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John Huang Xinrui
Native name黃新瑞
Birth nameHuang Xinrui (Chinese: 黃新瑞)
Nickname(s)John "Buffalo" Wong
Born(1914-03-15)March 15, 1914
Taishan, Guangdong, China
DiedMarch 16, 1941(1941-03-16) (aged 27)
Chengdu, China
AllegianceTaiwan Republic of China
 United States of America
Service / branch Republic of China Air Force
Years of service1934–41
RankMajor
Unit17th PS/3rd PG
29th PS/5th PG
Commands29th PS/5th PG,
Battles / warsSecond Sino-Japanese War
AwardsSix Star Medal
RelationsHuang Yali (黄雅丽), daughter,
Huang Chuansheng (黄川生), son

Huang Xinrui (a.k.a. Wong Sun-shui, Chinese: 黃新瑞; pinyin: Huang Xínrui; Wade–Giles: Huang Xinrui; March 15, 1914 – March 16, 1941) was a flying ace of the Republic of China and was among the original volunteer group of over a dozen Chinese-American aviators who joined the Chinese Air Force to fly in combat missions against the Imperial Japanese invasion and occupation of China.

Biography

John Huang Xinrui was born in Huangwu village, a large Chinese-American enclave in Taishan county of Guangdong province. He immigrated to the United States with his mother in 1923 when he was nine years old, joining his father, Huang Jinghu, who had already landed in the United States years before during the Qing Dynasty, and ran businesses that included a small market and a restaurant called the "Break Drum Cafe Shop" on the corner of 1st and 3rd streets in Los Angeles.

Ever so influenced by his father's patriotism and generosity to the revolutionary causes of post-imperial China under Dr. Sun Yat-sen, John Huang had a vision and a filial yearning since a young age "to support and serve the country of the motherland". Joining the Chinese-American aviation club in Los Angeles as a teenager, John Huang began taking flight lessons at the age of 18 in 1932, completing advanced studies and his U.S. pilot's license in 1934. Along with over a dozen other Chinese-American volunteer aviators leaving for military aviation careers in China, including Arthur Chin, John Wong Pan-yang, Hazel Ying Lee, Louie Yim-qun, Chan Kee-wong et al., John Huang initially joined the Guangdong provincial air force under Chen Jitang, one of numerous "warlord air forces" that dotted China before centralizing under the Nationalist Air Force of China prior to the outbreak of full-scale war between China and Imperial Japan in 1937.

As part of the centralized Chinese Air Force, John "Buffalo" Huang (a.k.a. John "Buffalo" Wong), so named due to his "stocky"-built physique, was now a Lieutenant and Deputy Commander of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 3rd Pursuit Group composed of P-26/281 fighters, soon to be stationed at Jurong Airbase, the Nanjing defense sector along with the 28th PS, 5th PG composed primarily of Curtiss Hawk IIs under the command of Captain Chan Kee-wong.

On 15 August 1937, John "Buffalo" Huang Xinrui and John Wong Pan-yang (the names of these two Chinese-American volunteer aviators often confused with one another) led their squadron of P-26/281 fighters against an incoming raid of IJN Mitsubishi G3M medium-heavy bombers on approach to Jurong-Nanjing; John "Buffalo" Huang personally shooting down one, sharing in another G3M kill, John Wong Pan-yang himself claiming one, while their squadron mate Lt. Qin Jiazhu (秦家柱) claimed another. Capt. Chan Kee-wong also claimed a G3M in the Nanjing airspace, while Curtiss Hawk III squadrons of the 4th PG under the command of Colonel Gao Zhihang based at Jianqiao Airbase claimed several more; in all the Imperial Japanese raiders lost 26 aircraft of different types in the first three days of aerial combat from defending Chinese fighters 14–16 August 1937.

