RIDICULOUS..! The PRC shoot-downs were SAMs, not AAM’s. The real topper is the one where they photo from ABOVE a U-2.
We are to believe they either had A/C which at that time flew HIGHER than the U-2, or this pilot just up and decided to cruise around willy-nilly at a dangerously low altitude over a denied area —suicide.
This puts the PRC on the credibility level of the “steel spider tank”-designing IRANIANS.
U-2 shootdowns DID occur, but not in this manner. RIDICULOUS.
The Chinese NOW have some good technology, but the gap is still there, and in 1958 the vast majority of Chinese were rural farmers with marginal literacy —plagues were common, and privately owned cars almost unheard of.
At the time the PLA still had a VERY large proportion of equipment pulled around by horses —most PLA aircraft were prop-driven and jet aircraft of any variety were something of a rarity.
Yet here we are to believe the PLA had planes that could climp to and engage U-2’s at their operational ceilings, or even best them, smiling loftily away from above.
This photo series only shows the high level of confidence their government has that their public is in the dark about technical matters, or their belief in the strength of blind nationalist zeal —most likely a combination of those two.
As their capabilities grow (e.g. construction of an aircraft carrier), my guess is we’ll see LOTS more creative historical revisionism.
I want to say, you do not understand this piece of history
What is a "steel spider tank" please? Is it related to barking spiders?
Cheers!