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Gao Youxin file photo [25695]

Gao Youxin

SurnameGao
Given NameYouxin
Born1916
Died13 Feb 1948
CountryChina
CategoryMilitary-Air
GenderMale

Contributor:

ww2dbaseGao Youxin (Wade-Giles: Kao You-hsin) was born in Jin County, Liaoning Province, China in 1916. His family moved to Tianjin, China in late 1931 or early 1932 after the arrival of the Japanese in northeastern China. In 1935, he graduated from high school in Tianjin and took the examination for military aviation service; in the following year, he entered the Central Aviation Academy. In 1939, he graduated from the academy at the top of his class and was assigned to the 21st Pursuit Squadron of the 4th Pursuit Group of the Chinese Air Force. In 1940, he saw combat over Chongqing, China against Japanese bombers and their escorts. In Sep 1940, he flew against the new A6M Zero fighters, damaging one (he had claimed a victory but no A6M fighters were lost in that action). On 22 Sep 1941, he achieved a rare victory for the Chinese Air Force as he led a group of six I-16III fighters disrupting an attack run on Chung Chuan Chun Airfield north of Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China, earning credit for downing the G3M bomber flown by Lieutenant Shintaro Hashimoto. In 1942, he was made the commanding officer of Chiense 21st Pursuit Squadron flying US-built P-43A Lancer fighters. While the upgrade from Soviet-built fighters to US-built P-40N and P-43A fighters was a difficult process for many Chinese pilots (in fact many died in accidents due to unfamiliarity), Gao was able to achieve success by downing several Japanese aircraft. In Nov 1944, over Jianjiang County, Hubei Province, ground fire damaged the radiator of his P-40 fighter. He made a brief attempt to return to base, but his aircraft caught on fire shortly after, forcing him to bail out over Japanese-held territory. he landed on the bank of a small river near a cluster of tied-up fishing boats. One of the fisherman waived him in, and his daughter put her coat over him. Within minutes, a Japanese patrol on a boat arrived, but did not think the fishermen would be daring enough to hide an airman, thus sparing Gao. The fisherman then put him on the opposite side of the bank, gave him some spare change, and sent him on his way back to friendly lines, which took about 40 days. On 30 May 1945, he led a total of 16 P-51 Mustang fighters on a fighter sweep over Nanjing, China. His group destroyed a transport aircraft on the ground before being engaged by about 30 Ki-30-II fighters; his pilots claimed 10 victories, including one that was credited to Gao. In Aug 1945, in a building in Shenyang, China, he stepped into an open elevator door, mistakenly believing that the elevator was at the same floor. He fell three floors, surviving the fall but suffered a severe concussion. In 1947, he received treatment in the United States for six months. He continued to suffer bouts of vertigo after returning to China, and he was admitted into the Central Army Hospital in Nanjing. In Feb 1948, while on a stroll outside the hospital, another bout of vertigo caused him to fall onto train tracks, and was killed by the oncoming train.

ww2dbaseSource: Raymond Cheung, Aces of the Republic of China Air Force

Last Major Revision: May 2016

Gao Youxin Timeline

1 Sep 1936 Gao Youxin enrolled in the Central Aviation Academy of China.
26 May 1940 36 Japanese G3M2 Model 21 bombers, plus bombers of other types, and accompanied by three C5M reconnaissance aircraft (Navy's version of Ki-15 aircraft) attacked Chongqing, China. Lieutenant Yuan Chin-han, flying a Hawk III fighter, damaged a G3M2 Model 21 bomber over western Chongqing. Captain Chen Sheng-hsing and Lieutenant Gao Youxin, flying I-15bis fighters, shared the credit for downing another bomber.
13 Sep 1940 27 Japanese G3M bombers, escorted by 13 A6M Zero fighters, attacked Chongqing, China; the Chinese scrambled nine I-16 and 25 I-15bis fighters. Three A6M fighters were damaged in this engagement, one of which was credited to Lieutenant Gao Youxin in an I-15bis fighter.
22 May 1941 25 G3M bombers of Japanese Mihoro Kokutai (based in Tainan, Taiwan) with A6M Zero fighters in escort attacked Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. Gao Youxin, flying an I-16III fighter temporarily based in Chung Chuan Chun Airfield to the north of the city, dispersed several bombers making an attack run on the airfield, allowing five I-16III fighters to take off. Gao went on to shoot down one G3M bomber (Lieutenant Shintaro Hashimoto) and damaged another. Most of the G3M bombers, however, bombed the city uncontested.
12 Jan 1943 Gao Youxin, commanding officer of Chinese 21st Pursuit Squadron flying P-43A Lancer fighters, took off from Liangshan Airfield in Sichuan Province, China with a wingman on a reconnaissance mission. He claimed to have shot down a Japanese Ki-43 aircraft near the Yangtze River.
29 Nov 1943 Gao Youxin, leading P-43A fighters of Chinese 21st Pursuit Squadron based in En-shih Airfield, escorted a supply run by P-40M fighters with drop tanks full of rifle ammunition for Changde, Hunan Province, China. During this mission, Gao veered off to attack a flight of Ki-43 bombers of Japanese 25th Sentai, claiming one shot down northeast of the village of Hanshou.
22 May 1944 Gao Youxin, flying a P-40N Warhawk fighter based in Xi'an, China, attacked a column of Japanese vehicles near the town of Chang-ya and claimed heavy damage. He was forced to crash land by anti-aircraft fire and was eventually able to evade capture.
8 Jun 1944 Gao Youxin, leading two P-40N Warhawk fighters based in Xi'an, China, claimed two Japanese Ki-43 aircraft.
3 Aug 1944 Gao Youxin, flying a P-40 Warhawk fighter, destroyed a Japanese aircraft on the ground at Henyang Airfield, Hunan Province, China.
20 Nov 1944 Gao Youxin, leading seven P-40 Warhawk fighters, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Jianjiang County, Hubei Province, China. He would spend the next 40-some days attempting to return to friendly lines.
4 Jan 1945 Gao Youxin successfully returned to friendly lines after being shot down behind Japanese lines on 20 Nov 1944.
30 May 1945 Gao Youxin, flying a P-51 Mustang fighter, led 15 others for a fighter sweep over Nanjing, China. He was credited with one victory, a Ki-43-II aircraft.
13 Feb 1948 Gao Youxin was killed after accidentally falling onto train tracks in Nanjing, China.




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