Red Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF):

Proud of their part in Mao's contribution to victory in the Vietnam War!

Kenneth Allen, described as "a Senior Analyst at the CNA Corporation, a non-profit research and analysis organization," wrote this synopsis as a footnote in a Rand study:

www.rand.org/publication/Cf/CF182/CF182.Ch

On page 356, Allen makes this laconic comment that Vietnam was "where the PLAAF's main involvement was its antiaircraft artillery troops stationed inside Vietnam and Laos, plus a handful of air engagements along the border."

We have added emphasis here, because of what the Soviet Russians will be telling us a little later.

In his footnote #846, bottom of pp. 356-357, of this same online version, we read:

"According to [the official PLAAF history], the PLAAF began deploying units to Guangxi and Yunnan to help the North Vietnamese in August 1964, following the Gulf of Tonkin incident. From August 20, 1965 to March 14, 1969, the PLAAF sent 8 groups of AAA units from seven AAA divisions, 26 AAA regiments, eight AAA battalions, nine search light battalions and 14 radar companies to assist [North] Vietnam.

"Altogether, PLAAF AAA units were involved in 558 battles, shooting down 597 U.S. aircraft and damaging 479, losing 15 AAA pieces, 4 AAA radars, 280 troops killed and 1166 troops wounded.

"From December 29, 1970 to November 14, 1973, the PLAAF also sent AAA units to Laos, to support Chinese road construction. During this period, the units shot down 17 aircraft and damaged three. In addition to aircraft shot down over Vietnam, the PLAAF history identifies three as [U.S.] Air Force (one F-4B and two A-4B's) and two Navy (one A-3B and one A-6) aircraft and 17 unmanned recce drones that it shot down over or near Chinese territory."

PLAAF Nomenclature:

Aviation (aircraft) - hangkongbing
Air cover - kongzhong yanhu
Deep strikes - zongshen kongzhong

Air Defense - dimian fang kongbing - Allen implies that this includes AAA, SAM and Radar troops.

AAA troops - yipao

SAM troops - erpao