In the 1980s, the border conflicts between China and Vietnam continued, and there were five battles of , Kolinshan, Wakashan, Laoshan, , Zheyinshan, Baliheshan, etc. . China and Vietnam, two former friendly neighbors, are fighting each other.
is in such a complicated relationship between China and Vietnam. In the early morning of September 30, 1981, a plane took advantage of the night to fly over the border of our country.
This abnormal behavior suddenly tightened the nerves of our border guards. They quickly called Beijing, and relevant personnel in Beijing contacted Huang Wenhuan, who had previously traveled from Vietnam to China.
At the same time, the sound of an airplane propeller spinning was heard in a field in Daxing County, Guangxi. A helicopter staggered and fell into the open space beside Tianlong as if drunk.
After a while, ten people got off the plane. Everyone has a complex expression of shock and surprise on everyone's face. Qiao Qinglu, the leader of this operation, let out a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone was safe.
Before long, the Chinese border garrison rushed in from the outskirts of the field, and soon surrounded them in groups. The empty fields just now were full of people for a while.
Seeing the alert eyes of the border guards, Qiao Qinglu and others slowly raised their hands. Both sides were still there for a while.
An adjutant squeezed out of the crowd and ran to the officer to whisper a few words.
At this time, the officer removed the vigilance on his face and walked quickly to the front of Qiao Qinglu and others.
After confirming that their group had been disarmed, he made a please gesture, and then took the ten people out of here.
Qiao Qinglu let go of his hanging heart at this time, he knew that he had succeeded, and a new world was beckoning him.
At the same time, Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is in chaos.The sound of sirens mixed with the sound of airplanes, resounding through the city. Portraits of "fugitives" Qiao Qinglu and others are posted on the streets and alleys.
What forced them to leave their homes and come to China?
Qiao Qinglu was born in a revolutionary family in Vietnam. His father was an old member of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He had visited and studied in China. Father Qiao was deeply shocked and impressed by the arduous struggle environment of the Chinese Communist Party and the disciplined image of party members.
After returning to China, he told his son Qiao Qinglu what he had seen and heard in China. At the same time, he also taught his son that the revolutionary cause of the year was only for the reunification of the motherland and the happiness of the people. After the reunification of the country, the war should cease. This planted the seeds for the well-being of the people in the heart of young Qiao Qinglu.
At that time, the situation in Vietnam was turbulent. This gave young Qiao Qinglu the idea of joining the army to serve the country. Under the unremitting efforts of himself and his father, Qiao Qinglu, 15 years old, entered the Vietnamese People’s Army in 1969.
Vietnam was completely liberated in 1975. Qiao Qinglu hated the imperialist aggression and at the same time became tired of the endless wars.
But what he didn't expect was that Le Duan achieved absolute leadership at the Fourth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1976. What is completely different from the policy during the Ho Chi Minh period is that the Le Duan government chose to be attached to the Soviet Union, the eldest brother of the socialist camp at that time.
Due to the very tense relations between my country and the Soviet Union at that time, the Le Duan group provoked many times at the border of our country, and even sent troops to illegally occupy our country's Paracel Islands, Nansha Islands and other lands, and opened fire on border residents on the Sino-Vietnamese border.
Le Duan
Not only that, Le Duan also imitated Brezhnevism and tightened control over Laos, intending to turn it into a " satellite country ".
The same is true for Cambodia. On December 25, 1978, with the support of the Soviet Union, Vietnam made a desperate move and blatantly dispatched nearly 200,000 troops to invade Cambodia.It took the entire Cambodian military occupation and supported the puppet regime.
With the escalation of Vietnam's provocative behavior on the Chinese border, my country finally became intolerable and carried out an armed counterattack against Vietnam, and the Sino-Vietnamese war broke out. Since then, Sino-Vietnamese relations have fallen into a trough.
Self-defense counterattack against Vietnam
One thing happened that made Qiao Qinglu slowly discover that his motherland was not so beautiful.
