Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 554 Air Battle Underway in Changsha, New Fourth Army's Junshanhu Airport

As the first pilot to use air-to-ground rockets in combat, Fang Wen wrote down his combat experiences.

This document was divided into two parts: a detailed version was kept for the Taishan Aviation School for future military training, while a simplified version was sent by telegram to the Aerodynamics Research Institute in Leningrad.

Even a brief description of the events was still useful to the Soviet side.

The other party expressed their gratitude.

This is an exchange between multinational defense companies. Further in-depth communication is basically impossible, as both sides know what they should and shouldn't say.

But Fang Wen understood that the Soviet Union would definitely use air-to-ground rockets as its air force weapons in the future.

It might appear soon.

For example, in the north, friction between the Soviet Union and Japan is escalating, and the two countries have a long history of grievances, making a military conflict highly likely.

At that time, the Soviet-made Il-16 might be equipped with air-to-ground rockets for combat.

But these things were not what Fang Wen cared about; he was leading the air force to Jiangxi the next day.

The next morning, the air force was ready, and the crew members lined up.

On the other side, Shao Sicheng brought over the New Fourth Army aviation cadets who had already graduated, and they formed another queue.

Fang Wen glanced at his watch: "Check the time, it's 7:05 now."

The pilots all raised their right hands to check their watches and make sure the time was correct.

Then, Fang Wen said, "Board the plane."

The crew boarded the plane first, and then Shao Sishen directed the aviation students to board the No. 2 and No. 3 gunboats in groups.

After everyone had boarded, Fang Wencai entered the newly manufactured New Fourth Army No. 1 gunboat he was piloting and turned on the radio communication device to direct the aircraft to take off.

One plane after another took off, lined up in the sky, and were led by Fang Wen to fly back to China.

The flight route was from the base in northern Myanmar to Yunnan, Guizhou, southern Hunan, Nanchang in Jiangxi, and finally to Jinxian.

The first half of the journey was safe, but after flying into Hunan province, Fang Wen entered a state of mechanical awareness and activated the radar target acquisition device.

The equipment clearly showed that multiple batches of aircraft appeared in the direction of Changsha.

Has the Japanese army launched a large-scale offensive against Changsha?

Fang Wen was surprised. In his mind, Changsha was a mainstay that had blocked the Japanese army's attacks for many years.

However, based on current observations, the fighting surrounding Changsha is extremely fierce.

Although he couldn't lead the flight squadron to assist in the battle, Fang Wen still used the radar target acquisition device to classify and judge the fighter jets in the air.

Based on speed, heading, and certain specific flight characteristics, the experienced Fang Wen deduced the types of aircraft currently operating over Changsha.

The Nationalist Air Force mainly consisted of Il-15 and Il-16 aircraft, while the Japanese Army Air Force primarily used the Type 96 fighter and Type 97 bomber.

After a year of fighting, the Nationalist Air Force had lost almost all of its original aircraft, and now it was using aircraft purchased from the Soviet Union.

The loss of pilots is also severe. Compared with the Battle of Shanghai last year, it is estimated that only 30% of the pilots are still capable of fighting.

Therefore, the number of warplanes on both sides was too different. The National Army had only 30 aircraft in total, while the Japanese had at least three times that number.

This situation is truly lamentable.

After the New Fourth Army's mission was over, Fang Wen planned to contact the Nationalist government to see if they could participate in the Changsha air battle.

Shaking off his thoughts, he led the flight team eastward, heading towards Nanchang.

An hour later, the flight team arrived over Nanchang.

This is a key military location, with a permanent military airfield. The 4th Air Group of the National Air Force is stationed here.

Captain Gao of the Fourth Brigade was an old friend of Fang Wen's, and Fang Wen had informed him before setting off.

But once we reach the other side's airspace defense zone, we must mention something.

Immediately, Fang Wen instructed Gong Xiuneng to send a telegram to the ground.

No sooner had the telegram been sent than a plane took off from the ground airport.

