Kill Loss Ratio 31:1

The first combat use of the air-to-air missile was on Sep 24, 1958, with the Republic of China Air Force when the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis  came to flare-up.  The Red China had pursued invading Taiwan since 1949, 1958 Mao kicked it into high gear again.  During the conflict, CAF F-86 Sabres were routinely engaged in air battles with swarms of MiG-17.  In a top secret effort, an Aviation Ordnance Team of one pilot and five techies from the USMC 323 Fighter Squadron delivered 40 GAR-8 Sidewinders to CAF 11^th FG on Aug 18, and modify their North American jets to carry the GAR-8.  Under a direct order from the U.S. Pacific Command, the operation was supervised by the Military Assistance Advisory Group.  Though the GAR-8 transfer from the sole missile-equipped Naval FJ-4 unit (323 Sqn), the 7^th Fleet was bypassed.  The project: rearmed Sabre to suppress the more agile MiG-17, and developed new missile tactics to prevail over future threats.

After one week, five staffers came up with innovative missile launcher based on the original F-86F’s high velocity aircraft rocket system.  In the test flight, pilot Ray Robbins fired a HVAR from his left wing pylon, then it was successfully blasted by a chasing GAR-8 from his right wing pylon.  In the next two weeks, CAF mechanics upgraded 20 F-86s under the AOT guidance, each plane carried two GAR-8s.  Chinese pilots kept up change fast, especially the limitations of this heat-seeking missile, i.e. relative position of sun, fire range, search angle, and operational ceiling.  Meanwhile, their new tactics was sharpened via mock combat with CAF F-100 as an “aggressor aircraft”.

Facing a massive foe, the smaller CAF was more than holding its own; its strength lay in pilot’s quality and advanced weaponry.  To specify the Communist’s intention of non-stop bombardment, CAF launched a large scale recon along mainland coast on Sep 24, with four retrofitted F-86s as core flight in the escort groups.  In the first encounter, the Sabre quad wiped out six unaware MiG-17s in a climbing ambush.  The MiGs broke formation and dived to the altitude of the Sabres in swirling dogfights, six more was destroyed by 50 calibers.  After the total kill loss rate of 31:1 in Taiwan Strait Crisis, Red’s short live air dominance had gone dark for decades.

Nukes in Taiwan

Known as the 1958 second Taiwan Strait crisis, the Red’s shelling of Kinmen was primarily a political blitzkrieg rather than a military invasion.  After the outpost islet was obscured by the dust of exploding volleys, the U.S. 7^th Fleet escort dumped the ROC Navy’s landing craft and escaped from the scene.  As such, Mao Zedong clarified that the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty for Taiwan was simply a half-assed US ploy to later pave the way for 1979 US-China normalization.  However, the crisis aftermath was a subtle win-win situation for both ROC and PROC, while ROC refused to retreat from Kinmen under the US pressure.  Kinmen remained a geopolitical link between the mainland and Taiwan and Chinese on both sides successfully shunned the US’s China-splitting policy.

Hard pressed to withstand the Red’s onslaught, the first three newly-arrived M-55 self-propelled howitzers roared to life on September 26, and immediately their 8-inch guns overwhelmed the enemy shellfire.  After the conflict, the cross-strait barrage became the Chinese Civil War’s longest running battle, though both sides merely exchanged desultory harassing fire on odd days of the month, then used pamphlet shells only.  It also bears remembering that in 1958 Kinmen was bleak and the casualties were over 7,000 in the series of battles from Aug. 23 to Oct. 5, but by then the ROC serviceman were not made of fine China.  They were very good at their job, and luckily the islet saw the urgent deployment of twelve 8-inch guns that were decisive in the 8.23 Barrage Battle.

The Reds unleashed the shelling at the height of the Cold War, and ever since the US nukes had stayed in Taiwan until 1974 with the US Matador cruise missile standing ready at Tainan Air Base when the crisis erupted.  In storage on the revetments adjacent to the Tainan AFB flight line, the Matador TM-61Cs were operated by the 868^th Tactical Missile Squadron, and supported by the 6214^th Air Base Group.    In 1959, surface-to-surface nuclear warheads were deployed, the Matador could deliver a 20 kt W5 warhead to a range of 965 km from Tainan.  On Okinawa and Guam, three types of nukes - Mk.6 (only Guam), Mk.36 Mod 1, and Mk.39 Mod 0 - were available to defeat the possible attacking PROC forces.  Unsurpringly, in 1978 the US recognized the PROC as the sole legal government of China, also ended official relations and its defense treaty with Taiwan.