By the end of August/beginning of September, the 28th PS, 5th PG based Jurong Airbase was split into two smaller squadrons, with Capt. Chan Kee-wong leading half of Hawk II pilots to the northern front at the Battle of Taiyuan, and Lt. Art Chin leading the other half to the southern front in Guangdong province with a specific task of guarding the Shaoguan Aircraft Factory, while John Huang Xinrui and John Wong Pan-yang remained stationed at Jurong Airbase to continue support of the Nanjing-Shanghai operations

On 19 September 1937, various Japanese bomber and fighter aircraft, including the highly advanced new Mitsubishi A5M carrier-based fighters raided Nanjing at around 0800; 21 Chinese fighters from Jurong and other airbases around Nanjing rose to engage the raiders. At 0900, Lt. John "Buffalo" Huang led five P-26/281s against eight enemy fighters, and in the ensuing melee, Lt. Liu Lanqing's (劉蘭清) P-26/281 fighter was shot-up and forced to bail out in his parachute; John "Buffalo" Huang tried to fight off the Japanese pilots who were taking turns at strafing Lt. Liu Lanqing trying to descend to safety in his parachute over Jiangning District of Nanjing, but was hit and killed in what would amount to a combat war crime committed by the Japanese pilots (as codified under Article 42 of Protocol I amended to the Geneva Conventions). John "Buffalo" Huang was then himself shot down, seriously wounded, but bailing out and waiting for the last possible moment to pull his parachute cord to avoid getting strafed under the parachute by the Japanese pilots.

While recovering from battle wounds, and with all the spare parts and airworthiness of the remaining Boeing P-26/281 fighters exhausted, as well as the impending Fall of Nanking, John Huang Xinrui's 17th PS of the 3rd PG was renewed into the 29th PS with new Gloster Gladiator fighters, of which he was promoted to captain and CO in January 1938; he would go on to score several more victories in this fighter aircraft. On 23 February 1938 (some sources date 24 February), in what was to become the British-made Gloster Gladiator's first aerial combat engagement ever, Capt. John Huang Xinrui led nine of his 29th PS Gladiators along with three of the 28th PS Gladiators (belonging to squadron commander Capt. Arthur Chin), in the interception of thirteen Nakajima E8N fighter-attack seaplanes from the tenders Notoro Maru and Kinugasa Maru; the Chinese pilots efforts were severely thwarted in the ensuing battle however, as most of the machine guns on the Gladiators jammed, nonetheless, five of the E8N were still shot-up enough to go down as victory claims by Capt. Huang and the other pilots targeting the bogeys with only one, two or three working guns (out of four) per Gladiator. Arthur Chin revealed later that the cause of the jamming of the Gladiator's machine guns were the result of defective Belgian-made ammunition rounds. Tragically, the bad ammunition led to fatal consequences, as the Gladiator flown by Lt. Xie Chuanhe (Hsieh Chuan-ho) targeted an E8N, all four of his guns jammed, and the E8N was able to counter-attack, hitting Lt. Xie's wingman Lt. Yang Rutong, whom also appeared to be unable to fire his weapons, and was sent down in flames from a burst of machine gun fire from the counter-attacking E8N; Lt. Chen Qiwei (Chen Chi-wei) was lost under similar circumstances.

On 13 April 1938, Capt. Huang scored a triple-kill against squadrons of attackers from the fleet aircraft carrier Kaga; an Aichi D1A dive bomber, a Nakajima A4N fighter and an A5M fighter piloted by PO2c Yukio Miyazato over Guangzhou. Capt. Huang was himself shot down in this battle by the A5M flown by PO1c Jirō Chōno; seriously wounded again, Capt. Huang would be out of action for an extended period time.

As the war between China and the Empire of Japan continued into its fourth year, material support from the U.S. had long since mostly disappeared, and reliance on mutual agreement to fight the Empire of Japan had been largely sustained through the Sino-Soviet Treaty in China's continuing war of resistance against the Imperial Japan's aggression and occupation. The Chinese Air Force had mostly converted to Soviet-made Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 series of fighter aircraft, and the losses at the Battle of Wuhan and the Battle of South Guangxi had pushed the Chinese hinterland to the new wartime capital in Chongqing, Sichuan province, and all seaports that previously supplied China's most important materials for the war effort, including quality aviation fuel needed for proper fighter aircraft performance, have become cut off.

