Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 300, page 299: Assisting the 38th Division's Evacuation; Joint Air Battle in Southern Tianjin; Spy Discovered at Jinan Airport.
The war in North China.

Tianjin had already fallen, but the 38th Division, which was defending Tianjin, chose to die for their country at the last moment and launched an attack on the Japanese army.

Ultimately, they were defeated and withdrew from Tianjin.

The 38th Division headquarters requested support from the Taishan Air Escort Team via telegram from the 29th Army. Little did they know that this request would turn into a joint air battle.

With approval from higher authorities, 12 fighter jets from the Tianjin detachment took off from the hangar at Zhoujiakou Airport and waited in line beside the runway.

As agreed with the Taishan Air Escort Team, the joint operation was scheduled for 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. The specific time would need to be confirmed by telegram after prior reconnaissance.

In this era, aircraft were not deployed in combat without careful planning and accurate target information before air combat plans could be formulated.

For example, in the Spanish Air War, as well as the Japanese military, fighter formations would only formulate corresponding combat missions at the request of ground troops.

But this time is different.

Although the 38th Division was withdrawing from Tianjin with its target in the Cangzhou and Dezhou areas, the entire unit had lost contact, and the 38th Division headquarters, which had requested air support from Fang Wen, could not be reached.

This necessitates conducting aerial reconnaissance of the target area and determining the operational zone before commencing joint operations.

Fang Wen decided to personally go on this reconnaissance mission. That area might be very dangerous, and he didn't feel comfortable letting anyone else go.

Even the loyal Wu Yingzong did not stop them.

For the people of Taishan Airlines, the general manager is a king in the sky, and to obstruct him is to desecrate him. When it comes to flying, the people of Taishan have absolute faith in Fang Wen.

He then piloted the Shrike into the sky, flying 180 kilometers north to the Cangzhou area.

The distance from Cangzhou to Tianjin is 80 kilometers. The 38th Division could not have military vehicles when it was defeated and retreated. If it was an infantry force, the normal marching speed was 5 kilometers per hour. Even if it was a forced march of 10 kilometers per hour, it would not be able to cover 80 kilometers in a day. It would take at least two days to arrive.

The flight takes less than half an hour.

At that moment, Fang Wen clearly understood the troubles that ground troops faced when confronting the air force.

Especially in plains areas, it is impossible to shake off enemy aircraft tracking from the sky.

A few minutes later, Fang Wen saw the 38th Division on the ground.

This force had been scattered; instead of a large marching column, it retreated southward in small groups.

Meanwhile, a group of Japanese soldiers were pursuing them 20 kilometers behind.

Without aerial reconnaissance and harassment, they might still have been able to complete their evacuation mission.

But now, several waves of fighter jet formations are constantly launching harassment attacks against them from the sky.

After all, this place was too close to Tianjin, and the 38th Division had launched an attack on the Japanese airfield. The Japanese were determined to kill them.

Observing all this, the Shrike, hidden high in the sky, quietly returned to port, and Fang Wen had a clear battle plan.

After returning to Jinan Airport, he immediately sent a telegram to Zhoujiakou.

Multiple waves of Japanese warplanes launched an attack on the 38th Division from 60 kilometers south of Tianjin. The aircraft were mostly Type 95 destroyers, and formations consisted of three to five planes.

Because they are so close to Tianjin, they are completely unprepared, and we can launch a surprise attack.

Zhoujiakou Airport.

Captain Gao explained Fang Wen's plan to his subordinates and other squad leaders.

"Brothers, the 38th Division is under repeated attacks from Japanese warplanes. It's our turn to move out this time."

The 12 pilots who listened to him were the most courageous and capable pilots in the Tianjin detachment. Without needing further encouragement from him, they boarded their planes and took off one by one.

This batch of Hawk III fighter jets flew to Jinan and met up with eight fighter jets from the Taishan escort team over Jinan.

The two air formations did not merge; instead, they took off in separate formations.

Half an hour later, they arrived in Cangzhou. Fang Wen controlled the Shrike to accelerate and lead the way.

He was the first to arrive at the area he had previously scouted.

An hour passed, but the 38th Division had not made much progress, being held up by the constantly appearing Japanese warplanes.

Helpless, the soldiers of the 38th Division could only fire machine guns into the air in an attempt to shoot down Japanese warplanes.

This tactic has a very low success rate and has not yet caused any damage to Japanese warplanes.

Just then, they suddenly noticed a distinctly different plane appearing in the sky.

"Is that our plane?"

"I do not know."

"I heard from the division headquarters that they did request air support, but can those big shots in the air force really get it?"

"Look, there are more behind him, one, two, so many."

The appearance of nearly 20 Chinese fighter jets greatly shocked the soldiers of the 38th Division.

At this moment, the number of Chinese warplanes actually exceeded the number of Japanese warplanes.

The soldiers raised their guns and cheered.

