Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 460 The Counter-Sweep Operation in the Jin-Cha-Ji Region: The Surgical Strike Plan, Fang Wen's Military Reconnaissance

The selection pilot program at Wutai selected only one prospective flight cadet, two prospective mechanic cadets, and five ground crew members who were easier to select.

This selection process established unified standards, which were then rolled out across all counties in the base area.

North of the Yellow River, in Shaanxi, Jiangxi, and Shandong, things are being done in secret.

As required, a total of 100 people will be recruited, including 20 high-speed fighter pilot trainees, 50 mechanic trainees, and 30 ground crew trainees.

The reason why mechanics make up the majority is that there is a severe shortage of such personnel in various units of the base area. When encountering disarmed vehicles and artillery, many of them cannot be repaired due to minor malfunctions and have to be abandoned. Therefore, training a large number of mechanics through this training will greatly help the front-line combat.

Fang Wen stayed in Fuping, waiting for the recruitment results so he could lead them back to Yangon.

But other things happen during this waiting time.

Fuping Sea Airport.

One by one, the wicker baskets filled with cigarettes were loaded into the sea transport plane.

Pan Jiafeng, who had just returned from his wedding, was checking the number of machines installed with his staff.

That night, he would pilot a seaplane across the Japanese war zone to deliver goods to Xiangxi Airport.

After he finished ordering, he went to the airport office to talk to his master.

Knock knock, a knock on the office door.

Inside the office, Fang Wen was reading a telegram.

Production at the No. 2 aircraft factory in northern Myanmar is proceeding normally and there have been no problems so far.

The aircraft engine plant has produced the first production line-modified Shiro engine.

"Come in, the door's unlocked," he said.

Pan Jiafeng pushed open the door and took out a brown paper package tied with hemp twine from his pocket. "Master, this is pea flour cake made by Shen Shuyun. Please try it."

Fang Wen untied the hemp thread, took a piece, and said, "Hmm, not bad. The texture is delicate, sweet and refreshing, just like the taste I had in Beiping."

Pan Jiafeng also picked up a piece and talked about his wife's situation: "Shen Shuyun learned the craft from her mother, but she didn't have many white peas. She couldn't bear to use them all and planned to cultivate a plot of land in the factory as seeds."

"Can white peas be grown in Myanmar?" Fang Wen didn't know much about this. It seemed that white peas were grown in the north. The peas in Myanmar were snow peas. He had heard that the earliest snow peas were brought to Europe from Myanmar by Dutch colonists and cultivated for many generations before emerging as a new variety. Later, they flowed back to Myanmar for cultivation.

"I think so. By the way, Master, I also want to apply to participate in this training course." Pan Jiafeng changed the subject.

So that's what the apprentice wanted.

Fang Wen replied with a smile, "You'll definitely be involved in the training for the new aircraft, and the Yan'an Flight Team will also participate. Your Second Aviation Battalion will also select a group of pilots for training; they should be flying high-speed fighter jets soon."

Pan Jiafeng was overjoyed, not only because he was happy to be able to participate, but also because, as the battalion commander of the 2nd Aviation Battalion of the Independent Regiment, he was happy for his subordinates.

"How should we select our Second Air Battalion? How many should we select?" he asked.

"Half of them will be transferred, and the other half will stay at their posts," Fang Wen replied.

The Second Air Battalion has 20 gunboat pilots. Apart from Fang Wen's Tiger 4, they all work under a captain and vice-captain system. This is to deal with unexpected situations that may occur during combat. It is not impossible to send half of them for training.

"Then I'll go back and report this good news." Pan Jiafeng was about to get up and leave.

Fang Wen interrupted, "Don't rush, let's finish the battle with the air force first."

Upon hearing that a battle was about to break out, Pan Jiafeng immediately froze, staring expectantly at Fang Wen. The Second Air Battalion hadn't fought a tough battle in a long time.

Fang Wen smiled and said, "I just received the news this morning. The person should be here soon, but I don't know the specifics."

The master and apprentice waited together, and at 10 a.m., a gunboat landed at the sea airport.

Yan Wenwu, the commander of the flight regiment, and two other Eighth Route Army officers disembarked from the plane.

Yan Wenwu explained, "These two are Staff Officer Bing and Staff Officer Wei from our military headquarters. They came specifically to explain the details of the operation."

Fang Wen shook hands with the two men and led them to the airport conference room.

In the conference room, two staff officers took out their own large maps, spread them out on the table, and then began to explain.

Staff Officer Bing stretched out his hand and circled the Jin-Cha-Ji base area on the map: "Due to our offensive along the Ping'an line and the recovery of some occupied areas during this period, the Japanese army is mobilizing more than 5 troops, including the 26th, 109th, and 110th Divisions and the 2nd and 4th Independent Mixed Brigades, to launch an encirclement and annihilation campaign against us. Our troops, including the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region troops and the 120th Division, are prepared to use guerrilla tactics to block, wear down, and exhaust the Japanese army, and then look for an opportunity to concentrate our forces to annihilate a part of them in mobile warfare and crush the Japanese encirclement."

