Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 408, Section 406: The Longitudinal Bombing of Taierzhuang, Soviet Pilots in Air Combat
Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone was very interested in what Captain Gao had said.

If the information on that map could reflect the true situation of the Taierzhuang battlefield in a timely manner, it would be of great help to his command and operation.

Therefore, he asked Captain Gao to personally go to Nanchang and bring the items back.

That afternoon, Captain Gao piloted the Il-16 and landed at Nanchang Airport.

As he watched the Il-16 land, Fang Wen walked over.

Airport staff pushed a civil aviation boarding ladder over, and Captain Gao opened the cockpit hatch and came down the ladder.

Fang Wen shook hands with him.

"long time no see."

"Yes. The last time we met was in Chongqing, when I saw you donate 30 yuan. It's a pity I couldn't help you with the purchase of the Taishan fighter jet."

"It's alright, if it's dark in the east, it'll be bright in the west."

"What do you mean by east and west?"

Fang Wen did not want the domestic authorities to know about his export of military aircraft at this time. After all, the Kuomintang had many factions, and if one faction made things difficult for him because of this, it would affect his other plans.

He then changed the subject: "Let's not talk about that. Did you come here to pick up the map?"

"Yes. Commander Li is very interested and told me to fly over directly to pick it up. Once I have the map, I have to go back immediately."

"wait for me."

Fang Wen walked back to his temporary accommodation at the airport, took out the map, and handed it to Captain Gao.

This map is not all that Fang Wen learned through mechanical perception. After all, if everything were drawn, it would be too frightening, and his secrets would be exposed.

Therefore, the map only shows the general layout of the troops' defensive positions, as well as areas that appear to be Japanese artillery positions.

Upon receiving the map, Captain Gao quickly put it into a brown paper bag, and even stamped it with a wax seal in front of Fang Wen. Without even looking at it, he took it onto the plane.

The plane flew back to Xuzhou military airport. After Captain Gao disembarked, he drove directly to the forward command post and handed the stamped leather bag to Commander Li.

"Let's see what's different about the map of Mount Tai in the local dialect."

Commander Li opened the brown paper bag and took out the map inside.

He looked at the map while comparing it with the sand table in front of him.

“There really are some differences. Look here, the map marks it as a Japanese garrison, but our sand table shows it as uninhabited.”

The staff officers came over one after another, but they couldn't be sure if the information on the map was correct.

They then telegraphed the troops at the front to inquire about the situation, and discovered that the troops at the front had indeed encountered an attack by the Japanese army in the corresponding area.

Clearly, the information on the map is more timely.

To this end, they checked the map while communicating with the front lines, completely updating the entire sand table.

Afterwards, Commander Li exclaimed, "Commander Fang of the Taishan Independent Regiment is a real talent. He alone is worth more than a thousand troops."

Captain Gao replied with a smile, "He's incredibly capable. He can make a fortune in business, and he takes the elite route in the military. But his most impressive skill is his flying ability. Several Japanese air squadrons have suffered heavy losses at his hands."

One of the staff officers said, "I heard that he set up a base behind enemy lines in the north and is very close to the Communists."

Captain Gao hesitated, unsure whether to comment on the matter.

Commander Li said, "Now that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are united in fighting the Japanese, shouldn't we stop distinguishing between each other?"

Then he turned to Captain Gao: "By the way, we have now completed the encirclement of the Japanese army and are preparing to wipe out the Japanese forces in Taierzhuang. For this purpose, we have mobilized more than 20 aircraft for air support. You said that Fang Wen is also going to participate in air support. What's the situation?"

Captain Gao replied, "His company has developed a bomber and is preparing to use it for actual combat bombing tests. He just happened to contact me and wanted to participate in the air raid on Taierzhuang."

Commander Li asked, "I heard that north of Taiyuan, aircraft from Taishan dropped a type of smoke and incendiary bomb that can affect ground troops over a wide area. Did they bring any this time?"

"Yes, not just this type of aerial bomb, it seems they've prepared others as well," Captain Gao replied.

Commander Li nodded: "That's good. I hope your air raids will be helpful for ground operations. Tell Fang Wen to participate in tomorrow's air raids."

Upon receiving the telegram at Nanchang Airport, Fang Wen immediately convened a meeting with the flight crew.

"It's confirmed. Tomorrow, we'll join the air strike group to support the ground forces' attack. Now, let's quickly conduct a bombing simulation; everyone must participate."

Then, everyone went to the parking area and entered the aircraft through the rear cabin door.

Fang Wen, accompanied by two engineers, gave a demonstration to the others.

