- Zhang Taofang
Infobox Military Person
name= Zhang Taofang
_uk. 張桃芳
caption= Zhang Taofang with hisMosin-Nagant Rifle
lived= 1931 –April 29 ,2007 (aged 76)
placeofbirth=China
placeofdeath=China
nickname=
allegiance=People's Republic of China
branch=Peoples Liberation Army Chinese People's Volunteer Army
serviceyears= January 11th, 1953 -
rank=
unit= 8 company, 214 Regiment, 24 Corps
commands=
battles=Korean War
Battle of Shang Gan Ling
awards= Sniper Hero Class II
relations=
laterwork=Zhang Taofang, (
Traditional Chinese : 張桃芳;Wade-Giles : "Zhang Tao-fang") (1931 -April 29 ,2007 ) was a Chinese soldier during theKorean War , and is one of the most successful snipers in history. He is credited with 214 confirmed kills in 32 days without using a sniper magnifying scope. [ [http://www.snipercentral.com/snipers.htm#korea The Sniper Log Book—World War II] ]Korean War
On January 11th, 1953, Zhang, who had been enrolled in the army for no more than two years and together with soldiers of 8 company, 214 Regiment, 24 Corps. He was assigned to fight at Shang Gan Ling, equipped with an old
Mosin-Nagant without a PU scope.After waiting 18 days at his position, Zhang spotted an enemy and immediately aimed and fired 12 shots, only to miss them all. This eager action attracted enemy fire, which almost killed him. After this, he carefully analyzed why he failed and figured out a technique using the
iron sight to improve his shooting ability. He shot down one enemy the next day. As he accumulated experience and his shooting skills improved, he shot an increasing number of enemies.On February 15, he hit 7 enemies with 9 bullets, which surpassed experienced snipers. As he improved he became encouraged as the greatest among his comrade in arms. UN troops found themselves under disturbingly accurate aimed fire from communist lines, as Zhang constantly shot at whoever he spotted at the enemies side. The commanding officer of the 1st US Marines had binoculars shot off his hand as he was observing around his trenches. At the end of the battle he achieved a total of 214 confirmed kills on UN troops in 32 days. [ [http://www.paulnoll.com/Korea/War/sniper-1.html Chinese Sniper Zhang Taofang] ]
Books
* Martin Pegler (2006) "Out of Nowhere: A history of the Military Sniper" ISBN 1841768545
* Kevin Dockery (2007) "Stalkers and Shooters: A History of Snipers" ISBN 0425215423References
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