Fang Wen nodded. This was a tactic he was very familiar with, one he had heard of in various film and television works in the future.

He didn't interrupt, waiting for what was to come.

Staff Officer Wei added: "Currently, more than 2 Japanese troops are advancing westward from Dingxian, Wangdu, and Baoding in Hebei Province, preparing to attack the border towns of Wanxian, Quyang, and Tangxian under the jurisdiction of our Jin-Cha-Ji base area. The Third Military Sub-district is fighting them, using your Taishan's new weapons to destroy the Japanese transport convoys and tanks, causing the Japanese vanguard to stall. Now, our plan is to send an air regiment to conduct an airborne operation behind enemy lines. This tactic was proposed by you, and you have relevant command and combat experience. We would like to ask you to serve as the air commander for this airborne operation behind enemy lines."

Fang Wen couldn't help but look at Yan Wenwu, the commander of the flight squadron.

Yan Wenwu said seriously, "Please accept this. I will serve as your deputy and learn from your experience throughout the process."

Fang Wen nodded: "Okay, I accept. Also, I have a request. The Independent Regiment has relevant combat experience and can participate in the airborne operation together. This would be more effective."

This request was accepted without any surprise.

Next, we will discuss the details of the operation.

Staff Officer Wei said, "Commander Fang has an exceptional talent for night driving. We think we can take advantage of this to infiltrate behind enemy lines at night and conduct deep operations without the enemy being able to detect us."

Fang Wen, however, had a different opinion.

“I don’t think this will work. Although it can provide positioning and navigation for night flights, the air superiority cannot be utilized in night operations. The purpose of our operation is to destroy important military targets behind enemy lines, put pressure on the enemy at the front lines, and force them to withdraw and defend. If it is night operations, we cannot achieve precision air strikes and can only rely on airborne troops to operate alone, which will not bring into play the advantages of air-ground coordinated operations.”

Staff Officer Bing nodded. "Then, Commander Fang, what suggestions do you have?"

Fang Wen immediately declared with great enthusiasm: "We will operate during the day, and if we are going to fight, we will not only fight in one place. We must learn the essence of the Eighth Route Army's mobile warfare and continuously destroy the enemy's important military targets. The air is the eyes of the ground, providing fire support, while the ground is the force for attacking the enemy."

His confidence stemmed from his own preparation.

The perfect command loop formed by gunboats, paratroopers, and Taishan walkie-talkies enables air-ground coordinated operations.

After a brief conversation, the two staff officers asked again, "Commander Fang, are you sure you can launch an attack during the day and successfully bring the troops back? Our original plan was that after the night operation, the troops would quickly withdraw, breaking up into smaller units to head to the base. Your actions will inevitably expose your location, and if you are surrounded by the Japanese troops, it will be very dangerous."

Is it dangerous? Fang Wen didn't think so.

He has mechanically perceptive eagle eyes, allowing him to survey the area below from the air.

It also has radar detection devices that can detect aircraft 300 kilometers away.

If the Eighth Route Army were experts in ground mobile warfare, then Fang Wen was the king of aerial mobile warfare.

Therefore, he made a solemn pledge: "I guarantee that I will bring the troops back."

The gunships of the air squadron departed.

The two staff officers could not make a final decision on whether to use Fang Wen's new plan; they needed to go back and report.

A few hours later, Fang Wen received a telegram informing him that they had agreed.

But there are requirements.

We need to come up with a complete action plan; we can't just talk the talk.

Of course, that's necessary; Fang Wen also plans to go there and investigate.

Before setting off for reconnaissance, Fang Wen summoned all personnel from the Independent Regiment's Second Aviation Battalion and Third Ground Battalion.

Explain the situation.

"Soon, we will participate in a special combat mission in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area. I will lead you in battle as the commander." The soldiers of the Independent Regiment stood straight and said in unison, "With our commander in charge, we are invincible."

These were their heartfelt words. The Battle of Dezhou City, the Battle of Taiyuan North, the Battle of Taiyuan East, and the raids by mobile forces behind enemy lines—these were all proud achievements of the Independent Regiment, and they were all won under the leadership of the regimental commander.

They firmly believed that as long as the regimental commander was in charge, the Independent Regiment was invincible.

Now that the commander has finally returned and is leading them in battle, the soldiers' morale is high.

Subsequently, Fang Wen conducted a preliminary assessment of the soldiers' military skills, which they had been training for six months.

Currently, both battalions of the Independent Regiment, including gunboat pilots and crew members, have completed airborne training and mastery of the new weapons.

Furthermore, under Wu Yingzong's arrangement, they even conducted air-ground coordinated training exercises in various locations within Fuping.

Furthermore, the three ground battalions took turns sending soldiers to Quyang to participate in guerrilla operations, achieving remarkable results.

