Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 32, The First Air Battle: Bombing the Armory, The Baptism of War
The plane swooped down, and at such a high speed, it instantly passed through the defensive zone of the two enemy planes.

As the plane was diving downwards, Fang Wen suddenly turned around and operated the machine gun at the tail of the plane.

At that moment, through mechanical perception, Fang Wen once again became one with the aircraft.

But this time it felt a little different; I wasn't the one piloting the plane, and I felt like I wasn't in control of my own destiny.

Shaking off this strange feeling, Fang Wen focused his mind.

He felt like he was a machine, and the machine gun was part of his body, aiming as a whole.

Once the aim is determined, the information is fed back to the body, causing corresponding adjustments.

Immediately, the machine gun adjusted its direction and aimed at the plane on the left.

The plane was diving in pursuit when, unexpectedly, the enemy's tail machine gun fired a volley of bullets, which were aimed precisely at it.

There was no time to react; bullet holes grazed the cockpit window and created a row of small holes in the fuselage.

The fuel tank of the Type 3 fighter plane was punctured.

Unfortunately, it did not cause a fire or explosion.

Upon noticing the fuel gauge rapidly dropping, the enemy pilot immediately halted the dive.

Meanwhile, his teammates also stopped the pursuit.

That way, you won't have to worry about having two annoying guys chasing you from behind during airstrike missions.

Fang Wen turned around, exited the mechanical perception state, and prepared to conserve his energy so that he could perform better during the air raid.

Shao Sishen, who was piloting the plane in a dive, was completely unaware of what was happening behind him and was focused on controlling the plane's dive.

He only spoke after the plane had descended from 5000 meters to 2000 meters.

"Have you shaken off the enemy planes behind you?"

“I’m rid of it,” Fang Wen replied.

Shao Sichen breathed a sigh of relief and looked down.

"Fang Wen, confirm our current location. I can't guarantee it's an air raid target."

"Drive straight ahead. This is Zhabei District. Keep going straight, and at this speed, it will take about a minute to get there."

The plane continued forward, and a minute later, the chaos below proved Fang Wen's words true.

As the main force of the ground offensive, the Ninth Division engaged in fierce street fighting and positional warfare with the 19th Route Army in the area below, resulting in a protracted battle for control.

The 19th Route Army relied on various buildings and temporary fortifications for defense, and battles took place in every building and on every street.

The 9th Division launched an attack under the cover of armored vehicles, with soldiers firing from behind the vehicles as they advanced.

Meanwhile, several artillery positions launched artillery attacks into the rear of the 19th Route Army.

This would not only cut off the 19th Route Army's rear, but also sever the connection between the various defensive positions.

Fang Wen and Shao Sishen witnessed these scenes.

However, the expected air raid did not occur; only a lone plane circled at an altitude of 2000 meters.

Because of the thick smoke, neither the enemy nor their own people below knew whether the plane was friend or foe.

"Should we bomb the artillery positions or the armored vehicles?" Shao Sichen asked. After working together all this way, he had come to acknowledge Fang Wen's abilities.

Fang Wen was also considering this.

My mind raced, like lightning.

Now that the air raid plan has gone wrong, it is very likely that other planes have suffered the same fate as him and Shao Sicheng, being ambushed by Japanese enemy planes.

As things stand, there is only one attack aircraft, carrying no more than two 50-kilogram bombs, plus a forward-mounted machine gun that can be used for dive-bombing.

It is crucial to maximize benefits while also helping the ground troops below.

Through mechanical perception, Fang Wen obtained a clearer bird's-eye view, showing that although the enemy troops were scattered throughout the area, they also had points of concentration.

That is located at the junction of the two artillery positions.

There were military vehicles there, and many soldiers were going in and out carrying things.

Could it be a command center or an ammunition depot or something similar?

Regardless of which one it is, blowing it up might have a miraculous effect.

Fang Wen then replied.

"Look at the right 45-degree direction, that's suspicious, let's blow that up."

