Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 611 Anti-aircraft sharpshooter 'Fang Wen', the landing and blocking battle at Beihai Port, rocket bombardment and tank cleanup.
Before the smoke from the cannon muzzle had even dissipated, Fang Wen had already swiftly released the breech trigger, grabbed the elevation gear wheel with his left hand, and forcefully pushed the steering gear handle with his right.

Under his operation, the Soviet M1939 37mm anti-aircraft gun seemed to be infused with a soul, turning northeast with a metallic hum.

At that location, three Japanese Type 97 carrier-based aircraft were in a triangular formation, diving low to straf the machine gun positions of the corner battery, attempting to create an opportunity for the Japanese landing craft on the sea.

"Load!" Fang Wen shouted without turning his head.

The two surviving artillerymen behind him reacted quickly, holding the 5-round magazine with both hands and snapping it in place with a "click".

With his mechanical perception, Fang Wen could clearly see the entirety of the three aircraft, including the bombs mounted under the fuselage and the machine guns spitting fire from the nose.

Fang Wen stared at the vector sight on the gun body, making sure that the enemy aircraft's flight path matched the aiming line perfectly.

No, it's difficult to hit the target that way; the trajectory will be off, so you need to add lead.

He turned the high and low gear wheel to make fine adjustments.

He then pressed the firing pedal with his right foot.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" Five anti-aircraft guns fired in unison, and 37mm shells were fired at high speed toward the enemy aircraft.

Their trajectories were aimed at the path that the enemy aircraft were bound to take.

The Type 97 carrier-based aircraft at the very front was completely unaware of the attack. Its left wing was instantly hit by a shell, the wing skin was torn apart like a rag, the engine emitted thick black smoke, the fuselage spun out of control, and it crashed into the sea, creating a huge splash.

"Feed the ammunition," Fang Wen said urgently.

The M1939 37mm anti-aircraft gun uses a 5-round magazine and has a theoretical rate of fire of 160-180 rounds per minute, while its actual combat rate of fire is 60-80 rounds per minute.

How fast it can fire depends on the gunner's operation and the ammunition handler's feeding speed.

Seeing how skilled Fang Wen was, the two ammunition handlers became incredibly excited and worked tirelessly to load the ammunition.

"Reloading complete."

Fang Wen quickly adjusted the cannon and fired another round of rapid fire, piercing the tail of another fighter jet, which fled in a sorry state, trailing black smoke.

The other aircraft, in a panic, plunged into the clouds and dared not approach the airspace above the port area again.

"Well done, Commander Fang!" Battalion Commander Chao couldn't help but praise, and a hint of joy finally appeared on his previously tense face.

After Fang Wen took over the anti-aircraft guns, he destroyed a total of 3 and damaged 1, achieving a brilliant record.

The soldiers on Guantouling Fort were greatly encouraged, and the oppressive feeling they had just experienced from the Japanese air raid was completely swept away.

Fang Wen's brow remained furrowed. He wiped the sweat from his brow and stared at the distant clouds: "The Japanese won't give up so easily. They will definitely send more warplanes."

Battalion Commander Chao nodded. "If they want to land, they must stop our artillery and machine guns, otherwise they won't be able to get ashore at all."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Fang Wen noticed a new enemy situation.

More than ten enemy aircraft were rapidly approaching from the southeast. This time, in addition to Type 2 carrier-based aircraft, there were also two new types of fighter jets that Fang Wen had never seen on the battlefield before.

Although he had never seen it before, Fang Wen had some knowledge of this type of aircraft through Yoshida's information.

This is the Type 99 carrier-based dive bomber, the product of the Japanese Navy's Type 11 carrier-based bomber program.

Its power plant was a Mitsubishi Venus 44 engine (1000 horsepower), and its onboard weapons were three 7.7 mm machine guns, one on each side of the wing, one rotary machine gun in the rear cockpit, one 250 kg bomb on the centerline of the fuselage, and one 30 kg bomb on each wing.

It can be said to be the main aircraft model that the Japanese Navy replaced during this period.

