Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 353 351 Air Combat Destroys Ki-21 Heavy Bomber; Frontal Operations Turn Behind Enemy Lines
In November, temperatures in the Taihang Mountains plummeted, and frost even began to form in some areas.

Adding to the gloom, a cold rain fell overnight, and the Dongshan area was shrouded in mist.

Fang Wen issued orders to the other pilots in the gunboat squadron.

"Descent to 1000 meters, follow me, pay attention to altitude and distance."

Although the pilots of the gunboat squadron were technically inferior to those of the fighter squadron pilots, their overall awareness was not lacking, and they were able to diligently carry out the instructions given by Fang Wen.

They followed Fang Wen as he descended the Water Tiger 4, the aircraft just barely disappearing into the clouds.

At this altitude, the visibility between gunboat squadrons was not affected, but from a distance, the entire gunboat squadron appeared to be hidden in the clouds.

It was just right; any lower and there would have been a risk of crashing into the mountain, any higher and there would have been no way to hide oneself.

Now, unless you pass directly overhead, it's not easy to spot from other angles.

The gunboat squadron was well concealed, and the fighter squadron flying from the southwest also climbed to an altitude of 5000 meters.

Not long after, a Japanese air formation flew in from the east.

They flew directly towards Taiyuan City and launched air raids on the city's east, north, and west walls.

Meanwhile, the Japanese 5th Division was also preparing to launch an attack with the support of aircraft.

Those cannons that had been concealed have now abandoned their concealment and are firing at the walls of Taiyuan.

Fang Wen memorized the artillery positions of the Fifth Division, but now was not the time; the threat posed by the Japanese air formations to Taiyuan City had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

The Japanese air formation sent 22 aircraft this time, including 20 Type 95 biplane fighters and 2 large aircraft that had never been seen before.

Although he had never seen the actual machine, Fang Wen knew what model it was.

The K-21 heavy bomber was also known as the Type 97 heavy bomber.

It was a bomber model that had only been test-flown last year, but it was put into actual combat this year when the war started.

This bomber is different from the Type 97 dive bomber that Fang Wen shot down over Beiping. It is larger, weighs 4.7 tons, has a payload of nearly 2.8 tons, and can carry 1000 kilograms of external bombs, only slightly less than the bomb load of the Taishan-1.

With a crew of seven, it was the most powerful strategic bomber in the Japanese military at the time.

(3D image of the Ki-21 heavy bomber)
As Fang Wen watched the Ki-21s fly overhead, his heart tightened. If they were allowed to bomb, the damage to Taiyuan City would be immense. Therefore, it was imperative to shoot down these two heavy bombers.

He immediately instructed his communications officer to relay the order for the fighter squadron to launch a surprise attack from high altitude.

Eight fighter planes emerged from the clouds, four of which were not carrying aerial bombs and formed the main force, launching a surprise attack from behind the Japanese aircraft formation.

The sudden attack caught the Japanese air formation completely off guard, and three biplanes were shot down.

The Japanese flight formations, realizing what was happening, immediately intercepted the Taishan fighter squadron. They frantically flew towards the Taishan fighters, trying to prevent them from getting close to the two Ki-21 heavy bombers.

Just as the two sides were entangled.

Fang Wen led his gunboat squadron to attack from below.

Although the gunship aircraft were relatively slow, they still managed to quickly approach the enemy formation under these circumstances.

The gunboat squadron, having climbed to an aerial combat altitude of 3000 meters, immediately began horizontal firing.

A large number of bullets and machine gun shells poured out from the firing port on one side of the fuselage.

The Japanese biplanes were very vulnerable. Under the dense barrage of fire from 10 gunships, many were hit, some stalled and crashed while smoking, and others were blown up in mid-air.

Japanese fighter planes also launched a counterattack against the gunboats.

The Type 95 biplane fighter, which was clumsy against monoplanes, became much more agile when fighting against gunships.