The View from the Top

Affected by the previous amphibious landing on Dachen incurring of heavy casualties, Mao ZeDong rejected the PLA’s both proposals of air raid and amphibious assault on Kinmen.  His barrage-only insistence was based on the considerations: First, poor air ground coordination was still the soft belly of PLA; a barrage battle was political and diplomatic oriented, for identifying US’s specific intent without being beleaguered.  Second, taking fortress-like Kinmen held by six divisions would be suicidal, leaving it as a geopolitical link was more beneficial to Chinese interest.  Third, Taiwan’s retaliation thrusting into coastal area was fully expected, even a dangerous confrontation with the US if PLAAF bombed Kinmen.  Fourth, an expensive amphibious attack’s outcome had never been in question while Taiwan had the air superiority.  His strategy worked, it has the effect of making the obvious seem complex.       

Accessed the real US attitude, China managed to reopen the 1954 Geneva Conference in Warsaw, in order to delapidate the US support to Taiwan.  After the last major barrage on Jan. 7, 1959, 30 240mm howitzer M-1 were transferred to Kinmen and Matsu to guard against potential Reds aggression, ever since these big guns were in active service but not surprisingly, never came into action.  And the ferocious M-55 self-propelled howitzers were replaced by 8” towed gun M-115s.  Went into hiatus, both sides merely exchanged desultory fire on odd days of the month, shunned military targets and villages.  Listened to the supersized loudspeakers of broadcasting station in Kinmen, the Red’s artillery walked shells up the rise paddy if they mistakenly hit the road.  

The massive US aid was given significant credit for air and counter-barrage victories, it also accelerated the ROC Army into missile age.  For re-enforcing the medium and high-altitude long-range air defense over northern Taiwan, in 1958 a SAM-A-25 heavy surface-to-air missile battalion was urgent deployed at Lingkou from Anchorage, Alaska.  As one of the five Nike Hercules export recipients, the complete battalion equipment was transferred to the ROCA on Aug. 15, 1959.  In 1971 the second Nike battalion with a conventional warhead was received from Texas, which stationed at Gangshan in southern Taiwan.  All twelve Nike companies were deactivated in 1997, without ever being fired in anger.

Battles of Kinmen

Outbreak at 0030 Oct 25, 1949, the Battle of Guningtou (古寧頭) hold back the Red tide at an outpost islet of Taiwan.  In three day’s Kinmen meat grinder, the 22 M5A1 tanks of the 3^rd Tank Regiment played a pivotal role in countering the PLA 28^th Army’s human waves.  Depleted their ammo, the tank crews used their vehicles as road rollers to crush the invaders.  0400 the 28^th remainders were encircled by the five defender regiments at Guningtou highland.  At the first light, there were the 1^st, 8^th Bomber Groups, and 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th Fighter Groups laid down an interdict blanket suffocating the enemy.  On the beach, 356 out of 400 plus wooden junks, countless bamboo rafts were destroyed by the ground and aerial firepower.  All 9,086 landing troops met their grave ending, and the cross-strait reinforcement of about 10,000 men standing by in Xiamen Bay and Ming River area were cut off.  1000 Oct 27, Kinmen was declared secured, with 3,873 PLA’s POWs and 5,175 body counts.

Aligned with the Red regime’s priority, in 1958 PROC posed a threat to Kinmen again.  The 8.23 Barrage Battle was a series of fights unleashed by Mao Ze-Dong from Aug. 23 to Jan. 7, 1959.  In seven slashing offensives and hundreds of minor assaults, the Reds had fired more than 400,000 shells, but their quantity-superior batteries had not been able to obliterate the targets.  In the first day the Reds hurled 31,757 shells at the islets, aiming to clear and smash the artillery batteries, command posts, radar station, shop dock at Kinmen and adjacent islet Little Kinmen.   Facing the Red’s almost 460 guns, 380 artillery pieces were operated by the 18 battalions under six divisions and the 600^th Artillery Group of the Kinmen Defense Command, which included three M-101 105mm, three M-114 155mm howitzer, two M-59 155mm canon battalions, and one 90mm flak company.