Fang Wen was very satisfied with these things, and he immediately began to make arrangements.

All 10 existing gunboats can be deployed, carrying 200 soldiers for airborne deployment, and will be able to coordinate air and ground operations in the subsequent battle.

The Independent Regiment's manpower has been arranged, and Wu Yingzong and Pan Jiafeng have been put in charge of the preparations.

Fang Wenze piloted the plane to conduct reconnaissance behind enemy lines.

In order to carry out reconnaissance behind enemy lines, Fang Wen chose the more flexible Shrike.

The fighter jet was originally parked in Xi'an, but after the elite air force went to Yan'an, Fang Wen moved it to Fuping Airport.

Fang Wen, who was preparing to depart, looked at the soon-to-be-retired Shrike fighter jet.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

It accompanied Fang Wenchuang in achieving numerous victories, and its fuselage was covered with patterns of downed fighter jets.

However, with the rapid development of fighter jet technology, its era came to an end.

This aerial reconnaissance will be its last glorious moment.

Stroking the paint scheme on the fighter jet's fuselage, Fang Wen climbed the boarding stairs and sat in the cockpit.

He started the engine and used mechanical sensors to inspect the aircraft.

Although it hadn't been driven for a while, the Independent Regiment's mechanics had maintained it very well and hadn't found any major problems.

The plane pulled out of the hangar, accelerated on the small runway, and took off.

Departing from Fuping, we flew to the Baoding area.

More than an hour later, the plane arrived over Baoding.

According to the radar detection system, no aircraft flying towards Baoding was detected.

The only pity is that there are no clouds in the sky today, so we can't use the clouds to hide our figures.

Even so, Fang Wen still controlled the aircraft to hover at high altitude, using the mechanical perception eagle eye to observe the situation below.

(Aerial photo of Baoding)

The Pinghan Railway runs along the edge of the city, and the train station is located outside the south gate of the ancient city of Baoding.

Many watchtowers were built along the railway line for defense.

In addition, the military camps near the train station outside the city made the defenses extremely tight.

With the enhanced mechanical sensing capabilities of the eagle eye, Fang Wenjia could see even more clearly.

He saw soldiers unloading boxes of ammunition and supplies from the train station warehouse and loading them onto military vehicles for transport.

Clearly, Baoding, as an important military stronghold of the Japanese army, stored a large amount of military supplies.

However, because the Pinghan Railway was frequently attacked, these military supplies could not be transported smoothly to the south, resulting in a large amount being stored in warehouses here.

Fang Wen made a mental note that the first military target to attack was the train station and warehouse, and to destroy the Japanese supplies there.

What about the other targets?
Naturally, it was the army that remained to guard Baoding.

Fang Wen continued to observe.

There is a military camp near the train station, located outside the city. It is probably a unit specifically designed to support and protect the train station and railway.

Next to the military camp, there was a small airfield with five Japanese Type 97 fighter planes parked there.

Several small black dots were running across the airport; the pilots must have spotted the Shrike in the air and were preparing to scramble to intercept it.

Fang Wen had no interest in engaging these small fry in aerial combat and wasting his reconnaissance time.

He piloted the plane and swooped down.

The altitude was rapidly decreasing, and twenty seconds later, the aircraft entered the ultra-low altitude region at 600 meters.

The Japanese warplanes below can be clearly seen even without Hawkeye.

The 20mm cannon spewed out deadly bullets.

It accurately hit the first Type 97 fighter.

The nose of the plane was blown open, and the Japanese pilot who had just sat in the cockpit was thrown into the air by the shock wave of the explosion.

The four following aircraft have already started up and are heading towards the runway.

They maneuvered to try and avoid the line of fire that was being swooped down, hoping to have a chance to take off and engage in combat.

Unfortunately, this time they were facing death in the air.

Fang Wen, having activated his mechanical senses and integrated them with the aircraft, quickly rose after his first dive-fire, performed a mid-air spin, and re-entered the dive state.

The fact that the flight attitude was adjusted so quickly was completely unexpected by the Japanese pilots.

They lined up and were accelerating to take off one after another.

The Shrike, diving straight at them, launched its attack with its last vestiges of glory.

The death salvo swept across, striking four enemy aircraft in succession.

The explosive bombs proved extremely effective against the lightly armored Japanese aircraft.

The first two exploded instantly, and the latter two were engulfed in flames as their fuel tanks caught fire.

Having dealt with five enemy aircraft, Fang Wen was temporarily free of worries and continued his reconnaissance in the air with an air of nonchalant confidence.

The airport explosion had an unexpected surprise.

The troops in Baoding City came out in full force, taking in the entire city's military facilities.

Fang Wen was overjoyed and carefully memorized what he had seen.

Only then did he conclude his reconnaissance and turn back.

Twenty minutes after he flew away, Japanese military planes from Tianjin Airport finally arrived.

(End of this chapter)