They circled around the gunship aircraft, trying to find weak points to fire upon.

Unfortunately, the 7.7mm machine gun bullets were completely neutralized by the gunship's external bulletproof steel plates.

While the machine gun bullets of Japanese warplanes could not penetrate the bulletproof steel plates, the firing ports on both sides of the gunships were not to be underestimated. Whenever an opportunity arose, the gunners behind the firing ports would operate the 12.7 caliber machine guns and 20 mm cannons to fire wildly at the passing Type 95 fighter planes.

The entire sky above Taiyuan was engulfed in fierce fighting.

This sight even prompted the two combat units below to temporarily halt their attack and turn their attention to the sky.

It seems that the victor in this air battle will have a significant impact on ground operations.

At this moment, Fang Wen piloted the Water Tiger 4 and flew alone towards the two Ki-21 heavy bombers.

Despite piloting a gunboat with a speed of over 200 kilometers per hour, Fang Wen remained confident that he could deal with Japanese warplanes.

If speed is insufficient, then use technology and operation to cope.

He said in a deep voice, "Everyone, please be careful, there will be some bumps ahead. Put on your safety ropes and hold onto the anchor bar."

The crew members immediately followed the instructions.

Gong Xiuneng took the lead in securing the safety rope, then rushed to Kuang Anming, who had just joined the crew: "Hurry up and secure the safety rope, then grab the anchor bar like I did."

Kuang Anming quickly tied on his safety rope and, like the others, grabbed the fixed grab bar on the bulkhead.

A moment later, the fuselage suddenly veered to one side, and the crew members inside the cabin were thrown about. Fortunately, the anchor rods and safety ropes prevented them from being thrown out.

Fang Wen hadn't engaged in such intense aerial maneuvering for a month.

For the sake of the overall situation, he switched to piloting gunboats to oversee the entire operation and command the troops, and basically had no opportunity to perform various high-difficulty flight maneuvers.

Now, Fang Wen is once again demonstrating his exceptional aerial piloting skills for two Ki-21 heavy bombers.

In mechanical sensing mode, Fang Wen and the gunboat machine become one.

There were three planes intercepting them on each of the left and right sides.

This is the last line of defense among the 20 escort fighters.

By getting past them, you can get close to the two Ki-21 heavy bombers.

In terms of speed, Tiger 4 is definitely no match.

But besides speed, there are many other methods in the air.

Just like an eagle catching a swallow in the sky, although the swallow is not as fast as the eagle, it can escape through its agile movements.

In order to achieve that effect.

Fang Wen took out a small bronze tripod and hung it around his neck.

With the infusion of mysterious energy, his mechanical perception was temporarily enhanced.

At this moment, Fang Wen returned to that feeling of surpassing human limits.

Everything around me seems to be under my control.

It even changes as it is affected by the influence of spiritual power.

Screwdriver parts, a water bottle at his feet, and various other odds and ends floated up from the storage compartment.

Everything is under the control of thought, and I can make them move at will.

Suddenly, all of this disappeared, and the things floating in the air fell down.

Fang Wen forcibly controlled himself from doing such meaningless things. At present, the more important thing was to use his temporarily enhanced abilities to break through the interception of six Japanese fighter planes and destroy the two heavy bombers.

Fang Wen, who is fully committed to the battle, undergoes new changes as his abilities are enhanced.

At this moment, in addition to having a complete understanding of the aircraft's internal structure and performance, Fang Wen extended his perception outwards through the aircraft for the first time.

At this moment, he had a new experience.

The effects of the wings on the airflow were very clearly reflected in my mind.

He experienced the subtleties of gunboat flight, which made piloting it more natural.

Pushing his driving limits, Fang Wen suddenly ducked at a small angle, dodging the encirclement of six fighter jets. Just as the six biplanes were descending to continue their interception, Fang Wen suddenly tilted his aircraft upwards.

This complex fuselage design involves not only the combination of aircraft power performance, but also the interaction between the wings and the airflow.

