Orders, Decorations, Medals and Badges at the Chinese Aviation Museum

[LapisChicken]

Hello everyone! I have been sorting through the ODM photos I took at a few military museums in Beijing last Autumn, beginning with the Chinese Aviation Museum (中国航空博物馆), which is affiliated with the PLAAF, at Xiaotangshan in the Changping District, quite a lengthy bus ride from the city but so worth it if you also happen to want to see an overwhelming number of MiG-15s. This was also after their recent renovation so maybe you can expect some new medals if you've been there before?

 

I thought it would be nice to catalogue the ODM on display in Chinese museums seeing that there aren't really good photos online, I'm still figuring out how to use a camera and didn't manage to capture much of the context around the exhibits, but I did my best to capture everything on display in decent quality! Please let me know if you know a good place where I can post all the plane pictures I took also!

 

Standard disclaimer about you know... historical perspective and authenticity... I've done my best to translate the names of the ODM but please let me know if you have a better translation as I was not able to find many English sources online and I'm not incredibly proficient in Chinese! I will be putting the photos up over the next few weeks in this thread so do keep a lookout!

 

First up!

 

The Orders belonging to Air Force Major General Xue Shaoqing (薛少卿).

 

If you would like to learn more about him I believe there is a biography of him: 《让昨天告诉今天 —— 记薛少卿将军与陈岩女士》

Please do feel free to obtain the book for your viewing using your respective (legal, hint hint) methods! (I have the text but I read Chinese very slowly so it is going to be a while if I get around to it)

 

Medal Index Card:

[I will be transcribing the originally Traditional Chinese document in Simplified Chinese]

 

[1st Page, top to bottom]

姓名: 薛少卿 (Name: Xue Shaoqing)

出生时间: 1911.10 (Date of Birth: October 1911)

性别: 男 (Gender: Male)

民族: 汉 (Ethnicity: Han Chinese)

籍贯: 湖北监利 (Place of Birth: Jianli County, Hubei Province)

 

证书号码: 100280 (Certificate Number: 100280)

 

[The seal on the 1st Page]

中华人民共和国 (The People's Republic of China)

证书用章 (Seal for Certificates)

国防部 (Ministry of National Defense)

 

[2nd Page, top to bottom]

勋章名称 (Medal Name) / 命令发出时间 (Date of Directive)

勋章号码 (Medal Number) / 命令编号 (Directive Number)

 

一级解放勋章 (Order of Liberation 1st Class) / 1955.9.23

02147 / 第一号 (Directive No. 1)

 

二级八一勋章 (Order of Bayi 2nd Class) / 1957.7.27

02072

 

二级独立自由勋章 (Order of Independence and Freedom 2nd Class) / 1957.7.27

03909

 

附注 (Note:)

1. 本证书不得遗失 (1. Do not lose this certificate)

2. 本证书不得借与他人 (2. Do not give this certificate to other people)

 

The Orders:

(Left to right)

 

Order of Liberation 1st Class, Order of Bayi 2nd Class,Order of Independance and Freedom 2nd Class 

[LapisChicken]

The Cases for the Orders:

(Same order as above)

[LapisChicken]

Soviet Union, Aviation School Badges belonging to Air Force Lieutenant General Chang Qiankun (常乾坤) [Replica]

 

Chang Qiankun (1904-1973), born in Shanxi Province, was one of the first pilots in the Communist Party of China and a founding member of the PLAAF. He was sent to the Soviet Union in 1926 to study aviation with the Red Army, and in 1932 he enrolled in the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. He returned to China in 1938 due to the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, where he participated in setting up and running Aviation and Aeronautical Engineering Schools. After the founding of the PRC, he served in posts such as Deputy Commander of the PVAAF and PLAAF.

 

These badges are replicas of the ones he wore while studying in the Soviet Union.

[LapisChicken]

PLAAF Distinguished Aircraft Engineer Medal, 1985 (空军优秀机务工作者奖章)

 

Edited July 31 by LapisChicken

[LapisChicken]

North Korea, Order of the National Flag 1st Class belonging to Air Force Major General Duan Suquan (段苏权)

 

Duan Suquan (1916-1993), born in Hunan Province, joined the Communist Party of China in 1930. He served as the first Deputy Commander of the PVAAF and Commander of the 2nd Air Force, then as the North China Military Region Air Force Commander in the Korean War, where he was awarded the Order of the National Flag 1st Class.