After John Huang's 29th PS transitioned into Polikarpov I-15 fighters, his unit was posted to the defense of Chengdu, about 485 kilometres (301 mi) northwest of provisional capital Chongqing in Sichuan province. At 0915 hours on 14 March 1941, John Huang led the initial patrol with his squadron of nine I-15s on high-cover at 7500 feet, his deputy commander Cen Zeliu led eleven I-15s on an intermediate cover at 7000 feet, while the commander of the 28th PS, 3rd PG, Chou Lin-xu, led another eleven I-15s at the low-cover of 6500 feet on reports of incoming enemy aircraft consisting of ten attack-bombers escorted by twelve A6M "Zero" fighters, which unbeknownst to the West, was the most advanced air-superiority fighter aircraft in the world at the time. While upon the return leg back to Shuangliu Air Base at 1140 hours, four of John Huang Xinrui's fighters had already dropped out due to mechanical problems, yet he immediately pressed on and engaged when the Japanese Zeroes appeared, but was quickly hit in the head by a round from a second flight of Zeros attacking from above and behind, yet managed to crash land his I-15 in spite of the grievous injury sustained to his head; while he survived for his 27th birthday the following day, John Huang Xinrui died from the injuries the day after that on 16 March 1941. Commanders Cen Zeliu and Zhou Linxu (Chou Lin-xu) led their remaining fighters to battle the Zeroes, and in a string of brutal dogfights lasting from 1140 to 1220 hours, the Chinese pilots fought valiantly against the far superior speed, acceleration, maneuverability and firepower of the Zero fighters, and both commanders Cen and Chou, along with five others pilots, including Jiang Dong-sheng and Lin Heng (younger brother of renown architect Lin Huiyin) all died in the fierce battle against the Japanese Zeroes.

John Huang Xinrui left behind his wife (surname Liu), daughter Huang Yali and son Huang Chuansheng.

