Xu Huansheng

Xu Huansheng

Xu Huansheng (1906-1984) was born in Chongming, Shanghai. He graduated from Jiangsu Medical College, the fourth phase of Huangpu Military Academy and the first phase of central aviation school. He went to German and Italian aviation schools for further study. The famous executor of "paper bombing". Life magazine published 12 world famous pilots, among which Xu Huansheng from China was one. "Xu Huansheng, the Chinese air force, was the first person to bomb Japan before general Doolittle," the photo said

Life of the characters

At the beginning, he served as instructor of Jianqiao central aviation school, CO pilot of Chiang Kai Shek's plane, sub team leader and squadron leader.

In 1938, he served as the leader of the 14th Air Force team. Since then, he has successively served as the leader of the sixth heavy bombing brigade, the leader of the Eighth Air Force brigade, the deputy commander of the fifth mixed Regiment (i.e. the fifth brigade) of the Sino US air force, the commander of Lanzhou (the Third Military Region) and the region, the joint commander, the director of the air force headquarters, the general director of the Ministry of national defense, and the military officer stationed in the Soviet Union.

When he went to Taiwan in 1949, he was the director of Chiang Kai Shek's Chamberlain's office, the director, chief of staff and deputy commander in chief of the air force headquarters.

He took over as commander in chief of the air force in 1963 and left four years later. Later, he served as chairman of China Airlines and member of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang.

He died in Taipei on March 4, 1984.

Cross sea expedition

Historical evaluation

During the Anti Japanese War, Xu Huansheng was famous all over the country for his first flight to Japan in 1938 to deliver the letter against the Japanese people, which exposed the crimes of Japanese imperialism against China.

At the beginning of the Anti Japanese War, Japanese planes were rampant over China, and the relatively weak Chinese air force could only respond passively. It never occurred to anyone that in May 1938, Chinese Air Force soldiers Xu Huansheng and Tong Yanbo went on an expedition to Japan and dropped bundles of colorful leaflets, which won wide sympathy and respect from the people of the world and greatly boosted the aspirations of the Chinese people. This is the famous "paper bombing" in the history of the Anti Japanese War, also known as the "humanitarian expedition", from which Xu Huansheng and Tong Yanbo are recorded in the history of national heroes.

Background

Since the July 7 Incident, the Chinese army and people began the arduous war of resistance against Japan. Relying on its air superiority, the Japanese army bombed indiscriminately, causing countless deaths to our compatriots, arousing indignation from all walks of life and calling on the government to return blood with blood and bomb Japan. After collecting the opinions of all parties, Chiang Kai Shek decided to send air forces to raid Japan, but instead of dropping bombs, he threw paper bombs, that is, to distribute leaflets, which not only revealed the atrocities of Japanese aggression against China and called on the Japanese people to join hands in anti war, but also showed the determination and great power of the Chinese army and people to resist Japanese aggression, and showed the virtue of the Chinese nation not to kill innocent people indiscriminately. Song Meiling, Secretary General of the Aviation Commission, named it "humanitarian expedition".

In view of the fact that the expedition was a feat of no previous comer, Song Meiling, considering the lack of equipment and technology, was prepared to employ foreign pilots to carry out the expedition. Unexpectedly, the other side offered a huge price of $100000, saying that white people are worth more than incompetent and courageous Chinese people. Disgusted, the first lady changed her mind to choose from the national pilots.

Details of deeds

Two American made B-10 bombers were selected for this expedition to Japan. They are equipped with two 775 horsepower engines, with a wingspan of 21.49 meters, a length of 13.63 meters, a take-off weight of 7430 kg, a maximum speed of 343 km / h, a lift limit of 7300 m and a range of 1900 km. Three machine guns are installed on the aircraft, which can carry 1025 kg bombs, with four crew members per aircraft. The former general command of the air force designated the expedition as a two plane formation. No. 1403 is the long plane, driven by Xu Huansheng, and No. 1404 is the wingman, driven by Tong Yanbo. There are 6 crew members.

Ningbo Lishe airport was determined as the front airport of the eastern expedition.

At 15:23 on the same day, two silver Martin b-10b heavy bombers secretly took off from Hankou airport in Wuhan, loaded with millions of leaflets.

Flying in front of the long plane is 1403 Xu Huansheng, a certain distance is the wingman 1404 Tong Yanbo. They are very excited to shoulder such a glorious and arduous mission.