[Megan]

Amazing, some wholly-new awards and others rarely-seen: Chinese awards, particulary those of the Communist state, are poorly docimented. Keepup the good work, thank you!

 

Or perhaps I should say, 謝謝

[LapisChicken]

谢谢您! It really bothers me that I cannot seem to find any order of precedence beyond the main few awards, and it seems like there are a lot of organisations that are authorised to create awards, so it is difficult to figure out how prestigious a particular award is and in what situations it can be worn...

 

Next up!

 

The Orders and Insignia belonging to Korean War Fighter Ace Air Force General Wang Hai (王海)

 

Wang Hai (1926-2020), born in Shandong Province, graduated from the Fighter Pilot Training Program in May 1950. Posted to the 3rd Fighter Aviation Division, he became the 7th highest scoring Chinese fighter pilot of the Korean War, with an official tally of 4 kills and 5 damaged. He went on to serve as the Guangzhou Military Region Air Force Commander and then overall Commander of the PLAAF.

 

Cap Badge used by Wang Hai when Deputy Commander of the 3rd Fighter Aviation Division

 

 

Air Force General Rank Epaulettes Awarded upon Promotion in 1988

 

 

North Korea, Order of the National Flag 1st Class with Collar

 

The Collar and what appears to be a Collar Badge? are new to me and I have yet to seen one in wear or anywhere online for that matter.

 

 

North Korea, Order of the National Flag 1st Class

 

This was labelled as a 2nd Class set of insignia but the colour and ribbon both correspond to the 1st Class award.

Edited August 1 by LapisChicken

[LapisChicken]

The Medals and Awards belonging to Aircraft Engineer Tao Zhuping (陶铸平)

 

Tao Zhuping served in the 6th Regiment, 2nd Fighter Aviation Division during the Korean War.

 

Congratulatory Bulletin for Meritorious Service, 1953 (功力喜报)

 

I think these are really interesting because unlike usual Letters of Commendation or Mentions in Despatches, traditionally for such Chinese awards soldiers would go to the recipient's village with banners, and it is a grand event kind of like a procession, where the bulletin would be presented to the recipient's family, hence the bulletin being addressed to Tao Zhuping's relative, Tao Zhuqing. You can definitely find pictures of the procession by searching 功力喜报 on Google!

 

[The letter is written right to left, top to bottom the way traditional Chinese documents are written, the bolded sections indicate the handwritten portions and the bracketed portions are those which are too damaged to read, the templated parts have been matched with other copies found online but the number and class of commendation is not able to be determined]

 

革命军人立功喜报
(PLA Soldier's Congratulatory Bulletin for Meritorious Service)

 

陶铸青先生:
(Mr. Tao Zhuqing: )
 

贵府陶铸平同志在工作
(In his work, your family's Comrade Tao Zhuping)
 

中，创立功绩，业经批准记 (?) 等
(has achieved exemplary results, and has hence been approved to be awarded the (?) class commendation)
 

功 (?) (次)；除按功给奖外，特此
((?) times; in addition to the rewards given to him, this letter has been sent to)
 

(报喜) 恭贺 (陶) 铸平同志为人民
(bring the joyous news congratulating Comrade Tao Zhuping's)
 

(立) 功，全家光荣
(meritorious service to the people, bringing glory to his family)

 

中国人民解放军华东军区空军 司令/政治 部
(PLA East China Military Region Air Force Headquarters/Political Commissar's Department)

 

一九五三年七月二十三日
(23 July 1953)

 

 

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Commemorative Medal for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, 1951 (中国人民政治协商会议全国委员会抗美援朝纪念章)

 

This medal seems to be an official medal issued by one of the state's political organs.

 

Edited August 1 by LapisChicken

[LapisChicken]

 

Chinese People's Representative's Welfare Visit to the PLA Commemorative Medal for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, 1954 (全国人民慰问解放军代表团抗美援朝纪念章)

 

This medal seems to be a medal prepared by a group of volunteers during a visit to the front lines, akin to an unofficial medal. I could not find an elegant way to translate the visit, but effectively, traditionally in the Chinese Military, the same way soldiers from other countries receive care and relief packages, groups of volunteers, from different levels such as provincial all the way to national like this one, would organise visits to the front line, where they would distribute food, put up performances to raise the morale of the soldiers, and sometimes distribute awards and medals like this one. This medal was distributed during a visit by nation-wide representatives for PLA soldiers on 17 February 1954.

