6th Fighter Division

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The 6th Fighter Division is an air division of the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It is part of the air force component of the Western Theater Command, and formerly part of the Lanzhou Military Region Air Force.

It was formed in November 1950 at Anshan. It originally consisted of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Regiments.[1]

In Korea it fought under the leadership of commander Bei Sha and Commissar Zhang Zhiyong, deploying the 16th and 18th Regiments flying MiG-9s and MiG-15s[2] It entered combat in November 1951 and returned to China in March 1952.[3]

The division consists of 1 fighter regiment with J-11, and two fighter regiments with Chengdu J-7s (inc 1 with E).

References[edit]

  1. ^ Appendix G, "Origins of PLAAF MRAFs, Air Corps, Command Posts, Bases, Air Divisions, and Independent Regiments," Ken Allen, Chapter 9, "PLA Air Force Organization" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, The PLA as Organization, ed. James C. Mulvenon and Andrew N.D. Yang (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2002)
  2. ^ Zhang, Xiao Ming (2004), Red Wings Over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea, College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, ISBN 1-58544-201-1
  3. ^ Zhang 2004, p. 225.