Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 374, Section 372: Bombing Belt, New Type of Napalm Bombs, All Teams Return to Base

The negotiations quickly reached a conclusion.

According to Fang Wen's plan, he will deliver a ruthless blow on the Niushou Mountain battlefield next.

Use the newly developed napalm bomb there.

This is the latest version developed by Huo Duanyang and his chemical engineering team.

Fang Wen himself had never seen the power of the supplies that had just been delivered to the Xiangxi Airport warehouse.

This is the secret weapon of the Taishan Independent Regiment that he told Commander Li.

After the negotiation was successful, Fang Wen immediately began preparations.

He led the gunboat squadron to Xiangxi Airport.

After several hours of flight, the gunboat squadron arrived over Xiangxi Airport.

Looking down at the airport, Fang Wen sighed.

The Xiangxi Airport, which has been in operation for 37 years, has undergone significant changes after several years of construction.

With the road to the county seat repaired, the channels for transporting goods no longer rely solely on airplanes as before.

Several factories have also been added inside the airport.

Part of the former bomb factory is still here. In addition to the bomb factory, there was also a ration mill and a cigarette factory.

Over the years, Fang Shun has been working at Xiangxi Airport, managing it very well. The once naive and impulsive Shunzi has become the mature Fang Shun.

He led his team to land on the Shanmu River next to the airport.

All five gunboats docked, and Fang Shun brought his men to greet them.

"Young master, everything has been taken out of the warehouse. There are a total of 1200 ammunition plates."

"Come on, let's go over and take a look."

The group headed towards the airport warehouse area.

There, I saw the latest type of napalm bombs.

The bombs still used the same bomb-carrying plates, but the contents inside were different from the old-fashioned napalm bombs.

The reason for still using bomb racks is that this method is simple and practical. As long as a simple bomb dropping device is installed on the bottom hatch of the gunboat, bomb racks can be used for continuous airdrops.

Fang Wen wanted to test the power of this bomb.

He returned to the riverbank with three bomb loaders and a simple bombing device, then boarded the plane with the crew of five gunboats and took off.

The plane took off.

Fang Wen instructed the communications officer to switch to the frequency at Xiangxi Airport and then picked up the microphone to make a call.

"Shunzi, you can set off the guiding fireworks now."

"Okay, Master."

To the northeast below, a bonfire was lit in an open space, its flames and smoke serving as the best guide.

Fang Wen controlled the plane to fly over and circle in the air.

Meanwhile, the crew members inside the airport began installing makeshift bomb-dropping devices.

This is a net cover that is placed directly on the bottom hatch. Then, the bomb load plate is installed on the net cover. Pulling the bomb release lever will release the clips on the bomb load plate, thereby releasing the napalm bomb.

After a flurry of activity, Gong Xiuneng reported, "Reporting to the regimental commander, the installation is complete."

"Attach the bomb rack. As usual, there will be a countdown before dropping the bomb. Everyone else, watch carefully. Don't be careless just because it seems simple," Fang Wen instructed.

Gong Xiuneng and the other gunboat crew members responded in unison: "Yes."

With the bomb rack installed, Gong Xiuneng squatted down, gripping the bomb release lever with his right hand, and waited.

Fang Wen adjusted the aircraft's position and began a countdown just before arriving at the bombing simulation point.

As the countdown ended, Gong Xiuneng pulled the bomb-dropping lever, and all 36 new napalm bombs fell.

This new type of napalm bomb is filled with lead at the bottom and is cone-shaped, falling straight down.

More than 10 seconds later, the new napalm bomb landed.

Upon impact, its explosive section exploded, sending out a large number of sparks.

These fire spots have a larger and denser coverage area than before, are more flammable, and are twice as powerful as the old model.

Subsequently, another bomb disposal plate was deployed, with the same effect.

Fang Wen deliberately lowered the altitude so that everyone could see the view below clearly.

Large areas of fire were distributed across a 200-square-meter area.

In other words, one bomb-carrying plate can create a 100-square-meter fire point, and 1200 of them can create an area of ​​12 square meters.

While it can't be said that the bombing could actually cover such a large area, the sheer number of bombs was enough to create a good bombing effect.

However, the actual effect still needs to be tested in practice.

Therefore, he immediately landed on the river and had Fang Shun organize people to move 1200 ammunition plates onto five gunboats.

The plane took off and flew to Nanjing.

It was already night when we returned.

This is not a suitable time for bombing; the best opportunity is during the day when the enemy launches an attack and the population is dense.

The night passed quickly, and Fang Wen got up early, washed up, and immediately made arrangements.

Gunships and aircraft assemble.

Notify the Fuyang fighter squadron to prepare for departure.

Inform the Niushou Mountain position to launch a feint attack on the Japanese army to provoke them.

