Baicheng Ordnance Test Center Of China

The Baicheng Ordnance Test Center of China, also known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) 31st Testing and Training Base ( MUCD Unit 63850), is a directly subordinate Corps Grade unit of the PLAGF based in Pingtai County, Taobei District, Baicheng City, Jilin Province. It is a multi-functional and comprehensive conventional weapons equipment test range in China, and performs the function of a national target range. Most of the existing conventional small weapons and equipment of the People's Republic of China are tested and finalized by the center before being inducted by the army. The center is responsible for research and testing tasks of China's conventional weapons and equipment, including finalization, appraisal, scientific research, production delivery, testing, and the preparation of firing ranges.

History

In September 1953, the Central Military Commission approved the construction of the People's Liberation Army Ordnance Test Range (from the on referred to as "Baicheng Range") in the Dacaodian area of Baicheng, Jilin Province, to undertake the performance assessment of ground artillery, infantry weapons, weapon type tests, etc. On August 26, 1954, the Ordnance Test Range was officially established.陈浩良、韩纪民、文清，开国中将韩振纪，解放军出版社，2015年，第十七章 中国人民解放军军械装备的历史转折 It was one of the 156 key projects built by the Soviet Union as part of their aid to China. The People's Liberation Army Ordnance Test Range was approved by Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai. In early September 1954, the first batch of personnel went to the horqin grassland for construction. Under the guidance of the "three-side" policy of "building, testing and training of cadres", the test team was initially formed, in which the light weapons test team initially built up the test apparatus, and learned the test methods under the guidance of Soviet expert A. Volkov. In April 1956, the Ordnance Test Range was renamed as the First Ordnance Scientific Test Range of the People's Liberation Army, which belonged to the General Armaments Department of the PLA, with Maj. Gen. Zhang Yixiang as the director, Maj. Gen. Li Kungliang as the political commissar, and Maj. Gen. Zheng Helin and Maj. Gen. Liu Zhirui as the deputy political commissar and the deputy director successively.

On June 9, 1956, the range held a temporary range opening ceremony. Previously, from September 8 to October 24, 1955, a factory in northeast China managed to copy the production of a certain type of pistol (probably a Tokarev) and sent it to the range to carry out product quality inspection tests. The first environmental simulation laboratory was completed in 1958 and put into use. In July 1960, the Soviet experts withdrew, but that did not affect the normal construction of the range.

In March 1959, after Han Zhenji became the director of the Ordnance Department of the PLA General Logistics Department, the Baicheng Range was placed under the establishment of the Ordnance Department of the General Logistics Department, with the Ordnance Department of the General Logistics Department became responsible for its daily management. The General Staff Department of the PLA was responsible for arranging the testing of weapons here by all military branches, and the deputy chiefs of staff in charge of this work were Zhang Aiping and Peng Shaohui.After the General Staff leadership and Han Zhenji study, the Ordnance Department of the General Logistics Department decided that the Baicheng range should report to the General Logistics Department Party Committee, requesting to strengthen the comprehensive utilization of the range, improve the range test capacity to study the issue. The General Logistics Department sent a team of experts to carry out research, put forward the program, reported to the General Staff Department, approved by the State Council, the Central Military Commission, decided to extend the main target road, used to meet the requirements of anti-aircraft weapons and other long-range weapons testing. At that time, during the troubles of the Great Leap Forward, the target range completed its expansion in 1960 after a hard struggle, and the area of the range reached 1,795 square kilometers.

At the beginning of 1960, the national defense industry started out large-scale construction of the Third Front, and the Central Military Commission decided to build a new weapons testing ground in northwest China. Han Zhenji (韩振纪) organized the Ordnance Department of the General Logistics Department, together with the relevant departments to study the decision of the Central Military Commission, and sent specialists to participate in the site selection.After argumentation, Zhou Enlai approved the construction of the second test site of the conventional weapons test base in a second place, which was subordinate to the Baicheng base in terms of establishment. This became the future China Huayin Weapons Testing Center (中国华阴兵器试验中心)

On March 22 and July 10, 1961, Han Zhenji attended the All-Army Logistics Work Conference and All-Army Logistics Work Symposium organized by the General Logistics Department, at which he discussed the implementation of the spirit of building up the army through thrift and frugality and practicing economy. Subsequently, Han Zhenji convened the Party Committee of the Ordnance Department of the General Logistics Department to study the issue of self-sufficiency, and decided to build a farm in the Baicheng firing range as an agricultural food base that could provide for the unit. In August 1962 and April 1963, Ye Jianying visited the Baicheng firing range for two times successively.

In August 1963, the Central Military Commission made a special report to Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party on the tasks of the Baicheng Range, and planned to build the Baicheng Range into a comprehensive test base with the Army's conventional weapon tests as the main focus, taking into account the naval and air force's tests for some of their conventional weapons. Accordingly, the General Staff Department, the General Logistics Department, the Air Force, the Navy, the Artillery, and the Armored Corps formed the Conventional Weapons Test Base Planning Group to formulate a master plan and a phased construction program, which was approved by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in December 1963, and the construction program was approved by the CCP Central Committee.

In January 1964, the Central Military Commission (CMC) decided to change the name of the first PLA Ordnance Scientific Research and Test Range into "Ordnance Scientific Research and Test Base", and in November 1964, the name was changed again to "PLA Conventional Weapons Test Base" (when it became known as the "Baicheng Base" for short)." After a number of changes, the base was assigned to the National Defense Science and Industry Commission (NDSC), and in 1998, it was transferred to the General Armament Department of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, the range's scientific research became stagnant, and most of the cadres were dispatched to carry out the "four clean-ups" (四清), with officers being sent down for revolutionary education, and then the "three supports and two armies" ( 三支两军), with army units sent to support left actions and take military control of areas of struggle. Development work stopped due to the closure of colleges and universities across the country, which led to the inability to replenish the technical force. It was not until 1971, in the middle and late stages of the Cultural Revolution, that the situation improved.

After the 2015 Military Reforms, the Armaments Department was abolished and the Center passed under the direct control of the PLAGF.

Organization

*Engineering Department (技术部)
*Light Arms Testing Department (轻武器试验部)

References

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Military units and formations established in 1954
1954 establishments in China