Zheng Shaoyu (; 1911–1942), also spelled Cheng Hsiao-yu (Wades-Gile), was a Chinese fighter pilot in 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 ...

of World War 2. He was born in Qu County of Sichuan province. In 1933–1934, he passed initial qualifications for admission into the China Central Aviation School at Jianqiao Airbase. He graduated top-3 in the class in 1935. When the War of Resistance/World War II broke out between China and the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

following the 7/7 Incident, then-Lieutenant Zheng Shaoyu was attached to the 22nd PS, 4th PG at Zhoujiakou Airbase of the centralized

Chinese Nationalist Air Force Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

in anticipation of operations in the northern front. On 13 August 1937, his fighter squadron would immediately be redirected from Zhoujiakou to Hangzhou Airbase, southwest of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

to engage the

Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...

at what filmmaker

Bill Einreinhofer Bill Einreinhofer is an American television producer, director, writer and educator. He has developed and produced programming for the PBS NewsHour, Good Morning America and HBO. A member of the Directors Guild of America, he was an executive produ ...

would claim in a documentary to be the first major battle of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in Asia, the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai ( zh, t=淞滬會戰, s=淞沪会战, first=t, p=Sōng hù huìzhàn) was a major battle fought between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China in the Chinese city of Shanghai during ...

. Lt. Col. Zheng Shaoyu was the fourth commanding officer of the famed " Zhihang Fighter Group" (the 4th PG), after Capt Wang Tianxiang, Col.

Gao Zhihang Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impor ...

himself, and Capt. Li Guidan to die in the war against Imperial Japan. Zheng Shaoyu was portrayed in the patriotic war drama ''

Heroes of the Eastern Skies ''Heroes of the Eastern Skies'' (), is a Chinese war drama filmed in Taiwan, R.O.C. and based on the true story of a small group of Chinese flying aces in 1937 at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, specifically depicting events in the ...

'' (1977).

References

Bibliography * Cheung, Raymond. ''OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES 126: Aces of the Republic of China Air Force''. Oxford: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2015. . * 徐 (Xú), 露梅 (Lùméi). ''隕落 (Fallen): 682位空军英烈的生死档案 - 抗战空军英烈档案大解密 (A Decryption of 682 Air Force Heroes of The War of Resistance-WWII and Their Martyrdom)''. 东城区, 北京，中国: 团结出版社, 2016. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Shaoyu Republic of China Air Force personnel Chinese aviators Military personnel of the Republic of China killed in the Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese World War II flying aces 1911 births 1942 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942 Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in India