Published : 2025-11-05
On 5 November 1960, China successfully launched a missile codenamed "1059", and it hit its target.
From then on, China's history of not having missiles came to an end. Later, this "1059" missile was named "Dongfeng-1" (東風一號), becoming China's first domestically produced surface-to-surface missile.
Looking back, the successful launch of the Dongfeng-1 missile went through an arduous and convoluted process.
In October 1955, rocket technology expert Qian Xuesen (錢學森) broke through numerous difficulties to return to China from the United States.
Shortly after, the "Proposal for the Establishment of Our Nation's Defence Aviation Industry" drafted by him was submitted to leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
In October 1956, China's first missile research institution, the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defence, was formally established, with Qian Xuesen as its director.
At a time when the People's Republic of China (PRC) was in need of reconstruction from the ground up, the research and development of cutting-edge weapons was extremely difficult.
A basic textbook compiled by Qian Xuesen at that time, An Introduction to Missiles, served to enlighten China's first generation of aerospace personnel engaged in missile and rocket development.
In December 1957, China began to copy the Soviet P-2 short-range missile, naming the P-2 missile's Chinese copy "1059".
At that time, China set a goal to complete the copying task before September 1959, and to strive for a test launch during the National Day period in October, so as to present it as a gift for the 10th anniversary of the founding of PRC. This was also the reason why the missile's codename was set as "1059".
However, just as the research mission was entering its final stage, the Soviet Union unilaterally tore up the agreement. At the time, the Soviet experts assisting China at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu withdrew in batches back to their country, taking all the teaching plans and technical data with them.
Faced with such a difficult situation, Chinese scientific researchers did not give up. Instead, they rose to the challenge and overcame the difficulties, finally succeeding in launching China's first missile, Dongfeng-1, on 5 November 1960.
At that time, Marshal Nie Rongzhen (聶榮臻), who presided over the launch, said delightedly: "Today, on the soil of our motherland, we have launched a missile produced by ourselves. This is an important turning point in the history of our country's military equipment!"
