Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 361-359 The Battle of Jiangyin, Japanese Aerial Plot, and the Rescue of Zhoujiakou

Time flies, and it's already late November.

The defensive situation between Nanjing and Shanghai gradually deteriorated.

The Japanese army concentrated its forces in the area between Taihu Lake and the Yangtze River and launched an attack towards Nanjing. Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changshu along this defensive line fell one after another.

The Nationalist government's troops retreated to the Jiangyin and Changshu area.

As the Japanese army approached, the air raids on Nanjing became increasingly frequent.

Even the water-based airfields along the Yangtze River were spotted with Japanese warplanes.

Airport alarms sounded, and staff shouted, "Don't panic, come with us!"

Led by staff, civilians who were preparing to evacuate by plane took refuge in temporary shelters.

Looking at the planes in the sky, Fang Wen, based on his experience, realized that these three planes were not targeting the seaplane base. They seemed to have deviated from their original course to get here while trying to avoid ground anti-aircraft fire during an air raid.

The Japanese warplanes circled once in the air before turning away.

Fang Wen felt a chill run down his spine. Japanese warplanes had already spotted the area. Seeing so many seaplanes on the river, even if they weren't military aircraft, they would probably send warplanes to sabotage it.

It seems I have to put aside my work in leading the civilian evacuation operation and return to the air battle.

But we need to talk to Captain Gao first. Fighter jets from Taishan need to be reported and applied for permission before they can come to Nanjing.

Fang Wen then explained the situation and drove Gong Xiuneng back to the city.

The car traveled along the Qinhuai River road, entered Nanjing from Guangzhou Road, turned onto Zhongshan Avenue from Shanghai Road, then turned onto Zhongshan South Road in the city center, and finally arrived at Dajiaochang Airport in the south of the city.

This is the command center of the air force, where Captain Gao directs and coordinates the operations of several air squadrons of the National Air Force.

Fang Wen stopped outside the airport and identified himself to the guards.

"I am Fang Wen, the commander of the Taishan Independent Regiment. I have something to discuss with your Commander Gao."

Fang Wen's name may not be well-known in the army, but it is widely known in the air force; even the guards at the gate know him.

The guard glanced at Fang Wen in surprise, then turned and went into the guard post to report by phone.

After he finished reporting, he came over and said, "Please wait here for a moment, someone will come to confirm."

This is normal procedure; it's impossible for someone to enter a military restricted area just by giving a name if they don't know the person.

Fang Wen didn't say anything, and turned off the engine to wait.

After a while, a car drove up from inside, and the air force officer inside got out and greeted Fang Wen warmly, "Commander Fang, it's been a long time."

This is a pilot from the Fourth Aviation Squadron under Captain Gao. Fang Wen had fought alongside him many times and they were quite familiar with each other.

"Yes, it's been more than a month since we last met," Fang Wen replied with a smile.

"Please follow me, Commander Gao is waiting for you."

The officer then returned to his car and took Fang Wen into the airport.

(Aerial view of Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport)

The two cars drove forward along the road beside the runway and came to a construction area.

There are not only control towers, barracks, and hangars, but also waiting villas; it looks very well built.

But now, during wartime, the usual scenes of officials and wealthy businessmen traveling around are gone; instead, there are many more warplanes, anti-aircraft guns, and numerous soldiers and officers.

The car in front stopped, and Fang Wen also stopped his car and got out.

"Please follow me." The pilot led Fang Wen into a two-story building.

On the first floor, in the second room from the left, Fang Wen met Captain Gao.

Captain Gao stood up to greet him warmly.

"I heard you fought some brilliant battles in the north. I've been looking forward to your arrival so I can tell you how you won those victories. Oh dear, look at me, I'm so impatient. Come in and sit down, we'll talk slowly."

Fang Wen entered the house, while Gong Xiuneng stood guard outside.

Inside the house, Captain Gao made Fang Wen a cup of tea, looking forward to it.

It seemed he wouldn't rest until he heard Fang Wen talk about the war in the north.

In response, Fang Wen could only set aside the main matter for now and instead recount the situation of the battles in the Taiyuan area.