 

[Megan]

With reference to your North Korean Order of the National Flag... Mario Volpe, who creates beautiful paintings of world orders, shows a collar the same as the one you've presented:

 

The oval gold piece is not a collar badge, it's used as a connecting link to attach the star to the collar.

 

This is the way that the Order of Freedom and Independence collar works as well.

[Megan]

Doing a bit more delving, the collar of the Order of the National Flag is normally only awarded to foreigners - so your Chinese recipient would qualify - although Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Il Suk awarded the collar to themselves, the only North Koreans believed to hold it.

 

Oh, and the oval gold connecting piece is a "national emblem", it seems.

Awards of class 2 and class 3 to foreigners can be presented on a neck ribbon,again using the national emblem as a suspension link. Here is a Class 3 mounted thus:-

 

[LapisChicken]

Ooh thank you for the information! I love Mario Volpe's illustrations but it is an unfortunate time not to be able to understand Italian...

 

That is a really interesting method of suspension this is the first I've seen of a breast star being attached to a collar! The 3rd class on a neck ribbon is sure an odd sight, would you happen to know if the collar is considered a different "class" of the order or if it is a variation in presentation of the same award?

 

The emblem does appear to be a national emblem, it appears on the cover of the award documents, I have some pictures of those coming up! Also interesting that the Order of the National Flag and Order of Freedom and Independance share the same collar design it seems?

 

Thanks again for the help with the research!

[LapisChicken]

Speaking of the Order of Freedom and Independance...

 

The Orders and Decorations belonging to Korean War Fighter Pilot Air Force Lieutenant General Jiang Zhen (江震)

 

Jiang Zhen, born in Zhejiang Province, enlisted in the PLA in 1947, completing Aviation School in 1951. Flying in the 15th Fighter Aviation Division, he tied for the 12th highest scoring Chinese fighter pilot of the Korean War, with an official tally of 4 kills. He subsequently rose to become the Shenyang Military Region Air Force Deputy Commander.

 

North Korea, Order of the National Flag 3rd Class with Award Document, and Order of Independence and Freedom 2nd Class, 1953

 

According to the display, these were awarded on 13 March and 25 October 1953 respectively, it is unclear if he was awarded the Order of the National Flag 3rd Class twice or if he received two sets of insignia (troubles with award systems without multiple award bars amirite...) 

 

 

Liberation Medal (解放勋章) with Award Document, 1955

 

Edited August 2 by LapisChicken

[LapisChicken]

 

Commemorative Medal for the 1st PLAAF Heroic, Exemplary and Meritorious Member's Congress (空军首届英雄模范功臣代表大会纪念章) with Award Document, 1955

 

This also seems to be more of a Chinese cultural thing but they tend to host seminars where they invite representatives (hence "Congress") among a group of people, usually distinguished workers or soldiers, and invite them to share ideas and have discussions and such.

 

[Megan]

These are fascinating... I have a lot to learn about Chinese medals!

 

As for North Korea, they don't, as you note, issue 'bars' for repeat awards, just give you another set. Hence those pictures of senior officers with large numbers of stars on their tunics.

 

The neck ribbons are for awards to foreigners.

As for the collars, I'm stil trying to find out more about them. Here is the Collar of the Order of Freedom and Independence.

 

 

 

 

 

[Megan]

And this is the best I can find for the Order of the Flag (from a book review in Korean, nicely illustrated with a few pages of the book... which I really need to track down!).

 

 

Does look like the actual collar is the same for both orders...

Edited August 3 by Megan

[LapisChicken]

Those are beautiful photos, I was just curious about seeing if there were pictures of the collar in wear! And of course alas the omipresent problem that the good books on ODM are never in print!

 

I should also clarify because I was worried this is a bit confusing, the way I am grouping these are not by whether the replies are merged (I can't find any way to control the merging...), the big bolded size 16 headers indicate a new group of ODM/ODM belonging to a new person, the smaller bolded default sized headers indicate the next ODM belonging to the same person, for instance the Liberation Medal and Commemorative Medal for the Congress above both belong to Jiang Zhen.