Before Le Duan came to power, Qiao Qinglu's father held important positions in the Vietnamese government, but after Le Duan came to power, all the former pro-China government officials were expelled from the center of power, including Le Duan's father.
Seeing his unhappy father at home, Qiao Qinglu feels heartbroken.
Maybe Qiao Qinglu was still comforting herself at that time: this is only temporary, everything will get better. But when the bloody reality was truly unfolding in front of him, and he really stepped on his bottom line, he realized that what he had insisted on before was just a total joke.
Once, Qiao Qinglu patrolled the borders of Laos, Cambodia and other countries in a plane. He witnessed his compatriots commit atrocities against local people, which was extremely cruel. Seeing the ruins everywhere, he was stunned.
Once upon a time, the US military also burned, killed and looted the Vietnamese people like this, but suddenly the invaders became their own compatriots. The disappointed Qiao Qinglu thought of the case of pilots fleeing Vietnam before, so he also had this idea.
However, the Vietnamese government stipulates that after the pilot completes the mission, the magnetic compass and the start-up battery must be removed for centralized storage. Therefore, except during the mission, Qiao Qinglu couldn't get close to the aircraft at all, even if it was close, he couldn't start it.
After some careful consideration, Qiao Qinglu knew that to complete the plan, he would absolutely not be able to rely on his own strength. He had to find people who had the same goals as him.
But it is not easy to find a true companion. First of all, you have to understand the structure of the aircraft. After obtaining the battery and the magnetic compass , you can install it on the aircraft.Secondly, you must have a certain amount of courage, so as not to retreat and mess up your own position. Finally, and most importantly, those people must be reliable enough not to expose themselves.
At this time, Qiao Qinglu didn't dare to make a mistake. If there was a mistake, what awaited him would be an abyss.
Based on the above considerations, Qiao Qinglu first thought of his friend, the Warrant Officer of the Air Force, and the ground handling mechanic Huang Chuntuan.
After some careful testing, Qiao Qinglu learned that he was also dissatisfied with the various evil actions of the authorities. When Qiao Qinglu said that he was going to flee, both of them showed a smile on their faces. It turns out that before this, he had a similar escape plan to Qiao Qinglu.
At this time, they saw the second hurdle in front of them, that is, how to obtain the magnetic compass and battery necessary for the plane to take off. In Vietnam, where the industry is not yet complete, it is difficult to buy these things through formal channels.
But soon they have a direction. Shortly after the end of the Vietnam War , the U.S. military retreated and left a large amount of armaments and supplies. Many people disassembled the equipment they left behind, and then put the parts on the black market for sale.
At that time, the Vietnam War had just ended and domestic prices were soaring. The salary they had saved was nothing but a drop in the price for expensive parts. The money issue has become a huge gap in front of them.
Streets of Vietnam
Although the two of them were worried about this, they still did not give up looking for a possible way out. By chance, they learned that Yang Wenli, a well-off construction engineer, also planned to flee, and could provide them with all the funds needed for the task, which made them lose their financial worries.
Yang Wenli, who is close to the year of his fate, only worked as an engineer in South Vietnam and then had to work as a technical consultant for the US Navy. After the collapse of the South Vietnamese government, he was arrested by the new government for labor reform. After his release, he felt very chilling. Yang Wenli felt that there was no opportunity for development in this country, so he planned to flee overseas.
Yang Wenli had an escape experience in 1977,At that time, he planned to hijack a plane and go to Thailand with his comrades who were also South Vietnamese soldiers. But before the plan was put into reality, it was revealed that Yang Wenli was sentenced to four years in prison for .
The three hit it off and started planning nervously.
Group photo of Qiao Qinglu, Huang Chuntuan, and Li Yushan
Yang Wenli, who had first escaped experience, put forward his own views. He thinks it is possible to seize the plane from the Johor Bahru Airport and fly to Thailand via Cambodia.
But this view was quickly rejected by Qiao Qinglu, who had a certain understanding of Vietnam's border defense. At that time, Vietnam and Cambodia were at war. The main force of the Vietnamese army was stationed in Cambodia, and the air defense firepower was very dense.
