Research On The Air Force Construction And Development Of The Nationalist Government Before The Anti-Japanese War(1931-1937)

China's aviation began in the late Qing Dynasty,but the air force development remained very sluggish until after the Beiyang government.After the regime was founded,the Nationalist government was also devoted to the air force construction and development,and its golden age was the period of from 1931 to 1937,which was right before the Anti-Japanese War.When the Anti-Japanese War broke out,the Nationalist government had already built a formal air plant and aviation school,and improved some of the corresponding infrastructure;the air force through expansion had also begun to take shape.All these developments not only provided an important manpower and material resources support for the Anti-Japanese War,but also produced a profound influence on the future air force modernization.The "September 18" Incident occurred in 1931 and the "January 28" Incident occurred in 1932 are the important watersheds in the air force construction and development of the Nationalist government.At that time,countries around the world have already transferred the direction of the national defense from the sea to the air,in order to strengthen the air defense forces.In the situation of aggression against China,Japan's air force had formed a distinct advantage.In 1931,the "September 18" Incident,the Japanese air force bombing the Northeastern Jinzhou,opened the history of Japanese aircraft bombing Chinese important cities.Four months later,the "January 28"Battle of Songhu broke out,the Japanese planes ravaged Shanghai,while the Chinese air force was no way to fight back.Chinese people at this time had considerable impression and understanding to the air war,began to send out "aviation for national salvation" voice.Faced with the grim situation,the Nationalist government began to raise donations aviation and develop air force construction plan as well as air force battle plan against Japan.In accordance with established policy,the Nationalist government began the construction of the air force mainly from two aspects:The air force armament and the air force personnel.In the air force armament construction,the primary task of Nationalist government was to develop the aviation industry.In the case of shortage of funds and technology.the combination way the Nationalist government to implement its own factories and joint ventures,the introduction of the United States,Italy and Germany production,management techniques,and the acquisition of advanced production equipment,to transform the existing aviation facilities,had made great progress.But at the time of China's overall industrial base deficiencies conditions,the Nationalist government could not achieve mass production of aircraft,and most of the aviation factories could only imitate,repair and assembly aircraft,so the Chinese air force aircraft was mainly purchased from overseas.After the "September 1" Incident,the Nationalist government began to expand the air force infrastructure,and the airport construction accelerated significantly after 1934,not only the pursuit of the number of airports,but also the focus of its practical function;The air force meteorological and communication facilities were also preliminarily established before the Anti-Japanese War.But the air force infrastructure in general was still very weak,a lot of the station equipment was not perfect,ground command and communications capabilities also had serious problems.In addition,the Nationalist government also actively expanded the air force,not only the active integration of local resources,but also the effortful purchase of aircraft equipment,the preparation of the air force continued to expand.After the completion of the incorporation of Guangdong air force,the air force of Nationalist government gradually unified and began to take shape.However,due to the huge gap between Chinese and Japanese air force,the nationalist governments had to grasp the air defense construction as an urgent task,through the formation of ground to air defense forces,the implementation of anti-aircraft air defense exercises and organizing exhibitions,etc.,to strengthen the air defense capability.in the air force personnel construction,the Nationalist government attached great importance to the air force's spirit and technology education,mainly relying on domestic air force schools to train air force personnel.1932 established the Central Aviation School was the cradle of the Chinese air force personnel,which had a strict selection,evaluation mechanism and a good training environment.Students were managed and trained in primary,intermediate,advanced three stages of different training by the advisory board member from the United States and Italy,and received the spiritual education in a mode of combining air force faith and mind control.The air force trainees training time was usually one to two years,its cultivation cost was very high.The Air Defense School was a school of the Nationalist government cultivating the air defense personnel,which was established in 1934,since it was not as good as the Aviation School in the faculty and administration,the students future were also very difficult.In addition,the Nationalist government also trained the aviation related personnel by sending students abroad,the countries sent to study were mainly the United States and Italy before the Anti-Japanese War,these students played an important role in domestic aviation field after returned.Overall,the air force construction of the Nationalist government made a great contribution to the Anti-Japanese War,the Chinese air force destroyed the Japanese air force's effectives in absolute disadvantage troops in the anti-Japanese battlefield,which inspired the anti-Japanese spirit.But at the same time,the air force in the Anti-Japanese War also exposed serious problems in its strategy and tactics,infrastructure,pilot training and other aspects of the military system,and therefore caused some unnecessary mistakes and losses.The experiences and lessons in the air force construction of the Nationalist government have a profound impact on the construction and development of today's air force.