In the sky, enemy and friendly aircraft groups encountered each other.

The Japanese army conducted reconnaissance and harassment raids in multiple small tactical formations. It is estimated that the Japanese air force commanders allowed these pilots to practice combat, since they were so close to Tianjin and their safety was guaranteed.

But they didn't expect the Chinese Air Force to be so bold.

Fang Wen, with his mechanical perception of the state, immediately gained an understanding of the overall situation.

The Japanese side had five combat teams, with two teams at the forefront, each with three aircraft, and three more teams coming to rotate from the rear.

There were a total of 17 Type 95 fighter jets.

This is the largest amount we can handle, and we must act quickly, otherwise it would be dangerous if Tianjin were to send out a large number of aircraft to provide support.

He turned his plane to the right, leading the Taishan Air Force to lock onto three enemy planes on his right as targets.

The 12 planes from the Tianjin detachment flew to the left, intending to take out the other three first.

The two sides engaged in battle simultaneously.

Faced with a greater number of enemy planes, the Japanese warplanes did not retreat.

In reality, they didn't have time to turn around and escape; multiple directions had already been blocked by the enemy.

They never imagined they would be surrounded by a much larger number of Chinese fighter jets, which terrified them.

In this situation, these Japanese warplanes reacted differently.

Some lowered their aircraft, attempting to escape through the encirclement to the lower levels, while others directly engaged in a firefight.

The pilots of the two air squadrons also responded differently to these behaviors.

The pilots of the Taishan Air Force had experienced the Spanish Civil War and the Battle of Nanyuan, and possessed rich combat experience.

They cunningly bypassed the enemy planes that were trying to take them down with them, taking out the one that was diving away to escape first, and then returning to deal with him.

In an 8-on-3 situation, two of them were easily taken out. The third one panicked and flew at low altitude, which resulted in a stall and crash into a hill.

The battle was over in just ten minutes.

Meanwhile, 12 Hawk fighters surrounded the Type 95 fighter.

This is a battle between two biplanes with similar performance.

They absorbed the air combat experience taught by Fang Wen, and similarly avoided bayonet fighting, instead choosing to launch the main attack with fighters on both flanks.

Under machine gun fire, an enemy plane was hit and crashed onto the North China Plain, its fuselage billowing black smoke.

The other two were even more reckless, each locking onto a Hawk III and attempting to use their speed advantage to relentlessly pursue and destroy each other.

This reckless approach panicked the two pampered pilots who were being watched.

They broke formation and took cover, creating a gap in the encirclement. This gave the enemy a chance to escape, and two enemy planes immediately attempted to break through the gap.

One of them was shot down during its escape, while the other managed to escape the fatal blow.

Such a mistake, especially with a 12-3 scoreline, is truly regrettable.

But right now, I can't worry about that.

The 11 enemy planes behind them did not choose to retreat, but instead attacked together.

But this time, their formation was very spread out, making it impossible for them to launch a pincer attack like before.

Clearly, the enemy's tactic was to stall Fang Wen and his men, so that in just half an hour, Tianjin could send out more planes to encircle and annihilate them.

Such tactics must have been planned in advance, and Fang Wen also had a countermeasure.

That is, launch an attack in the last ten minutes, take as much as you can, and then retreat immediately after ten minutes.

Immediately, the formation of the Taishan Air Force also changed, with 22 aircraft per group supporting each other as they flew toward the enemy aircraft.

Fang Wen and his wingman Fan Bosheng spotted a Type 95 fighter jet.

His main role this time was to provide support, with Fan Bosheng, whose combat ability was slightly weaker in the air force, taking the lead in the attack, in order to improve his combat experience.

Fan Bosheng, who had never managed to shoot down an enemy aircraft solo, displayed exceptional bravery this time.

He skillfully maneuvered around the enemy aircraft, using his agility to keep up with them.

Realizing it was being tailed, the enemy plane panicked. Being pursued from behind meant certain death was imminent.

Under the pressure of death, he disregarded the performance of the Type 95 fighter jet and forcibly descended at a steep angle.

Such a high-angle change of position is very dangerous for a biplane, as it generates strong drag on its wings, leading to damage.

Fan Bosheng, who was pursuing from behind, skillfully piloted his Il-16 down, and fired deadly 20mm cannon shells at a dive-bombing angle.

Instantly, the enemy plane burst into flames.

Fan Bosheng achieved a solo kill, and all the pilots of the Taishan Air Force now have the honor of shooting down an enemy aircraft alone.

At this point, six minutes had passed.

Fang Wen obtained information about radar target acquisition through mechanical sensing.

The feedback at close range consists of enemy and friendly aircraft currently engaged in aerial combat, while feedback from further away is also emerging.

Clearly, the enemy's reaction was much faster than planned; this place was no place to stay, and it was time to retreat.

As the operation commander, he instructed the Taishan Air Force to return to the team regardless of whether the battle was over.

