flew the
Xian Y-7 transporter and the
Xi'an Y-20
The Xi'an Y-20 Kunpeng () is a large military transport aircraft developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation for the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The aircraft is nicknamed "Chubby Girl" () in the Chinese aviation industry becaus ...
strategic airlifter under the Division's 12th Transport Regiment.
References
External links
* Appendix G, "Origins of PLAAF MRAFs, Air Corps, Command Posts, Bases, Air Divisions, and Independent Regiments," Ken Allen
Chapter 9, "PLA Air Force Organization" The PLA as Organization, ed. James C. Mulvenon and Andrew N.D. Yang (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2002)
Aviation Divisions of the People's Liberation Army
Military units and formations established in 1950
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