Devil's Army

The Japanese fleet stationed in Hong Kong launched a surprise attack on Haikou City, captured five warships, and sunk a cruiser and a destroyer.

The remaining 23 warships were all damaged to varying degrees, with the flagship being the most seriously damaged and barely able to return to Hong Kong for repairs.

However, the army suffered heavy losses in this battle.

Of the three coastal defense batteries, except for the Tianweijiao coastal defense battery in Xinhaigang, which was prepared for surprise attacks on Japanese warships and was not exposed and remained intact, the coastal defense battery positions at Xiuying Old Battery and Beigang Island were all destroyed by the Japanese army.

The first company of the first battalion defending the Haikou Port dock lost its combat effectiveness, and the second company suffered heavy casualties.

The heaviest casualties came from the 4th Aviation Squadron of Hainan Island of the First Air Force.

As many as 40/2 of the remaining 3-odd fighters and bombers of the th Air Squadron were shot down or damaged by Japanese anti-aircraft fire.

On the night when the Japanese Hong Kong Fleet launched a surprise attack on Haikou City, Captain Yin sent a telegram to Captain He of the 4th Air Squadron, asking whether it was necessary to transfer the air force that had returned to Kunming back to Hainan Island?

The captain thought for a while and declined.

He analyzed: At present, the Japanese air force along the coast of Guangdong has been severely damaged and basically cannot cause any big waves in the short term. The Japanese Fifth Fleet and Hong Kong Fleet have also been defeated by them and should not invade in the short term.

If the Japanese Air Force or other fleets attack, the air forces at Guangdong coastal airports can come to support.

Captain Yang then proposed to Captain Yin:

"The loss of pilots is quite large now. Can we set up an aviation school on Hainan Island to train new pilots?"

Captain Yin replied: Aviation schools need more professional aviation instructors, and the requirements for venues are relatively high, and the pilot training time is relatively long. At present, the First Army does not have the ability to open an aviation school branch on Hainan Island.

On the same day, Captain Yin reported and discussed with Leng Feng and decided to readjust the organization of the air force in Kunming and the coastal areas of Guangdong.

Based on the remaining dozen fighters and bombers of Hainan Island Aviation Squadron 4, the aircraft manufactured by Kunming Aircraft Factory and the pilots of Kunming Aviation School were allocated to Hainan Island Aviation Squadron 4 on a priority basis to expand the strength of the Squadron 4.

Captain Du Aiguo of the former 4th Aviation Squadron continued to serve as the captain of the 4th Aviation Squadron of the First Army.

The existing Aviation Squadrons 2 and 3 at Weizhou Island Airport, Sanzao Island Airport, Shantou Airport and Guangzhou Tianhe Airport will be unified into Aviation Squadron 3.

Captain Yang, formerly of Kunming Aviation Squadron 3, continued to serve as the captain of Aviation Squadron 3.

The air force brought back by Captain Yin and the air force that originally stayed in Kunming were reorganized into the Second Air Force Squadron of the First Army.

Captain He, who came from Tangshan Xiaoguanzhuang Airport, continued to serve as the captain of the new Second Squadron.

After the reorganization of the First Army Air Force, it had more than 400 fighters and bombers of various types. However, the Fourth Air Squadron on Hainan Island was the weakest, with only more than 30 aircraft, including those under maintenance.

Captain Yin also fulfilled his promise and allocated the fighter jets and bombers that had just rolled off the production line at the Kunming Aircraft Manufacturing Factory to the Fourth Air Brigade on Hainan Island.

A group of qualified pilots were transferred from Kunming Aviation School to supplement the 4th Aviation Squadron.

Commander Zhang Shaojie of the First Army's Southern Front also returned to Sanya, Hainan Island the day after the end of the Haikou naval battle.

When he saw the warships docked in the Sanya First Army's warship maintenance dock, he felt deeply that there was a serious shortage of officers and soldiers in the Hainan Island fleet, so he made a suggestion to Leng Feng.