Liu Yudi (; 17 September 1923 – 17 February 2015) was a

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

pilot of the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

of China. According to Chinese state source Xinhua, Liu was a flying ace during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, with 6 shootdowns. He later served as commander of the

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid-1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

Air Force, and was awarded the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in 1988.

Biography

Born in

Cang County Cang County or Cangxian () is a county of Hebei province, China. It is under the administration of Cangzhou Cangzhou; Jilu Mandarin, locally pronounced as is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province of China, province, People's Re ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

on September 17, 1923, Liu Yudi joined the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the List of Army Groups of the National Revolutionary Army, 18th Group Army, was a Field army, group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of Ch ...

in 1938, and he joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

the following year. After graduating from

Counter-Japanese Military and Political University Counter-Japanese Military and Political University (), also commonly known as Kàngdà () and Kangri Junzheng University (), was a comprehensive public university located in Yan'an, Shaanxi, the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party during ...

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

, he became a squad leader in the 358th Brigade of 120th Division of Eighth Route Army. During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, he participated in the 1940

Hundred Regiments Offensive The Hundred Regiments Offensive or the Hundred Regiments Campaign () (20 August – 5 December 1940) was a major campaign of the Chinese Communist Party's National Revolutionary Army divisions. It was commanded by Peng Dehuai against the Imp ...

led by

Zhu De Zhu De; (1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Zhu was born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan. He was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

and

Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (October 24, 1898November 29, 1974; also spelled as Peng Teh-Huai) was a Chinese general and politician who was the Minister of National Defense (China), Minister of National Defense from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

border. In October 1946 he was accepted to the Northeast People's Liberation Army Aviation School (a predecessor of the

PLA Air Force Aviation University The People's Liberation Army Air Force Aviation University () is a military university in Changchun, Jilin, China. As of fall 2014, the university has 7 campuses, consists of 7 departments, covers a total area of , with more than 19,000,000 s ...

) and graduated in September 1948. After graduation, he became a pilot in North China Military District. In June 1950 he joined the newly created PLA Air Force 4th Mixed Brigade, working as a deputy battalion chief. During the

, he flew as a member of the 3rd Fighter Division. Historian Zhang Xiaoming said Yudi shot down 4 F-84s on a single mission on November 23, 1951 but US Air Force records did not report any aircraft lost during the engagement.. After the war, he assumed various posts in PLA Air Force, including deputy commander of

and commander of its Air Force. He was awarded the rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

in 1955 and the rank of

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

in 1963. He was promoted to

in 1988. He was awarded the title of "First Class War Hero of the

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA), officially the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV), was the armed expeditionary forces China in the Korean War, deployed by the History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976), People's Republic of Chi ...

". He was a delegate to the 3rd,

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

, 6th and

7th National People's Congress The 7th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1988 to 1993. It held five sessions in this period. Seat distribution The first session Elected state leaders In the 1st Session in 1988, the Congress elected the state leaders: ...

, a delegate to the 11th

National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (; ) is a party congress that is held every five years. The National Congress is formally the highest body within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 1987 the National Congress has b ...

, and a member of the 7th and 8th National Committee of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

(CPPCC). He was also a Standing Committee member of the 7th CPPCC. Liu retired in April 1990. He died of an illness in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

on 17 February 2015. The day before he died, PLA Air Force Commander

Ma Xiaotian Ma Xiaotian (; born August 1949) is a retired general who served as Commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) from 2012 to 2017. He also served as Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff and President of the PLA National Defenc ...

visited him in the hospital, and Liu wrote down his last words with his quivering hands: "Greatly develop

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s" ().

Personal life

Liu married Jia Zhaoquan (), who was a parachutist in the People's Liberation Army Air Force. The couple had two sons and a daughter. Liu had a granddaughter named Liu Jingjing ().

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Yudi 1923 births 2015 deaths Chinese Korean War flying aces People from Cangzhou People's Liberation Army Air Force generals People's Liberation Army generals from Hebei Delegates to the 7th National People's Congress Delegates to the 6th National People's Congress Delegates to the 4th National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Disputed flying aces Members of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 7th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference PLA Air Force Aviation University alumni Chinese military personnel of World War II