 

Moving on!

 

North Korea, Order of Independence and Freedom 2nd Class, and Medal for Military Merit with Award Document belonging to Yang Haiying (杨海赢)

 

I was not able to find any additional information about Yang Haiying, the Medal for Military Merit (no. 443430) was awarded on 7 November 1953.

 

[LapisChicken]

 

North Korea, Order of the National Flag 2nd Class with Award Document belonging to Korean War Fighter Ace Air Force Lieutenant General Liu Yudi (刘玉堤)

 

Liu Yudi (1923-2015), born in Hebei Province, joined the Eighth Route Army in 1938, participating in the Hundred Regiments Offensive in 1940. After completed Aviation School in 1948, he joined the 3rd Fighter Aviation Division, where he became the 2nd highest scoring Chinese fighter pilot of the Korean War, with an official tally of 6 kills and 2 damaged. He subsequently rose to become the Beijing Military Region Air Force Commander.

 

[LapisChicken]

Hello all! I would like to issue some corrections to the translations in the above awards! I have relooked at the existing translations on the Wikipedia page for Chinese ODM and come across a hierarchy for Chinese awards, hence I will try to map the ODM according to the English and World hierarchies of how awards are named. I do disagree with some of the translations in the English Wikipedia page, due to either the translation not fully conveying the meaning or cultural context behind the award, or grammatical errors and inelegancies in the wording of the award, and I will note these modifications in future awards when I come across them!

 

Here are my proposed standardised translations for the grades of awards, hierarchy and commonly found adjectives:

 

Established hierarchy of awards:

勋章: Order (eg. 八一勋章: Order of Bayi)

荣誉称号: Honourary Titles (comparable to Soviet systems such as Hero of the Soviet Union)

立功/功勋: Meritorious Service (eg. 立功奖章: Meritorious Service Medal)

嘉奖: Commendation (eg. 平时嘉奖: Non-Combat Commendation)

表彰: Achievement (eg. 表彰奖章: Achievement Medal)

荣誉奖章: Decoration (eg. 飞行员荣誉奖章: Aircrew's Decoration)

 

Commonly used adjectives:

先进: Frontier

优秀: Outstanding

先锋: Pioneer

楷模: Paragon

模范: Model

标兵: Exemplar

 

With these standardisations, of the above awards, 空军优秀机务工作者奖章, the PLAAF Distinguished Aircraft Engineer Medal, 1985 should be the PLAAF Outstanding Aircraft Engineer Medal, 1985 instead.

 

The 空军首届英雄模范功臣代表大会纪念章, the Commemorative Medal for the 1st PLAAF Heroic, Exemplary and Meritorious Member's Congress should be the Commemorative Medal for the 1st PLAAF Heroic Exemplars' Congress instead, as 英雄模范 is a specialised term referring to a decoration that is issued.

 

Please let me know if there are any inconsistencies, any better translations or other sources you have found about the topic! Thank you!

 

For the rest of the awards, please hold tight as I am still sorting out the pictures (the Military Museum of the Chinese People's revolution has SO MANY decorations it is crazy I will start a new thread for them when I am done with this one!) thank you for the patience  

[Megan]

Thank you for all your efforts. I still have to get to grips with Chinese awards. Your work will be invaluable.

[LapisChicken]

Thank you very much for the encouragement! This endeavour would be a lot less enjoyable if I was screaming into the void! I am also figuring things out as I go... the sources are quite the mess! I really admire your site also, cataloguing all of the world's ODM is a gargantuan task and you already have a collection of gorgeous images!

 

Right now my gripe is regarding 立功 (which oddly is a verb), the commonly accepted translation is Meritorious Service, which is the point where I projected the lower classes of awards (Commendation and Achievement) based on commonly used terms in other systems of ODM, but the connotation of Meritorious Service typically implies continued good service over a period of time (like the MSM of the UK), while 立功 typically refers to specific actions, whether combat or non-combat, for example you could 立功 x grade x times for shooting down x number of enemy planes in x sorties, or for exemplary conduct in a military exercise that helped to achieve the mission objective, or in non-combat situations, typically actions that helped reach a specific goal or objective, like work in developing a specific model of missile or for the successful completion of a specific programme to improve civil-military relations, and is very rarely given for general service over a period of time. It is maybe more akin to the MC or DCM of the UK or the Distinguished Service Medal of the US, but I am not very sure of the exact ranking in prestige and scarcity.

