Soviet Volunteer Group
Soviet Volunteer Group | |
---|---|
Советские добровольцы в Китае | |
Nationalist Chinese Air Force | |
Size | 3,665 pilots and ground crew (peak) |
Garrison/HQ | Nanjing Nanchang Lanzhou |
Engagements | Second Sino-Japanese War |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | Tupolev TB-3, Tupolev SB |
Fighter | Polikarpov I-16, Polikarpov I-15 |
The Soviet Volunteer Group was the volunteer part of the
Background
In the aftermath of the
Sino–
In September 1937, a secret decree issued by the Soviet Orgburo ordered that 225 aircraft, including 62 Polikarpov I-15, 93 Polikarpov I-16 and 8 Yakovlev UT-4 trainers, be sent to China. In March and July 1938 as well as in July 1939, China received loans of 50, 50 and 150 million $ respectively, with an annual interest of 3%. The loans were to be repaid through exports of tea, wool, leather and metals. Upon a Chinese request the Soviets also agreed to provide military advisors and volunteer pilots. The first group of military advisors arrived in China in early June 1938. By February 1939, 3665 Soviet military specialists headed by Mikhail Dratvin had been deployed.[3]
Operation
In October 1937, some 450 Soviet pilots and technicians assembled in
Although the personnel were briefed on the situation in China and the importance of their participation in the fight against Japan, they were not volunteers; Soviet Air Force commander Aleksandr Loktionov and his deputy Yakov Smushkevich selected the personnel for the Soviet Volunteer Group. At its peak the Soviet Volunteer Group numbered 3,665 personnel, including doctors, drivers, mechanics, meteorologists, cryptographers, radio operators, airfield managers and pilots. 2,000 of these were pilots and 1,000 took part in combat missions. Some of them had been sent directly from the front lines of the Spanish Civil War where the Soviets also had a sizeable military mission. Of the aircraft supplied, half were turned over to the Chinese Air Force and half were flown and maintained by Soviet personnel. The Soviet air units were stationed at bases near the cities of Nanjing, Hankou, and Chongqing, and at Lanzhou in China's northwest at the terminus of the Soviet supply route.[6] On 13 December 1937, the former temporary capital of Nanjing fell to the Japanese, turning the aerodrome of Xiangyang into the main Soviet base. 200 Soviet pilots took part in the defense of the new capital, Hankou, flying in mixed squadrons along with Chinese pilots.[7]
On 23 February 1938, the Soviet Volunteer Group conducted its first operation outside Chinese borders, with 12 and 28 bombers departing from Nanjing and Hankou, respectively. The target was the island of Taiwan, the main base of the Japanese Air Force, which also housed a wide array of cargo ships containing fuel and spare parts intended for the base. Flying at high attitude and approaching the island from the north, the bombers remained undetected until they dropped their payload, safely returning. As a result of the raid the Japanese lost a large shipment of fuel, 40 aircraft were destroyed on the ground, port facilities and hangars were destroyed while several ships sustained minor damages. On 28 April, the Japanese launched a massive air raid on the Wuhan military airport with the intent of celebrating the birthday of emperor Hirohito. At 10:00 a.m. they were met by 60 Soviet I-15 and I-16 fighters. In the largest air battle at that point of the war the Japanese lost 21 aircraft, while Soviet losses were limited to 2. Among those killed was Soviet pilot Lev Shuster, who performed an aerial ramming after running out of fuel and ammunition. On 31 May, 18 Japanese bombers approached Wuhan for a second time, covered by 36 fighters. At the conclusion of the fight, the Japanese bombers missed their targets and 14 of them were shot down by Soviet fighters. By May, Soviet pilots had destroyed 625 enemy aircraft and damaged 150 military and civilian ships.[8] The Soviet squadrons were withdrawn after the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany in 1939. As a result, the Chinese turned to the United States, which authorized the creation of the American Volunteer Group Flying Tigers.[9]
Monuments
Distinguished pilots who fought in the unit include
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Chudodeev 2017, pp. 7–11.
- ^ Chudodeev 2017, pp. 11–21.
- ^ Chudodeev 2017, pp. 21–29.
- ^ Wagner 1991, p. 23.
- ^ Chudodeev 2017, pp. 57–60.
- ^ Erickson 2001, p. 491.
- ^ Chudodeev 2017, pp. 57–69.
- ^ Chudodeev 2017, pp. 74–106.
- ^ Ford 2007, p. 28.
- ^ Chudodeev 2017, pp. 110–116.
References
- Chudodeev, Yuriy (2017). На Земле и в Небе Китая: Советские военные советники и летчики–добровольцы в Китае в период японо–китайской войны 1937–1945 гг [In the Skies and on the Ground in China: Soviet military advisors and volunteer pilots in China during the period of the Sino–Japanese War 1937–1945]. Moscow: Russian Academy of Sciences. ISBN 978-5-89282-717-1.
- Erickson, John (2001). The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918–1941 (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-5178-8.
- ISBN 978-0-06-124655-5.
- Wagner, Ray (1991). Prelude to Pearl Harbor: The Air War in China, 1937–1941. San Diego Aerospace Museum. OCLC 28440168.