However, it had another use later on: it was used as cannon fodder for the Kamikaze suicide squad.

Do not be fooled by its simple construction. Although this type of aircraft has poor defense, it has a high dive speed and is difficult for ground and ship anti-aircraft fire to target and hit.

As a result, in the subsequent Anglo-Japanese naval battles and the Pearl Harbor attack, European and American warships suffered huge losses from these mosquito-like aircraft.

Now, these planes will be heading straight for Fang Wen's position.

Fang Wen immediately spoke up.

"Watch out, enemy planes are attacking again. If we can fight, we will; if not, I will abandon the anti-aircraft guns. Follow me."

The two loaders, puzzled, nodded and said, "Commander Fang, we'll do as you say."

Immediately, Fang Wen gripped the control lever of the anti-aircraft gun with both hands again.

As he had predicted, the Type 99 carrier-based dive bomber was far more maneuverable than the Type 97, making it extremely difficult to hit. He had to rely on mechanical perception to detect the most subtle changes in the enemy aircraft's movements.

Soon, the enemy aircraft broke through the clouds, with the Type 99 fighter jets leading the charge at high speed, launching a fierce attack on the Guantouling Fort.

Fang Wen fired at the enemy aircraft and hit two of them.

However, there were too many enemy aircraft, and other enemy aircraft had already entered firing range.

Fang Wen decisively shouted, "Hide!"

As he spoke, he jumped out of the anti-aircraft gun position, lunged far away, and rolled directly into the anti-aircraft trench.

The two loader crew members also jumped into the trench and lay down without hesitation.

Machine gun bullets rained down around the fort, sending debris flying. Several soldiers were hit and fell in pools of blood.

Then, the dark silhouette of an airplane drifted across the trench.

One, two
After confirming that eight fighter jets had flown over the position, Fang Wen decisively said to the two bomb loaders beside him, "Come with me. The enemy planes need to adjust their positions and dive to attack again. Our chance has come."

After saying that, he led the way out of the trench.

The two ammunition handlers exchanged a glance and then climbed out of the trench.

The scene outside was extremely bloody, with wounded soldiers groaning on the ground and soldiers lying motionless in pools of blood.

Fang Wen tried his best not to look at these things, and sat back down in the anti-aircraft gun position to check with his mechanical senses.

The Japanese warplanes' air raid just now caused many machine gun bullets to hit the anti-aircraft guns, but they did not cause any damage and are still usable.

He glanced back at the two ammunition handlers: "Keep loading, we're avenging our fallen brothers."

The two ammunition handlers did not answer, but demonstrated their skills by loading ammunition even faster than before.

Fang Wen focused intently, using his special ability to observe.

High in the sky, eight Japanese warplanes had already climbed back up and were about to begin their second dive-bombing attack.

Under Fang Wen's control, the cannon muzzle was aimed in that direction.

The moment the Type 99 fighter jet dove down, he abruptly turned the elevation mechanism, raising the cannon muzzle 15 degrees, and then stepped on the launch pedal.

This time, he did not choose to fire continuously, but instead used a burst firing method of one shot per second.

This can increase the hit rate.

The first two shells grazed the enemy aircraft's wing, but the last three had a remarkable effect, hitting the Type 99 dive bomber's propeller, fuselage, and tail.

Instantly, the fighter jet exploded in mid-air with a huge flame, shattering into pieces.

This time, without Fang Wen's instructions, the ammunition handlers immediately completed the loading.

Sensing that the ammunition was loaded, Fang Wen immediately began operating the system, forcefully pushing the traverse mechanism. As the gun barrel moved laterally, a new round of firing began.

The shell scattered in an arc.

This arc perfectly matches the flight path of the Type 99 dive bomber.

One of the shots hit the target.

The enemy plane's cockpit window was shattered, killing the pilot instantly. The fighter jet went out of control and crashed into a distant reef, exploding in flames.

In this battle, the Soviet M1939 37mm anti-aircraft gun controlled by Fang Wen has shot down six Japanese warplanes in succession, completely disrupting the rhythm of the Japanese air raids.