Yang Wenli said after thinking for a long time that he could fly to Hong Kong after robbing the plane at Johor Bahru Airport. Qiao Qinglu thought for a while and still rejected him. Vietnam is too far away from Hong Kong, and must keep flying at full speed during the pursuit, and the jet fuel may not be enough.
As a result, the selection of the destination was temporarily shelved under the premise that the three people discussed for a long time and still failed to determine the target. They decided to get the magnetic compass and battery first.
After a period of investigation, they selected the target as a shop in , Saigon, , where there are the batteries they need. At that time, the phenomenon of smuggling in Vietnam was serious, and if they eagerly and rashly stated their intentions, they would only be regarded as smugglers.
So they pretended to be local fishermen and chatted patiently with the shop assistants. After some conversation, they pointed out the purpose of this trip-to buy an old battery.
This transaction was finally completed at a price of 7000 VND. For a pair of batteries, the price is really not low. When buying a battery at this price, the clerk actually understands what their real intentions are, but both parties are tacitly tacitly aware.
Later, the three of them used the same method to get the magnetic compass.
Now all they need to do is to wait patiently and find the right time to wait for the opportunity.
Finally, Huang Tian pays off. On September 17, 1981, Qiao Qinglu was selected as the pilot of the only UH-1H helicopter of the Vietnam General Political Department and asked him to fly the plane to lead the high-level Vietnamese army. China-Vietnam border inspections for defense. During this period, the aircraft will always be parked at Baimei Airport, which is closer to China.
At this time they finalized the final destination-China. In the eyes and ears of his father since he was a child, that mysterious land was full of attraction for him.
Of course, the practical factor is the decisive reason for his choice of China as the place of escape: Baimei Airport is close to China and Huang Wenhua, who was former vice chairman of Vietnam, also fled to China. He can contact him and get his help.
Huang Wenhuan, born in Nghe An Province, Vietnam in 1905, is an older generation of revolutionaries in Vietnam. He joined the revolution with Hu Zhiming and, like Hu, is a good friend and comrade of China.
But after the death of Ho Chi Minh, the domestic situation in Vietnam took a turn for the worse. The pro-China Huang Wenhuan became a thorn in the eyes of Le Duan. Le Duan first expelled him from the political center, and then frequently threatened Huang Wenhuan politically. He was extremely unoptimistic in his own situation. Under the premise, Huang Wenhuan had the idea of fleeing China.
was finally forced to leave Vietnam in July 1979, arrived in Beijing via Karachi, Pakistan, and emigrated to China.
Huang Wenhuan (left)
After determining the mission location, Qiao Qinglu launched a series of deployments to Baimei Airport. At this time, he eagerly hoped that someone could meet him inside and outside at the airport. After he told Huang Chuntuan of this wish, Huang Chuntuan almost immediately said the name of a person-Li Yushan.
Li Yushan, enlisted in the army in April 1975, the former air force mechanic, he was 24 years old. He worked at Baimei Airport for a long time, and was disappointed with the life of the army and the prison-like government.
After having an idea, the Huang Chuntuan set off for Hanoi almost without hesitation, and found Li Yushan. Under Huang Chuntuan's persuasion, Li Yushan eagerly looked forward to fleeing Vietnam.
So far, the team of the fleeing personnel has been determined.There are ten people, including their relatives.
Qiao Qinglu came to China with 9 people
On the 25th, Huang Chuntuan and Li Yushan infiltrated Baimei Airport many times and conducted detailed exploration of the topography of Baimei Airport. At the same time, Yang Wenli and others also put on fake military uniforms bought on the black market and pretended to be air force officers, and took the train to Hanoi.
On the morning of September 28th, Qiao Qinglu drove the plane and parked at Baimei Airport, and then he met with the other nine people to make a clear plan and division of labor.
