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Destruction During the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution"

Under the guidance of the policy of self-reliance and hard struggle, aviation industry had made progress in establishing a complete set of systems, by efforts of all workers and staff and with the impetus of nation wide war preparation from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s. But during this period, the work also suffered heavy destruction caused by the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" . Because Wu Faxian, a member of the Lin Biao counter revolutionary clique, had his hands in the aviation industry personally, aviation industry was turned into a "disastrous area" during that turmoil period.

After the " January Storm" in 1967, top management of the MAI and factories and administrative organizations had all been forced to "give away the power" and been "smashed" due to the influence of " Down with everything and civil war all over China" initiated by Lin Biao and Jiang Qing, etc. A large number of injustice cases, false cases and wrong cases were created and, a large number of best leading cadres, scientific technology experts and labour models were suppressed and maltreated even to death. Creativeness of broad cadres and masses was heavily dampened. Management organizations in many units were "cut by one strike" and management regulations were " blown away with wind" . Production and development was brought into the status of anarchism or semi-anarchism. But just under that condition, Wu Faxian and his like forced people to work with high targets and issued confusion orders, which created grave problems of product quality. Large number of aircraft, engines and missiles could not be delivered but were kept in warehouse because of quality problems, enterprises run heavily into debt and the whole industry was on the brink of bankruptcy. Under the influence from the "left", the normal order of scientific research and new aircraft development in aviation industry was no more and the order of working on new types of aircraft was issued at will.

There were as many as 27 different types of aircraft ordered into development in the single year of 1971. The long range bomber, large transport and vertical take off and landing [VTOL] aircraft etc. were requested to be developed within two to three years without having a simple three view drawing. As for the aircraft performance, it was fixed in the morning but changed in the afternoon and in the situation of " raising level gradually, but never having it certified". Consequently, scientific research investment and technical force were too widely dispersed, which caused delay of development cycles. For instance, J-7 was successfully developed as early as in 1966, but it was looked down upon and modification stopped. Several ups and downs of the aircraft caused 10 years delay. Development cycles for the J-8, Y-7 and Y-8 aircraft were more than 10 years each without giving certificate for production. Some other types of aircraft had to be stopped in halfway. It was calculated that during the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" development of more than 30 types of aircraft was stopped, large amount of development investment paid for nothing; as for the cost of time, it could never be compensated.

Because of the destruction and interference of Lin Biao counter revolutionary clique, capital construction was carried out blindly without planning and feasibility study. The policy of "going into the mountains, being dispersed and entering into tunnels" i.e. plants should be constructed near mountains, dispersed and inside tunnels. The investment was not only wasted, but it also left over many outstanding problems which could not be solved for a long time. Construction projects of aviation industry in 1971 were more than 100 with 28 projects stopped later, which caused a loss of about one billion yuan. Among the 46 newly constructed projects from 1969 to 1971, about 36 projects were started without product documents, primary design and approval. Some factories were constructed without having done hydrogeological surveying, some plants were built on slopes subject to landslide, which had to be stopped by investing tens of million yuan after the production had been started; some aircraft research and design institutes were constructed in the romote valley where no railway and no flat land for constructing runways for flight test, which had to be reconstructed again by investing tens of million yuan.

Especially in the third line (inland) construction the method of locating plant in caves or tunnels was emphasized. The plants were inlayed and buried underground and it was required that they should be like villages and native farm houses in a "Melon vine style" and locations of bases, factories and institutes were scattered. Even some small factories had to be constructed along a valley of 10 to 20 kilometers long. This arrangement not only wasted lots of man power, finance and material, but also created great difficulties for production and livelihood. Some of those projects had to be adjusted and reconstructed later with huge investment and some of them could hardly be corrected.

The "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" had brought aviation education to the brink of disintegration; colleges and universities of high education had to " stop classes to carry out revolution"; secondary technical schools and skilled workers schools were all forced to turn into factories and, workers' spare time education was abandoned completely. Termination of training qualified personnel caused shortage of aviation professional personnel and the educational and technical standard of employees was generally dropped.

Workers and staff of the aviation industry were greatly worried and concerned about heavy destruction caused by the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". Proletarian revolutionists Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying and Deng Xiaoping showed special concern about the condition of the aviation industry. When the quality problem started to alarm people, Premier Zhou Enlai timely called Vice Premier Li Fuchun, Yu Qiuli, leading cadres of Defence Industry Office of the State Council and MAI for meetings to discuss it specially in April 1969. At that time leaders of the Military Control Committee of the MAI tried to stall the Premier's call for the restoration of inspection system with a vague answer, saying that it could only be restored gradually. On hearing this, Premier Zhou Enlai severely criticized him immediately by saying: "What is a gradual restoration? How can you say in this way, how can you use this wording? It can not be a gradual restoration, but it should be restored right away." He also stressed: "Some people want to smash all systems. This is an ultra-left ideological trend." What a force of justice! What an awe-inspiring righteousness!"

At the same time, Premier Zhou Enlai also entrusted Ye Jianying, the newly appointed Vice Chairman in charge of daily affairs of the Military Commission of CCCPC, to organize meetings of discussion on aviation product quality. When he was debriefed about the meeting, the Premier delivered an important speech, clearly pointing out: "Lin Biao anti-Party clique should be criticized, anarchism and ultra-left ideological trend should be criticized; the number one in the management of each organization should pay attention to product quality personally" and "to improve general quality by working hard at foreign aid products; to bring up other products by working at J-6; to push national defence industry and civil industry by working on aviation industry."

According to the spirit of Premier Zhou Enlai's speech, measures for solving quality, problem and changing the backwardness of aviation industry were worked out. Soon after, the CCCPC adjusted top management of the MAI and rehabilitated posts of ministry and bureau leaders who had been forced to leave their posts before. In March 1972, Li Jitai was appointed Minister of the Ministry, Air Force leadership in the MAI had been removed and the MAI was put under the direct leadership of the State Council again. Special documents were issued by the State Council and Military Commission of CCCPC, which emphasized to thoroughly change the situation of poor quality, incomplete systems and insufficient spare parts existed in the national defence industry and aviation industry. Product quality adjustment was carried out widely in all units of aviation industry starting in 1972, which was in essence an actual action of resisting and criticizing the leftest ideological trend, restoring and reorganizing enterprises.