June 2018 FLYPAST 29virtually everything else in China, it
was difficult to get any explanation
of why, or when, the tunnel would
reopen.
If seeing this is one of your major
objectives I’d recommend asking a
travel agent to make some enquiries
before departure. Believe me, even
if the Cavern Exhibition Hall is off-
limits, there is certainly enough to
look at and enjoy outside.
Heavyweights
A vast array of jet fighters are on
show at Datangshan. They are
mostly Soviet-built, copied from
Russian-supplied aircraft, or of
indigenous design. Providing stark
contrast is a Tupolev Tu-2 Bat. China
received 62 of these twin-engined
light bombers in 1949.
In a line-up alongside Hero Avenue
is a pair of very different machines
from Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev’s
design bureau – Tu-4 Bulls.
The Tu-4 was a reverse-engineered
Boeing B-29 Superfortress, based
on examples that force-landed in
Siberia after raiding Japan in 1944-- Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
gifted ten Bulls to the Chinese in the
early 1950s and others are believed
to have followed. The last examples
were retired as late as 1988.
In 1966 up to a dozen Tu-4s were
refitted with Ivchenko AI-20K
turboprops. The following year,
China attempted to develop its first
airborne early warning platform,
based on a turboprop Tu-4. This was
the KJ-1, development of which was
cancelled in 1971.
Alongside the rotodome-equipped
KJ-1 is another Bull converted to
act as a mother-ship for the Wu
Zhen 5, a reverse-engineered Ryan
AQM-34 Firebee reconnaissance
drone. Several Firebees fell into
Chinese hands having been launched
from Taiwan. Cold War intrigue
doesn’t often get this entangled: US
technology copied by the Soviets
and supplied to China, fitted with
Chinese imitations of American
unmanned spyplanes.
Along with the huge military
collection, there is a sizeable
selection of both Eastern and
Western airliners. The T-tailed
Ilyushin Il-62 Classic dominates one
end of the civilian park, along with a
Tupolev Tu-124 Cookpot, a HawkerSiddeley Trident and a Vickers
Viscount.
Tucked away is a Douglas DC-8
that served with the Orbis charitable
organisation as a flying eye hospital
until it was replaced by a DC-10 tri-jet
in 1992. An extremely popular item
is the Il-18 Coot that served as Mao
Zhedong’s personal transport. For
a small fee, visitors can view the
airliner’s interior.
Another imposing heavyweight is
dramatically mounted at the edge
of the artificial lake – a Chinese-
updated Beriev Be-6 Madge flying
boat. A small number of piston-
engined Be-6s were passed on to
China. Survivors of this batch were
fitted with turboprops in the 1980s,
under the designation Qing-6.
Most of the aircraft seem to have
held up quite well despite being
exposed to the elements, in some
cases for many years. Many have
been repainted since 2010 and
appear to be in better shape than the
outdoor exhibits I am used to seeing
baking in the Australian sun. For that
reason and many others, the China
Aviation Museum is a fascinating
albeit challenging place to visit.Statues are to be found all over the museum
site. An Il-62 airliner and Shenyang J-8 can be
seen in the background. ALL AUTHORA Qing-6, turboprop modifi cation of a Beriev
Be-6, on its own mocked-up slipway.A Tupolev Tu-2 supplied by Russia in 1949.The surprisingly spartan interior of Mao
Zhedong’s personal Il-18.“Cold War intrigue doesn’t often get
this entangled: US technology copied
by the Soviets and supplied to China,
fi tted with Chinese imitations of
American unmanned spyplanes”