It was an Il-16 that climbed to a slightly higher altitude than the flight team, and then slowly approached the lead plane piloted by Fang Wen, forming a parallel formation.

In the 4th Brigade, only Captain Gao possesses this skill.

Fang Wen pulled open the side blindfold of the cockpit and communicated with Captain Gao of the Il-16 using hand gestures.

He waved his hand towards Jinxian, indicating that he needed to complete his flight mission first and they could catch up later when they had more time.

Captain Gao gestured that he would escort them there.

Therefore, the flight team had one more plane, which flew together to Jinxian, 50 kilometers southwest of Nanchang.

Upon reaching the airspace of Jinxian, Captain Gao voluntarily turned back and left.

Jiangxi Province is rich in water resources, with numerous rivers and lakes.

It also became a natural barrier during the War of Resistance against Japan.

Currently, the Japanese army is engaged in battle with the National Army and the New Fourth Army in the Poyang Lake area.

The waters below Poyang Lake, where there were no traces of the Japanese army, became the best military naval airfield.

However, the two lakes mentioned in the telegram were rather vague, and Fang Wen was unsure of their exact locations.

Immediately afterward, on his way to Jinxian, he had Gong Xiuneng send a telegram to the New Fourth Army, informing them of his imminent arrival.

The telegram had barely been sent when a reply was received.

After Gong Xiuneng translated the code, he said, "Commander, they said there is a sandbar on the west bank of Junshan Lake, and the airport is located there. They have built a land runway on the sandbar, which is easy to see."

After hearing Gong Xiuneng's report, Fang Wen flew directly to the west bank of Junshan Lake and actually saw the water airport mentioned in the telegram.

A large area of ​​the sandbar that rises abruptly from the land has been leveled, and runway lines have been marked out with lime.

There are also a few simple wooden houses nearby.

The water area on one side of the runway is used for seaplanes to land, and it is equipped with berths.

Very well done, the plane can land directly now.

He then picked up the microphone and used the internal communication frequency to direct the flight team's aircraft to land.

"The water area is very large. Everyone will land in turn. Planes No. 2 and No. 3 will land with me at the land airport."

After speaking, Fang Wen piloted the New Fourth Army's No. 1 gunboat and took the lead in descending the altitude, heading towards the runway marked with lime. The aircraft's landing gear gently touched the ground, gliding for a distance with a slight vibration, and came to a steady stop at the end of the runway.

The second and third aircraft followed suit and landed in turn, while the other aircraft glided directly to the waters next to them.

On the water, several small boats rowed over, and the New Fourth Army soldiers on board, with excited expressions, shouted, "Sail this way, the berths are ready."

On the land runway, the roar of the propellers gradually subsided. The cabin door opened, and Fang Wen stepped off the plane. His feet touched the slightly damp sandy ground, and a fresh lake breeze carrying the scent of earth rushed towards him. Not far away, several people in New Fourth Army uniforms were walking briskly towards them. The one leading them was a tall, dark-skinned middle-aged man with a hearty smile. He stretched out his hand from afar: "Welcome, welcome, Comrade Fang Wen! We've been waiting for you!"

Fang Wen quickly stepped forward, shook the other person's hand, and said, "Comrade, thank you for your hard work. This airport is really well built."

"It was all done by everyone working together. As long as the plane landed smoothly, that's good," the middle-aged man said with a smile. "I'm the person in charge here, my surname is Li Yaoyang, just call me Lao Li. Come on, let's go inside and rest. You must be exhausted from the flight."

Fang Wen looked back at the crew members and aviation students who were disembarking on the runway and said to Lao Li, "No rush, let's finish the handover first. I brought 10 gunboats and various supplies this time. The list is here. Check it after the supplies are unloaded."

Old Li took the list of supplies and nodded quickly: "Okay, let's finish the handover first."

He then began to arrange his men's actions.

Young and strong New Fourth Army soldiers divided into several teams and went in different directions to unload supply boxes from gunboats and aircraft on the shore and runway.

