Zang Xilan
| Surname | Zang |
| Given Name | Xilan |
| Born | 24 Apr 1917 |
| Died | 8 Oct 1988 |
| Country | China |
| Category | Military-Air |
| Gender | Male |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseZang Xilan (Wade-Giles: Tsang Hsi-lan) was born in Gouya Village (now Laoshan District of Qingdao), Shandong Province, China in 1917. After graduating from high school, he attended the Guangxi Province branch of the Central Aviation Academy between 1936 and spring 1938. Between spring 1938 and Mar 1940, he received advanced training in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Upon completion of training, he was assigned to the 23rd Pursuit Squadron of 4th Pursuit Group. On 31 May 1943, now a member of the Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional), flying a P-40E fighter in escort of B-24 bombers attacking Jingmen, Hubei Province, China, he took notice of a Japanese fighter closing in on the P-40E fighter flown by Lieutenant Colonel John R. Alison of 75th Fighter Squadron of US Army Air Forces 23rd Fighter Group, and shot it down, saving the American flyer. For this action, he was promoted to the rank of captain by the Chinese Air Force and was awarded the Silver Star by the USAAF. The USAAF also awarded the Chinese Air Force four P-40M fighters in Zang's honor (the CAF would name them Xilan No. 1 through No. 4). In late 1943, he was made the commanding officer of 8th Fighter Squadron of 3rd Fighter Group. He achieved ace status during the war. After the war, in May 1946, he was made the commanding officer of 23rd Fighter Squadron of 4th Fighter Group. In 1949, after relocating to Taiwan, he attended the Air Force War College. In 1954, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and was made the commanding officer of the 1st Fighter Group as the group converted to F-84G Thunderjet jet fighters. In 1955, while flying a mission over the coast of mainland China, his group was attacked by Communist MiG-15bis fighters; Zang added to his list of victories by shooting down one. In 1964, he was promoted to the rank of major general. In Jul 1967, he was made the chief of staff of the Air Combat Command. In 1968, he was made the deputy commanding officer of Air Combat Command. In 1970, he was transferred to the Air Force Intelligence Agency as its deputy commander. In 1971, he was made the chief of Air Force Intelligence Agency. He retired in 1974. He passed away in Taiwan, Republic of China from a heart attack in 1988.
ww2dbaseSources:
Raymond Cheung, Aces of the Republic of China Air Force
Bakdu Baike
Last Major Revision: Nov 2016
Zang Xilan Interactive Map
Zang Xilan Timeline
| 24 Apr 1917 | Zang Xilan was born in Gouya Village (now Laoshan District of Qingdao), Shandong Province, China. |
| 5 Sep 1936 | Zang Xilan arrived at the Army Military Academy in Nanjing, China for physical examination as preparation for flight training. |
| 10 Mar 1940 | Zang Xilan graduated from advanced flight training in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. |
| 31 May 1943 | Zang Xilan, flying a P-40E fighter, shot down a Ki-44 aircraft that was pursuing the P-40E fighter flown by Lieutenant Colonel John R. Alison of 75th Fighter Squadron of USAAF 23rd Fighter Group. They were both escorting a group of B-24 bombers attacking Jingmen, Hubei Province, China. |
| 2 Jun 1944 | Five Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) P-40N fighters from Ankang Airfield in Shaanxi Province, China escorted seven bomb-laden P-40N fighter-bombers of 7th Fighter Squadron of CACW on a mission to attack the Japanese airfield and rail station at Zhengzhou, Henan, China. 7 Ki-44 fighters of the Japanese 9th Sentai rose to intercept, shooting down 5. Zang Xilan, leader of the group from Ankang, claimed one Ki-43 and one Ki-44 aircraft over Bawangcheng; he was given credit for the Ki-44 downing. |
| 23 Aug 1944 | Zang Xilan, flying a P-40N fighter, led nine other P-40N fighters from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China to escort three B-25 bombers of 1st Bombardment Group of Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) to attack a bridge near Kaifeng, Henan Province, China. En route, he shot down two Ki-44 fighters and damaged another, but damage sustained on his own aircraft forced him to crash land in Hua County, Henan. |
| 24 Aug 1944 | Zang Xilan, flying a P-40N fighter, led 13 other P-40N fighters from Enshi Airfield in Hubei Province, China to strafe river traffic on the Yangtze River. He shot down two Japanese aircraft and destroyed several small boats. |
| 4 Jul 1955 | Zang Xilan, flying a F-84G Thunderjet fighter, led three other F-84G fighters on a patrol over the coast of mainland China. Communist MiG-15bis fighters engaged them near Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, and Zang promptly shot one down. |
| 8 Oct 1988 | Zang Xilan passed away from a heart attack in Taiwan, Republic of China at 1030 hours. |
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Winston Churchill
25 Apr 2023 11:21:45 AM
Thank you for this entry. I was not aware of ROC AF pilots having made ACE. I will try to obtain a copy of the reference source.