A perfect feint caused six enemy planes to veer downwards, while he himself rapidly ascended.

This immediately created a spatial difference between the gunboats and the fighter planes. The six Japanese Type 95 fighters, realizing they had been fooled, quickly turned around, attempting to continue their interception by relying on their speed.

However, biplanes are not good at spatial maneuvering, and they were shaken off before they could even get close.

With a few turns and maneuvers, Fang Wen unknowingly piloted the gunboat close to the target.

At that moment, he suddenly gave an order.

"Attention, be ready to fire at any time, awaiting my command."

The crew members immediately stood by, the gunner gripped the machine gun handle and the cannon lever, and focused intently on the observation port, while the loader held the spare ammunition belt, ready to reload at any time.

While everyone was waiting, Fang Wen controlled the gunboat to break free from the enemy aircraft's interception once again. In order not to affect the crew, this time he did not use a large-scale spatial movement flight operation, but directly inserted himself between the two heavy bombers.

This position was extremely tricky; Japanese fighter planes dared not fly up there for fear of colliding with their own bombers.

Fang Wen had been waiting for this moment, and he shouted urgently, "Fire!"

The firing ports on both sides of the aircraft opened fire simultaneously, with 12.7 mm machine guns and 20 mm cannons firing at the Ki-21 bombers on both sides.

At the same time, two bombers also launched an attack.

This heavy bomber, like the F220 strategic bomber purchased by Fang Wen, was equipped with five aircraft machine guns.

Two of them were positioned to fire directly at the gunboat, so two machine guns on each side fired at the gunboat simultaneously.

Bullets flew through the air, and both sides were firing desperately.

At this moment, the crew members in the gunboat were in a state of complete excitement.

Gong Xiuneng, Kuang Anming, and the other shooters were shouting wildly.

"Kill." "Kill."

The three planes were hit almost simultaneously.

But the result was completely different.

The sides of the two heavy bombers were torn open by 12.7 mm bullets and 20 mm cannon shells.

The machine gun that was firing just moments ago has fallen silent, and large amounts of black smoke are billowing from the plane, along with a lot of debris flying out of the breach.

Fang Wen's Water Tiger No. 4 gunboat was also badly damaged, with large craters on both sides of the fuselage, and some parts were even shot through, allowing cold wind to rush in through the holes.

Fang Wen asked urgently, "Report the situation! Is anyone injured?"

Gong Xiuneng quickly checked and reported: "Reporting to the regimental commander, no one is injured, only the cabin wall is damaged, but it is not too serious, we can hold on."

Thankfully, no one was injured. Fang Wen breathed a sigh of relief and immediately gave the order.

"These heavy bombers are quite large, and attacking only one spot won't destroy them immediately. Everyone hold on tight to the sticks, we're moving to another position."

After saying that, Fang Wen controlled the plane to suddenly descend, and then, fearing the altitude, turned to the other side of the bomber on the right.

This time, the enemy bomber's machine gunners did not attack again; clearly, the heavy damage inside the plane had thrown them into disarray.

A new round of firing began, tearing a large section of the area open under the attack.

Finally, the interior of the plane was severely damaged, bursting into flames and then exploding in mid-air.

Just as the enemy exploded, Fang Wen had already flown away in his gunboat, avoiding the blast wave of the mid-air explosion.

The Type 95 fighter jets that were trying to provide escort nearby were not so lucky.

Two of them were unable to dodge in time and were caught in the wreckage of the exploding bombers, becoming collateral damage.

Fang Wen, who had evaded the enemy in his gunboat, immediately began searching for the trail of another heavy bomber.

The other plane, billowing black smoke, turned around on its own, attempting to escape.

With the fight already this bad, Fang Wen certainly wouldn't let them escape.

He quickly gave chase.

The heavy bomber, severely damaged on the side, had a propeller that seemed to be malfunctioning, causing it to slow down considerably and allowing the gunship aircraft to catch up quickly.