At the same time, Shao Sichen led the aviation students off the plane and curiously looked at the airport built on the sandbar.

Fang Wen waved to him, and when he came over, Fang Wen introduced him to Lao Li of the New Fourth Army: "This is our military advisor stationed in the New Fourth Army's flight regiment. His name is Shao Sishen. He has many years of flight teaching experience. All the pilots of our Taishan Aviation were trained by him. Moreover, he himself is a fighter pilot and participated in the bombing of the Japanese Izumo battleship seven years ago."

Old Li warmly shook hands with Shao Sishen: "Welcome, welcome. Our New Fourth Army Flight Regiment is newly established and we don't know many things. We need Military Advisor Shao to give us a lot of guidance."

The three walked and talked as they entered the simple wooden houses.

Although the room was simple, it was clean and tidy. A few chairs were placed next to a wooden table, and some maps and tools were piled up in the corner. Old Li poured Fang Wen a glass of water: "Commander Fang, it must have been a tough journey for you. I heard that the fighting in Changsha is fierce, and the Japanese planes are bombing there every day."

Fang Wen took a sip of water and nodded: "We did encounter some problems, but thankfully we got through them smoothly. By the way, in addition to aviation equipment and fuel, we also brought some new weapons for the soldiers. We hope they can be of help to you."

"That's just in time!" Old Li's eyes lit up. "To be honest, we're lacking everything. Most of the weapons our soldiers have are old-fashioned. I wonder what your new weapons are?"

“German-made 98k rifles, individual rocket launchers, grenade launchers, some fragmentation grenades, and compressed military rations,” Fang Wen replied.

He provided all of this to the Eighth Route Army in the north, but it was the first time the New Fourth Army in the south had heard of it.

Apart from the 98k rifle, Lao Li didn't understand anything else.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen and Lao Li went to the place where the supplies were unloaded and counted to demonstrate their value with physical evidence.

The open space between the dock and the runway was piled high with supplies, all unloaded from the plane.

Fang Wen walked over, took out several wooden boxes of different sizes, and pried them open with a dagger.

The two long crates contained rifles and individual rocket launchers.

The rifle case contains five rifles and 100 rounds of ammunition for each rifle.

In addition, there was a small box in the box. Fang Wen opened the box, took out a 4x scope, attached it to the rifle, and demonstrated it to Lao Li.

"This is a sniper scope. You can aim through the lens like I am. It makes distant targets clearer, which is beneficial for long-range shooting."

As he spoke, he took a bullet, skillfully loaded it into the magazine, released the safety, and aimed at the sky.

With a bang, a bird fell from the sky; the shot hit its mark!

Fang Wen then handed the gun to Lao Li.

Old Li followed suit, raising his gun and aiming, exclaiming, "What a great tool! I happen to have two sharpshooters under my command. If they used this kind of scope, they would definitely hit the bullseye every time."

Fang Wen then took out a booklet from the wooden box and handed it to Lao Li: "This is an infantry operation manual compiled by Taishan Military Industry. It contains instructions on how to use special rifles, individual rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and fragmentation grenades."

While flipping through the manual, Fang Wen also opened the long box containing individual rocket launchers.

There was only one launch tube and one rocket in the box.

This time, Fang Wen didn't demonstrate. Instead, he said, "The pilots you sent to the aviation school have all learned how to operate special weapons. They can teach the soldiers later, so I won't waste their time. Here, I'll just briefly explain their functions. This type of man-portable rocket is used to deal with assault targets, such as enemies hiding in fortified bunkers or those that have deployed tanks and armored vehicles. You can use it to attack them."

"It can deal with the Japanese tanks?!" Old Li exclaimed in surprise.

“A frontal shot might ricochet; the sides and tracks are better,” Fang Wen replied.

After introducing the individual rocket launcher, he opened the other boxes.

Fragmentation grenades are products that imitate British grenade technology. Due to different habits, grenades with wooden handles are more suitable for Chinese soldiers to use.

The grenade launcher is designed for use in close combat, allowing explosive weapons to be fired into concealed enemy positions.

