This is to counter the bombing of Shanghai and various other cities by the Republic of China Air Force and to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan in the future.

The brigade concentrated all the air power of the People's Republic of China and thus included of many types of aircraft.

Under the orders of Liu Yalou, the brigade was relocated to Liaoyang by brigadier-general Fang Ziyi in preparation of the Korean War.

The entire division included 60 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s, two Yakovlev Yak-12s and one Guard battalion with a total of 1983 personnel.

Li Han was the first Chinese pilot credited with shooting down a U.S. aircraft.

Pilot Zhao Zhichai being ambushed by American forces and shot down, navigation errors, mid-air collisions between friendly aircraft and the death of regimental commander Zhao Dahai led to the division's temporary relief from combat missions.

Zhang Jihui and his wingman Dan Zhiyu fought and won against an American F-86 Sabre led by flying ace George Andrew Davis Jr.[10][11] The division fought 17 battles, shot down 17 and damaged 6 American aircraft for the duration of its deployment.

Due to the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 7 July 1953, the 4th Division was ordered to stop all combat operations and returned to its base in Liaoyang.

[13] During the Korean War, the 4th Division was tasked with protecting the supply chains and key locations of the People's Volunteer Army.

[4] 46 wings of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 aircraft were imported from the Soviet Union to equip the division in October 1958.

The 1st Regiment was temporary reformed into a night flying unit under the direct control of the division leader.

On 15 November 1964, 2nd Large Squadron leader Xu Kaitong piloting a Chinese Shenyang J-6 managed to bring down a United States Armed Forces Ryan Model 147 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in the stratosphere, becoming the first recorded instance of an aircraft being shot down in the stratosphere.

The division was the first unit in the People's Liberation Army Air Force to adapt the Shenyang J-8.

The China Aerospace Studies Institute of the U.S. Air Force identifies these aircraft as tail numbers 61022, 61023, 61026, 61027, 61120, 61121, 61125, 61127, and 61128.