Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 31, Intelligence from the Concession: Air Attack on the Ninth Division (1)

Fang Wen and Shao Sichen kept communicating on the plane in preparation for the afternoon's operation, even eating lunch on the boarding stairs.

Fang Wen graduated from Nanyuan Aviation University. He is a professionally trained athlete in China with a solid foundation and is also a talented player.

Shao Sicheng was an overseas Chinese who returned to serve his country. He had studied flight piloting abroad and also had a certain foundation in military training, making him a top-notch pilot in the air force.

The two of them, working together, developed a lot in common.

It wasn't until 1 p.m., with an hour and a half left before departure, that we started.

Howard ran over with a radio in his hand.

"Fang, listen to this."

Fang Wen slid down the boarding stairs and took the radio.

It was playing in English; it must have been a radio station set up by foreigners in the concession.

But the content was about the war.

Fang Wen and Shao Sishen, who had come over, both spoke good English and listened attentively to the announcements.

These foreigners actually obtained some intelligence about the Japanese army and broadcast it publicly.

Shao Sishen's expression changed, and he waved to the captain of the air force.

"Captain, there's important news. The English radio station in the concession has revealed the designations of the Japanese ground forces and some of their equipment."

The flight captain rushed over.

"What did you say?"

"They said this was the Japanese's general ground offensive, with the 9th Division attacking the junction of Jiangwan and Miaohang, heading north to besiege Wusong with the Kurume Brigade, and heading south to attack Zhabei with the Marines."

The air force captain's face was grave: "Our mission is to bomb the 9th Division and disrupt their plans. Did the broadcast mention the 9th Division's equipment?"

邵思慎露出笑容，“他们弄了个清单，把第九师团的家底都说出来了。四一式山炮12门、三八式野炮36门、37毫米速射反坦克炮12门、轻型装甲车12辆。”

The air force captain nodded and called out loudly, "Emergency assembly!"

The pilots gathered around and saw the captain drawing white lines on the ground with stones.

After he finished drawing, he spoke up.

"This is the west bank of the Huangpu River. Above it is Wusong, in the middle are Miaohang and Jiangwan, and further down is Zhabei. Our mission is to bomb the Miaohang area."

After a pause, the captain continued.

"We just received some intelligence that we are about to bomb the Japanese 9th Division. They are carrying a large number of artillery pieces, as well as light armored vehicles to support their infantry attack. Therefore, this afternoon's operation will focus on attacking artillery positions and armored vehicles. Understand?"

"Understood," the pilots replied in unison.

Shao Sishen whispered to Fang Wen: "This time, the enemy outnumbers us and we cannot carry out formation attacks in the air. We will each fight our own battles. In principle, we will complete the bombing and firing and then return to base. We will not give the enemy planes a chance to encircle us."

Fang Wen nodded and turned to look at Shao Sichen's K-47 fighter jet.

At this time, ground crew were loading ammunition onto the K-47 fighter jet, repairing bullet holes in the rear cockpit, and carrying out routine maintenance.

Fang Wen, who was working as a temporary mechanic, also went over to help and check whether the bombs under the wings were stable.

Unlike futuristic high-tech electronic devices, this is a mechanical structure with several lugs on the top of the bomb that are hooked to the belly of the aircraft.

When the bomb is dropped, the hook will retract backward, causing the bomb ear to lose connection and fall freely.

As for detonation, this bomb has a mechanical detonation structure inside. After being dropped, the bomb detonates upon impact with the ground through a built-in mechanical device.

Therefore, without sufficient impact energy, there is no need to worry about it causing problems.

After the examination, Fang Wen calmed down and waited quietly for the last half hour.

The flight captain's whistle blew, and this time there was no assembly or briefing; all pilots boarded their aircraft immediately.

Fang Wen and Shao Sichen also quickly boarded the plane, waiting for the fighter jets ahead to take off one by one.

As the engine started, Fang Wen quietly entered a state of mechanical awareness to understand the situation of the K-47 fighter jet.

The fuselage features an all-metal low-profile monoplane design. The wing is a thin-chord, conventional ductile-beam frame with a metal cantilever design.

To put it simply, it represents another school of thought in modern aircraft design: the low-wing aircraft.

The corresponding upper-wing aircraft are the Detroit-type civil airliner and the Rheinland NYP-2, with the upper wing having high stability and load capacity, and the lower wing having strong agility and maneuverability.

Because the wings are located at the bottom, there are metal supports underneath the wings to ensure stability.

The aircraft's landing gear is fixed and equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers to adapt to various takeoff and landing conditions.
This is the external structure; no problems were found. Fang Wen's mechanical perception shifted to the interior.

The K-47 fighter jet was equipped with high-performance Pratt & Whitney Wasp air-cooled engines produced under license from BMW.

It can be said to be the best performing aircraft engine currently available.

If it weren't for the structural limitations of the fuselage, Fang Wen felt that the aircraft's performance could be further improved.

As they were observing, Shao Sishen, in the driver's seat, called out loudly, "It's our turn. Are you ready?"

"Ready!" Fang Wen shouted in response amidst the roar of the engine.

The plane takes off, runs, and then flies into the sky.

Five planes were flying side by side at high altitude, and the pilots could see each other's faces. They waved to each other and then dispersed.

This journey is fraught with peril, and as a soldier, it is a glorious act for the country.

Five K-47 fighter jets quietly flew to Shanghai.

When we arrived in Shanghai more than an hour later, the smoke from the battle had already drifted high into the sky, making the area below somewhat hazy.

As planned before departure, Shao Sishen was preparing to swoop down to carry out an air raid mission.

"Don't move! We've been discovered!" Fang Wen hurriedly shouted to stop them.

"Where is it?" Shao Sishen immediately became nervous.

"Two planes are approaching from the left rear."

The area to the left rear is Shao Sichen's blind spot. If the enemy were to outflank him from this position, they would not be able to detect him at all.

This is also a disadvantage of not using formation flying; fighting alone without the perspective of teammates greatly increases the danger.

Fortunately, Fang Wen reminded him, and Shao Sishen accelerated forward, trying to shake off the pursuit of the two Type 3 fighter jets.

“Climb,” Fang Wen suddenly said again.

Without fully understanding what was going on, Shao Sishen did as instructed out of instinct.

The nose of the plane lifted, and it flew into the sky.

This flight unexpectedly plunged into the clouds and passed right through them.

And that's how it disappeared from the sight of the two enemy planes.

The two sides, one above the clouds, the other below the clouds.

Shao Sishen shouted, "They dare not come up."

"Wait, give me an angle. Shoot if they dare to show their faces."

Fang Wen was always ready to respond and fire at any moment, whether enemy planes were in front or behind him.

This was also a weakness of the K-47 fighter jet. The onboard machine guns could only fire at two angles: forward and backward. Once enemy aircraft appeared on either side, Shao Sishen had to adjust the fuselage angle to deal with them.

But after waiting for more than ten seconds, the other party still didn't come up.

They clearly knew how dangerous it was to rush into the clouds.

But a stalemate like this can't continue indefinitely.

Shao Sishen took the initiative to seek Fang Wen's opinion: "If we dive down and attack now, even if they stay below, they won't be able to catch up."

“I think so too, let’s do it this way.” After the two reached an agreement, the fuselage turned downwards, plunged into the clouds again, and dived towards the ground at an even faster speed.

(End of this chapter)