(22 August 1952)
Two more airfields should be built. The expenses will be paid as allocated, and construction should begin early. Query
Mao Zedong
22 August
To [Nie Rongzhen]
This is Mao Zedong’s comment on a report dated 22 August 1952 from Nie Rongzhen, Acting Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government.
[2]
Nie Rongzhen’s report stated: The Soviet side has requested that two additional jet airfields be built near Andong, in order to facilitate the mobility and full deployment of the Soviet Air Force’s Rogov unit stationed there. After studying the matter with Air Force Chief of Staff Wang Bingzhang, it is believed that there are currently four airfields in the Andong, Dadonggou, Dagushan, and Fenghuang areas, housing six combat divisions of the Chinese and Soviet air forces, which is rather crowded. In order to launch a larger number of aircraft simultaneously during combat operations, it is indeed necessary to build more airfields. However, time is very pressing—construction cannot proceed once winter sets in—and approximately 220 billion yuan (old Renminbi) will be required.