Yuan Shikai (online picture)
Yuan Shikai, who was born in a warlord and started his career as a small station to train troops, certainly agreed with this idea.
He immediately submitted the proposal to the General Staff Headquarters for processing.
So, mainly chief of staff Li Yuanhong , began to handle various matters such as purchasing aircraft, hiring teachers, and opening schools.
Li Yuanhong ordered 12 Gothlon-style aircraft from the French Eurasian Company; he also hired a group of French pilots, mechanics, fuselage staff and other personnel as coaches, and guided the construction of airports, warehouses, machine factories and school buildings.
Based on the inspection of the General Staff Headquarters, it was decided to set up an aviation school in Nanyuan, Beijing and build an airport here.
1913, the aviation school was basically completed, and Qin Guoyong was appointed as the principal of the aviation school, Wang E was the principal of the education school, and Wu Chengxi was the director of the machine factory. At the same time, he was equipped with translators, instructors and other teaching staff and teaching aids.
Aviation School recruited 60 students in the first batch, mainly selected from the graduates of the Army Normal School and active-duty officers of the Army and Navy. They all have high cultural level and good physical conditions.
Nanyuan Aviation School officially started teaching in the fall of 1913. The school system is 2 years. The first year of learning primary flight and the second year of learning advanced flight. You must undergo practical exercises at the end of your study. All flight movements are accurate and safe to land.
1915, the first graduate of the Aviation School graduated.
Nanyuan Aviation School (online picture)
Regrettably, due to the melee of domestic warlords and constant war, Yuan Shikai, who was very interested in establishing the Air Force, has also passed away. Beiyang government is unable to build the air force. So it worked hard to cultivate it There is nowhere to be assigned to students.
In view of this situation, the General Staff Department can only take temporary measures to place the students in accordance with the principle of voluntary voluntary responsibilities, or stay in school for waiting, or return to the original troops to serve, and hastily placed these students. After that, the aviation school struggled to maintain it and survived. After several reorganizations, it was revoked in disguise by Zhang Zuolin in 1928. It only lasted for 15 years, and only 4 batches of graduates were trained, including about 160 people.
Nanyuan Aviation School is the first school in my country to train air force pilots. Under the historical conditions at that time, being able to have the awareness of building an air force and the measures to cultivate air force talents was a visionary and major decision.
However, the split China and warlords' melee failed to implement this decision to the end, so that our air force construction lags behind the developed countries decades.
Today, history has undergone earth-shaking changes. my country's pace of building a military power is accelerating. The strong air force and advanced aircraft manufacturing level play a huge role in defending the territorial integrity of the motherland.
and Nanyuan Aviation School has become an important link worth remembering and recording in the history of the founding of the Chinese nation.
