Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 608 Great Victory at Weizhou Island, Airspace Interception: Rockets and Barrage Attacks

Fang Wen led five gunboats to appear over the southern port of Weizhou Island.

In order to improve the hit rate of high-altitude cluster bombing, Fang Wen is using faith energy to enhance his superpowers, collect various environmental data variables, and then use his brain to calculate the best bombing positions and nodes at high speed.

Under his supernatural observation.

Below, three Japanese destroyers are responding urgently to the air attack.

The ship's main guns were pointed at the sky, firing blindly into the air. However, because the aircraft were at an altitude of 3000 meters, the anti-aircraft bullets deviated from their trajectory halfway and flew elsewhere.

With their anti-aircraft fire proving ineffective, the Japanese ships had no choice but to cease firing, merely maintaining the anti-aircraft turrets in an anti-aircraft state.

Fang Wen's supernatural perspective swept across the surroundings like an invisible net, taking in the wind speed on the sea, the direction of the airflow, the anchoring angle of the destroyer, and even the thickness of the clouds.

A northeasterly wind of 2.3 meters per second has little effect on the bomb's deviation.

Slight backflow in the harbor caused the destroyer to list by 3 degrees, requiring the addition of bomb drop speed data for correction.

Even the airflow changes caused by the aircraft itself became variables in calculating the timing of bombing.

This is not just a superpower, but also a unique experience that Fang Wen has summarized from his years of aerial combat experience.

He then opened his eyes and picked up the microphone.

The sound was transmitted via radio to the other five gunboats.

"Attention all aircraft, air strike mission now being assigned. This bombing will employ a cluster bombing method. Aircraft 1-5 must remain in formation and not fall behind. When I give the order to drop bombs, all aircraft must drop bombs together. Each bomb drop is a standard load; no more than one bomb is allowed. Do you all understand?"

A series of responses came from the radio: "Number One, Received." "Number Two, Received."
After two years of combat experience, these military pilots were able to work well with Fang Wen's command and combat methods, which is why this air raid did not require a long period of preparation.

Fang Wen then continued to give instructions.

"Attention all aircraft, adjust formation to a wedge formation, maintain a spacing of 50 meters, altitude of 3000 meters, and heading correction to 105 degrees. Initial air strike target is the destroyer in the east."

Under his command, the gunboat squadron formed a wedge formation and, led by Fang Wen, flew over the target destroyer.

The Japanese warships below seemed to sense the danger, and their captains frantically turned the rudder, trying to escape.

But airplanes are much faster than warships, so it was destined that it could not escape.

As the aircraft were about to reach the optimal bombing position, Fang Wen gave the order.

"bomb."

Including the gunship he was piloting, a total of six air-launching gunships began dropping bombs.

Unlike bombers and fighter jets dropping bombs from the air.

The gunboats dropped their bombs by opening the bottom hatch in the middle of the aft compartment and dropping napalm bombs through the bomb release port.

Upon receiving the order, the crew immediately took action, placing the bomb trays on the release mechanism. As the release mechanism was activated, the napalm bombs on the bomb trays fell.

In an instant, a large number of tiny black dots fell from the sky, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

These small black dots fell from the center of the warship.

When the first napalm bomb hit the deck of the Japanese destroyer, it did not explode immediately—the outer casing of the bomb struck the steel deck with a loud clang, and then rolled towards the main gun mount at the bow due to inertia. Moments later, the delayed fuse detonated.

The viscous sparks shot out with the explosion, adhering to the surface of any nearby objects.

On the protective shields of the ship's guns, on the deck, and on the bodies of the Japanese soldiers.

The next second, a second bomb followed.

Some of them smashed directly into the observation windows on the side of the bridge, breaking the glass and landing on the instrument panel, spinning around.

The Japanese captain stared in horror at the napalm bomb in front of him, which had not yet exploded, his mouth agape.

Just as he was about to shout, the bomb's delayed fuse detonated.

Instantly, flames engulfed the entire bridge.

Subsequently, more napalm bombs fell, with nearly 70% of them hitting the warship.

Thick smoke, flames, and screams filled the warship.

Subsequently, the ammunition boxes and shells on the deck detonated under the intense heat, and more explosions occurred on the ship.

The bombing was a great success.

The warship has lost its combat capability, and the ongoing fires on board continue to cause damage.

It can be said that Fang Wen's aerial fire-playing skills have reached a level of consummate skill.

But there were still two warships waiting to be dealt with, so Fang Wen continued to give orders.

"All aircraft prepare to drop bombs. A new round of bombing will begin in 5 minutes. Maintain flight formation and do not fall behind."