Coordinated by the Fire Direction Center, all the batteries made a stand in the siege stage.  In the counter-blockade and counter-offensive, the 600^th’s dozen newly arrived 203mm long range howitzers successively suppressed the enemy.  During the titanic battle, the Reds lost 32 guns, plus 32 MiG-17s, three torpedo boats, and some 460 soldiers.  From all the three stages saw the artillery punch far above its weight, except Little Kinmen’s 9^th Division.  After the siege stage, 9^th’s 24 75mm pack howitzers, two 105mm  howitzer battalions, one 155mm  howitzer battalion and one 155mm canon company were boosted to 57 pieces.  Even so, the CO of the 9^th, Gen. How, was too coward to fire back with this powerful counter-barrage strength.  It’s the Kinmen batteries - especially the 600^th - did the heavy lifting, which constantly commenced all-out action, even covered How’s duty.  During all the 44 days of the siege stage, How only left his shelter in seven days, and symbolically visited few batteries in a Stuart tank.

Sadly, all unsung hero were deliberately bypassed in favor of forgery, and How was not the only free riders; a tailor-made leadership propaganda was in the making. Nevertheless, the rulers on both sides manipulated the campaign, in order to fortify their ruling and purge the dissidents.  Though Chiang Kai-Shek entirely misjudged Mao’s political and military intentions, he saw an opportunity to squelch the truth and made a fake war hero - his heir.  Manipulating the defensive, Chiang started drifting its corona over his elder son for future presidency.  As for Mao, his vice-like grip not only on the campaign, but also removed the powerless commanders who kept questioned his strategy, and opposed his dictatorship.  The 8.23 Barrage Battle was over, the political turmoil was about to begin.

Eagle has landed

Before the USAF F-86 tactics demo team visited Taoyuan air base, its pilots defeated every allied Sabre in 30 plus mock combats worldwide.  With total over 20 kills the four ex-aces scored in the Korean War, the quad focused on testing the operational capability of Sabre recipients globally.  Surprisingly, in all three mock combats the Americans were forced to rock wings in front of their stubborn tailgaters, these Chinese turned out to be the best of the best!  In the debriefing, hosts still humbly learned their engagement analysis, but they also noticed the importance of the confidential USAF handout No Guts No Glory.  When returning the books nest morning, three CAF pilots had already finished the Chinese translation over night.

After the large scale air battles during 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, swarms of MiG ceased to exist over the strait, the air supremacy was firmly secured by the CAF.  Though six MiG-17s were blasted by Sidewinder over 35,000 ft, most kills were still claimed by superb gunnery of the F-86 pilots at low altitude in September.  The MiG simply was no match for its foe, while every Sabre pilots recorded over 1,000 F-86 flight hours.  Even the U.S. Naval pilots from the visiting 323 Sqn. learned that they could never won Chinese in mock combat at 25,000 ft, their FJ-4 only got slim chance over 35,000 ft high altitude.  The CAF pilots learned fast, such as High Speed YoYo taught by the friendly USN allies.  Years later they performed hi yoyo to fought the more advanced Corsair in mock combat, the American could not do that difficult maneuver themselves.

Regarded as the model recipient of the Military Aid Program, America invited Republic of China Air Force Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team to the World Aviation Expo 1959.  Founded in 1953, the team has flown a wide array of aircraft, including the F-84G, F-86F, and F-5A/E, they now fly the indigenous AT-3.  Ever since their chest-thumping rehearsal at Williams AFB in April, 1953, immediately boosted numerous awe-inspired passionate audience.  Comparing this supernova of 9 then 12 planes skill, all the U.S. Blue Angles, U.K. Red Arrows, and Patrouille de France looked boring, not to mention their smaller formation.  As its indisputable fame spreaded and it performed across the States, the host requested extending their schedule to the Veterans Day.  In more than 40 cross continental demos, Thunder Tiger’s daring and dazzling maneuver revealed themselves to be hard-training and top acrobatics world-beaters.

AIDC of ROC

When the Aero Industry Development Center was expanded from the Bureau of Aeronautical Research in Taiwan, 1969, two milestone projects, PL-1 trainer and UH-1H helicopter, were cranked up in the newly re-org AIDC.  In order to chart the hard steering of Chinese aviation industry, we have to go back to the Naval Aircraft Department of Beijing government, 1921.  In 1920-32, the NAD was the only plant designed its own aircraft-one or two float recons took into air annually, while other shops simply copied the western models.   1937, the Navy Ministry of Nanjing Centre moved NAD to Shanghai, it expanded to maintenance, land-based and float planes reversed engineering, at the expense of its design capability.  With the Sino-Japanese War erupted, the NAD was withdrawn to Chengdu, all the other aircraft plants were also relocated to inland.  The BAR was established in Chengdu two years later.

