The Founding Initial Development of
New China's Aviation Industry ( 1951-1960 )
The founding of the great People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949 not only ushered in a new era of development of China's history, but also opened up a limitless bright future for establishing and developing China's aviation industry. The Chinese people who experienced endless bullying and humiliation by imperialists understood that a strong economy and national defence should be established in order not to be bullied again and to stand in the forest of world nations. Immediately after the founding of new China, the Chinese Communist Party and the central people's government took a long term view and paid great attention to the establishment of aviation industry, rendering strong support to it since it was deemed as an important pillar for the economic development and the national defence enhancement.
Ten years from 1951 to 1960 were the years of the rise of new China's aviation industry, during which aviation industry adopted policy of adhering self-reliance; the Soviet technology was actively introduced; material and technical basis were constructed in large scale and the training of staff was strengthened with great efforts. The industry started trial production and normal production of aircraft in a planned and step by step way; transition period from aircraft repairing to manufacturing and then to aircraft design was successfully accomplished, which realized the high speed of aviation establishment and initial development. Although the "big leap forward" in the later half of the 1950s had brought some setbacks, aviation achievement in the initial stage of establishment was yet enormous and, rich experience was accumulated as well.
Chairman Mao Zedong, in September 1949, solemnly proclaimed to the world that "the Chinese people has stood up" at the first plenary meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee and he also expressed that " our people's armed forces must be kept and developed. We will not only have a powerful army, but also a strong air force and navy." At the beginning of the founding of new China, construction of air force and navy was among the important issues subject to discussion by the government leaders. As early as in January 1949, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party pointed out, in the resolution of "Present situation and the Party's task in 1949," that "in 1949 and 1950 we should try to organize an operational air force." In March 1949, Aviation Bureau of the Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (Military Commission of CCCPC) was set up and, the Military Commission announced the forming of the air force leadership of the People's Liberation Army on November 11, 1949.
At the same time of setting up PLA Air Force, PLA took over and checked up aviation personnel and equipment left over by the Kuomintang in succession during their triumphant march forward. By the end of October 1949, the total number of people taken over was 2,312, among them 100 persons had engineering background. There were also 113 aircraft, 1,278 aero engines and 40,910 tons of other aviation equipment and materials, 40 airports and 12 factories. But most of those aircraft, airports and factories were damaged in the war or in the retreat of the Kuomintang.
When the War of Liberation was still continuing in 1949, the Kuomintang aircraft harassed the front lines and frequently bombed the liberated cities, which forced PLA to use aircraft fighting back. Though the aircraft taken over from the Kuomintang were very old, people yet cherished them and did the best to repair them for further use. Right after the liberation of Shenyang in November 1948 and even before the war flames were completely vanished, the Military Control Commission put out announcements of recruiting the scattered workers and five small repair factories were very quickly restored, where 26 aircraft were repaired in just more than half a year.
When Beijing was liberated in March 1949, PLA immediately took the control of Nanyuan Aircraft Repairing Factory and all types of aviation equipment, wasting no time in carrying out repair of fighters, trainers and transporters. This factory was visited by Zhu De, Commander in Chief of the PLA, in September 1949. Repair of transporters organized at high speed was also practiced in Shanghai after it was liberated in June 1949. Aircraft used by PLA during the initial stage of the PLA Air Force were repaired by those people overcoming difficulties of lacking professional skill, equipment and materials. They even risked bombing and shooting by the Kuomintang aircraft. On the ceremony of proclaiming the founding of the People's Republic of China, October 1, 1949, the People's Air Force had 17 aircraft of bombers, fighters, transporters and trainers flying over Tiananmen to accept the inspection of the state leaders and the people.
Just relying on repairing a small number of aircraft could not meet the requirement for a large number of aircraft by the Air Force and the solutions were to set up an aviation industry to produce aircraft in large quantity. According to the instruction of the CCCPC, Liu Yialou, the Air Force Commander, Chang Qiankun and Wang Bi, Deputy Air Force Commanders, carried out investigations and wrote a report to the Central Committee in February 1950, suggesting to set up aviation factories, to train aviation personnel, and to form a leading organization of aviation industry and research institutions. The Ministry of Heavy Industry set up a preparatory team of aviation and automobile industries in March 1950 and appointed Vice Minister Liu Ding the team leader, to start the preparation of establishing new China's aviation industry.
Nearly 40 years of arduous research and exploration passed from the birth of the first aircraft in the world at the turn of the century to the appearance of jet aircraft in the beginning of the 1940s. In the mid 1950s there were only a few industrially developed countries in the world that could manufacture jet fighters. New China's aviation industry was established in 1951 with the assistance of the Soviet Union on a very weak foundation. Piston trainer was manufactured in 1954, soon after, the jet fighter was manufactured in 1956, which marked China's entering into a jet era and put China among the few countries in the world that could produce jet aircraft. This achievement only took five years and such a fast development was undoubtedly astonishing.
After the successful trial manufacture of two types of aircraft, the Nanchang Aircraft Factory trial manufactured Russian An-2 multi-purpose small transport in only one and a half years without let up. This aircraft was later named Y-5, which was approved for production by the Military Product Certification Committee of the State Council in March 1985. It became the first civil aircraft in China.
During the period of the First Five-year Plan, trainers, jet fighters and transports were trial manufactured in China one after another, and were put into batch production and released for service. This was really a historical break through in the development history of China's aviation. Why such great achievement could be gained during such a short period of five and six years? The main reasons were: the Communist Party of China and the Chinese People's Government attached great importance to it, giving special support on manpower, material and finance and, organized all relevant industries to cooperate; correct policy of transition from repair to manufacture and a stable realistic plan were formulated; adherence to the policy of self-reliance and simultaneously actively striving for technical assistance and detailed guidance from the Soviet experts; production construction and personnel training at the same time; particularly bringing the cadres' and workers' enthusiasm and creativeness into full play, truely reflecting the close combination of high political enthusiasm with practical and realistic scientific attitude. In the final analysis, this achievement fully reflected the superiority of the socialist system, which recorded a glorious page in the aviation history of new China.
Achievement of aviation industry gained during the First Five-year Plan were highly praised by the government. Old generation proletariat revolutionists Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Chen Yun, Deng Xiaoping, Li Fuchun, Peng Dehuai, Nie Rongzhen, Ye Jianying and Xu Teli all paid visits to the two aviation exhibitions held in 1956 and 1958 respectively and visited aviation factories, universities and schools, ardently expecting the aviation industry where the best of all industries were assembled, to catch up with the advanced level of the world at an earliest possible time.
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