IV — Made in China in the Late "Twenty-Year Armistice" and During WWII (Part 2): Aircraft

In 1908, the organizers of the Second Automobile Exposition, with nothing better to do, tacked on an aviation exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. This can be considered the precursor to the Paris Air Show and simultaneously opened the curtain on the history of international air expos.

In 1909, André Granet and Robert Esnault-Pelterie founded the first Paris Air Show at the Grand Palais. Thereafter, through 1924 — with a suspension from 1913 to 1919 due to the First World War — the Paris Air Show was held annually.

In 1924, foreign exhibitors appeared at the Paris Air Show for the first time. Aircraft from China, Britain, and Germany made their inaugural appearance. It was from this point onward that the Paris Air Show shifted to a biennial format (though it was suspended again during the Second World War).

In 1927...

China's first aircraft appeared as early as 1907, initially only as gliders. (In 1908, the People's Party established the predecessor of what would become the People's Liberation Army Air Force — the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army Glider Detachment.) Subsequently, as the People's Party's research into aerodynamics commenced and deepened, wooden biplane propeller aircraft began to appear, followed by monoplane propeller aircraft. In propulsion, the progression ran from piston engines to the world's first development and deployment of the turbine engine. In materials, from wood to metal. In communications, the first application of radio, among many other firsts. Although China was not the first nation to invent the airplane, it surged ahead from behind and has led the world ever since.

For the 1924 Paris Air Show, France — seeking to expand its influence and showcase its strength — for the first time invited foreign nations to exhibit. As a great power of the Far East, China was naturally included. But France's underlying intention in inviting China was to flex its muscles and simultaneously sell the Chinese its aircraft. The result, however, was nothing like what they expected.

China's aviation community was not particularly eager to participate in the show — the reasons are now lost to history. But Chairman Chen Ke issued an instruction: they must dare to venture beyond their borders, dare to venture beyond Asia. "Don't be afraid of losing face. Stepping onto the international stage is a victory in itself." And so, under the personal leadership of the Director of China's Aviation Industry Bureau, the delegation took proven designs from the venerable Ma'anshan Aircraft Factory as well as metal-construction aircraft from the newly established Shenyang Aircraft Factory, and flew to Paris for the exhibition.

China's aviation debut at the show sent shockwaves through the major Western nations. On one hand, the traditional Western perception of China — a large but weak nation — was shattered by the revelation that China had its own aircraft. On the other hand, the performance of these Chinese-made aircraft not only matched but in some respects slightly exceeded their Western counterparts.

Foreigners could never know the enormous sacrifices the Chinese had made to develop their own aircraft. Behind every change in performance specification, every new engine variant, every improvement in materials — behind all of it lay the immense sacrifice of aviators.

No sacrifice, no victory.

At the Paris Air Show, the Chinese delegation demonstrated their aircraft to exhibitors from every nation — not merely with figures on paper but with live flight demonstrations on the exhibition grounds. These performances made it unmistakably clear that the capabilities of Chinese aircraft far surpassed those of any other exhibitor's planes. The reason lay in the fact that from the very earliest days of the Chinese Air Force, the service had articulated specific requirements for its aircraft: what reconnaissance planes should be able to do, what requirements fighters should meet, what specifications bombers needed to achieve, and so on. These requirements were purchased with the blood of airmen — and meeting them cost the Ma'anshan Aircraft Factory no small amount of blood as well.

After the 1924 Paris Air Show concluded, the China Aviation Industry Bureau received a considerable number of orders. Aside from agricultural aircraft and a handful of gliders purchased by wealthy thrill-seekers, the majority were military orders from the armed forces of various nations. After receiving Chairman Chen Ke's approval, China Aviation took its first step toward becoming the world's largest military aircraft exporter.

(Note: Chairman Chen Ke established for China Aviation the policy of "producing one generation, improving one generation, developing one generation, pre-researching one generation, and exploring one generation" — a policy not limited to the aircraft industry alone. Therefore, the aircraft sold in 1924 posed no threat to the Chinese Air Force. Moreover, actual war was still a long way off, which is why these orders were approved. More importantly, the real objective was to seize the opportunity to establish China's reputation on the world stage.)