Seeing the situation was not good, the remaining enemy planes dared not dive rashly again, and could only circle at high altitude, occasionally dropping a few bombs, but most of them landed on the open beach and failed to cause any substantial damage to the defensive positions.

At that moment, the ammunition handler reported bad news.

"Commander Fang, we're out of ammunition." Fang Wen was stunned, not expecting that the ammunition would be used up so quickly.

In this way, if Japanese warplanes launch another air raid, they will be unable to retaliate.

He left his gun emplacement and found Battalion Commander Chao, who was organizing his soldiers to fire on the harbor waters.

"Commander Chao, the anti-aircraft guns are out of ammunition."

"Oh." Battalion Commander Chao was a little embarrassed: "Since the Japanese cut off the sea route, the new weapons we are currently using are all Soviet-made equipment. We are not the core force, and only one division was allocated two anti-aircraft guns, and we don't have much ammunition."

The situation is as follows for the Guangxi lineage.

Fang Wen had no choice but to accept reality.

If air defense is not possible, subsequent air raids will make it difficult for ground positions to maintain a high level of suppression.

The Japanese landing force will certainly take this opportunity to carry out a landing operation.

He took the high-powered military binoculars from Battalion Commander Chao and looked at the sea in front of the fort. In the distance, warships hovered at the edge of the range of the security guns, but several small vessels were already on standby. It seemed that the Japanese landing was about to begin.

Putting down his binoculars, Fang Wen said, "Battalion Commander Chao, my troops will provide fire support during the Japanese landing. Don't worry, we will definitely be able to stop the Japanese from landing."

Battalion Commander Chao agreed, but didn't react much to Fang Wen's military equipment, as he didn't know how powerful Taishan's weapons were.

After speaking with Battalion Commander Chao, Fang Wen went to the air-raid shelter trench, picked up a walkie-talkie, and communicated with his own troops.

"This is Fang Wen, calling the rocket team."

Gong Xiuneng's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Commander, this is the rocket team."

"You shall immediately begin launch preparations. The target area is tentatively set as coordinate zone A1."

"Yes, we will make adjustments immediately."

Subsequently, Fang Wen contacted the tank team.

Upon receiving the order, Liu Yubao, the former head of the Taishan Mobile Force, immediately arranged for ten tanks to be ready for battle.

Time passed little by little.

The Japanese air raids have really started again.

This time, however, they clearly didn't dare to dive-bomb like before, and instead dropped bombs from high altitude.

Although this caused a large-scale explosion and dense smoke in the artillery area, the actual destructive effect was far less than that of a dive bomber.

While Japanese warplanes were bombing, more than a dozen Japanese landing craft took advantage of the air raid to quickly approach the shore.

Through his military binoculars, Fang Wen could even see the Japanese soldiers on the landing craft.

He calculated quickly.

The sea area in front of us has been divided into ten grids, each with a specific number and corresponding to different firing parameters.

The landing craft has left Area A1 and entered Area A2.

This is also the optimal firing area for rockets. If the rockets are too far away, they will scatter, and if they are too close, they may injure friendly forces. This position offers the highest accuracy.

Immediately, he picked up the walkie-talkie: "Gong Xiuneng, firing area A2, adjust direction immediately."

"Yes."

Upon receiving the order, Gong Xiuneng immediately relayed Fang Wen's instructions to the operator of the rocket launcher.

Under the operation of the two rocket launchers, the launch pads were adjusted, and the change from A1 to A2 was completed quickly.

Gong Xiuneng immediately reported: "Regimental Commander, the relocation is complete."

Fang Wen decisively ordered: "Launch."

"Launch," Gong Xiuneng relayed immediately.

The rocket launcher fired simultaneously, dozens of rockets streaking across the sky like meteors, trailing long plumes of flame.

It shot towards the sea area.

"Boom! Boom!" A series of explosions occurred on the sea, and flames and thick smoke enveloped an entire area.

There were exactly those dozen or so landing craft in the area.

As the smoke cleared, the results became clear.