He explained, “Our Hengshan-1 bomber is a level bomber. During bombing, it doesn't need to descend; it maintains level flight, locks onto the target using its onboard targeting system, and drops the bombs at the optimal moment. Level bombing is essentially a projectile motion; the bomb's initial velocity matches the bomber's speed, and it then falls to the ground in a free-fall trajectory. In contrast, there are more dive bombers on the battlefield now; they approach the target quickly by diving and drop their bombs. What do you see as the difference between the two?”

After speaking, Fang Wen looked at the others, but when his gaze swept over Gong Xiuneng, the latter flinched.

Fang Wen sighed inwardly. This guy only liked fists and machine gun fire; he had no interest in anything else.

Meanwhile, Isabella on the other side eagerly raised her hand.

Fang Wen ignored her and directly selected a technician from the engineering team.

The technician replied, "Dive bombing is more accurate and is often used by fighter jets carrying bombs and small bombers. The targets are armored vehicles and ground troops. Horizontal bombing requires auxiliary aiming devices, drops more bombs, and is suitable for area bombing."

Fang Wen nodded and then demonstrated how to use the bombing device.

This bombing system consists of three parts: a bomb mounting system, a fuse safety mechanism, and a bomb release control system.

The bomb loading system uses a bomb bay structure located in the belly of the aircraft, with two large bomb bays.

When installing a bomb, a mechanical lever is used to raise the bomb rack inside the bomb bay, and then the bomb is placed inside and hooked and locked.

Then, reverse the mechanical lever to put the bomb rack back into the bomb bay.

This is the installation of the bomb.

The subsequent bombing preparations require two steps.

The first step is to communicate with the pilot to determine whether the bombing position has been reached.

Once that's determined, the second step is to aim.

A professional bombardier will use a mechanical aiming device to observe the area below and promptly drop the bomb onto the target location.

This bombing device is much more advanced than before, and represents a gradual advancement towards modern aircraft bombing.

However, in actual operation, there will still be problems with large accuracy deviations.

After all, this was an era without computers and electro-optical equipment to assist aiming, so achieving this level was already the limit.

Of course, when Fang Wen is driving, there's no need to worry about aiming.

After the demonstration, he spoke with the engineer in charge of the bombing, saying, "Don't be nervous when aiming, and coordinate well with me."

"General Manager, how should we cooperate?" the engineer asked.

"I will remind you 10 seconds before we arrive at the airdrop area. All you have to do is identify the target within those 10 seconds."

"Will it work?" the engineer asked, somewhat unsure.

Fang Wen gestured and said, "I will draw a standard straight line, and your target will be on the center axis. You have 10 seconds to determine the marker below and calculate the airdrop deviation. There is a formula here, and the calculation time is different for different altitudes. I will tell you the flight altitude in advance, and you can combine the calculation results to make a lead airdrop, so that you can achieve the accuracy of bomb delivery."

The engineer understood and couldn't help but ask.

"Why not make these into mechanical measuring devices? Just adjust the different height settings and then use mechanical devices to calculate the results. That would be much more convenient."

Yes, Fang Wen has always been preoccupied with how to make up for the lack of computers, but he has overlooked the fact that mechanical devices can also achieve the purpose of calculation.

If a dedicated mechanical aiming device were made in that manner, the bombing accuracy would certainly be improved.

Moreover, that method was suitable for all pilots, unlike now where they had to rely on their own abilities to achieve accurate bombing. Fang Wen was pleasantly surprised and noted down this improvement plan.

He then spoke with the other crew members to learn about their positions.

Time passed quickly, and night fell. In order to conserve energy for tomorrow's battle, everyone voluntarily went back to their rooms to rest and recharge.

The next day, eight o'clock in the morning.

Fang Wen and his group boarded the plane and departed from Nanchang for Taierzhuang.

As the aircraft flew at high altitude, Fang Wen activated his mechanical sensing and detected numerous aircraft in three directions via radar.

To the southeast, there are 27 fighter jets. Judging from their flight paths, they should be Nationalist Air Force units that took off from Zhoujiakou Airport.

Ten fighter jets appeared in the southwest and ten in the north.

The aircraft appearing in these two directions are definitely enemy planes.

The question is, why did the Japanese troops on both sides attack at the same time, and even arrive at the same time as the Nationalist Air Force's air raid on Taierzhuang?

Clearly, information was leaked at some point, which caused this situation.

Fang Wen said with a serious expression, "Everyone, please be careful. We will be intercepted by Japanese warplanes in a while. We not only need to complete the bombing, but also engage in air combat with the enemy."

To ensure everyone understood what he meant, Fang Wen even repeated it in English.

Isabella quickly informed her partner.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Everyone took their positions, waiting for the moment to enter the battlefield.

Twenty minutes later, a formation of fighter jets appeared on the left side of the plane.

It belongs to the National Air Force.