The pilots of the five gunboats responded in unison, their spirits high.

They also saw the bombing below.

Fighting alongside the regimental commander is such a unique experience; every single one of my experiences is something I can brag about for a long time.

Five minutes later, the aircraft formation, led by Fang Wen, completed its repositioning and flew to the next target location.

This is another Fir-class destroyer.

After witnessing the tragic state of its companion, it chose to flee.

But they still managed to catch up.

Upon reaching the optimal bombing zone, Fang Wen issued the order again: "Drop the bomb."

Just like last time, even faster.

The soldiers installed the ammunition plates one by one—pulling the grenade release lever to activate the mechanism.

Under the horrified gazes of the Japanese soldiers on the warships below, napalm bombs fell, most of them hitting the ship's hull.

Fire and thick smoke enveloped the warship.

On the surrounding sea surface, patches of fire continued to burn.

Mount Tai's napalm bombs were incredibly powerful; they could even burn on water.

At that moment, a huge explosion occurred, turning the eastern sky red.

Fang Wen immediately used mechanical perception to observe.

It was the first Fir-class destroyer to explode.

The explosion occurred in the middle, and the breach was below the waterline.

Based on Fang Wen's understanding of the Congeri-class destroyers, this was caused by the detonation of the fuel tanks located in the hull.

The Seki-class destroyer has three Kanbon-type heavy oil water-tube boilers for power. Due to the importance of the power equipment, it is designed to be placed at the bottom of the hull, that is, in the compartment below the waterline. The supporting fuel tanks are also located below.

The high temperatures generated by the continuous combustion even affected the fuel depot, causing such a severe secondary explosion.

This Fir-class destroyer is beyond saving; it won't be long before it sinks to the bottom of the sea.

The other Fir-class destroyer, which had just been attacked, was in a similar situation. Although the fuel tanks did not explode, the hull had lost its functionality.

Now, only one Wakatake-class destroyer remains.

This was the weakest medium-sized warship in the Japanese Navy fleet, but it was still equipped with anti-aircraft weapons, so it still had to be dealt with by air.

Just as Fang Wen was about to continue, the communications officer reported: "Commander, our cargo ship is still an hour's journey from Weizhou Island."

Fang Wen's heart tightened.

This operation, besides aimed at curbing the arrogance of the Japanese army in the coastal waters, primarily aimed to transport military equipment. So, how did the Japanese army react at this point in the battle?

Forcibly suppressing his thoughts, he commanded the gunboat squadron to launch an air attack on the last target.

After dropping a large number of bombs, the warship was also engulfed in flames and rendered inoperable.

Fang Wen then used the radar target acquisition device to observe the situation within a radius of 300 kilometers.

The radar device is providing feedback.

A transport ship is sailing towards us from the southwest, 40 kilometers away.

In the northeast direction, the detection limit of the radar search device is the waters near Yangjiang, from Weizhou Island all the way there, and so far no trace of Japanese warships has been found.

No, Fang Wen suddenly detected the aircraft's feedback from the edge of the radar's detection device.

There are 10 aircraft.

Fang Wen was making plans in his mind.

These Japanese warplanes must have received a distress telegram from the Japanese forces on Weizhou Island and urgently took off from an aircraft carrier in the waters near Guangzhou to provide support and conduct reconnaissance.

Judging from the radar signal feedback, these aircraft are Type 97 carrier-based aircraft, which can arrive in 40-50 minutes.

At that time, our cargo ship was about to pass by Weizhou Island. If it were discovered and attacked by Japanese warplanes, it would be troublesome.

We must stop them.

what can we do about it?

Currently, our side only has 11 gunship aircraft, and the only weapons we can use to fight enemy aircraft are the cannons and machine guns mounted on the sides of the fuselage.

And the 20 air-to-ground rockets that his plane was carrying.

Gunships have significant weaknesses in air combat with fighter jets. Once they are caught in close-range rear-end collisions, they are unable to adjust their angles to attack the opponent with side-mounted firepower.

In that case, it would become a turtle shell that could only withstand attacks with bulletproof armor plates.

Therefore, close-quarters combat with enemy fighters by gunships is absolutely unacceptable; the battle must be resolved at a long distance.

This requires Fang Wen's special ability to cooperate.

Conduct aerial ambushes and long-range strikes in the direction where enemy aircraft appear.

He then began preparations.

Japanese warplanes arrived 40 minutes later.

The cargo ship arrived one hour later.

Of the three Japanese warships in the southern port of Weizhou Island, one sank and two caught fire.