See also

References

  1. ^ "中華民國空軍：黃新瑞 RoCAF: Huang Xinrui". 隨意窩 Xuite日誌. ... 美國華僑紛紛籌組航空救國機構設立航空學校，訓練飛行人才，資遣回國投效。黃當時受此熱潮感動，十八歲時即投身於洛杉磯中華會館設立之美洲航空學校學習飛行，結業後其父又資送至北加屋崙市袈摩上校飛行學校深造。一九三四年於屋崙畢業...{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Gustavsson, Hakan. "Chinese biplane fighter aces - 'Buffalo' Wong Sun-Shui". Biplane fighter aces: China - Wong Sun-shui (Huang Xinrui). Wong Sun-Shui was born on 15 March 1914, lived in Los Angeles, California... first obtaining a pilot's license in there, and eventually went on to China to continue pilot training at the Guangdong Air Force Academy, and becoming attached to China's only P-26 (Model 281) "Peashooter" fighter squadron.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Gustavsson, Hakan. "Chinese biplane fighter aces - 'Buffalo' Wong Sun-Shui a.k.a. Huang Xinrui". Biplane Fighter Aces: China - Wong Sun-shui/Huang Xinrui. Retrieved 2020-11-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Zhang, Rui. "Forgotten history: Chinese Americans who fought against Japan- China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. The September 18th Incident, a pretext for the Japanese invasion in 1931... shocked Chinese communities in America... the Chinese-American Aviation School sponsored by Chinese Americans opened in Portland, Oregon (and also in other U.S. cities), and trained 36 pilots over two terms... 25 returned to China after graduation to serve in the air force...{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Gandhi, Lakshmi. "Remembering Hazel Lee, the first Chinese-American female military pilot". NBC News. There was pilot training being given in China - for pilots interested in joining the Chinese Air Force{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Chan, Gong, Little (October 7, 2015). "World War 2 Flying Ace Arthur Chin's Amazing True Story". DISCIPLES OF FLIGHT. ... echoing the call of "Saving China by Aviation" by Sun Yat-sen, Art and a number of other promising young Chinese-American pilots entered flight training with the Al Greenwood flying school in Portland, tuition and fees being paid by the local Chinese community...{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "P-26 Peashooter Chinese Air Force 17th FS, Nanking, China". Aiken's Airplanes Store. P-26 Peashooter of the Chinese Air Force 17th Fighter Squadron, Nanking, China{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Chen, C. Peter. "P-26 Peashooter Fighter". WW2DB. Boeing also produced export versions (Model 281); 1 was sold to Spain and 11 were sold to China in the mid-1930s... the Spanish P-26/281 Peashooter was the first to see combat, but it was shot down in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War without seeing any success. Those operated by the Republic of China Air Force would take that honor in 1937 as China and Japan engaged in the very first chapters of WW2.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Boeing P-26A Peashooter". National Air and Space Museum. Most P-26As stationed overseas were eventually sold to the Philippines or assigned to the Panama Canal Department Air Force, a branch of the U.S. Army Air Corps. Several went to China and one to Spain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. Guttman, Robert (May 16, 2018). "A Hawk Between Two Wars". HistoryNet.
  11. "Chinese biplane fighter aces - Chan Kee-Wong". surfcity.kund.dalnet.se.
  12. "Martyr Qin Jia-zhu". air.mnd.gov.tw. Seven Boeing 281s, led by Cmdr. Huang Pan-yang, 17th SQ, 3rd PG, took off from Jurong to escort airborne Curtiss Hawks to attack enemy troops, landing vessels, and transport vessels on shore at Wusongkou.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "高志航（1908～1937） 遗照及家族照片一批十六张-世界反法西斯战争胜利七十周年纪念专场- 西泠印社拍卖有限公司官方网站(西泠拍卖网)". www.xlysauc.com.
  14. "9787553311760: 中华雄鹰(高志航)/抵御外侮中华英豪传奇丛书 - AbeBooks - 高晓星 李彦贞: 7553311766". www.abebooks.it.
  15. "Gao Zhihang". WW2DB.
  16. Huo, Samuel. "Chinese Air Force vs. the Empire of Japan". www.warbirdforum.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14. ... the air battles between the Chinese and Japanese pilots above the sky of China from 1937 to 1941 was considered by Westerners a forgotten war... the Chinese did receive some Boeing 281 (P-26), which was the only pure fighter used by China in 1937...{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. Gustavsson, Hakans. "Chinese biplane fighter aces - 'Arthur' 'Art' Chin Shui-Tin". Biplane Fighter Aces - China. While the 28th PS was tasked with defending Nanking... pressing demands for air defense in both Northern China and Southern China forced the 28th PS to split in two smaller squadrons; one squad of four 28th PS Hawk IIs, reinforced by three others from the Air Force Academy, went north to Taiyuan under the command of Captain Chan, and the remaining four Hawk IIs, led by Captain Arthur Chin, were sent south, with a specific task to protect the Shaokwan (Shaoguan) Aircraft Factory in Canton (Guangdong) Province.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. "凌云壮志 救国图强——韶关飞机制造厂发展历程_中国民主促进会广东省委员会". Guangdong Provincial Committee of China Democracy Promotion Association. Retrieved 2020-11-21. 航空既不是一种工业，也不是一门科学，它是一个奇迹。"俄裔美籍飞机设计师伊戈尔·西科尔斯基(1889-1972)如此说。