A small number of Hawk II fighters, but mostly Il-16s.
Among these pilots were pilots from the Nationalist Air Force and volunteer pilots from the Soviet Union.

They flew parallel to the Hengshan-1 aircraft, and Fang Wen communicated using aviation hand gestures.

It means to be careful of enemy aircraft.

The Soviet pilots paid no attention to this and sped off towards the battlefield.

Captain Gao flew over and made a helpless gesture, indicating that he could not command the pilots.

They then communicated through hand gestures, asking, "Do you need escort flights?"

Fang Wen waved his hand in refusal.

In this air raid, all fighter jets were carried with bombs and used as bombers.

They themselves were in great danger, making it even more difficult to protect the large bomber piloted by Fang Wen.

Another reason is that Fang Wen does not trust escort aircraft other than those from the Taishan Air Force. He has seen too many bad cases in the air. Once you put your hopes on escort fighters, there is no room for maneuver when the enemy aircraft get close.

The Japanese bombers he shot down earlier were in the same situation.

Seeing that Fang Wen refused the escort request, Captain Gao did not insist and led the remaining fighter jets to Taierzhuang.

Fang Wen also sped away.

The radar equipment connected to the mechanical sensing system clearly indicated that the three sides' fighter jets had approached each other, and an air battle broke out instantly.

Five minutes later, he also arrived over Taierzhuang in his bomber.

At this point, the situation in the entire area can be seen without radar.

Twenty-seven Nationalist Air Force fighters engaged in a fierce battle with twenty Japanese fighters.

The National Air Force, which had undergone a fighter jet upgrade, gained the upper hand this time.

The Il-16 is comparable in performance to the Nakajima Type 97 fighter and the Mitsubishi A5M Type 96 carrier-based fighter.

Furthermore, the Soviet pilots' daring and aggressive fighting style made the Japanese army very uncomfortable.

For the first time, they encountered a direct head-on shooting tactic, instead of the dogfighting and tail-chasing tactics they had used before.

In response, Japanese pilots did the same, flying towards the approaching Il-16.

But they were unaware of the Soviet Union's obsession with firepower.

These Il-16 fighter jets were all equipped with 20mm Schvacker cannons.

This machine gun, which only went into production two years ago, has become a major upgrade to enhance the combat capabilities of the Il-16.

相对于两年前，方文在西班牙驾驶的伊尔16，现在的伊尔16除了2挺7.62毫米航空机枪，还多了2挺20毫米施瓦克机关炮。

In an instant, the powerful machine guns hit two Japanese planes.

Now, the Japanese warplanes no longer dared to underestimate the enemy, and instead gave up direct firefights, seeking opportunities to launch flanking attacks.

More than forty fighter jets were engaged in a fierce battle over Taierzhuang.

In order to deal with Japanese aircraft, the Nationalist Air Force had already dropped all the bombs it carried.

Some of the bombs hit their targets, causing damage to the Japanese positions, but not all of them. The Japanese troops below were still resisting the encirclement and attack of various Nationalist armies.

Fang Wen observed all of this and analyzed how to proceed.

Hengshan-1 carried a bomb weighing 1 ton, and there were different types of bombs that could cause various kinds of damage to the area below.

The Japanese army is still putting up a strong resistance, so we need to create chaos for them and give the surrounding troops an opportunity to encircle them.

Fang Wensheng said, "Bombing team, prepare to use the left compartment for bombing. After I give the bombing signal, complete the continuous bombing within 10 seconds."

The bombing team immediately began preparations.

The plane then descended from 5000 meters to 3500 meters, then adjusted its position and flew north from the south of the Japanese positions.

As they approached the southern edge of the position, Fang Wen announced, "Begin the bombing."

The bombardier lay prone, his eyes fixed on the iron sights.

Look down through the scope.

Two seconds later, he turned the bomb-throwing stick.

The bomb bay on the left side of the aircraft's belly opened, and a series of bombs fell from the bomb bay and scattered to the ground.

The planes continued to fly, and the bombs continued to fall, forming a slanted dotted line.

The bombs from the south only fell to the ground when the planes flew over the north side of the position.

In an instant, flames erupted on the Japanese positions, accompanied by a large amount of smoke.

Explosions continued to occur, and a trail of smoke and fire stretched from the south of the Japanese positions all the way to the north.

The burning continuously produced smoke, which then spread to the surrounding area.

What happened in northern Taiyuan has happened again, and on a larger scale than before.

One-fifth of the Japanese position was shrouded in thick smoke.

The soldiers inside were coughing incessantly amidst the thick smoke, temporarily incapacitated.

The Nationalist Army forces on the ground also saw an opportunity after the bombing and immediately organized their troops to launch an attack on the smoke-filled area.

(End of this chapter)