Five ships were destroyed, and a large amount of wreckage and the bodies of Japanese soldiers floated on the sea. The remaining landing craft, seeing the situation was not good, hurriedly turned around and fled, never daring to approach the shore again.

On the distant Myoko, the flagship of the Japanese Fifth Fleet, Kondo looked at the carnage on the sea, his face ashen.

He never imagined that the garrison at Beihai Port would possess such incredibly powerful weapons.

No, he quickly realized something.

It was brought by Fang Wen.

No wonder they attacked Weizhou Island; they were afraid the weapons wouldn't be delivered safely.

"Commander, continuing the attack might result in even greater losses. Should we retreat first and reconsider our strategy?" the staff officer cautiously suggested.

Kondo remained silent for a moment, but he was unwilling to give up.

He is responsible for the attack on Weizhou Island and the unauthorized premature landing operation that failed.

After a short while, he gave the order to continue the attack.

After Kondo gave the order, the main guns of the heavy cruiser Myoko were the first to be adjusted, with their muzzles pointing directly at the Guantouling Battery and the temporary fortifications on the shore.

Immediately afterwards, the light cruisers Nagara and Natori, along with the surrounding destroyers, roared to life, unleashing hundreds or even thousands of shells like a torrential downpour.

The defensive fortifications on the shore were instantly shrouded in smoke and dust, with rubble and broken wood flying everywhere. Some of the temporary shelters were directly blown up, and the soldiers could only huddle in the trenches, waiting for a break in the shelling to retaliate.

In the air, a mixed formation of more than ten Type 97 and Type 99 aircraft also adjusted their tactics, dividing into three groups to launch airstrikes on Guantoushan, Dijiao, and the area behind the port where rocket launchers and heavy artillery might be hidden.

Under such intense artillery and air bombardment, more than twenty Japanese landing craft dispersed from both sides of the fleet, no longer concentrated in one area, but spreading out in a fan shape along the coastline, approaching different locations on the shore. Each landing craft was more than 100 meters apart, so even with a salvo of rockets, only a few targets could be covered.

Seeing this situation, Fang Wen could only order the rocket launchers in the rear to concentrate on one place for launch. Even if the number of enemy troops within the hit range decreased, they could not stop attacking.

Soon, six landing craft broke through the barrage of fire and ran aground on the shallows near the shore.

Two hundred Japanese soldiers, rifles in hand, charged onto the beach, howling, in an attempt to seize the beachhead.

Just then, ten Taishan tanks, hidden behind houses and in alleyways, suddenly started up, their roar breaking the silence of the battlefield.

Flames spewed from the tank cannons as shells blasted directly at the landing point, instantly turning the front-line Japanese soldiers into a bloody mess.

Such intense artillery fire stunned the Japanese army.

Ten tanks, like steel behemoths, advanced along the beach, their tracks crushing the corpses of Japanese soldiers, while machine guns on their turrets swept the fleeing Japanese troops.

The Guangxi soldiers on the shore also took the opportunity to rush out of their bunkers and cooperate with the tanks, forming a three-dimensional offensive with rifles, grenades and tank fire.

Within ten minutes, more than half of the Japanese troops who had stormed the beach were killed or wounded. The remaining dozens jumped into the sea after the landing craft were destroyed and swam toward the Japanese fleet in the distance. In the end, only a few were rescued by rescue boats.

On the warship at sea, Kondo watched the crushing defeat on the beach and slammed his fist heavily on the railing of the command platform.

He knew that a forced attack at this moment would only increase casualties, and the operation was beyond saving. He could only grit his teeth and order: "Fleet retreat! Suspend the attack!"

As the Japanese fleet slowly sailed away, the gunfire on the shore of Beihai Port gradually subsided. Soldiers cheered around the tanks, while Fang Wen and Battalion Commander Chao stood on the high ground of the gun emplacement, watching the departing Japanese fleet with solemn expressions.

"Will they come back?" Battalion Commander Chao asked.

"Not for a while. I estimate they'll redeploy their forces to Weizhou Island, and once everything's ready, they'll still attack," Fang Wen replied.

(End of this chapter)