World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseYue Yizhong was born to scholar Yue Hezhou in Lushan County, Sichuan Province, China in 1913. According to family lore, he was a descendant of famous Southern Song Dynasty General Yue Fei. The Chinese character for Yue differed from the Song general, however; this was explained as a change in the character by the Yue family immediately after Yue Fei's death to escape persecution by Prime Minister Qin Kuai. Starting in 1929, he attended Huaxi High School in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, where he was athletic, representing Sichuan Province in track meets on the national level. Around this time, he adopted the courtesy name of Yue Yiqin. In 1931, he entered Cheeloo University (Wade-Giles: Qilu; name prior to 1931: Shantung Christian University) in Jinan, Shandong Province, China to study medicine. In the winter of 1932, upon learning of the Japanese violations of Chinese sovereignty in northeastern China, he decided to join the military. He used an older sibling's credentials to apply to the prestigious Central Air Academy in 1932, abandoning his medical studies. He was accepted by the Hangzhou Jianqiao training program in the spring of 1933 and graduated with the academy's third class in 1935. After graduation, he successively served as a pilot with the 8th Pursuit Squadron, a training instructor at the Central Aviation Academy, and then a flight leader with the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the 4th Pursuit Group. At dawn on 15 Aug 1937, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, he shot down four Japanese carrier-based A5M fighters over Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. After the action, he noted that he had used every single bullet in the long engagement, and his fuel tank was nearly empty. week later, on 21 Aug, he shot down a Japanese E8N floatplane and became an ace. He was then promoted to become the deputy commanding officer the 22nd Pursuit Squadron. On 3 Dec 1937, while attempting to attack incoming Japanese Army bombers near Nanjing, China, his Hawk III fighter designated IV-1 was damaged by escorting Japanese Navy A5M carrier fighters; Yue was killed when his parachute failed to open after bailing out. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of major.

Photographs

Yue Yiqin Timeline