Yue Yiqin | |
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| Native name | 樂以琴 |
| Birth name | Yue Yizhong (Chinese:樂以忠) |
| Born | (1914-11-11)November 11, 1914 Lushan,Sichuan,First Republic of China |
| Died | December 3, 1937(1937-12-03) (aged 23) Nanking,Republican China |
| Allegiance |  Republic of China |
| Service |  Republic of China Air Force |
| Years of service | 1931–37 |
| Rank | Major (posthumous) |
| Unit | 22nd PS/4th PG 21st PS/4th PG |
| Commands | 21st PS/4th PG |
| Battles / wars | Second Sino-Japanese War |
| Awards | Five Star Medal |
| Relations | Yue Fei (distant ancestor) |
Yue Yiqin (orYue Yi-chin,Chinese:樂以琴;pinyin:Yuè Yǐqín;Wade–Giles:Yüeh I-ch'in; November 11, 1914 – December 3, 1937) was aflying ace of theRepublic of China during theSecond Sino-Japanese War.[1][2][3] He achieved five confirmed aerial victories until his death in combat during theBattle of Nanking. Notably, his family claimed to descend fromYue Fei, a Chinese general andfolk hero who had lived during theSong dynasty.[4]
Together withGao Zhihang,Liu Cuigang [zh] andLi Guidan [zh], Yue was considered to be one of the "Four Heroes of the Chinese Air Force".[5][6]
Yue was born 1914 inLushan County, Sichuan asYue Yizhong (Chinese:樂以忠;pinyin:Yuè Yǐzhōng;Wade–Giles:Yüeh I-chung).[5] His family wasBaptist Christian, having been evangelized by H. J. Openshaw around 1900, anAmerican Baptist missionary stationed atYa'an (Yachow-fu) at the time. His father Yue Boying was an owner of hookah shops and tea houses who ran a booming business in Lushan, Ya'an, andChengdu. His mother Qiu Fu was aTibetan fromDartsedo, daughter of a head ofachak khapa (i.e. trading houses; Ch.guozhuang).[7] Yue attended West China Union Senior High School (affiliated toWest China Union University) after graduating fromPrivate Mingde Junior High School [zh].[8] Both academically as well as athletically gifted, he competed for the Sichuan Province track team as a sprinter in the National Games while he was in high school.[4] After graduation, he wanted to study medicine at theCheeloo University inJinan, but for unknown reasons had no academic certificate from his high school. As result, he borrowed the name of his elder brother, "Yue Yiqin", to enroll at the university and from then on lived under that name.[5] Yue dropped his medical studies whenJapaninvadedManchuria in 1931, and instead joined theCentral Aviation Academy. After graduation, Yue first served with the 8th PS (Pursuit Squadron), then became an instructor at the Academy, and finally joined 22nd PS/4th PG (Pursuit Group) as flight leader andLieutenant.[4]
Yue claimed his first aerial victories on 15 August 1937 during theBattle of Shanghai, when the 22nd PS/4th PG encountered a group ofMitsubishi B2Ms of theImperial Japanese Navyfleet aircraft carrierKaga; Yue reportedly participated in the destruction of four B2Ms with his Hawk III fighter no.2204.[10][2][3][11][a]
On 21 August, the Chinese Airforce launched a bombing raid against the Japanese airfield at the Kunda Textile Factory in Shanghai. As the ChineseNorthrop Gamma 2CE attack bombers approached their target, however, they were separated from their escorts and intercepted by IJNASNakajima E8N floatplanes. Forced to break off the attack, the bombers attempted to flee, but were pursued by the Japanese. A dogfight ensued, into which ten nearby Chinese Hawk IIIs soon intervened; among these fighters was Yue. He was the only one to shoot down one of the floatplanes, though the Japanese pilot, Shigeru Yano, managed to survive by ditching his E8N in theHuangpu River. Probably as a result of the dogfight's confusion, Yano later mistakenly reported that he had successfully rammed and thus destroyed the Hawk III that had attacked him; Yue however returned to his base unharmed.[12]
Yue claimed his next aerial victory one month later, on 20 September, as he participated in a mission to intercept two large groups of Japanese airplanes near Nanking. Yue once again flew his Hawk III2204, this time with anoxygen system that allowed him to operate in much higher altitudes. When his group of fighter planes attacked the Japanese formation, two ChineseBoeing 281s tied down the escortingMitsubishi A5M fighters, while Yue and other Hawk IIIs attacked the bombers from 20,000 ft. After the following action, Yue went on to claim that he had shot down a "light bomber", though this was probably not correct. Based on Japanese records, historian Raymond Cheung argues that the plane Yue had attacked was Lt Yoshiyuki Kame'sD1A1. Kame later reported that his machine was attacked by "a lone Hawk III diving out of the sun" and damaged, with the gunnerPO1c Kuroki killed. Kame did however manage to safely return with his damaged airplane to the Kunda airfield in Shanghai.[13]
Due to his successes, Yue was awarded the Five Star Medal and promoted to deputy commander of the 21st PS/4th PG, though by the fall of Shanghai in late November the whole unit was reduced to two operational Hawk IIIs. These were flown by Yue and his superior, Captain Tung Ming-teh, to Nanking on 3 December. Just after arriving at their new airfield, an air raid warning was sounded as a large IJNAS formation approached. Yue and Tung again took off, and went on to engage the whole bomber squadron escorted by 11 A5Ms by themselves. Yue's machine was eventually hit and he bailed out, but his parachute failed to open and he fell to his death. Tung survived and confirmed Yue's death.[14]
Yue was buried at theAviation Martyrs Cemetery, Nanjing, in the spring of 1946.[5]
In 1937, the artistYe Qianyu created a large propaganda poster based on a photograph of Yue Yiqin and used it for an exhibition in Nanjing. Yue visited the exhibition and had a photograph taken with the artist. Ye Qianyu received the photograph fifty years later from a family member of Yue's.[6]
乐以琴（1914—1937） 空军第4航空大队22中队分队长
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