Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 496 Anti-aircraft guns and large radars, the capture of spies is in progress
A formation of 15 Type 97 carrier-based aircraft appeared over the South China Sea.

These fighter jets were all carrying aerial bombs, clearly indicating that they were carrying out a specific air strike.

They flew from the sea onto land, heading towards Yangjiang South, 100 kilometers away.

Meanwhile, 60 kilometers away in the sky above this Japanese air raid formation, Fang Wen was piloting the Qinyuan closely behind.

Using his supernatural abilities, he silently followed his enemies without them noticing.

Ten minutes later, he picked up the microphone.

"Pan Jiafeng, enemy aircraft are about to arrive, azimuth 130 degrees, anti-aircraft guns pre-aiming."

Azimuth is the simplest and most effective way for Fang Wen to command air defense weapons against air attacks.

The azimuth of the target is the angle at which you rotate clockwise from true north (0°) to the direction of the target.

The azimuth angle he mentioned is 130 degrees. 130 degrees is between 90 degrees (due east) and 180 degrees (due south), and it deviates from due east by 40 degrees clockwise, so it belongs to the southeast-southeast direction.

The Yangjiang Chengnan Independent Regiment landed at its garrison.

Twenty-six dual-purpose anti-aircraft guns, operated by soldiers, were aimed at the sky in the southeast direction.

Three minutes and forty seconds later, a group of 15 Japanese fighter planes appeared in the area targeted by anti-aircraft guns.

"Enemy aircraft formation spotted! Azimuth 130 degrees, elevation 60 degrees." The observer's shout pierced the silence of the air defense position.

Pan Jiafeng ripped open the button on his collar, and a black dot gradually enlarged in the binoculars—the trapezoidal low-wing outline of the Japanese Type 97 carrier-based aircraft.

"Altitude 2900 meters!" The rangefinder's voice began to tremble. Pan Jiafeng abruptly lowered the red flag and shouted, "Fire!"

In an instant, the entire position spewed forth a fiery white net. 20mm shells, firing at a rate of 240 rounds per minute, wove a deathly barrage, their trajectories tracing pale blue paths across the clear sky. The first salvo exploded into dozens of black clouds in front of the enemy aircraft, fragments sweeping across the heavens like the Grim Reaper's scythe.

The 26 twin-mounted 20mm anti-aircraft guns simultaneously emitted a crisp metallic clang, scattering spent shell casings all over the ground.

The scorching gun barrels caused beads of sweat to roll down the sun-darkened backs of the gunners, but they did not slacken their efforts and continued firing into the sky.

During the brief interval after all the shells have been fired, the loader clicks the 15-round ammunition belt into the feed slot, and firing continues.

Enemy planes in the sky were caught off guard by such intense anti-aircraft fire.

Even though the air raid target was very close ahead, they couldn't fly over this deadly airspace to drop the aerial bombs they were carrying.

The first to be hit was the lead Japanese aircraft. The fuselage was torn open by shrapnel from the anti-aircraft guns, leaving several half-meter-long gashes. Shrapnel also ripped through the fuel tank, causing large amounts of fuel to spill out.

The Japanese pilot in the lead plane tried to save himself by forcibly climbing the altitude.

However, the barrage from another anti-aircraft shell that followed it detonated it.

Subsequently, enemy aircraft were hit by anti-aircraft shells, some exploding in mid-air, and others falling to the ground belching black smoke.

This precise and targeted air defense ambush dealt a heavy blow to the enemy.

Six of the 15 enemy aircraft were lost in an instant.

The remaining nine aircraft scattered to the left and right, attempting to maneuver around the sides and continue their air raids.

As they moved, the anti-aircraft guns below also turned their muzzles.

Another enemy plane was hit by the incoming ammunition belt and was instantly riddled with holes. The 20mm armor-piercing incendiary bombs tore through the skin, and the flames ignited in the fuel tanks rushed into the cockpit through the wing root ducts. The pilot didn't even have time to parachute before turning into a fireball and falling to the ground.

After a barrage of shelling, three more planes were shot down.

The last six planes abandoned their attack plans and fled the deadly airspace.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen, who was waiting outside the anti-aircraft fire zone, controlled the Qinyuan to launch an attack and shot down two more aircraft.

Thus, the Japanese naval air force's 15-plane formation attack was ambushed, with 11 planes shot down, resulting in heavy losses.

The battle is over.

Fang Wen piloted the Qinyuan aircraft carrier, preparing to land on the newly constructed airport runway.

The newly built runway below only had one Taishan-1 aircraft parked on it, but it was quite spacious.

He controlled the aircraft to straighten its position and reduce altitude, while simultaneously pressing the hydraulic landing gear switch on the Qinyuan, which opened the folded landing gear.

As the altitude decreased, the Qinyuan landed smoothly on the ground. The fuselage suddenly slammed down, then recovered, and glided for several hundred meters before stopping next to the Taishan-1.

