Development of Chinese Nationalist air force (1937–1945)
The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) was officially formed by the Kuomintang (KMT) after the establishment of the Aviation Ministry in 1920. As tensions mounted between China and Imperial Japan in the 1930s, air units from the Chinese warlords, including those from the Guangdong Provincial Air Force, and overseas Chinese aviators, became integrated into the centralized command of the ROCAF, nominally as the Nationalist Air Force of China, and coordinating with the Second United Front to counter the Imperial Japanese invasion and occupation.
| Republic of China Air Force | |
|---|---|
Flag of the Air Force from 1937 to 1948. | |
| Active | 1937 – 1945 |
| Country | Republic of China |
| Allegiance | Republic of China |
| Type | Air Force |
| Engagements | Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
Of all the Chinese warlord air force units to join the centralized Nationalist Chinese Air Force command, the Guangxi Clique was the last to unite, in November 1937; under the continued leadership of generals Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, now serving in the KMT, they and their airmen would earn honorable recognition at the Battle of Taierzhuang.