 

The Chinese Wikipedia page gives a much better list of awards that I have been able to correlate to those I have seen on display, but alas without the accompanying translation: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国军人勋表

 

I am kind of just guessing also based on the cultural context and all that, please feel free to let me know if there are any inconsistencies!

[LapisChicken]

On to more decorations!

 

The Orders and Decorations belonging to Korean War Fighter Pilot Xu Huaitang (徐怀堂)

 

Xu Huaitang (1924-), born in Jiangsu Province, served in the 4th Regiment, 2nd Fighter Aviation Division in the Korean War. He subsequently rose to become the Shenyang Military Region Air Force Chief of Staff.

 

Citation Displayed in the Museum

 

首创活塞式歼击机击落喷气式战斗机的记录

(First Shootdown of Jet Fighters by Piston-Engined Fighters)

 

1951年11月30日, 空2师4团在掩护空8师执行轰炸大, 小和岛任务的途中遭遇30多架F-86偷袭, 副大队长王天保击落敌机1架, 击伤3架, 大队长徐怀堂击落敌机1架, 副中队长王勇, 刘卓生各击伤敌机1架. 他们创造了活塞式歼击机击落喷气式战斗机的奇迹,王天保被授予二级战斗英雄荣誉称号. 图为王天保.

(On 30 November 1951, tasked to escort bombers of the 8th Bomber Aviation Division on a bombing mission to the Taehwa-Do and Sohwa-Do Islands., the 4th Regiment, 2nd Fighter Aviation Division was ambushed by over 30 F-86 fighters. Deputy Squadron Leader Wang Tianbao shot down 1 enemy aircraft and damaged 3, Squadron Leader Xu Huaitang shot down 1 enemy aircraft, Deputy Flight Leaders Wang Yong and Liu Zhuosheng each damaged 1 enemy aircraft. They set the miracle of the first shootdown of jet fighters by piston-engined fighters, Wang Tianbao was awarded the Honorary Title "Combat Hero 2nd Class". Wang Tianbao pictured.)

 

Additional context is that at the time, the 4th Regiment, 2nd Fighter Aviation Division flew the piston-engined Lavochkin La-11 Fighter, and the 8th Bomber Aviation Division flew the piston-engined Tupolev Tu-2 Bomber.

 

 

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Commemorative Medal for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (中国人民政治协商会议全国委员会抗美援朝纪念章) and North Korea, Order of the National Flag 3rd Class

 

[Megan]

Perhaps 立功  could better be translated as "Meritorious Acts" rather than "Meritorious Service"?

 

Thank you for the link to the Chinese Wikipedia page. Worthy of study, but unfortunately it's not been translated into any other languages, let alone one I am more proficient in! However it deals with very recently-instituted awards, so may not be as helpful with the older ones that you are exploring.

 

And particular thanks for your kind words about my website. It continues to grow as time permits...

[LapisChicken]

"Meritorious Act" would definitely be more reflective of the nature of the award! "Meritorious Acts Medal" doesn't quite roll off the tongue like "Meritorious Service Medal" though hm... Other honour systems tend to use words like "Distinguished" or "Conspicuous" to describe their higher level of awards, and with 立功 being third in the hierarchy of awards (to my understanding), something like "Distinguished Conduct Medal", "Distinguished Acts Medal" or "Conspicuous Conduct Medal" might invoke a closer image to what the award reflects in those versed with other honour systems, but of course that would not match existing translations...

 

I have also never done translation before and have no idea how it was done for the systems in other languages, I am really just spitballing here haha

 

For the Wikipedia page, the last 1/3 or so describes the discontinued awards, but those are mostly documented on the English version anyway. I will be covering the recently-instituted awards when (or if, oops) I make the thread on the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution because they had an exhibition on the more recent awards!

 

For the next few images I will be describing some of the biographies of notable Korean War aviators that were on display in the museum, this is not really related to ODM but please bear with me! The language at times is quite flowery due to how Chinese tends to be written, and I have done my best to stay true to how the original citation describes it.