Shao Sishen looked in that direction as instructed, and it did indeed seem a bit strange.

Furthermore, being alone and needing to complete the airstrike and return as soon as possible, he agreed without hesitation. The plane set its course and flew over its destination.

During this process, Fang Wen's mechanical senses are making bomb-dropping decisions.

The factors include the aircraft's flight speed, the vertical angle to the destination, and wind speed.

He judged that if the bombs were thrown in this way, they would likely land on the nearby artillery positions.

This is not what he wants.

"Shao Sishen, I think it's a bit off track. Trust me, fly it again and make the route adjustment as I say."

Shao Sishen hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

The plane circled again, returned to its starting point, and flew back towards the bombing site.

Fang Wen gave instructions throughout the journey.

"Fly 10 degrees to the left, maintain a constant speed, keep flying, and don't worry about anything else."

The plane, piloted by Shao Sishen, flew at a steady speed toward the bombing site.

Fang Wen, having activated his mechanical senses, was highly focused.

To ensure that both bombs hit their target, a deflection bombing is necessary.

Just as he was about to reach the bombing point, he pulled the left-hand pull ring, and the bomb on the left side of the fuselage fell from the sky.

The next second, he pulled the ring on his right hand, releasing another bomb.

Two bombs fell one after the other. The first one landed in the front yard of the temporary building, and the second one landed on the roof of the building.

Almost simultaneously, two bombs exploded.

The explosion in the front yard detonated some ammunition boxes, while those that landed inside the building caused an even more violent secondary explosion.

The series of explosions ripped off the roof of the building and shattered the surrounding walls, but the explosions continued.

It seems the gamble paid off; the bombing raid damaged the 9th Division's ammunition depot.

Without ammunition depots, artillery fire on the battlefield will be greatly reduced, and the intensity of the battle can only be maintained if the enemy transports enough ammunition from the rear.

Shao Sichen was overjoyed: "We succeeded. Let's go back."

"No rush, Shao Sishen, have you ever tried dive shooting?" Fang Wen suddenly asked with great interest.

"Play?" Shao Sichen was stunned. "We did it during flight training, but not in actual combat."

“Isn’t now the best opportunity? Look at that convoy of armored vehicles and the Japanese troops behind them. If you dive down, I think you can achieve a perfect score,” Fang Wen replied.

For some reason, Shao Sichen sensed a game-like feeling from Fang Wen's words.

But he didn't refuse.

This was indeed a rare opportunity, and he also wanted to avenge his teammates in the air force.

This time, Fang Wen no longer needed to give instructions; Shao Sishen completed the dive adjustment all by himself.

The plane chose an open area and swooped down from an altitude of over 2000 meters.

During this process, Fang Wen aimed at the ground early on and kept adjusting.

When the plane was only a few hundred meters above the ground, Shao Sishen first used the front-mounted machine gun on the nose to straf the enemy. Then, as the plane climbed, Fang Wen pulled the trigger and controlled the rear-mounted machine gun to fire at the ground.

The 7.92mm air-cooled MG08 heavy machine gun was firing at a rate of 500 rounds per minute, raining bullets down on the ground.

The Japanese army had no time to react.

When the planes swooped down from the smoke, some even mistook them for their own fighter jets, and some even took off their hats and waved them.

The next second, a hail of bullets swept across.

Tragic bullet tracks of flesh and blood appeared on the ground, with large numbers of Japanese soldiers falling to the ground, some wailing and crying in agony.

Because of his mechanical senses, Fang Wen clearly saw this scene.

He truly understood the meaning of the phrase "flesh and blood flying everywhere".

The intense discomfort made him feel like vomiting.

"Are you alright?" Shao Sishen asked with concern.

"It's alright, let's go back." After Fang Wen finished speaking, the scene from earlier resurfaced in his mind.

This was his first real baptism of blood and flesh in war; real war is just that cruel.

(End of this chapter)