Finally, there was compressed military rations, a large, hard block of food. You only needed to cut off a small piece with a bayonet or dagger to get the energy you needed for a meal.

Of course, you can also boil it in boiling water, which will make it taste even better.

After introducing everything, Old Li warmly invited Fang Wen to a feast to thank him for bringing so many supplies.

Unable to refuse Old Li's hospitality, Fang Wen followed him to the wooden house.

Outside the wooden house, at the earthen stove set up, the guerrilla fighters prepared a meal for him.

The firewood in the earthen stove had just been lit and was crackling loudly.

A young soldier was squatting in front of the stove adding firewood. When he saw Fang Wen and Lao Li coming over, he quickly stood up, grinned, and showed two rows of white teeth.

On the stove was a round-bottomed iron pot, and next to it was a basin filled with fish that had been caught from the lake, each one as long as a palm.

The bamboo basket beside him contained some bright green wild vegetables, which had been picked from the sandbar. Fang Wen couldn't even name the vegetables.

There was also a small bag of brown rice in the basket, placed in a coarse cloth bag; it seemed that today's meal was made with it.

"Commander Fang, we don't have much to offer today," Old Li said loudly, pointing to the fish in the basin. "These fish from the lake are fresh! And these wild vegetables are freshly picked. Mix them with brown rice and cook a pot of this, and you'll be full!"

Fang Wen looked at the flickering flames and smelled the gradually spreading aroma of cooking firewood in the air, and smiled, "Thank you."

"You're too kind!" Old Li said with a smile.

As they spoke, the soldier in charge of cooking had already skillfully prepared the fish, scaling and gutting it, cutting it into large chunks, and washing and chopping the wild vegetables. He first tossed a block of solidified lard into the iron pot, and as the oil heated and melted, he added slices of an unknown tuberous root, which instantly released its aroma. Then he poured in the fish chunks, and a sizzling sound filled the air. After frying the fish until both sides were golden brown, he added water, sprinkled in the wild vegetables and brown rice, covered the pot, and simmered it slowly over a low flame.

Soon, steam rose from the edge of the pot lid, carrying the aroma of fresh fish and rice, filling the air. The soldier next to him took out a few sweet potatoes buried in the hot ashes from the stove, brushed off the ashes, broke them open, and the golden flesh steamed with sweet heat, its aroma filling the air.

Old Li handed me a sweet potato: "Want to try some? It's grown in the sandy soil by the lake, it's very sweet."

Fang Wen took it, his hands burning from the heat, and took a small bite. It was soft and chewy, with a sweet taste spreading across his tongue.

He looked at the surface of Junshan Lake in the distance, where the sunlight shone on the lake, like a layer of broken gold.

As you move your gaze, you see Shao Sishen leading aviation cadets and New Fourth Army soldiers in inventorying supplies, with occasional bursts of hearty laughter drifting through the air.

"Gurgle—" The porridge in the pot began to bubble. The soldier in charge of cooking lifted the lid and stirred it with a spoon. In the milky white porridge, fish pieces swirled, and the green of wild vegetables dotted the surface. The aroma of brown rice mixed with the freshness of the fish, creating a unique flavor.

"Alright!" The soldier ladled the porridge into large, rough porcelain bowls, first giving one to Fang Wen and one to Lao Li, then went to call the others over to eat.

Fang Wen took the bowl, blew on it to cool it down, and took a sip. The porridge was cooked until it was soft and sticky, the fish was stewed until it was tender, the wild vegetables had a slightly bitter taste but were exceptionally refreshing, and the chewy texture of the brown rice was mixed in, filling his mouth with a simple and fresh aroma.

He looked up at Old Li and saw that Old Li was slurping his porridge with gusto, with some porridge stains still on the corners of his mouth.

"How was it, Commander Fang?" Old Li wiped his mouth and asked with a smile.

"Delicious." Fang Wen sighed inwardly. This was probably the best food they had prepared.

(End of this chapter)