【11.3.2 TIME】China's Most Secret Weapon: The Messenger Pigeon

連長

China's Most Secret Weapon: The Messenger Pigeon[size=0.9em]By CHENGCHENG JIANG / BEIJING Wednesday, Mar. 02, 2011

中國最機密的武器：信鴿

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2049569,00.html

Though the world's attention has recently been focused on the unveiling of China's first ever stealth fighter jet, the Chinese military has been busy investing in another type of furtive flyer: the humble messenger pigeon. According to reports in state media, late last year, the Chengdu division of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) began training 10,000 pigeons as part of a push to build a "reserve pigeon army" that would provide support to the military's conventional communications infrastructure in the event that war rendered its plethora of modern technology unusable.

"These military pigeons will be primarily called upon to conduct special military missions between troops stationed at our land borders or ocean borders," air force military expert Chen Hong told China Central Television after the announcement. According to reports, the birds will be dispersed to communications bases across China's remote and mountainous southwestern region, particularly around the Himalayan foothills. The pigeons, flying at speeds of up to 75 miles (120 km) per hour, will be trained to carry loads of up to 3.5 oz. (100 g).(See the top 10 militant animals.)

The birds have a long history of service in China. Messenger pigeons have been used in the country for more than a thousand years, and pigeons have been earning their military stripes here since at least the late 1930s. In 1937 Lieutenant Claire Lee Chennault, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, arrived in China to head up a group of U.S.-sponsored aviators known as the Flying Tigers, tasked with taking to the air to repel the Japanese invasion of the mainland. He brought with him hundreds of messenger pigeons to help with the war effort, and after the war, he left the birds behind. That group of pigeons would form the core of the PLA's first military pigeon brigade.

Today the pigeons serve alongside 10,000 dogs in PLA service, guarding military warehouses, assisting special police forces and supporting border troops. Two thousand new dogs are reportedly signed up each year. Horses, once an important part of the military operations, have fallen out of fashion, as the PLA cavalry has played an increasingly peripheral role. There are said to be fewer than 1,000 cavalry soldiers left in the PLA, and those who remain mostly take part in exhibitions or movie shoots.(See pictures of animals in space.)

The Chinese army is far from the only one to turn to these winged warriors in times of trouble. Hundreds of pigeons were dropped over Normandy during the D-Day landings to provide a communication channel back to Britain for soldiers who feared their radio messages would be intercepted by the Nazis. The first pigeon to make it back to London with the news that the invasion had been a success was awarded high military honors. Criminals, too, have found pigeons useful: in January, authorities in Colombia apprehended a pigeon that was being used by smugglers to deliver narcotics to their incarcerated compatriots. The over-burdened bird, with cocaine and marijuana strapped to its back, fell out of the sky before crossing the prison walls.(Comment on this story.)

In China, the birds are also used for recreation. Pigeon racing — and pigeon breeding in general — has exploded in popularity among China's upwardly mobile middle class. In late January, at a pigeon auction in Belgium, an unnamed Chinese bidder broke the world record price for a single pigeon by paying $200,000 for a pedigree Belgian racing bird, considered the crème de la crème of the pigeon racing world.

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该贴已经同步到 連長的微博

連長

连长同学认领，多有趣儿的文章啊

連長

(#‵′)靠！！！
我看这个作者是中国人，就google了一下他的名字，结果发现译言已经翻译了


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中国最秘密的武器：信鸽

     尽管世界最近的注意力都放到了披露出来的中国的秘密战机身上，但是中国军方最近忙着投资另一种秘密飞行器——不引人注意的信鸽。根据国家媒体的报道，在去年年底，中国解放军成都军区开始训练10,000只信鸽作为推动，来建设“鸽子军队预备队”，这将会给在战争中军方的常规通迅设施提供支持，而这些常规设施有时提供过剩无用的信息。
”这些军鸽主要用来在我们边境和海洋边境线军队哨所之间执行一些特殊的任务，“空军专家在发布后陈红告诉CCTV。根据报道，这些鸽子将被分发到中国偏远地区和多山的西南地区的通讯基站，特别是喜马拉雅山附近。这些鸽子飞行时速120km，将被训练携带负荷最高100g。
1

  
这种鸟在中国有很长的服务历史。信鸽在中国的使用超过了1000年，它们在19世纪30年代赢得了军方的奖章。在1937年，Claire Lee Chennault中尉，一位美国退休空军飞行员，来到中国组建一群由美国支持的飞行员，也就是飞虎队，他们的任务是击退日本对大陆的入侵，在战争后，信鸽被留下来了。那群信鸽组成了PLA的军方鸽子部队的核心。
2

现在，鸽子和10,000狗警卫着军方的仓库，帮助特警和支持边防部队。根据报道2000只新的警犬每年加入服役。马曾经是部队的重要部分，现在已经退出了时代，因为军方的骑兵部队越来越多地在外围执行任务。据说在中国人民解放军中仅有不超过1,000骑兵在服役，大多数参加展览和电影拍摄。1

  在困难时期求助鸽子，中国军队离这已经很远了。在在诺曼底登陆当天，成百上千的鸽子降落在诺曼底来给英国提供通讯反馈的频道，因为当时他们害怕无线电信号被纳粹破坏。第一支把登陆成功的消息带回英国的信鸽被奖励最高部队荣誉。犯罪分子也发现了鸽子很有用：在1月，哥伦比亚当局截获了一只鸽子，它被走私者用来给他们监狱中的同伙运送麻醉剂。超过100只鸽子，携带着可卡因和大麻在它们的背上，在飞跃监狱墙时，从空中掉了下来。
在中国，这种鸟也被用来娱乐。鸽子竞赛——所以鸽子饲养很广泛——在中国向上层流动的中层很流行。在1月末，在比利时鸽子拍卖会上，一位匿名的中国竞拍者打破世界纪录，一只鸽子支付200,000美金，是比利时赛鸽血统，被认为是世界赛鸽的crème de la crème。

連長

好吧，我另找一篇有趣的文章！
哼