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The PLA Air Force 15th Airborne Corps (), Guangzhou Military Region, comprises three airborne divisions (43rd, 44th, 45th airborne divisions). The PLA Air Force’s 15th Airborne Corps is China’s primary strategic airborne unit and it is part of the newly formed rapid reaction units (RRU) of the Chinese military which is primarily designated for airborne and special operation missions. Unlike most armed forces, the airborne division is part of the Air Force and its role is similar to that of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Due to limited airlift capabilities, only one of the Corps' three divisions can deploy to any part of China within 48 hours. In the late 1990s the airlift capability of the PLAAF consisted of 10 IL-76 heavy lift, Yu-8, and Yu-7 transports, as well as Mi-17, Mi-8, S-70C, Z-8, and Z-9 helicopters. Thus, the PLAAF could only lift one division of 11,000 men with light tanks and self-propelled artillery. Reports claim that a 10,000 man airborne division was transported to Tibet in less than 48 hours in 1988. ==History== The 15th Airborne Corps traces its lineage to an infantry army in the Fourth Field Army. There is a common misconception that the 15th Airborne Corps originally belonged to an infantry army in Deng Xiaoping's Second Field Army, owing to the fact that the 15th Army was transferred to the Second Field Army in 1950.〔.〕 The unit was involved the Chinese Civil War and performed anti-bandit operations in southern Sichuan before entering Korea in February 1951.〔.〕 Upon joining the Korean War, the 15th Army was involved in the Chinese Fifth Phase Offensive as part of the 3rd Army Group in April 1951.〔.〕 The 15th Army later earned famed during the Battle of Triangle Hill in November 1952, and it was considered to be one of the elite units in PLA due to its performance in battle.〔.〕 On July 26, 1950, the PLAAF's Airborne Troops began when the Central Military Commission established the PLAAF 1st Marine Division in Shanghai, using the Third Field Army's 30th Army's 89th Division as a basis. On August 1, the brigade's Headquarters moved to Kaifeng, Henan Province, which were designated as the division's training bases. On September 17, the PLA formed a PLAAF 1st Airborne Brigade by recruiting six thousand battle hardened soldiers across the 40 Armies of PLA. Following the Soviet practice, this airborne brigade was assigned to the 1st Marine Division, which eventually became an airborne division. Training of the PLAAF 1st Marine Brigade immediately begun and after merely eleven days of intensive training, on September 29, 1950, its soldiers made their first jump. Cui Hanqing (崔汉卿), the commander of the 1st Airborne Battalion led the way and became the first paratrooper of PLA when he jumped first. Thereafter, the unit's designation changed several times, becoming the Air Force Marine 1st Division, the Paratroops Division of the Air Force, then the Airborne Division. In May 1961, the Military Commission changed the Army's 15th Army, which had fought during the Korean War, into the PLAAF 15th Airborne Army, and subordinated the PLAAF's original airborne division to this new Army.〔(GlobalSecurity.org ''"PLA Airborne Trrops"'' )〕 All of the PLA's paratroop units belongs to the PLAAF. In the 1960s when the commander of the PLAAF, General Liu Yalou was asked to create an airborne army, he picked the 15th Army because he had been impressed by its performance in Korea. During the restructuring of the PLA in 1985, the 15th Army was reduced to three brigades. In the 1990s, the PLA's concept of People's War was replaced by the Limited High-Intensity War concept. This in turn resulted in a return to a divisional structure with an all-over increase of 25% in the 15th Army's strength. It is now more appropriately referring to it as the 15th Airborne Corps. In 1985, most of the soldiers in the 15th Army were ordinary paratroopers trained for general supporting duties in a combined army campaign. Only 17 percent of them were specialized paratroopers. However, this percentage has now risen to 43 percent and ordinary paratroopers have dropped from 53 percent to 23 percent. The purpose of this increase in the percentage of specialized paratroopers was to make the 15th Airborne Corps into a combined arms force rather than just a mobile infantry force. Thus making it more capable of conducting independent operations in a limited but highly technological focused conflict.〔(China Defense.com ''"The 15th Airborne Corp"'' )〕 In May 1989, the 15th Airborne Corps’ 43rd and 44th Paratrooper Brigades were deployed to Beijing to enforce martial law and suppress the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.〔Based on Wu Renhua's study. (Chinese)(Wu Renhua, "进京的戒严部队和进京路线" 《1989天安门事件二十周年祭》系列之十二 ) Accessed 2013-06-29〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「15th Airborne Corps」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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