He first divided the ten people into three groups. He and Huang Chuntuan were the first group and were responsible for sneaking into the airport and flying the plane. The other two were the second group and were responsible for waiting at the aircraft repair shop with a magnetic compass and a battery. There was a gap through the barbed wire directly to the apron, and the remaining six people, headed by Yang Wenli, waited for Qiao Qinglu to pick up the plane at the designated place.
On the morning of the 29th, Qiao Qinglu personally observed the topography of Baimei Airport. He needed to choose a suitable landing place so that the six people including Yang Wenli could be picked up smoothly.
In the end, he chose the football field under the Longbian Bridge as a temporary apron, which was not far from the take-off place of the plane and had light signs that could be found by Qiao Qinglu.
That evening, Qiao Qinglu came to Baimei Airport again and approached the plane on the grounds of preparing for the next flight. During the mediation process with the sentry, he took the opportunity to unplug the door and window of the helicopter and saw the fuel gauge on the dashboard. The fuel in the plane is enough for them to fly to China. After obtaining this important information, Qiao Qinglu let out a sigh of relief.
In the emergency pursuit, there are many domestic and foreign cases of plane crashes on the way due to insufficient fuel. The Yan Wenchang incident is a very vivid example.
On April 15, 1979, Chinese pilot Yan Wenchang defected at Suixi Airport in Zhanjiang, Guangdong and flew to Vietnam. In order to reduce the weight, he discarded the two auxiliary fuel tanks of the plane and flew west at full speed, because he was afraid of being overtaken, and he took some remote routes on the road.
The environment during the flight was not friendly, and the fog was full. Seeing the fuel tank bottomed out, he couldn't even make an emergency landing. finally,The same plane crashed in Haihou County, 80 kilometers south of Haiphong, Vietnam.
Lessons from the previous car, the teacher of the next car. During the most critical period of time, Qiao Qinglu did not dare to make a mistake.
2:10 on the 30th day and night, the plan officially started.
Yang Wenli and others took the starter battery and the magnetic compass, rode their bicycles from the city, and went straight to Baimei Airport along the small road. At the meeting point on the way, they met with Qiao Qinglu, Huang Chuntuan, Li Yushan and other three others.
According to the plan, they were divided into three groups.
At 4 o'clock in the morning, Qiao Qinglu and Huang Chuntuan successfully passed the two guards with their pass. On the road, Huang Chuntuan picked up an iron rod on the road and hid it in his boots.
At this time, the night is still very dark, and there is only the sound of the sentry's boots knocking to the ground in Baimei Airport. Qiao Qinglu and Huang Chuntuan slowly touched the front of the UH-1H helicopter. But the most unexpected thing happened.
They met the sentry who came to patrol, the same person Qiao Qinglu met when he checked the fuel gauge at dusk. The sentry was extremely alert to Qiao Qinglu, who had previously had a relationship, and the two sides froze for a while.
However, he did not find Huang Chun Tuan hiding by the side. Qiao Qinglu made a gesture towards Huang Chuntuan. Huang Chuntuan took out the iron rod that had been hidden in his boots, and knocked him out before the sentry could react.
At the same time, Li Yushan, who had already cut the barbed wire, and the other man immediately rushed to the helicopter. After a while, the battery and the magnetic compass were installed. Qiao Qinglu randomly removed the iron ropes that fixed the plane, only to hear a roar, and the plane took off at 5:7 in the morning.
At around 5:10, the helicopter arrived at the football field near Longbian Bridge. Qiao Qinglu hovered the helicopter in front of Yang Wenli and the others. He waved his hand and shouted: "Get on!" The four people on board desperately pulled the six people below into the helicopter, and then vacated north.
It was only an hour after the helicopter left Baimei Airport that Hanoi sounded the red alarm, and the Vietnamese army almost launched all forces to look for them.
After the Vietnamese army discovered that the helicopter was taken,Several MiG-21 fighters were rushed into the air in an attempt to intercept Qiao Qinglu. Qiao Qinglu knows that although the speed of the helicopter is not comparable to the MiG-21 , its flexibility is far better than it.