As fellow air force personnel, what he said was very appealing to Captain Gao, who then analyzed it in detail.

"The Japanese army still has a large number of biplane fighters, and their combat tactics are rigid. If we had more fighters to fight in the north, we should be able to pose a greater threat to the Japanese army, and might even be able to change the course of the war. Also, your fully mechanized air-ground cooperation combat mode is amazing. This combat mode has been repeatedly studied by the German officer advisory group. They said that this is the best modern combat method. But the requirements are too strict, and it is difficult to do it like you did."

"The German military advisory group is studying my air-ground joint operations model?" Fang Wen was stunned.

Two years later, the German army will use Blitzkrieg to rapidly advance in Europe. Its own air-ground joint operations model, although a concept from the future, is not without its own Blitzkrieg theory.

Unexpectedly, they ended up being studied by the other party.

But Fang Wen understood the core of this combat mode; in this era, no one but himself could achieve this level of skill.

Therefore, Fang Wen was not worried about his tactics being figured out and copied in Europe, and he spoke up to state his purpose for coming.

"I want to transfer eight fighter jets from the Independent Regiment to protect the 50 seaplanes at the sea airfield."

“Sure. That’s great. With your assistance, we can better intercept Japanese air raids. When are you coming?” Captain Gao agreed without hesitation.

"As long as you arrange the airport here, I will notify them to fly over."

"Hmm. There are several squadrons of planes around here at Dajiaochang, so it's not very convenient. Why don't you choose one of the other two?"

The other two airports that Captain Gao mentioned are the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Temporary Airport and the Ming Palace Airport.

The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Temporary Airport is located on a road in downtown NJ leading to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. It was a temporary airport specifically converted for the parking and takeoff of Martin-139WC bombers.

The Ming Palace Airport is located within the Ming Palace itself, utilizing the open and flat grounds within the palace grounds for aircraft takeoffs and landings, which is also a good option.

Between the two airports, Fang Wen chose Ming Palace Airport, since it should be more spacious and there would be no need to worry about the runway being occupied.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, accompanied by Captain Gao, went to Ming Palace Airport to coordinate with the airport staff there.

After the matter was settled, Captain Gao shared some good news.

"Commander Fang, now China is not the only country that has Soviet Il-16 fighter jets. We have also purchased a batch."

"Really! How many did you buy?" Fang Wen asked.

"The first batch of 13 aircraft arrived and all landed at Zhoujiakou Airport. I'm going to go and take a look. From now on, I can fly the Il-16 and fight alongside you."

Captain Gao was very excited when he said this. He had been envious of Fang Wen's Il-16 for a long time, and now the National Air Force finally had one too.

For some reason, Fang Wen felt that something was off about this matter.

(Aerial view of Ming Palace Airport)

11 month 20 day.

Eight fighter jets from the 8st Battalion of the Taishan Independent Regiment landed at Ming Palace Airport.

The pilots disembarked from their fighter jets, lined up, and Qi Baoqian reported to Fang Wen.

"Reporting to the commander, eight fighter jets have arrived safely, and three other seaplanes carrying supplies have landed at the riverside sea airport."

Fang Wen nodded. The three seaplanes were mainly carrying military supplies for the Taishan fighter jets. These supplies included 20mm cannon shells, aerial bombs, and high-quality aviation gasoline, all of which the Nationalist Air Force could not provide.

He arranged for four pilots to stay at the airport, while he and four other pilots drove two trucks to the sea airport.

The military supplies over there have been unloaded and carefully loaded into trucks by Taishan Airlines staff for transport to Ming Palace Airport.

It took three trips to transport all the supplies.

These supplies were placed in a warehouse at the Ming Palace Airport and guarded by a squad of soldiers from an independent regiment who arrived by transport plane.

Also arriving were the mechanics and ground crew of the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment, who immediately inspected the aircraft and installed ammunition.

Meanwhile, Pan Jiafeng, who had arrived in the Shrike, was about to return on a seaplane.

