The first one has a dark colored hatch.

I think it may be because of the amount of light. If you look at the white hatch on the second one it appears darker than the third. You can also see a lighter/silver area just beneath the canopy on the other J-11s and UBKs but cannot see that area on the first UBK.

plawolf
u can clearly see that it says ‘chinESE air force’ on the badge (which uses the right gramma).

I think the emblem actually says “Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force” but I don’t mean to split hairs.

My only point was I would expect a high caliber mainland magazine to use China Air Force because that is the way the PLA press renders it.

Plawolf
they have the PLAAF badge on the wing and tail, yet have ‘china air force’ in english on the side (which really should be ‘chinese air force’ at that). think they might be trying to make a political message?

I’m surprised at you Plawolf. China Air Force is the translation for Zhongguo Kongjun on the magazine. As far as the use of English, even the logo for the 1st Division uses English.

1st Div Emblem

A few more quotes from China Today: Aviation Industry.

“The J-8II was developed on the basis of the J-8 aircraft but significant improvements were incorporated.” Also, “The J-8 had more than 70 percent modifications over the J-8 and one thrid of its total vendor-furnished-equipment were replaced.” Also, the engines were replaced with the WP13As.

Factoids on J-8 development from “China Today: Aviation Industry”

May 1964 first meeting on J-8 project.
Oct 64 ‘work on the conceptual definition” started
Project approval May 17, 1965
December 1965 wooden mockup reviewed
Complete set of drawings released end of 1966
Production documents early 1967
First 2 J-8s were completed July 1968
First flight: July 5, 1969 ((a year later……))
“The J-8 design was based on the three years study of the Mig-21 design and on the investigation of foreign aircraft technologies. The selected design configuration for the J-8 was not only advanced but also similar to the previous Mig aircraft which had been put into production in China.”
From 1969 to 1979: 1025 takeoff and landings and 663 flying hours. (average flight 38 minutes).
Formally certified on March 2, 1980

There were three flameouts in the J-8 before 1976 adn three more in October 1976. The hydrolic pump was a problem in the J-8I and the first plane burned on the ground during ground run-up tests on June 25, 1980.

In the bablfish translation provided, notice it said the design was changed into a day fighter because the radar was not available.

Design of the J-8I started Feb 1978 with first prototype done in May 1980.

J-8I certified July 27, 1985.

Sorry if some of this is redundant to all that has been said.

In the second photo you can see there are numbers just below the logo. Do you remember what the number was?

Even as late as the first SIno-Vietnamese war in 1979 the J-7 was still a problematic aircraft being considered for the scrap heap. There were no more than three or four regiments of J-7s at the end of 1979.