Under the extreme logistic difficulties, the Chinese Air Force's 1^st Aircraft Plant copied Russian Polikarpov fighters, the CAF 2^nd Aircraft Plant managed to produce the first indigenous medium transport, along with its Polikarpov replicas.  And the 3^rd plant designed a light bomber based on Tupolev SB-2, but made by wood for obvious reason.  In 1946, the 1^st, the 3^rd, BAR, Guizhou Engine Plant, and Nanjing Accessory Plant were reassigned to the new Bureau of Aeronautical Industry.  Soon the 3^rd moved to Taiwan, its first 104 licensed-built Boeing PT-17 trainers paved the way for the local aviation industry.  Later a post-Korean War hibernation came; received the U.S. war surplus en masse, all the plants had shrunk to maintenance.

The marginalization spurred Taiwan into action to defense independence when the U.S. started normalization with Red China in the 1960s.  In August 1967, the CAF finalized the Aero Industry Development Plan.  Based on the strategy of international joint venture plus local R&D, since 1969 the progressive phases started from PL-1 primary trainer (1968-74), to phase 2 of Bell UH-1H chopper (1970-76), T-CH-1 trainer (1970-81), medium transport XC-2 (1976-78), then to phase 3 of F-5E/F fighter (1975-87), AT-3 attack trainer (1975-83) and IDF fighter (1981-99).   From 1973, five powerplant projects were carried out: T53-13A (UH-1H, 1973-80), T53-701A (XC-2, T-CH-1, 1975-82), S engine (1980-89), TFE-731-2-2L (AT-3, 1983-89). TFE-1042-70 (IDF, 1982-99).  Regardless of these hard-earned achievements, all the top decisions still amounted to a bizarre and illogical result: CAF completely abandoned its proud aviation self-sustainability.  This political correctness surely makes the cross-strait unification easier in the near future.

To Hell and Back

Under a secret effort designated Southern Star I, China Airlines began its clandestine airdrop operations over North Vietnam since 1965.  After CAL lost 49 crewmen and 10 airplanes, Southern Star III was taken over by the ex-34^th Squadron staff in 1968.  Known as the Black Bat 34^th Sqn, the 34^th was a corps of CIA recon crewmen flew night missions over Red China, to drop agents and gathered signal intelligence around Communist military bases.  During their 838 missions in 1953-67, in total 148 airmen were doomed, averagely only one men returned for every three.  The calamity that have usurped the 34^th, can best be described as sad paradigm bets due to shady mission planning from top brass and CIA.

Facing the P2V-7U deep-penetration unresisted , the Reds started deploying three flak groups in Liaodong Peninsula since September 1961, which was confirmed by the oblique shooting cameras of USAF U-2 from high seas.  Among the new trio, No.3 was the most ferocious threat, including six 85mm companies and six 37mm companies for high and low altitude, respectively.  Held up this scourge in briefing, CIA planners still issued the course of 11/06/1961 mission.  In the previous night a Neptune endured dense barrage over Liaodong until it reached high sea.  But the exhausted crewmen unconditionally obeyed their order to return to the death trap.  Not all the Black Bat's sorties could be covered by their flight skill and stealth tactics.  In just 30 seconds after being caught by search lights, multiple hits from the No.3 AA group blew up the P2V, it crashed at 300 meters east of Biliu River nearby Yunning Village.  Most of the airplane exploded to pieces, all 13 crewmates perished.  In average, each P2V sortie faced eight intercepts, and three or four passes per intercept, i.e. at least two dozens onslaughts commenced on every mission in the PLAAF records.  Until 1964, three more Neptunes crashed with all hands on board, as well Flying Fortress and Invader loses.

During the Cold War, the Black Bat Sqn started its initial operational phase as the Technical Development Unit with 2 RB-17Gs.  In mid-June, 1952, with its crewmen newly trained by the USAF in Japan, the Flying Fortress duo of the TDU which directly reported to the HQ of CAF, began stationed at the Xinzhu AFB.  Right after the termination of deep penetration missions of the 8^th BG’s PB4Ys, the intelligence electronics on the aging Privateers were retrofitted into the Fortress replacements, which continued the clandestine sorties.  The 34^th had endured blow after blow at the hands of flak and MiG, until its survivors continued to fight over North Vietnam in 1968.