After all, as the battalion commander of the 2nd Aviation Battalion of the Independent Regiment, Pan Jiafeng had a lot of things to do. He had to lead the night transport team and also manage the gunboat squadron in Fuping.

Therefore, Pan Jiafeng, who could not participate in the air battle in Nanjing, boarded the vehicle with regret and headed to the sea airport to return home.

Watching his apprentice leave, Fang Wen solemnly addressed the other pilots, saying, "The air raids on Nanjing are very frequent, and we'll probably have an emergency flight mission tomorrow. Everyone needs to conserve their energy and go back to rest immediately." The pilots carried their luggage to the airport dormitory, but Fang Wen didn't rest. He began inspecting each aircraft to ensure that all eight fighter jets were in good condition to prepare for the air battle that would begin tomorrow.

After a night.

An alarm suddenly went off at the airport.

The sound came from the loudspeaker.

"Attention, a call from the front: 30 Japanese warplanes are flying in from Shanghai and may attack Jiangyin, Changzhou, or even Nanjing. Command orders all air squadrons to scramble and engage them."

As the alarm sounded, pilots ran out of the barracks at Ming Palace Airport.

They boarded their respective fighter jets and took off to engage in combat.

Fang Wen and the pilots of the Taishan fighter squadron immediately boarded their planes and took off.

Eight fighter jets took off, forming a combat unit of two.

First in line: Fang Wen, Du Jiahuai.

Left wing: Deng Zhongyu, Rao Minghe.

Right Wing: Qi Baoqian, Fan Bosheng.

Following them: Shao Deqing, Zhai Xiaojun.

At the same time that Fang Wen's fighter jet formation took off.

Several other air squadrons flew in the same direction.

However, this overall operation lacked unified command, with each air force acting independently.

Fang Wen was already aware of this situation. Due to the backward technology of air communication equipment, radio voice equipment was too bulky to be installed in fighter jets. Even the Taishan Air Force could only use special commands via coded devices, and there was no solution for the time being.

The good news is that the Japanese aircraft were in the same situation, so in the battle, everyone had to rely on their own strength.

Twenty minutes later, more than twenty fighter jets flew 150 kilometers and arrived in the Changzhou and Jiangyin area, where they encountered a group of Japanese fighter jets.

The two sides engaged in a fierce aerial battle, with dozens of fighter jets chasing each other.

Faced with this situation, Fang Wen did not immediately issue an order to attack.

In his view, this situation was the most dangerous, with bullets flying erratically in the air, enemy and friendly positions changing constantly, and the situation completely out of control.

If they rush in rashly, the Taishan fighter squadron might face a situation where a novice is overwhelmed by a flurry of attacks, thus suffering heavy losses.

In this situation, the best tactic is to find the enemy's weaknesses and then defeat them one by one.

He activated his mechanical perception mode and surveyed the entire situation.

All 30 Japanese warplanes were Type 96 carrier-based fighters.

There were no bombers; it looked like a direct confrontation.

How could this be? Fang Wen wondered.

The primary role of the Japanese air force was bombing; fighter planes alone did not play a significant role in ground warfare.

What is their purpose in doing this?
Fang Wen couldn't help but ponder.

Did the Japanese Navy Air Force send 30 fighter planes just to engage in a chaotic air battle with the National Air Force's fighter planes in this airspace?
That's impossible; they must have had a purpose in doing this.

Could it be that other Japanese warplanes are on the move?

Fang Wen quickly checked the radar target acquisition equipment.

The equipment reported that in addition to dozens of nearby aircraft, there was another group of aircraft operating 150 kilometers to the north.

Based on feedback from the radar detection equipment, Fang Wen immediately made a judgment.

This batch of 15 aircraft likely entered land airspace from the coastline and is currently in the Huai'an area.
Their flight path was from east to west, but not towards Nanjing.

Instead, they flew to areas deeper into the land.

This situation is highly illogical. What exactly are they trying to do?
A map appeared in Fang Wen's mind. He drew a straight line from east to west from Huai'an, which covered many areas along the way.

When Fang Wen saw Zhoukou, his heart skipped a beat.