 

Biographies of Chinese Korean War Aviators

 

Liu Yongxin (刘涌新)

 

首开击落F-86记录

(First shootdown of an F-86)

 

1951年9月25日，空4师12团1大队飞行员刘涌新与敌6架F-86型飞机格斗，将其中1架击落，创志愿军空军首次击落F-86型飞机的记录。后在与5架敌机的缠斗中刘涌新因寡不敌众被美机击中英勇牺牲。图为刘涌新烈士。

(On 25 September 1951, in an engagement with 6 F-86 Fighters, Liu Yongxin from 1st Squadron, 12th Regiment, 4th Fighter Aviation Division shot down 1 F-86, achieving the PVAAF's first aerial victory over the F-86 Fighter. In the subsequent dogfight with the remaining 5 enemy aircraft, Liu Yongxin, hopelessly outnumbered, was shot down and died a martyr. Martyr Liu Yongxin pictured.)

 

Tao Wei (陶伟)

 

首创 “空中拼刺刀” 范例

(First "Aerial Bayonet Duel" Exemplar)

 

1953年5月17日，空4师10团飞行员陶伟在距敌120米处将敌机打得凌空爆炸，创造了最近距离击落敌机的记录。空4师领导判读胶卷后惊叹：”这哪里是空中打炮，这是空中拼刺刀！“图为陶伟。

(On 17 May 1953, Tao Wei from 10th Regiment, 4th Fighter Aviation Division hit an enemy aircraft at a distance of only 120m, causing it to explode mid-air, setting the record for the closest distance for downing an enemy aircraft. When the commander of the 4th Fighter Aviation Division examined the gun camera film, he exclaimed, "This is not even aerial gunnery, this is an aerial bayonet duel!" Tao Wei pictured.

 

[LapisChicken]

Having read and discussed more about the issue, I propose the following revision to the set of commonly used adjectives:

 

Commonly used adjectives:

先进: Frontier

优秀: Outstanding

先锋: Pioneer

楷模: Paragon

模范: Exemplar

标兵: Model (Soldier)

功臣: Renderer of Meritorious Service/Meritorious (Soldier), It's complicated, see below

[There are two uses of the term 功臣, At times it is used as a title or a simple praise distinct to the award 立功, or it may be used to refer to someone who has 立功. The 功 in both terms refer to similar concepts, hence both can be translated as "Meritorious", but 立功 is a verb (立 may be translated to "Serve" or "Act") and 功臣 is a noun (臣 traditionally referring to the subjects of a ruler, has been adopted by the modern Chinese government to something akin to "citizen")]

 

Hua Longyi (华龙毅)

 

首位志愿军空军特等功臣

(First PVAAF Renderer of Meritorious Service Special Class)

 

1951年10月16日，空12团2大队大队长华龙毅单机与14架敌机格斗，击落击伤敌机各1架，跳伞后对围来的敌机拔手枪射击，创造孤胆作战的范例，是志愿军空军首位特等功荣立者。图为华龙毅。

(On 16 October 1951, Squadron Leader Hua Longyi from 2nd Squadron, 12th Regiment faced 14 enemy aircraft alone. Parachuting from his aircraft after shooting down 1 and damaging 1 enemy aircraft, he pulled out his pistol and continued shooting at the circling enemy aircraft, setting an example for gallantly fighting isolated from allied support and becoming the PVAAF's first renderer of Meritorious Service Special Class. Hua Longyi pictured.)

 

Li Yongtai (李永泰)

 

摧不垮的 ”空中坦克”

(Indestructible "Aerial Tank")

 

1951年9月25日大机群空战中，空4师12团1大队大队长李永泰在战机先后多次被美机击中后仍坚持战斗，后驾驶战机返回基地，地勤人员检查飞机发现机身等56处负伤。苏联空军人员惊叹：“这哪里是飞机，简直是坦克。“从此李永泰有了一个摧不垮的 “空中坦克” 美称。图为李永泰。

(On 25 September 1951, during a large-scale dogfight, Squadron Leader Li Yongtai from 1st Squadron, 12th Regiment, 4th Fighter Aviation Division was hit numerous times by American aircraft, yet pressed on. Upon flying back to base, ground crew inspected the aircraft and found 56 sites where the aircraft sustained damage. Soldiers from the Soviet Union exclaimed, "This is not even a plane, this is basically a tank." Since then, Li Yongtai carried the title of an Indestructible "Aerial Tank". Li Yongtai pictured.)