On the ground, with the support of five gunboats, the airfield in the central area of ​​Weizhou Island was captured, the Japanese warplanes parked on the airfield were destroyed, most of the strongholds on the island were cleared, and only a few relatively remote areas remained, which the soldiers were heading to.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen's preparations for aerial combat were also underway.

Eleven gunboats gathered and circled over the sea between Weizhou Island and Leizhou Peninsula.

Fang Wen communicated with other gunboat pilots via radio.

"Attention, all aircraft! Japanese warplanes have been spotted approaching from the eastern coast and are expected to arrive in 40 minutes. Our current mission is to stop them. I know you're all wondering how to fight fighter planes without any fighters available. Here, I can introduce a new weapon: the air-to-ground rocket. This weapon can be launched from a long distance, creating an area-of-effect attack. The Soviet Union used this method in its air battles against the Japanese in the northern border region, and it was very effective. Now, we will also use this method to intercept the enemy. Now, listen to my instructions."

After communicating with the gunboat pilots, they understood what Fang Wen wanted them to do and that they could cooperate.

Of course, this firing was to be done after Fang Wen completed the launch of the air-to-ground rocket, using the surface explosion as the firing direction guide.

In other words, wherever Fang Wen launches the rockets, the gunships and aircraft will concentrate their firepower there.

This is the simplest method Fang Wen designed for naval gunboats to counter fighter jets.

The key is that the air-to-ground rockets he launches must have high accuracy, so that they can not only strike the enemy, but also provide effective guidance for subsequent gunboat and aircraft firing.

Time passed slowly, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

While piloting his aircraft and leading the squadron in circles in the northeastern waters of Weizhou Island, Fang Wen closely observed the situation of the Japanese fighter jets.

Using the radar detection device, he saw 10 dots representing Japanese Type 97 carrier-based aircraft rapidly approaching, with a distance of less than 80 kilometers.

At the speed of a Type 97 fighter jet, it would only take 10 minutes to reach this airspace.

He took a deep breath and ordered, "All aircraft, take up intercept positions! Await firing instructions."

The 10 gunship aircraft quickly switched from a wedge formation to a straight line, and the cannon muzzles and machine guns on the sides of the fuselage slowly rose to maintain a horizontal orientation.

The shooter gripped the weapon handle, his eyes fixed on the front.

At this time, the Japanese Type 97 carrier-based aircraft formation had come within visual range.

5 km - 3 km - 2 km.

It's getting closer and closer.

Fang Wen was even able to see the excited faces of Japanese pilots in the cockpit of enemy planes after taking war drugs through mechanical perception.

The enemy planes were accelerating closer, attempting a close-quarters dogfight.

Fang Wen placed his hand on the launch control lever, waiting.

Nine seconds later, he pressed the launch button.

The rocket launchers on both sides of the aircraft simultaneously launched air-to-ground rockets.

One after another, aerial rockets were launched at extremely short intervals, forming a series of bright spots in the air.

High-velocity air-to-ground rockets are rapidly launched towards the target area.

Meanwhile, the Japanese warplanes on the other side were also launching a frenzied attack.

By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late.

Strikes of fire shot towards them, magnifying in the Japanese pilot's pupils.

Detonation was achieved using a ground-delay fuse at a range of 1000 meters.

Twenty aerial rockets exploded in the airspace that the Japanese warplane formation was bound to pass through.

Numerous fragments were ejected in all directions, carried by the shockwave of the explosion.

Ten Japanese fighter planes hurriedly crashed into the blast area.

The two Type 97 fighter jets at the front had no way to avoid the missile. Their wing skins were torn apart by the missile fragments, and the sharp shrapnel penetrated the thin aluminum alloy skin, which was completely unprotected, causing severe damage to the aircraft's interior.

One of the engines emitted a piercing metallic screeching sound, trailing a long plume of black smoke as it plummeted into the sea.

The other one exploded in mid-air.

The explosion then affected other Japanese fighter planes.

Two more aircraft were disabled and crashed due to the area impact of air-to-ground rockets.

"Now! Horizontal formation, volley fire!" Fang Wen's shout was transmitted to each gunboat via radio.

Ten gunships lined up in a row simultaneously pulled their triggers, the 20mm cannons and 7.7mm machine guns on the sides of their fuselages spewing out dense tongues of fire. The bullets drew faint trajectories in the air, weaving a horizontal fire net towards the Japanese warplanes behind the fire barrier.

A barrage of bullets rained down on the blast area.

The Japanese warplanes, which had just emerged from an attack by aerial rockets, were met with a new wave of attacks.

(End of this chapter)