Zhoujiakou Airport is located there.

That was an important Nationalist Air Force airfield, capable of radiating across the northern battlefield and supporting Nanjing. It was currently the base of the Sixth Air Group, and Fang Wen had visited there not long ago.

But that's not the point.

As Captain Gao mentioned the day before yesterday, the first batch of Il-16 military aircraft purchased from the Soviet Union landed at Zhoujiakou Airport.

It's likely that this information was already passed on by Japanese spies, which is why today's operation—ostensibly to attract attention while secretly launching a surprise attack on Zhoujiakou Airport—took place.

Meanwhile, Captain Gao was at Zhoujiakou Airport inspecting the batch of military aircraft.

Historically, Captain Gao seems to have died from bombing; could it be this time?
Fang Wen and Captain Gao had fought side by side many times, and Fang Wen felt a sense of mutual respect for this patriotic, upright, and highly skilled pilot.

He did not want Captain Gao to end his life like this.

At this point, the only way to notify Zhoujiakou Airport to take precautions was for the landing aircraft to call them via ground radio, but there was simply not enough time.

The only way to have a chance is to lead a team directly to intercept them.

Fang Wen decisively issued a secret telegram order.

Upon receiving the coded order, the fighter pilots followed without hesitation and flew north.

In the chaotic aerial battle, Fang Wen's fighter squadron was not ignored. Six of the 30 Japanese fighters were immediately dispatched to intercept them.

Clearly, these Japanese pilots were unaware of the strength of Fang Wen's air force, as they only sent six fighter planes.

Fang Wen, anxious to rescue Zhoujiakou Airport, immediately broke away from the fighter jet formation and rushed over first.

With its capabilities fully activated, the Shrike became incredibly agile under his piloting, charging towards the six fighter jets, only to suddenly descend just before the two sides were within firing range.

The rapid descent of the aircraft caused the enemy aircraft to lose sight of the target. Although the six enemy aircraft also descended to try to pursue it based on their experience, their actions led to a fatal mistake.

The Shrike, which was still below, climbed back to its original altitude as the enemy planes lowered, then circled around to the rear and above one of the enemy planes and quickly dove down to fire.

Such a change was so rapid that it was impossible to react in time, and the fighter jet that Fang Wen had locked onto exploded in mid-air under a barrage of machine gun fire.

In a short period of time, an enemy aircraft was lost, but this was just the beginning.

Having already decided to kill, Fang Wen immediately turned to his second target.

The second enemy plane was also shot down.

Such a clean and efficient aerial combat scene finally reminded the Japanese air force of the "God of Slaughter" air squadron that had fought in the Shanghai airspace more than a month earlier.

Unexpectedly, this air force has returned.

The remaining four enemy planes immediately lost their will to fight and hurriedly scattered and fled.

Fang Wen had no intention of pursuing the fleeing enemy; he secretly ordered his men to continue flying north.

This time, there was no enemy interception, and the Taishan fighter squadron was allowed to leave.

Now, it was the Nationalist Air Force that was somewhat confused.

Why did our allies suddenly leave when everything was going well?

This question can only be answered after the air battle ends, but the momentum shown by the Taishan fighter squadron has inspired the pilots of the National Air Force, making them even more courageous in combat.

Meanwhile, the Japanese fighter squadrons lost all will to continue fighting.

They feared that the Killer Squad was deliberately feigning departure, while actually hiding nearby, preparing to launch a sneak attack.

After all, just over a month ago in the Shanghai airspace, the Killer Fighter Squadron used this same sneak attack tactic to shoot down their aircraft multiple times.

Therefore, for the first time ever, the Japanese fighter group actually took the initiative to retreat and leave.

All these changes were unexpected by Fang Wen.

He never imagined that his determination to go north to rescue Zhoujiakou would have such an effect.

Could the Taishan fighter squadron, which was 150 kilometers behind the enemy aircraft that attacked Zhoujiakou, catch up with the enemy's air strike formation?
Fang Wen, who was leading the flight, was calculating the situation on both sides while piloting the plane.

(End of this chapter)