Red Wings over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea (Volume 80) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)

Red Wings over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea КНИГИ ;ВОЕННАЯ ИСТОРИЯ Издательство: Texas A & M University PressСерия: Texas A & M University Military History SeriesАвтор(ы): Xiaoming ZhangЯзык: EnglishГод издания: 2002Количество страниц: 315ISBN: 1-58544-201-1Формат: pdf (e-book)Размер: 3,42 mbThis book is a good start toward understanding the actual air war in Korea. The Soviet involvement was important. Before and during the war, they helped defend Communist Chinese air space against the Nationalist Chinese. They committed 13 air divisions to defend Chinese air space and train the new Chinese Air Force while rotating another 12 air divisions and several air defense divisions into the Korean War. The Soviets equipped the Chinese Air Force. The Chinese eventually sent 10 fighter and two bomber divisions to the war. The Chinese and Soviet air forces fought a defensive air battle, concentrating on stopping the numerically (and often technically) superior UN air forces which were trying to win through strategic bombing and air supremacy. The North Korean Air Force was lost during the initial fighting and did not recover fully until after the war. The Soviet and Chinese air forces did not provide close air support to the ground forces. Rather, they concentrated on defeating the UN aerial interception effort. While the UN fighter jets concentrated on fighting enemy MIGs, the Soviets and Chinese jets went after the UN bomber fleet. They were so successful in this effort that within a year, the UN suspended daylight bombing in favor of inaccurate, but more survivable night bombing. The strategic bombing campaign which was supposed to stop the Communist supply efforts failed. Communist transportation routes improved throughout the war and the Communist forces were increasingly better supplied as the war progressed.RAPIDили IFOLDER 0 The Korean conflict was a pivotal event in China's modern military history. The fighting in Korea constituted an important experience for the newly formed People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), not only as a test case for this fledgling service but also in the later development of Chinese air power. Xiaoming Zhang fills the gaps in the history of this conflict by basing his research in recently declassified Chinese and Russian archival materials. He also relies on interviews with Chinese participants in the air war over Korea. Zhangs findings challenge conventional wisdom as he compares kill ratios and performance by all sides involved in the war. Zhang also addresses the broader issues of the Korean War, such as how air power affected Beijing's decision to intervene. He touches on ground operations and truce negotiations during the conflict. Chinese leaders placed great emphasis on the supremacy of human will over modern weaponry, but they were far from oblivious to the advantages of the latter and to China's technological limitations. Developments in China's own air power were critical during this era. Zhang offers considerable materials on the training of Chinese aviators and the Soviet role in that training, on Soviet and Chinese air operations in Korea, and on diplomatic exchanges over Soviet military assistance to China. He probes the impact of the war on China's conception of the role of air power, arguing that it was not until the Gulf War of the early 1990s that Chinese leaders engaged in a broad reassessment of the strategy they adopted during the Korean War. Military historians and scholars interested in aviation and foreign affairs will find this volume of special interest. As a unique work that presents the Chinese point of view, it stands as both a complement and a corrective to previous accounts of the conflict. The Korean Conflict was a pivotal event in China's modern military history. The fighting in Korea constituted an important experience for the newly formed People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), not only as a test case for this fledgling service but also in the later development of Chinese air power. Xiaoming Zhang fills the gaps in the history of this conflict by basing his research in recently declassified Chinese and Russian archival materials. He also relies heavily on interviews with Chinese participants in the air war over Korea. Zhang's findings challenge conventional wisdom as he compares kill ratios and performance by all sides involved in the war. - Jacket flap. Aviation and the Chinese revolution : a historical perspective Fledging years : the emergence of the People's Liberation Army Air Force Promise, decision, and the airpower factor From defending China to intervention in Korea Months of frustration : plans and preparations Soviet air operations in Korea China enters the air war From MiG alley to Panmunjon Conclusion : Estimations, lessons, retrospect, and future perspectives Appendixes. PLAAF aviation troops, 1950-51 Soviet VVS/POV forces in China, 1950-51 Soviet PVO forces in Korea, November 1, 1950-July 27, 1953 CPV Air Forces in Korea, December, 1950-July, 1953 Aviation And The Chinese Revolution : A Historical Perspective -- Fledging Years : The Emergence Of The People's Liberation Army Air Force -- Promise, Decision, And The Airpower Factor -- From Defending China To Intervention In Korea -- Months Of Frustration : Plans And Preparations -- Soviet Air Operations In Korea -- China Enters The Air War -- From Mig Alley To Panmunjon. Xiaoming Zhang. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [271]-283) And Index. The Korean War was pivotal in China's modern military history. Based on Chinese and Russian archival materials and interviews with Chinese participants in the air war, this work, presenting the Chinese point of view, stands as both a complement and a corrective to previous accounts of the conflict.