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Zhang Taofang, () was a Chinese sniper. He is credited with making 214 kills in 32 days during the
Combat Hero (Second class)
*:
**
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 ...
.
Korean War
Zhang deployed to Triangle Hill with the 8th company, 214th Regiment, 24th Corps on 11 January 1953; he had been part of the army for less than two years. He was armed with an oldMosin–Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...
without a PU scope
The PU scope (ПУ, прицел укороченный, 'Scope short-cut' in comparison to PE/PEM telescopic sight) is a 3.5×21 telescopic sight of Soviet manufacture, widely used since 1940 on the SVT-40 rifle for which it was originally des ...
.
18 days later Zhang spotted a target. He immediately aimed, fired, and missed 12 times, and was nearly killed by counter-fire. Based on that experience, Zhang refined his aiming technique with the iron sight
Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers (usually made of metallic material) used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons (such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow or even compound bow), or less commonly as ...
, and the next time he fired, he hit the target. On February 15, he hit 7 targets with 9 rounds, a ratio surpassing many experienced snipers.
According to a publicity photograph, Zhang made 214 kills in 32 days winning him a first class merit.
Post war
After the end of the Korean War in 1954, Zhang was transferred to thePeople'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), and was sent to study at the PLAAF aviation schools in Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
and Jinan
Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
. In 1956, he joined the Communist Party of China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
and worked as a fighter pilot at the Air Force Training Base in Gaomi
Gaomi () is a county-level city of eastern Shandong province, China, under the administration of Weifang City. It is the hometown of writer and 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Mo Yan, who has set some of his stories in the region.
Admini ...
, where he flew 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 ...
and MiG-15bis trainers. Under the instructions of PLAAF commander 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 ...
, Zhang was appointed as the battalion commander of an air defense force. Later, he served as deputy instructor of the guard company of an air base, student at the Shanghai Air Force Political School, instructor of the guard company of Weixian Air Base in Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
and deputy chief of staff of the Ninth Surface-to-Air Missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
Regiment Command. He retired from military service in 1985.
Zhang died on 29 October 2007.
Awards
*: ** Combat Hero (Second class)
*:
** Order of the National Flag
The Order of the National Flag () is the second highest order of North Korea, after the Order of Kim Il-sung and the Order of Kim Jong-il.
It is the oldest order in the country, having been established in 1948, just six weeks after the North ...
(First class)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Taofang Chinese military personnel of the Korean War Military snipers 1931 births 2007 deaths People's Liberation Army Air Force personnel People from Xinghua, Jiangsu