The experienced Qiao Qinglu insisted on flying at low altitude and tried his best to approach the ravine. This greatly increased the difficulty of the fighters' pursuit, and the Vietnamese army’s radars were never able to detect them.
At this time, the atmosphere in the helicopter is very tense. During this period of determining their own destiny, everyone held their breath and contributed their strength to this great escape.
Huang Chuntuan sat in the co-pilot's position to provide guidance to Qiao Qinglu, Li Yushan illuminates the instrument panel with a match, and Yang Wenli sat beside the porthole to observe the ground target. In this high-pressure atmosphere, time passed by little by little.
Finally, after two hours of high-intensity flight, he smoothly crossed the national border and arrived in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and finally landed in a farmland in , Daxin County, .
Huang Wenhuan, who is far away in Beijing, has already received the news. He urged the People's Liberation Army not to do anything to the Vietnamese. All sorts of abnormal behaviors show that this helicopter did not come to China on behalf of the Le Duan government, but is likely to be a group of Vietnamese who abandoned the secret to the Ming Dynasty. High-level Chinese officials quickly gave instructions.
The border guards surrounded them, and Qiao Qinglu, who was fluent in Chinese, shouted: "We are Vietnamese, we are here to go to China..."
Group photo of Qiao Qinglu, Huang Chuntuan, Li Yushan and Yang Wenli_ p9p
The border guards who were instructed took them to Yongxin County. There they had preliminary contacts with relevant Chinese personnel. The Chinese personnel learned that they were all determined to flee because they could not understand the actions of the Le Duan reactionary group, and completely broke with the Le Duan government.
Qiao Qinglu and his party were sent to Beijing soon. On the afternoon of October 16, Qiao Qinglu, Huang Chuntuan, Li Yushan and Yang Wenli held a Chinese and foreign press conference in Beijing.
At this reception, they explained the reasons for fleeing Vietnam, introduced the domestic situation in Vietnam, and accused the Le Duan government of invading other countries in an attempt to provoke war.
At the same time, "People's Daily" reported: "Vietnam Air Force Second Lieutenant Pilot Qiao Qinglu, Vietnamese Air Force Warrant Officer, and Air Mechanic Huang Chun Regiment, etc. 10 people fled Vietnam by a Vietnamese military helicopter because they were dissatisfied with the dark rule of the Le Duan Group. Arriving in China. The UH-1H helicopter piloted by Qiao Qinglu landed in the border area of Guangxi in China on September 30.
The construction engineer Yang Wenli and others also came to China. They said they were against Lebanon The dark rule of the Sun reactionary group fled Vietnam and came to China. They told me border guards and civilians that after the Le Duan group took control of power, it implemented a policy of aggression and expansion externally and imposed a cruel rule internally. The people lived in poverty and there was no way out. In pursuit of freedom. And happiness, they are determined to take this action.”
At that time, media reports
praised their determination to pursue freedom, happiness, and justice, and they also condemned the lack of support of the Le Duan government. The status quo of the betrayal of the people, and guarantees that the security and stability of the ten people in China will be guaranteed.
The fleeing behavior of ten people including Qiao Qinglu angered the high level of the Vietnamese government. They have repeatedly expressed through diplomatic conferences that they require China to repatriate the defectors and falsely call them "murderers." This move was flatly rejected by the Chinese government.
If they were sent back under the background of hostilities between China and Vietnam, they would be treated inhumanely, not to mention that they were aspiring people who had defected.
The American UH-1H helicopter that came with Qiao Qinglu was undoubtedly a great gift to our country at the time and contributed to our national defense. After thorough research by the Ministry of Military Industry of our country, it was sent to the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics collection.
American UH-1H helicopter
In addition to Yang Wenli's life in France,The remaining nine people all settled in China. The leader of the action, Qiao Qinglu, was appointed by the relevant Chinese authorities to serve as a professor in a certain aviation school because of his excellent driving skills.
At this point, the legendary flight escape has come to an end. For these people with lofty ideals who dared to abandon the dark and turn to the bright, perhaps our best way to pay tribute to them is to leave them on paper.
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