韶关有中国最早的飞机制造厂，位于今中山公园。在一穷二白的旧中国，韶关飞机制造厂为中国人圆航空梦书写了奇迹。如今，中山公园内只有几块小牌子，记录着韶关飞机制造厂鲜为人知却荡气回肠的历史，讲述着韶关人救国图强、壮志凌云的动人故事。{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. "劉烈士蘭清". air.mnd.gov.tw. Huang Xinrui, the deputy captain of the 17th Squadron, led five Boeing (P-26/281) fighters over Jurong... martyr Liu Lanqing flying in the Boeing #1701 that was shot-up, and while parachuting, he was tracked and fired upon by three enemy planes and fell to death in Xicheng Township, Jiangning County (SE Nanjing){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. "Top 14 Aces of World War 2: American, Italian, & British Flying Aces". Century of Flight. November 15, 2019. Captain Wong Sun-Shui is credited with downing the first G3M in the Battle of Nanking after eight Boeings attacked six Mitsubishi G3M bombers on 15 August 1937{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. "Air Aces of WWII: Major 'Buffalo' Wong Sun-Shui (Huang Xinrui)". CENTURY OF FLIGHT - Aviation During World War II. Retrieved 2020-11-17. ... twelve Gladiators from the 29th and 28th Squadrons (9 and 3 respectively) were scrambled from Nan-hsiung Airfield led by 29th PS's Squadron Leader Buffalo Wong to meet the intruders... Flying at 6000 feet, they sighted the E8Ns at the 9 o'clock position... During this combat the Gladiators where hampered by jamming guns, few had all four functioning while two had all four jamming. (Art Chin recalled that the problem was attributed to a bad load of ammunition from Belgium)... Buffalo Wong signaled the group to follow him to dive into the enemy formations. He single-handed shot up two... shot up another with the help of his wingmen... the Japanese plane streamed fuel but also did not go down immediately...{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. Cheung, 2015, p. 63. All four of Lt. Hsieh's guns jammed... It's possible Lt. Yang's weapons in Gladiator #2902 may have also jammed before he was hit and killed... Lt. Chen in Gladiator #2807 was also lost under similar circumstances... Had the Gladiators' guns being fully operable, the CAF pilots would have undoubtedly inflicted greater losses on the IJNAF...
  23. "Wong Sun-sui". WW2DB.
  24. Gustavsson, Hakans. "Japanese biplane fighter aces - Hatsu-o Hidaka". Biplane Fighter Aces - Japan. Retrieved 2020-11-21. On 13 April 1938 the Japanese carrier Kaga launched a strike on Canton consisting of three Type 95 (A4N) fighters, three Type 96 (A5M) fighters and 18 Type 94 (Aichi D1A1) dive-bombers... at 1010, jingbao (intelligence) announced the approaching enemy aircraft - Gladiators of the 5th PG were on alert and were scrambled at 1020 from Tienho (Tianhe) airbase: Squadron Leader John 'Buffalo' Wong led nine Gladiators from the 29th PS and Captain Clifford Louie led nine from the 28th PS to intercept.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. Cheung, Raymond. "Aces of the Republic of China Air Force : Raymond Cheung : 9781472805614". www.bookdepository.com. The Soviet-made Polikarpov fighters of the Chinese Air Force burning low-grade fuel simply didn't have the performance necessary to effectively engage the ever-improving supercharging and high-octane fuelling of Japanese aircraft{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. Matt, P. E. (March 18, 2015). "Curtiss Model 68 Hawk III".
  27. Network, Warfare History (May 8, 2019). "Japan's World War II Zero Fighter Terrified the Allies". The National Interest.
  28. "314 Air Battle over Shuangliu". air.mnd.gov.tw. Even though ROCAF pilots were in high morale and fighting spirits, they suffered a great loss of 10 planes destroyed and 7 damaged to Japanese new Zeros. PG Cmdr. Huang Xin-rui, Deputy Cmdr. Cen Ze-liu, SQ Cmdr. Chou Lin-xu, Pilot Ren Xian, Pilot Lin Heng, Pilot Jiang Dong-sheng, Pilot Yuan Fang-bing, Pilot Chen Peng-yang were all killed in action.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. "Chinese biplane fighter aces - Shen Tse-Liu". surfcity.kund.dalnet.se.
  30. LoProto, Mark (April 9, 2018). "Pearl Harbor Scourge: Mitsubishi A6M Zero". Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  31. Chai, George. "空军百战英雄黄新瑞". www.flyingtiger-cacw.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14. 黄新瑞烈士身后遗有妻刘氏、女黄雅丽、子黄川生魁伟英俊，酷肖其父，烈士地下有知当可瞑目告慰矣。{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. Cheung, 2015, p. 66. Both 'Buffalo' Wong and his wingman killed - having almost certainly been bounced from above by top-cover Zeroes...
  33. 徐 (Xú), 2016, pp. 481-483. 黄烈士新瑞 ~ 1941年3月14日，敌驱逐机12架袭川，我第三大队E-15机11架，由第二十八中队长周灵虚率领为第一层，第五大队E-15机11架，由副大队长岑泽鎏率领为第二层，第五大队E-15机9架，由烈士率领为第三层，各机群重层配备于邛崃东北与新津西北之空域待命。 旋敌分为两群，七架一群，在双流太平寺机场低空扫射，五机在崇庆上空掩护... 烈士所率机九架,四架因故障未能跟随,以五机与敌机群在双流遭遇,烈士身先士卒，冲入敌阵,头部中弹, 迫降苏码头，延至16日不治,殉职。 生前因功,奉颁六星星序奖章,追赠中校。 遗妻刘氏及子女各一。

Bibliography

  • Cheung, Raymond. OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES 126: Aces of the Republic of China Air Force. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2015. ISBN 978 14728 05614.
  • 徐 (Xú), 露梅 (Lùméi). 隕落 (Fallen): 682位空军英烈的生死档案 - 抗战空军英烈档案大解密 (A Decryption of 682 Air Force Heroes of The War of Resistance-WWII and Their Martyrdom). 东城区, 北京， 中国: 团结出版社, 2016. ISBN 978-7-5126-4433-5.
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