With everything arranged, Fang Wen had a meal with the crew members of the gunboat squadron.

Everyone focused on eating, keeping quiet and conserving their energy for the moment the air raid would begin.

After breakfast, Fang Wen led the way to Pier 3 to register.

He issued the takeoff order to the Fuyang fighter squadron from the gunboat No. 4.

Forty minutes later, Fang Wen led the team to take off.

Shortly after the gunboat squadron took off, it joined up with the fighter squadron that had come from Fuyang.

They then formed an air strike squadron and flew south.

Not long after, they arrived at the Niushou Mountain battlefield.

There, multiple Japanese forces were launching an attack on the western side of the Niushou Mountain position.

The battle was fierce, and it seemed that the feint attack had successfully provoked the Japanese army.

After surveying the ground situation, Fang Wen decided to launch an air raid from west to east, forming a bombing belt.

But there's one more thing to do before launching the air strikes.

That was to drive away the 10 Japanese fighter planes flying in from the east.

These Type 96 fighters are here again. If we don't deal with them, the air raids can't proceed smoothly.

Fang Wen issued the instructions.

He ordered the fighter squadrons to refrain from attacking for the time being via coded telegram.

Instead, they waited for enemy planes to come.

During this time, the gunners in the five gunship aircraft had completed the installation of the airburst grenade launchers.

When the enemy aircraft came within 700 meters, Fang Wen gave the order: "Fire."

A large number of airburst shells were fired from the firing ports on the sides of the five gunboats and exploded in front of them.

This type of area-of-effect air jamming and destruction weapon, which does not require aiming, was a major weapon in the era of piston-engine fighter jets.

It is also the best air-to-air means for low-speed, highly defensive air-to-ground aircraft like gunships.

The effect would be even better if it were accompanied by fighter jets.

Large plumes of fireworks exploded in the air, mixed with a lot of high-temperature aluminum powder. Some of the aluminum powder was re-ignited, while some of it went into the air intake and damaged the engines and cooling systems of the Japanese aircraft.

Their vision was also obstructed.

Five Taishan fighter jets immediately launched a long-range attack.

Although the airburst bombs resulted in a longer attack range and lower accuracy, they still managed to shoot down three aircraft.

The remaining seven planes were desperately accelerating out of the airburst zone. As they emerged, they were met with an attack from five fighter jets.

These Japanese fighter planes, with flames on their wings and smoke billowing from their engines, were already inferior to the Taishan fighters, and now they were even less able to deal with them.

Five Taishan fighters outmaneuvered seven Japanese fighters, eventually shooting down three more, while the remaining four fled in disarray.

At this point, the interference in the air was gone.

Fang Wen ordered the fighter squadron to escort them, and he himself piloted the Water Tiger 4, leading the gunboats to launch an air attack from the west side of Niushou Mountain.

On the west side of Niushou Mountain, the 156th Division is under attack by two Japanese regiments.

A standard Japanese army regiment has 3800 men, and two regiments have more than 7000 men.

Enraged by the feint attack by the 156th Division, the troops of the 114th Division launched an offensive.

They wanted to avenge the annihilation of their division headquarters, so the fighting was fierce, with the Japanese army launching repeated attacks on the positions.

At that moment, 10 planes flew in from the sky.

Five of them were lined up in a single file, and small black dots kept falling like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

These densely packed small black dots are the new type of napalm bombs dropped from gunboats.

As the aircraft flew, it continuously released air, creating a bombing belt.

Explosions occurred one after another, and countless sparks flew as they landed on the attacking Japanese troops.

Because there were so many of them, there was nowhere to hide, and large numbers of Japanese soldiers' clothes were ignited by the fires they were attached to.

Japanese soldiers, their bodies ablaze, ran across the battlefield.

They no longer worried about the bullets coming from the other side, but mindlessly ran around trying to find something to extinguish the flames on their bodies.

As I ran, I turned into a human torch.

This scene greatly encouraged the 156th Division.

Commander Li realized that this was a rare opportunity.

He pulled out his sidearm and shouted, "Brothers, let's follow the planes! Wherever they bomb, we'll fire!"

The soldiers picked up their guns and ran out of their positions, charging towards the Japanese troops who had been attacking them.

Under the widespread bombing, the Japanese soldiers in the bombing zones cried out in agony, with very few survivors.

Outside the bombing zone, the remaining Japanese troops were also in a state of panic.

This gave the 156th Division a great opportunity to fight their way through.

But the burning area is hot and smells terrible, so it's not pleasant either.

Some soldiers even tore their clothes, filled their canteens with water, and covered their mouths and noses with them.

Following suit, everyone covered their mouths and noses with wet cloths and continued to charge forward.

The aerial bombardment continued.

Inside the gunboat, the gunners and loader crews transformed into bombardiers, installing and launching bombs one by one.

