What did the declassified documents reveal?

Declassified. From the Central Intelligence Agency, a National Intelligence Survey from December nineteen-fifty-two titled "Communist China: Air Forces". This declassified record provides a snapshot of U.S. intelligence assessments of the Chinese Communist Air Force during the Korean War. You can find this document at documents two dot the black vault dot com. This document was declassified under the authority of N N D four nine-three three seven, with a review date of February seventh, two thousand nine, in accordance with Executive Order twelve thousand nine hundred fifty-eight Section three point four. This record was reviewed by the C I A. We turn now to Section eighty-three: Air Forces. Quote: A. General It is currently estimated that the indigenous Chinese Communist Air Force (exclusive of other Communist air units operating with it, such as the North Korean Air Force and possibly some units of unidentified subordination) has a strength of approximately two thousand three hundred combat aircraft of all types. This total includes approximately one thousand four hundred jet fighters composed predominantly of first-line M I G-fifteen types, and a few second-line M I G-nine types. The older M I G-nine’s, although still classed as combat aircraft, are used principally for transition training of pilots from piston types to jets. The C C A F is organized into a total of twenty-one air divisions, with a personnel total of approximately fifty-five thousand, including four thousand pilots. The main concentration of air force strength in Communist China is presently in a portion of the Northeast Military District (Manchuria) adjacent to Korea, approximately one hundred fifty nautical miles deep and paralleling the Yalu River (Ya-li Chiang). This belt shelters the area surrounding Mukden (Shen-yang), the communication center and industrial metropolis of the Chinese Communist far north, from United Nations forces in Korea. The main C C A F strength is located contiguous to disputed portions of the North Korean air space for two purposes: one) to provide for air defense of this vital Communist Chinese area, through which pass the principal transportation routes from the [document truncated]. The accompanying archive entry from The Black Vault notes that this report states the Chinese Communist Air Force in nineteen fifty-two consisted of approximately two thousand three hundred combat aircraft, including one thousand four hundred jet fighters, mostly M I G-fifteens. The report further notes an estimated fifty-five thousand personnel, including four thousand pilots, organized into twenty-one air divisions. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. Find this document and more at storyflo dot com, under the canonical U R L archive dot org slash download slash us-china-intel-C I zero zero nine three four slash C I zero zero nine three four underscore djvu dot txt.

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

CIA Communist China: Air Forces

◆ BLUF — The short version

Declassified. From the Central Intelligence Agency, a National Intelligence Survey from December nineteen-fifty-two titled "Communist China: Air Forces". S. intelligence assessments of the Chinese Communist Air Force during the Korean War. You can find this document at documents two dot the black vault dot com.

Date: OCT 10 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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Declassified. From the Central Intelligence Agency, a National Intelligence Survey from December nineteen-fifty-two titled "Communist China: Air Forces". This declassified record provides a snapshot of U.S. intelligence assessments of the Chinese Communist Air Force during the Korean War. You can…

View the primary source document

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What was CIA Communist China: Air Forces about?: Declassified. From the Central Intelligence Agency, a National Intelligence Survey from December nineteen-fifty-two titled "Communist China: Air Forces". S. intelligence assessments of the Chinese Communist Air Force during the Korean War. You can find this document at documents two dot the black vault dot com.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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