The Dong Feng-1 (DF-1) was a Chinese copy of the Russian R-2 (SS-2 ‘Sibling’) short-rage ballistic missile (SRBM). Originally known as ‘1059 Missile’, the DF-1 was developed by the Fifth Academy of Ministry of National Defence led by Dr Qian Xuesen and test launched for the first time in November 1960.
Development History
The PRC decided to embark on a programme to develop the nuclear weapon and missile delivery system in the aftermath of the Korean War. During the initial stage of the war, U.S. military commanders recommended the use of nuclear weapons to stop the advance of Chinese and North Korean troops. Shortly after, during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1954—55, the U.S. military once again threatened to use nuclear weapon against Chinese forces to stop a possible invasion of Taiwan. The Chinese political leadership saw these threats as “nuclear blackmail” and decided to counter them by pursuing the country’s own independent nuclear deterrence capability.
The Soviet Union provided key assistance in the early years of China’s ballistic missile programme including hardware, technology and expertise. In December 1957, the Soviet Union delivered two R-2 missiles and a full set of launch equipment to China. A Soviet Army rocket launch battalion of 102 men also came to China to teach their Chinese counterparts on the operation of these equipments. Delivery of six more missiles, along with over 10,000 volumes of blueprints and technical documents, were delivered to China in 1958. Soviet missile engineers arrived in China in August 1958 to assist on the local production of the R-2 missile. Moscow also helped train Chinese missile engineers in its universities.
The reverse-engineering of the Soviet R-2 missile began in May 1958 under the code name ‘Project 1059’, with the first test launch scheduled for October 1959. However, numerous technical issues plus difficulties in acquiring key materials from the Soviet Union caused significant delay to the development programme. The situation only improved when Liang Shoupan was appointed the Chief Designer of the missile in March 1959. Liang made the decision to postpone the missile’s first test launch by 12 months to October 1960, so that the design team was allowed extra time to address the various technical and quality issues in the development.
By 1960, the ideological dispute between Beijing and Moscow had escalated into public arguments and eventually led to a breakup of all ties. In June 1960, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev ordered the suspension of all Sino-Soviet co-operation and the withdrawal of 1,400 Soviet experts working in China. The stop of Soviet assistance caused some disruptions to China’s missile programme, but the Fifth Academy quickly resumed the R-2 development independently.
Testing
At 07:42 local time on 10 September 1960, a Soviet-supplied R-2 missile fuelled with Chinese-made propellants was successfully launched from the Jiuquan missile range. This was China’s first ever ballistic missile launch. On 7 October, the Chinese-made 5D52 liquid rocket engine passed the 90s full-thrust ground test, paving the way for the flight test. On 19 October, three Chinese-made R-2 missiles (two operational missiles and one telemetry missile) were delivered from the missile assembly plant in Beijing to the Jiuquan missile range.
At 09:00 on 5 November, a Chinese-made R-2 missile was launched from Northwest Missile Range. Seven minutes later, the missile hit its targeted impact zone 550 km away. Two further missile launches were conducted on 6 December and 16 December respectively. These tests successfully concluded China’s first ballistic missile development programme.
After the missile was certified for design finalisation, two further test launches were conducted in October 1963, both of which were successful.
Design Features
The R-2 was an improved version of the R-1 (Soviet copy of the German A-4/V-2), with a maximum range of 590 km. The single-stage rocket was powered by a liquid-fuel rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and alcohol, with a launch mass of 20.5 metric tons. The missile utilised an inertial guidance package coupled with radio signal corrections for improved accuracy. The missile body is in a cigar shape, with a shape nose cone and four stabilising fins attached to the bottom of the missile.
The missile was originally known only in its code name ‘1059 Missile’, but was given an official designation as DF-1 in 1964. The missile was built in small batch production and delivered to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for training purpose. In June 1966, the Central Military Commission (CMC) approved the closure of the missile production line.