The two eagles carried out final overhaul and refueling at Lishe airport.

After dinner, the two captains and the crew gathered in the pilot's lounge on one side of the take-off line, waiting for the command from Wuhan headquarters, unfolding the military map and proofreading the route again.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the Hankou urgent telegram sent by the chief of the electrical service section: you can attack. I wish you all the best!

At 11:20, Xu Huansheng, Tong Yanbo and other crew members came to the take-off line. In the dark, no one issued a command. Eight people lined up in a neat line and solemnly vowed to the West: for China, anti Japanese and national salvation, flying across the ocean and expediting the three islands. To warn the Japanese aggressors, awaken the people and stop the war. The eight warriors hugged each other tightly, and the eight hot hearts beat to a beat.

At 23:48, apricot yellow runway lights were suddenly on both sides of the runway. Then came the commander's command from the earphone: "take off!" Two battle Eagles roared into the sky, disappeared in the distant night sky, across the East China Sea, and flew to Japan more than 800 kilometers away.

At 2:20 a.m. on May 20, the bombers flew over Japan. From the air, the Japanese archipelago at night is like a crocodile.

At 2:45, the two planes flew over Nagasaki, an important city in Kyushu, at an altitude of 3500 meters. Nagasaki is not only the outpost city for Japan to launch the war of aggression against China, but also an important base for the Japanese air force. There are many arms factories in the city, and it is also a Japanese naval base.

The next day, the citizens of Nagasaki walked out of their houses and were surprised to find that countless pieces of paper were scattered in the air, like heavy snow. This is a flyer from a Chinese bomber. It is printed with striking Japanese characters: "letter of the Republic of China against Japanese nationals" and "letter of the Federation of trade unions of the Republic of China against Japanese workers". There were also leaflets warning the Japanese warlords, which said: "if you don't tame yourself, you'll turn a million leaflets into ten thousand tons of explosives, and you'll get rid of them!"

In addition, after the Chinese fighter plane left Nagasaki, the two planes worked together in the dark and cooperated with each other. Finally, at 3:45, it flew over the northern city of Fukuoka. Under the illumination of the flares thrown by the Chinese fighters, Fukuoka City, hidden in the dark, is exposed under the fuselage. Tong Yanbo immediately reported to the long plane: "the target has arrived." Then came a clear command: "bomb!" The leaflets were snowing down. The operator on the plane kept sending telegrams back to China: "there was no obstruction in the air, countless searchlights and silver pillars went straight into the sky, anti-aircraft guns were spraying intensively; our plane flew away safely..."

The two planes flew to the cities of kulumi, Saga, Kumamoto and Kyushu in turn according to their scheduled targets, scattering millions of leaflets and flying over Japan for nearly two hours.

That night, Kyushu was in a mess. Chinese planes dropped flares and leaflets everywhere they went. For a moment, pieces of paper were flying in the air, people were noisy on the ground, lights were out everywhere, searchlights were shining in the air, and anti-aircraft guns were shooting blindly. Without waiting for the Japanese fighter to take off, the Chinese plane would have gone.

On May 20, with the rising sun and no clouds in the sky, the bombing fuselage of China's expedition to Japan was covered with sunlight and successfully returned. At 8:45, Tong Yanbo's crew first landed at Yushan airport, and at 9:24, Xu Huansheng's crew landed at Nanchang airport. After refueling, the two planes took off again, met over Wuhan at 11:13 a.m., and then landed slowly at Hankou airport.

At Hankou airport, the drums and trumpets roared and the applause was thunderous. Thousands of people from all walks of life warmly welcome back from the airport.

The Communist Party of China highly praised this feat. On May 23, Zhou Enlai and Wu Yuzhang, on behalf of the Communist Party of China and the Eighth Route Army, respectively, went to the Political Department of the Aviation Committee of the Kuomintang in Wuhan and presented the banners to the warriors in the air. Tong Yanbo took over the banner with tears in his heart. Zhou Enlai said: "you are a hero, anti Japanese hero, patriotic hero..." The flag presented by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is impressively written with the eight characters of "combining virtue and power, being both wise and brave".

According to the order of the Military Commission of the national government, all the crew members were promoted to a higher level and received awards.

Chinese PinYin : Xu Huan Sheng