Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

The battle over Yangquan was still fierce, and the Japanese fighter formation suffered heavy losses under the attack of ground anti-aircraft artillery and ambush aircraft.

However, the Japanese Type 97 and Type 99 bomber formations responsible for the bombing continued to fly towards Yangquan, completely unaware that the escort aircraft group ahead had suffered a devastating blow.

Deep in the Taihang Mountains, the fighter squadron led by Zhao Jing and Chen Qi has quietly arrived at the target airspace, waiting to ambush the Japanese bomber formation.

The fighter planes are distributed in the high-altitude clouds, and the sound of their engines is covered by the sound of the high-altitude wind, perfectly hidden in the clouds.

"Target approaching, get within attack range!"

The latest report from the reconnaissance plane came over the radio. Zhao Jing gripped the joystick tightly with both hands, his eyes fixed sharply on the Japanese bomber formation that was about to enter the ambush circle.

"All units, prepare for battle!" Zhao Jing ordered calmly.

"The first formation cuts in from the right, and the second formation flanks from the left!

Chen Qi, lead your team to intercept from the rear and make sure to eliminate the Japanese before they reach the bombing point! "

The fighter planes pushed the throttle hard, and the roar of the I-16 and I-15 fighter engines shook the clouds. The ambush troops pounced on the unsuspecting Japanese bomber group like a tiger out of the mountain.

"Enemy plane! Enemy plane!"

The navigator of the Japanese bomber shouted in horror. Through the cockpit glass, he saw dozens of fighter planes rushing out from all directions, quickly forming a siege.

Zhao Jing suddenly dived in his I-16 fighter plane, and the 12.7mm machine gun under the wing opened fire first. The tracer bullet tore through the sky and accurately hit the engine of a Type 97 bomber.

The bomber suddenly caught fire. The crew members struggled desperately but were unable to save the situation. Finally, with a loud explosion, the bomber turned into a fireball and fell to the ground.

At the same time, Chen Qi's fighter group also began to attack.

An I-15 fighter plane rolled flexibly behind a Type 99 bomber, its machine gun spewing out deadly flames.

The fuselage was penetrated in an instant, and the tail of the bomber was directly blown off, and it spun and fell helplessly like a bird with a broken wing.

The Japanese bomber group that was ambushed fell into chaos and the formation was quickly broken up.

The pilot of the lead plane desperately called for the escort fighters, but only intermittent noise came from the radio, and there was no response from the fighters at all - the escort aircraft group had already been wiped out!

"Keep attacking, don't give them any chance to breathe!"

Zhao Jing commanded calmly, and the Eighth Route Army fighter planes continuously attacked the Japanese bomber groups from different angles, taking advantage of the I-16's fast speed and strong firepower to carry out high-speed dive shooting.

The I-15 fighter relied on its super maneuverability to move around the bomber group, looking for the weakest position to deliver a fatal blow.

In just over ten minutes, most of the Japanese bombers were lost. Under the order of Commander Hideo Ando, ​​the remaining dozen or so planes turned around in a panic and tried to evacuate the battlefield.

"Chase them! We can't let them go back!"

The Eighth Route Army fighter planes continued to chase the fleeing Japanese bombers.

At this moment, Zhao Jing saw through the cockpit glass that a formation of Japanese reinforcement fighter jets was approaching rapidly in the distance.

He immediately ordered: "All units, evacuate immediately to avoid entanglement with the enemy!"

The fighter planes quickly adjusted their formation and used their high altitude advantage to turn and evacuate. Although the Japanese fighter planes discovered them, they were already exhausted and had no ability to catch up.

The ambush ended successfully and the Japanese bomber formation suffered heavy losses.

At the same time, two other squadrons took off from Xiyang Field Airport and launched raids on the important Japanese air force bases - Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan Airports at low altitudes over the sea.

The 2nd Bombing Group, led by the Northern Aviation Regiment, consisting of 24 SB-2 bombers, quietly approached the airspace above Shijiazhuang Airport under the cover of 12 I-16 fighters.

"Enter the attack route!" the navigator ordered.

The bomber fleet quickly adjusted its course and released its bombs.

A large number of aerial bombs rolled down from the belly of the plane, accurately landing on the airport runway, hangars, oil depots and parked Japanese fighter planes.

"boom--"

The huge explosion instantly tore through the entire airport, and the Japanese Type 97 bombers and Type 1 fighter planes parked there were instantly blown into fireballs.

The fuel in the oil depot caused a violent chain explosion, flames shot up into the sky, and the entire airport was suddenly plunged into chaos.

The Japanese air defense forces reacted hastily, and anti-aircraft guns and machine guns began to frantically fire into the air in an attempt to prevent further attacks from the bombers.

However, the I-16 fighters moved flexibly and accurately fired at the Japanese air defense positions, making it difficult for them to form an effective interception.

In just five minutes, Shijiazhuang Airport was a sea of ​​fire, Japanese aircraft suffered heavy losses, and the airport was completely paralyzed.

At the same time, 18 DB-3 bombers of the 3rd Bombing Group, escorted by 8 I-15 fighters, quickly approached Taiyuan Airport.

"Prepare to drop bombs!" the navigator shouted.

The large-caliber aerial bombs dropped by the DB-3 bomber landed precisely on the runway of Taiyuan Airport. The huge impact force directly blew deep pits on the runway, making it unusable for a short period of time.

The Japanese army hastily organized an interception, but the I-15 fighter plane relied on its excellent maneuverability to fly low to the ground and flexibly evade the Japanese air defense firepower.

At this time, the Japanese pilots at the airport were engulfed by the scattered shrapnel and explosions before they even had time to get into their fighter planes.

"The target is destroyed, prepare to evacuate!" Kozlov, captain of the 3rd Bombing Brigade, gave the order calmly.

The bomber group quickly moved up and turned to the southeast to evacuate.

A few Japanese fighter planes took off to try to intercept, but it was too late.

The battle ended with the Eighth Route Army Air Force winning a great victory.

On that day, the Eighth Route Army Air Force successfully ambushed a Japanese bomber formation with minimal losses, and severely damaged the two major airports of Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan, completely weakening the Japanese air supremacy in North China.

At the Eighth Route Army headquarters, Liu Zhendong received the battle report and smiled with satisfaction.

"Very good. In this battle, we not only severely damaged the Japanese Air Force, but also made the Japanese know that we, the Eighth Route Army, also have an air force, and their planes can't just come whenever they want."

Then, he looked at the staff officer beside him and said, "

Send the battle report to the military district headquarters immediately. I think the division commander and others have been waiting for a long time.

"

At 11 o'clock in the morning, the atmosphere in the Changzhi Military Region Headquarters was tense and solemn.

Zeng Jiwen sat in front of the map, his brows furrowed, his eyes fixed on the direction of Yangquan on the map, silently calculating the possible outcomes of the battle in his mind.

Wang Zhuo stood aside, looking at the wall clock from time to time, anxiously waiting for news from the front line.

The other people in the room also had focused expressions, and the entire command center was shrouded in an invisible pressure.

Although they were confident in their ability to ambush the Japanese Air Force, this was after all the first and largest air battle since the establishment of the Eighth Route Army Air Force.

Facing the five divisions of the Japanese Kwantung Army plus the tank regiment, if the Japanese aircraft were not destroyed first, the situation would definitely be difficult.

Ring ring ring——

Suddenly, a rapid phone ring rang in the silent command center, breaking the depressing atmosphere in the room.