| Zhang Taofang Chinese: 張桃芳 | |
| Birth Date: | 29 April 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Xinghua, Jiangsu, Republic of China |
| Death Place: | Weifang, Shandong, China |
| Branch: | People's Volunteer Army |
| Battles: | Korean War |
| Unit: | 8th Company, 214th Regiment, 24th Corps |
Zhang Taofang, (29 April 1931 - 29 October 2007) was a Chinese sniper. He is credited with killing or wounding 214 in 32 days during the Korean War.[1]
Zhang deployed to Triangle Hill with the 8th company, 214th Regiment, 24th Corps on 11 January 1953; he had been part of the army for less than two years. He was armed with an old Mosin–Nagant without a PU scope.[2]
18 days later Zhang spotted a target. He immediately aimed, fired, and missed 12 times, and was nearly killed by counter-fire. Based on that experience, Zhang refined his aiming technique with the iron sight, and the next time he fired, he hit the target. On February 15, he hit 7 targets with 9 rounds, a ratio surpassing many experienced snipers.[2]
According to a publicity photograph,[1] Zhang reportedly killed or wounded 214 in 32 days, winning him a first class merit.[2] [1]
After the end of the Korean War in 1954, Zhang was transferred to the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), and was sent to study at the PLAAF aviation schools in Xuzhou and Jinan. In 1956, he joined the Chinese Communist Party and worked as a fighter pilot at the Air Force Training Base in Gaomi, where he flew MiG-15 and MiG-15bis trainers. Under the instructions of PLAAF commander Liu Yalou, Zhang was appointed as the battalion commander of an air defense force. Later, he served as deputy instructor of the guard company of an air base, student at the Shanghai Air Force Political School, instructor of the guard company of Weixian Air Base in Shandong and deputy chief of staff of the Ninth Surface-to-Air Missile Regiment Command. He retired from military service in 1985.[3] Zhang died on 29 October 2007.[4]
Sniper (2022 film) is a fictionalized account of the experiences of Zhang Taofang during the Korean War, funded by the China Film Administration.[5]
China