They will continue as long as Fang Wen doesn't give the order to stop.

As the ammunition plates are constantly consumed, the resulting damage is also staggering.

But this was not the effect Fang Wen wanted.

He wanted to create even greater chaos for the Japanese troops below.

That is to use the continuous burning effect of the bombing belt to divide the two regiments of Japanese troops into different small groups, making it impossible for them to communicate between different areas.

Immediately, Fang Wen picked up the microphone and commanded: "Cease bombing, gunboat squadron turn 30 degrees east and follow me."

At his command, the gunboats turned and a new bombing raid began.

An X-shaped bombing and burning zone was formed on the ground, and the Japanese army was divided into 4 parts.

In this situation, if the 156th Division could be more aggressive, it could at least wipe out one-third of the enemy's forces.

However, the actual situation did not achieve the effect Fang Wen wanted. The troops below stopped halfway through their charge.

Clearly, they were too far from their positions and worried about being raided by the Japanese army, so they could only charge halfway before giving up such a rare opportunity.

Fang Wen sighed inwardly. This kind of troops, which were not his own, were difficult to control, and all sorts of variables could occur during battle.

They were actually quite brave; at least they managed to charge out in large numbers, making the bombing even more effective.

The bombing eventually ended.

On the flat ground outside the west side of Niushou Mountain, a patch of charred black material was indistinguishable, with embers still burning in many places.

The bombing proved the power of the new napalm bomb, which satisfied Fang Wen.

He led the team back to base.

A bombing raid on the Japanese army became the testament left behind by Fang Wen.

The 1000 people they borrowed then rushed to the riverbank, and then took a ferry to the north bank of the river to join the civilians who were crossing the river.

Accompanying them were Sun Debiao and Shao Sishen from Taishan Airlines, as well as twenty security guards.

Sun Debiao carried a military radio on his back, while Shao Sishen operated the radio to establish contact with Fang Wen in the air.

Although voice communication was not possible, Fang Wen's observations from the air could be received via Morse code.

Shao Sishen's expression changed drastically after he finished compiling the Morse code.

"The general manager called to say that a group of Japanese troops had been discovered crossing the Yangtze River northwest of Pukou. The general manager is leading the air squadron to harass and intercept them, and we are to move northwest immediately according to plan."

Sun Debiao immediately led his soldiers and security personnel to escort the civilians away along the designated route.

Behind them, planes roared and explosions continued.

The Taishan Independent Regiment's planes used air raids to stop the Japanese troops crossing the river.

This also means that the seaplane base is no longer safe.

Then, the last batch of flights took off and left Nanjing.

My trip to Nanjing has now come to an end.

Fang Wen and his group, who were the last to leave, flew towards Wuhan in their gunboats.

Throughout the journey, Fang Wen clearly sensed that the crew members were in low spirits.

This situation is probably not unique to the Tiger IV gunship; it's the same for other gunships as well.

He picked up the phone.

"Are you all feeling a little disappointed? We won the battle, but it's all for naught."

The sound was transmitted through the equipment to each gunboat aircraft, and everyone looked up.

Fang Wen continued:
"Don't be discouraged, this is just the beginning. Our temporary decline will take time to recover. Have confidence, we are only achieving small, local victories now, but we can do even better in the future."

Gong Xiuneng stood up and shouted loudly, "The regimental commander is right. We can win battles. As long as we win one battle after another, we will eventually drive the Japanese devils out of China."

"Yes." "We will succeed."

A chorus of responses emanated from the five gunboats, instantly dispelling everyone's disappointment.

Fang Wen smiled.

He picked up the microphone and continued, "Alright, when we get back, I'll give everyone a break. It's time for them to rest."

After a two-hour flight, the gunboat squadron returned to Wuhan Airport.

Fang Wen arranged for them to rest for two days, after which they would return to the Fuping base.

Fang Wen himself went to the Wuhan refugee detention center to check on the situation.

There, Taishan Airlines staff responsible for managing the lives of refugees reported the situation to Fang Wen.

"A large number of people who came to Wuhan on free flights have left those who are wealthy or have relatives. Those who remain in the quarantine points are poor people who have no means of livelihood and can only stay here temporarily."

Looking at the people in the detention center, Fang Wen thought to himself that it wasn't impossible to arrange work for them.

If we want to expand our military industry, we need to connect the upstream and downstream sectors. This requires people in all aspects, not just technical personnel and intellectuals.

In addition, the air logistics program can recruit another batch of employees.

He had a blueprint in mind, but now, to implement it, he needed a lot of funding.

It's time to talk to Whitney, after all, he was the one who brought up investing in me.

Fang Wen then went to Taishan Airlines to find the Whitneys, who had returned early.

(End of this chapter)