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J-6 (Jian-6 Fighter aircraft 6) - Combat

In 1959, China's first J-6 fighter was formally delivered to the Air Force, starting a long and great service career in the vast sky of the motherland. The maximum Mach number of this fighter is comparable to that of contemporary fighters, but the thrust-to-weight ratio is as high as 0.86, and the mid-to-late improved full-machine thrust-to-weight ratio reached 0.988. Relying on the acceleration and maneuverability created by the thrust-to-weight ratio that surpassed the era, and the excellent circling ability conferred by the aerodynamic shape, this first-generation supersonic fighter, which was only a transitional model in the Soviet Union, became the front line guards of low-altitude air supremacy guard the airspace of the motherland in a vigorous manner.

In the early 1960s, the Kuomintang Air Force launched the RF-101 supersonic reconnaissance aircraft known as the "Western Strategic Eye". They claimed that the aircraft "cannot be seen by radar (because it can fly at very low altitudes), and the antiaircraft artillery cannot reach it. The missile cannot be aimed at (the maximum speed is 1900 kilometers per hour)." From 1962 to 1964, RF-101 entered the mainland coast for 139 reconnaissance sorties, but they all retreated. People's Liberation Army pilots call this type of aircraft "Monster in Monster" (a homophonic of 101). After the J-6 is in service, capturing the "monster" is naturally its important task.

On December 18, 1964, an RF-101 of the Kuomintang Air Force entered Zhejiang for reconnaissance. Wang Hongxi, a pilot of the 4th Division of the People’s Liberation Army’s Hainan Airlines, flew the J-6 to take off. At an altitude of more than 200 meters, he fired until the enemy pilot ejected from the cockpit and the plane crashed into the sea. When the J-6 was pulled up, it was only a hundred meters above the sea. On March 18, 1965, the Kuomintang Air Force sent two RF-101s to perform routine reconnaissance missions. The 18th Air Division of the PLA Air Force immediately commanded Gao Changji, deputy captain of the 54th Battalion, to fly the J-6 to take off. In the entire process of shooting down the RF-101, from the beginning of receiving the enemy to the shooting down of the enemy aircraft, they were all carried out under supersonic conditions. The record of shooting down an enemy aircraft under supersonic conditions in the history of world air combat was born.

From 1964 to 1970, the Chinese Air Force and Naval Air Force shot down 20 U.S.-made UAVs, 11 of which were accomplished by the J-6. After the "Beibu Gulf Incident" in 1964, the United States upgraded the scale of the Vietnam War and frequently used drones to survey the Sino-Vietnamese border. The typical UAV at that time was the BQM-147G "Firebee". On October 13, 1964, a US military "Firebee" UAV entered the Friendship Pass to conduct reconnaissance in Guangxi. Zou Guangru, deputy captain of the combat unit of the 1st Air Division, immediately drove the J-6 to meet the enemy. Under the precise guidance of the ground, Zou Guangru swiftly approached and fired three times in a row, but he failed to shoot down the drone overhead until he drew the shells out. Since the altitude difference between the UAV and the J-6 is over one kilometer, the shooting conditions are very unsatisfactory.

On November 15, 1964, radar spotted a drone 170 kilometers east of Lingshui, Hainan Island. Xu Kaitong, commander of the 1st Aviation Division, piloted the J-6 to take off. At 12:20, the J-6 climbed to an altitude of 16,200 meters, and the "Firebee" reconnaissance plane was found on the upper left front. The J-6 immediately circled the tail and jumped to an altitude of 17,500 meters, basically at the same height as the drone, and ideal shooting conditions have been formed. When it was 230 meters away from the enemy plane, Xu Kaitong fired for the third time. The shell penetrated the enemy plane and the Firebee reconnaissance plane exploded and caught fire. This is the first time that the Chinese Air Force has shot down a U.S. high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. It also set a record for the first time a fighter jet has shot down an aircraft in the stratosphere.

With the escalation of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military continued to send fighters to harass the Sino-Vietnamese border, including the F-104 fighter jet, which is the world’s fighter jet flying double the speed of sound with advanced performance. On September 20, 1965, a U.S. F-104C fighter jet flew to the west coast of Hainan Island and flew in an S course, sometimes invading Chinese airspace. Hainan Airlines 4th Division 10th Regiment Commander Gao Xiang and Deputy Commander Huang Fengsheng quickly piloted the J-6 to take off and intercept. This is a battle of great contrast. In addition to the difference in fighter performance, the combat experience of the pilots of the two sides also differs greatly. Gao Xiang's total flying hours are only a few hundred hours, while American pilots have more than 2,000 hours of flying time. The fire from three cannons blasted the F-104 into the air. The 34-year-old Gao Xiang became the first person in the world to destroy an F-104C, and he also set the record for the shortest firing distance of a supersonic fighter in the history of air combat.

On June 26, 1967, a US F-4C fighter was found near Wenchang County, Hainan Island. The pilots Wang Guishu and Lu Jiliang flew two J-6s to take off and patrolled at high altitude. The F-4 is a typical second-generation fighter, nicknamed "Phantom". It was more advanced than the F-104 and was the main fighter of the US military at that time. Wang Guishu fired three shots at a distance of 250 meters, knocking off the right horizontal tail of the F-4C, and then Lu Jiliang fired three shots again and dismembered the F-4C.

From 1964 to 1968, more than 20 U.S. aircraft of various types were shot down, and one J-6 was not shot down. In 1989, China established an aviation museum in Xiaotangshan, Beijing. A large number of J-6 flew here. The once vigorous air veteran closed the last page of its astounding history.

The J-6 was also exported in large quantities to foreign countries and became the main force of the Pakistan Air Force. In the Third Indo-Pakistani War, several Su-7 and MiG-21 fighters were shot down by the J-6.