At this moment, two Japanese fighter planes that had been following behind blocked Fang Wen's path, attempting to stop him one last time.

Fang Wen's face turned cold. No matter what, he was determined to win this battle, and no one could stop him.

He said coldly, "When I say shoot, pull the trigger. Don't hesitate, don't worry about anything else."

Without hesitation, the crew members immediately made the preparations. In the Taishan Independent Regiment, Fang Wen held absolute authority, and the people of the Independent Regiment would unconditionally obey and execute his words.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, who had become one with the aircraft, suddenly turned his gunship around.

He turned his side to face the enemy and gave the order.

"Fire on the right."

Without hesitation, the gunner on the right pulled the trigger, and bullets poured out, hitting the enemy before they could even react.

With such ease, the last two intercepting aircraft were dealt with, and Fang Wen controlled the gunboat to approach the final target.

The heavy bomber, badly damaged on its side, was already teetering on the brink of collapse when it exploded under the final blow.

At this point, two Ki-21 heavy bombers and seven Type 7 fighters were lost in the battle. The remaining 13 enemy aircraft, although still numerically superior, dared not fight any longer and retreated eastward.

Looking at the battle situation in the sky.

The troops defending Taiyuan cheered.

On the other hand, the atmosphere was unusually somber for the Japanese troops.

A large-scale Japanese bombing squadron came to Taiyuan for an air raid, but was ambushed and attacked by the Independent Regiment's fighter planes.

The sudden appearance of the Independent Regiment's fighter planes indicated that the bombing that day had not destroyed any of the Independent Regiment's aircraft; it was all a ruse.

But they didn't expect that the Taishan Air Force would not end the battle after driving away the Japanese planes.

Fang Wen issued new instructions from the air, targeting the artillery positions he had just discovered.

Under his guidance, gunboat squadrons and fighter squadrons launched air raids on artillery positions to the north and east.

Such a precise air raid severely damaged the artillery units of the 5th Division. Without artillery fire, the walls of Taiyuan could not be destroyed, and the Japanese offensive had to come to a halt.

The defense of Taiyuan, an isolated city, unexpectedly achieved a major aerial victory on the first day.

This had a very good effect on the defense of the city.

Over the next two days, the Japanese 2th Division was not very aggressive in its offensive due to a lack of artillery.

However, this situation changed with the arrival of Japanese reinforcements.

Reinforcements from the Japanese army that occupied Chahar on the northern front have arrived.

On the eastern front, the new commander of the 20th Division took office, and several reinforcement regiments arrived at the same time.

Under these circumstances, the situation in Taiyuan became extremely critical.

Not to mention, in order to capture Taiyuan and seek revenge on the Taishan Independent Regiment, the Japanese Army Air Force dispatched a large number of fighter groups to search for and fight the Taishan Independent Regiment Air Force.

Faced with a large number of aircraft, Fang Wen had to choose his tactics. When the number of enemy aircraft was too large, he could only temporarily avoid them, while when the number of enemy aircraft was small, he would launch an attack to reap the rewards.

And so, after five days of holding out, the city of Taiyuan fell.

With the city walls destroyed and the Japanese army entering the city, Commander Fu led his remaining troops, spearheaded by the mobile force of the Taishan Independent Regiment, to break through the Japanese blockade south of the city and retreat towards the Central Army Group's defense line to the south.

Meanwhile, the defenses on the eastern front also fell as the 27th Route Army withdrew.

The Provisional 7th Division, which was also defending the eastern front, along with a part of the 3rd Battalion of the Independent Regiment, entered the Taihang Mountains under the guidance of Wu Yingzong and local guides, heading towards Fuping.

With this, the largest battle fought by the Nationalist army north of the Yellow River came to an end, and North China fell completely to the Japanese.

Fang Wen, however, chose a different path in the war of resistance, staying behind enemy lines to continue fighting the Japanese army.

(End of this chapter)