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In 1962, China captured the Mi-8 helicopter and copied it in the self-defense counterattack against India
1962: The unexpected "harvest" of that war - the Mi-8 helicopter and the "detour" of China's helicopter industry
In the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict, the Chinese army displayed the military art of "low damage and strong humiliation" - captured India weapons, polished and then returned to Zhao. But among them, there is one "trophy" that is particularly eye-catching, which directly changed the fate of China's helicopter industry, that is, the Mi-8 helicopter.
Imagine this: the India army happily received the Mi-8, which had just been successfully flown by the Soviet Union, which was one of the most advanced helicopters in the Soviet Union at that time, and had not yet officially entered service! As a result, before it was hot, it became an "unexpected surprise" for the Chinese army. This plot is comparable to a spy war blockbuster!
This is no ordinary helicopter, it is a treasure that the Soviet Union began to develop in 1958, finalized in 1961, and officially entered service in 1967. The Soviet Union was "generous" to India, directly supporting this cutting-edge technology for small batch production. China, on the other hand, unexpectedly received this "windfall".
After getting the Mi-8, China was not in a hurry. Instead, an in-depth program demonstration was carried out, and finally the project was officially established in 1971 to develop the Z-7 helicopter. This was not achieved overnight, and it was not until 1979 that the developers succeeded in developing two aircraft: one for static testing and the other for test flights.
As soon as this news came out, United States and France could not sit still! They immediately expressed their readiness to export Black Hawk and Super Hornet helicopters to China. It's like you worked hard to get admitted to Tsinghua University, and Harvard and Cambridge took the initiative to send you admission letters!
However, at that time, China's economic strength and scientific research strength were limited, and it was impossible to maintain two medium-sized helicopter development teams at the same time. As a result, a difficult choice emerged: let the Z-7 project, which had not yet been tested, get off the horse, and fully cooperate with France to develop the "Super Wasp", which was later the Z-8.
However, the nature of the France to "see the money" is exposed. After the Z-7 project was launched, their asking price increased significantly, which is simply a blatant commercial fraud! The United States were no exception, originally promising to export 100 "Black Hawks", but after seeing the Z-7 dismount and get the plateau data, only symbolically exported 24 and stopped.
Despite all these twists and turns, the Z-8 project eventually succeeded, and a variety of models were derived. The Chinese version of the "Black Hawk" - Z-20 was also successfully developed. But this road is really winding and winding, and it also costs a lot of money.
It is worth mentioning that the Z-7 is still the largest helicopter successfully developed by China, with a maximum take-off weight of 14.4 tons, while the Z-8 is only 13 tons and the Z-20 is only 10 tons. Later, China purchased more than 300 Mi-171 helicopters (a modification of the Mi-8).
Looking back, if it were not for the Mi-8 captured in that war and the successful development of the Z-7, China might not have been able to buy the "Super Wasp" and "Black Eagle" at that time. It was like an unexpected "butterfly effect" that changed the trajectory of the Chinese helicopter industry.
Therefore, in that war, in addition to military victory, China also received an unexpected "scientific and technological gift", although the packaging box of this gift was a bit "tortuous", but in the end it still achieved the glory of China's helicopter industry. Among them, there is not only strategic vision, but also helpless compromise, and the tenacious struggle of Chinese scientific researchers. And this is the most memorable part of this history.
(Note: The content of this article is mainly based on the text information provided, and supplemented and interpreted in combination with the publicly available information.) Due to limited information, some details may be biased, and readers are welcome to add more detailed information. )
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