The Taishan Air Force pilots who received the order had already ended the battle with their sharp air combat skills; even if they didn't shoot down the enemy, the target had already escaped.

They immediately rejoined their unit and turned back.

This was also a warning to the Nationalist Air Force pilots of the Tianjin detachment, and it was agreed upon before the operation.

Upon discovering that Fang Wen had begun to retreat, Captain Gao immediately became alert and took the lead, turning and flying away as well.

His actions attracted the attention of friendly aircraft, which also discovered the Taishan Air Force's return flight. Immediately, the attack was halted and the aircraft was able to return to base.

But not everyone will obey orders.

Two Hawk IIIs were also eyeing the Type 95, determined to seize this easy prize.

At this moment, a large group of planes flew in from behind, and Japanese warplanes that had come from Tianjin Airport arrived ahead of time.

Seeing this, Captain Gao knew he could no longer stay and wait for the two.

The Type 95 is one-fifth faster than the Hawk III. It is this one-fifth speed difference that means that once the enemy aircraft group gets close, there will be no escape.

Immediately, he led his team to expedite their evacuation.

Only then did the two Hawk III fighters realize their predicament, and they immediately abandoned their hunting targets, each fleeing in a different direction.

The Taishan Air Force returned to base, and an hour after the plane landed, Fang Wen received a telegram from Zhoujiakou Airport.

[The plane has returned to its origin, but two friendly aircraft, overconfident and reckless, have lost contact.]

[Our operation resulted in the downing of four Japanese warplanes. Please report your results so we can submit a separate report.]

Fang Wen instructed the telegraph operator to reply.

[The Taishan Air Force shot down 5 fighter jets this time.]

The fact that only five aircraft were shot down this time is not because the air force was letting them down.

The main reason for this was that the operational area was too close to Tianjin, so we had to be relatively cautious during the operation.

The advantage of this was that the Taishan Air Force had already slipped away before the Japanese support fighter groups arrived.

The Tianjin detachment could have returned unscathed, but those pampered soldiers got too caught up in the favorable situation and forgot the dangers of war.

This time, those two planes are probably doomed.

Sure enough, three hours after the operation ended, Zhoujiakou Airport sent in new information.

The two fighter planes failed to escape and, surrounded by the Japanese army, met their end in complete destruction.

Although the air battles boosted morale, the overall Japanese advantage remained significant.

On August 1, more than 6000 troops guarding Beiyuan in Beiping were disarmed.

After Tianjin fell to the Japanese, the puppet government's security maintenance committee took over the original management functions.

More Japanese troops arrived in Tianjin via the Shanhaiguan Railway and by sea to assemble.

At this point, the long-awaited Nationalist Army finally set off northward.

The 7th Army Group advanced from Suiyuan and Shanxi towards Zhangjiakou, preparing to launch an offensive to recapture Beiping from the west.

Fang Wen, however, was asked by Nanjing to attend the air combat commendation ceremony in order to boost the morale of the anti-Japanese soldiers.

This was a trip that Fang Wen had already agreed upon with Nanjing. In order to establish the Taishan Volunteer Army's status and to fight north as an independent army, Fang Wen had to go back.

Before leaving, he instructed Wu Yingzong to ensure the security of Jinan Airport. After all, even if the air force flew to Nanjing, Jinan Airport still stored high-quality aviation fuel and other important military supplies, which could not be lost due to sabotage by Japanese spies.

In addition, Taishan Airport also needs to prepare for air defense in order to deal with possible Japanese air raids.

Ten 20mm anti-aircraft guns were placed inside the airport as a generous gift for the Japanese aircraft. The three-dimensional anti-aircraft fire network formed by the ten anti-aircraft guns in different positions would definitely give any enemy who dared to offend them a hard time.

Along with Fang Wen and his group, the pilots from the Tianjin detachment who participated in the air battle also returned. Clearly, the Nationalist government intended to link this achievement with their own, so the commendation meetings for the two air battles were combined into one.

8 month 3 day.

Eight fighter jets from the Taishan Air Force took off and flew to Nanjing.

As Wu Yingzong watched the plane disappear into the distance, his expression gradually turned serious.

He summoned his subordinates and made arrangements for security inside and outside the airport, ensuring that no mishaps occurred while the general manager was away.

He raised the bar for security outside the airport, requiring all strangers appearing outside the airport to be reported and investigated.

Immediately, the merchants, shopkeepers, and employees outside the airport, while continuing their normal business, also observed the passersby and customers entering their shops.

In this comprehensive investigation, some situations that would otherwise have gone unnoticed were discovered.

In the last two days, a group of strangers arrived outside the airport.

They included beggars on the streets, merchants staying at inns, rickshaw pullers, and idlers doing odd jobs.

These seemingly insignificant people, through meticulous investigation, discovered something amiss.

(End of this chapter)