Three ground crew members who came with the troops ran over carrying a boarding ladder and set it up.

Fang Wen opened the cockpit canopy and slid down the boarding stairs.

After a while, Wu Yingzong, Pan Jiafeng, and William came over to report the situation to him.

Listening to his subordinates' report, Fang Wen found nothing wrong. He said, "Wu Yingzong, you will be in charge of the Yangjiang base. William will be your deputy. Pan Jiafeng will continue to be in charge of the Second Air Battalion. The three of you must cooperate well. There are two things we need to pay special attention to. First, the cleanup of the crashed Japanese planes. Many of the munitions and aerial bombs on the crashed planes may still be unexploded. If you find them, recover what can be recovered, and detonate what cannot be recovered on the spot. Second, find the spies in Yangjiang City. I suspect that the Japanese air raid against us was carried out by intelligence provided by spies lurking in Yangjiang City."

Wu Yingzong nodded: "The Japanese warplanes launched an air raid on the same day we arrived, and it was clearly aimed at this garrison. It couldn't have been a spur-of-the-moment decision."

William agreed: "The regimental commander chose Yangjiang as a transit point because it is remote and has no strategic value. The Japanese will not waste the opportunity to send their planes into battle before they have received intelligence."

"Where would the spy be hiding?" Pan Jiafeng asked.

Fang Wen looked towards Yangjiang City and said, "Let's not rush today. He can't escape. Let's finish what we've planned first."

Having just finished a battle, Fang Wen did not plan to immediately enter the city to arrest spies. Firstly, he was afraid of alerting them, and secondly, he wanted to complete the assembly of some military equipment that required his involvement.

The rear hatch of Taishan-1 was opened, and the soldiers unloaded all the equipment and parts inside.

Fang Wen and the mechanics set up a simple gantry crane on site, and with the gantry crane and other tools, Fang Wen and his team assembled the Taishan military vehicle on site.

The military vehicle chassis was lifted and slowly raised to a height of about 50 centimeters above the ground, then moved laterally to the area above the chassis assembly station.

Next, bolts are used to secure the suspension, drive shaft, and other connecting components.

Once the chassis, drive shaft, suspension, and other components were assembled, it was time to install the engine.

Thanks to Fang Wen's personal involvement, the entire assembly process went very smoothly without any errors.
Then came the installation of wheels and seats, and the operation of the components. In just one afternoon, a Taishan military vehicle was transformed from parts into a complete vehicle.

After assembling this military vehicle, Fang Wen stopped and handed over the assembly of the remaining military vehicles to the engineering technicians.

He then went to check on the condition of other supplies.

Individual parachutes are already in storage and will only be issued to paratroopers during actual combat.

The soldiers of each company were reinstated, and their rifles and personal equipment were distributed.

A total of 32 fuel drums were unloaded from the aircraft, with a total fuel capacity of 6000 liters.

Other military equipment and ammunition reserves total: 20,000 rounds of ammunition (60 boxes in total, 30 boxes distributed to each company, 30 boxes in warehouse storage), 1600 fragmentation grenades (already distributed to each company, 2 grenades per person), aerial incendiary bombs (200 ammunition plates), 40 individual rocket launchers (not yet distributed to troops), 100 grenade launchers (with spare ammunition, not yet distributed to troops), and a quantity of gunboat and aircraft-borne ammunition. In addition, there are 10 military vehicles (not fully assembled), capable of mounting and dismounting 10 12.7mm vehicle-mounted aircraft machine guns, and 10 boxes of machine gun ammunition.

These military supplies were only enough for the Independent Regiment to operate in the south, but they would be used up after one or two saturation battles.

Therefore, continuous replenishment of supplies is still needed.

But relying entirely on their own planes for air transport would be too extravagant.

Fang Wen couldn't help but wonder why the Independent Regiment couldn't learn from the combat methods of the railway guerrillas and plains guerrillas he had seen in North China, and seize various military supplies from the enemy to sustain the war effort.

With their special abilities, combined with various weapons and air superiority, the Taishan Independent Regiment's guerrilla warfare tactics will be more efficient and more mobile.

Brushing aside his thoughts, he walked back to the Taishan No. 1 and pushed fifteen heavy metal boxes out of the cabin.

These are components of a large air defense radar.

It is used to provide ground troops with advance detection of aircraft.

It was Fang Wen who, after using the radar target acquisition device for a long time, summarized his experience and handed it over to Jiang Wenjin's team at the research institute for study.

Jiang Wenjin, a physicist who had just joined the Taishan Research Institute, was not a theorist. After receiving Fang Wen's radar data, he immediately began his research.

This led to the creation of the Taishan air defense radar.

It's very large in order to improve accuracy.

He mobilized a reinforced company of soldiers to work with him to complete the construction of this air defense radar.

Two days passed.

The air defense radar has been installed at the base. The radar is 7 meters high, with a steel base at the bottom and a mesh-like curved antenna on top.

