Development of Manchoukuan Air Force

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Development of Manchoukuan Air Force

The history of the air war in China would be incomplete without telling about the aviation of the puppet “Manchukuo Empire”, set up on the territory in Manchuria occupied by the Japanese in 1931. On 30 August 1940 the Manzhou Guo government set up an “Aviation Section”. It was led by Chen Changzu, who opened the “Central Air Force School” on Chengwuqiao Aerodrome and also became its director. Sixty Chinese pilots trained at this school. During September October 1942 the “aviation section” received more than twenty training aircraft from the Japanese. The School was reformed as the “Main Training Section of the Air Force”.

In addition to the flight school, Manchurian aviation also received a transport section of three Japanese Nakajima Ki-34 "Thora" passenger aircraft. These machines served the imperial court and provided government transportation.For this purpose there existed a company of ground technical personnel of 36 men, including more than 20 mechanics and also a security battalion.

In October 1943 the “Aviation Section” was reorganized at first as a Department and then a Sector. From the pilots completing the course of instruction at the flight school, a fighter and a bomber squadron were formed. But this process moved very slowly, mainly due to a chronic shortage of fuel, on which the Japanese military aviation had the first claim.

Still, by the middle of 1944 a Manchurian aviation corps was formed with staff headquarters in Mukden. It is necessary to say that its large units existed only on paper. The level of training and morale of the pilots was extremely low. This air corps never took any part in combat activity. Even in August 1945 when the Red Army moved into Manchurian territory, the Manzhou Guo pilots for the most part simply scattered. All the aircraft were seized on their aerodromes by Soviet forces.