The core component of this large radar is an invention by Jiang Wenjin: a microwave electron tube. It emits electrons through the cathode, and under the action of the electric field between the anode and cathode and the external axial constant magnetic field, it excites the resonant cavity to generate ultra-high frequency oscillations, which can produce high-power microwave pulses with power up to several kilowatts or even higher.

It is this high-frequency radio wave that makes the signal feedback clearer, so that even without Fang Wen's special ability, the traces of high-altitude aircraft can be detected.

After installation, the trained radar team officially started their work and began monitoring the airspace.

The radar station, which can also monitor a range of 300 kilometers, reassured Fang Wen about the air defense security here.

He then prepared to go into the city to find the spy hiding in Yangjiang.

Two military vehicles drove out of the garrison and headed to Yangjiang City, 15 miles away.

The military vehicles were warmly welcomed by the city's residents as soon as they entered the city.

Two days ago, the Independent Regiment shot down more than ten warplanes with its anti-aircraft guns, which greatly boosted the sense of security of the people of Yangjiang. Everyone was sincerely grateful to the Independent Regiment.

With so many people around, the Taishan Independent Regiment couldn't just give a stern look.

Fang Wen slowed down and picked up the Taishan walkie-talkie to talk to the car behind him: "Wu Yingzong, slow down, let everyone laugh, wave to the crowd."

After he finished speaking, he instructed the soldiers in his vehicle to do the same.

Immediately, Gong Xiuneng and the soldiers stood up, smiled, and waved to the crowds lining both sides of the street.

This appearance actually made the Taishan Independent Regiment seem more approachable to the people.

The car slowly drove down the main street and eventually entered the county government building.

There, the county magistrate, along with officials from the city, warmly welcomed them.

"Commander Fang, you are truly the saviors of Yangjiang! With you here, I am confident that Yangjiang can be defended."

Fang Wen smiled and replied, "We will definitely do our best. But before that, there is something I would like to discuss with the county."

At this point, Fang Wen's expression turned cold: "There were Japanese spies hiding in the county who leaked our whereabouts, almost causing a major loss to the Independent Regiment."

Fang Wen's words caused the county magistrate's face to change drastically, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Commander Fang, this, this is absolutely impossible! The people of Yangjiang hate the Japanese invaders to the bone, how could anyone be colluding with the enemy?"

"Two days ago, the Japanese air raid was aimed directly at our garrison. If we hadn't taken timely precautions after landing, they would have succeeded." Fang Wen took the map from Gong Xiuneng and pressed his fingertip heavily on the lines marking the enemy's flight path. "If they hadn't received intelligence in advance, why would the Japanese have abandoned other military targets and come specifically to bomb this deserted village?"

The police chief suddenly remembered something and whispered a few words in the county magistrate's ear. The county magistrate's pupils contracted sharply, and he turned around and shouted sternly, "Bring all the telegraph officers here! And the security team that was on night duty last week!"

Twenty minutes later, seven or eight people, bound hand and foot, were kneeling in a side hall of the county government building. Fang Wen was toying with the miniature telegraph machine he had taken from the telegraph office; the "Tokyo Electric" markings on the metal casing gleamed coldly under the kerosene lamp.

The police chief drew his pistol and pressed the barrel against the telegraph operator's trembling head. "Tell me, who gave you permission to send a telegram in the early hours of December 5th?"

"I...I didn't," the telegraph operator hurriedly protested. "I was at home that morning, and my wife and children can testify to that."

“What good are your family members’ testimonies? I have a copy of your telegram, which reads: ‘A large number of planes have landed in the south of the city.’”

The police chief kicked the telegraph operator to the ground and handed a copy of the telegram to Fang Wen.

Fang Wen didn't look at it and said coldly.

"If a spy sends a message, they would never leave a copy. There's definitely something wrong here."

The telegraph operator quickly struggled to sit up. "Yes, I'm innocent. By the way, I know who sent the telegram. I'll tell you."

Just as the telegraph operator was about to speak, the small bronze cauldron in Fang Wen's pocket suddenly trembled.

If there is danger, he immediately retreats to avoid it.

At the same time, the sound of shattering glass and gunshots suddenly rang out.

Gong Xiuneng swiftly moved to the spot where Fang Wen had been standing, attempting to shield Fang Wen from the bullets.

But the bullet wasn't aimed at Fang Wen; it was aimed at the telegraph operator who wanted to speak.

The telegraph operator, shot in the head and chest, fell into a pool of blood.

William kicked open the side door and rushed out, and the Independent Regiment soldiers immediately spread out in tactical formation to protect Fang Wen.

A moment later, William's voice came from outside: "They've already escaped."

Fang Wen looked at the corpse on the ground and couldn't help but ponder.

The telegraph operator was framed, but he certainly knew who sent the telegram.

There are no secrets in the world; someone will inevitably slip up eventually.

(End of this chapter)