Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 637 Tactical Shift, Air Battle at Nanning: Enemy Retreats, We Advance
The setback on the Yongqin Highway enraged the Japanese Army's Guinan War Zone Command.

According to the intelligence they obtained from the Japanese traitors, the garrison in Nanning could not have done these things.

There must have been external forces involved.

In response, the Japanese command post on the warship in the Beibu Gulf formulated a new operational plan.

On the morning of November 28, the Japanese army dispatched 34 Type 11 fighter planes from Sanya Airport to form a "revenge squadron" and launched a two-pronged attack on Nanning.

One group of 16 fighter planes headed straight for the seaplane base, attempting to destroy Fang Wen's air force; another group of 8 fighter planes covered the ground troops as they launched a counterattack on the newly recaptured positions of the 135th Division.

Nanning City Airport.

At this moment, Fang Wen was inspecting the rocket launchers of the Qinyuan in the hangar when the small bronze cauldron in his chest pocket suddenly shook violently.

dangerous!
Fang Wen immediately stopped what he was doing and cautiously observed his surroundings.

At this airport, only his fighter jet was parked, and there were only a dozen or so soldiers stationed there.

Could it be that the Japanese army sent infiltrating troops here?
Although no one noticed that Fang Wen still took out his Browning pistol, preparing to deal with any danger that might arise at any time.

However, nothing was found afterward.

Is the danger not here?

He instinctively looked up at the sky, then climbed onto the plane, started the engine, taxied to the runway, accelerated, and took off.

As the plane took to the sky, Fang Wen used his mechanical senses to observe it.

There were no abnormalities around the airport.

However, the radar detection system detected a large number of aircraft in the Beibu Gulf region, which is 200 kilometers away.

Oh no! A group of Japanese warplanes is attacking!
We must immediately notify the 31st Army to prepare, and also order the gunboats and aircraft to relocate.

He picked up the microphone, adjusted the frequency, and made a call.

"Air Force calling 31st Army Command, please respond."

Because the walkie-talkie is battery powered, it is only turned on by hand in case of an emergency when there is no power. It is not turned on normally to avoid power loss.

Therefore, when Fang Wen made the call, the walkie-talkies in the 31st Army headquarters were switched off.

In response, Fang Wen had to resort to a different method of issuing warnings.

He opened the cockpit canopy, took out a signal gun, and fired it into the air.

Although it was daytime, two trails of white smoke still appeared in the sky.

People in the city saw it, and so did the people at the 31st Army headquarters.

A staff officer quickly reported to Commander Wei: "Commander, Commander Fang is in the air, it seems something has happened."

Upon hearing this, Commander Wei hurriedly went out to check. He suddenly understood, quickly ran into the command room, and turned on the walkie-talkie.

Fang Wen's voice was coming through the walkie-talkie.

Commander Wei quickly replied, "This is the command post, please speak."

"We have received word that the Japanese will launch an air raid in half an hour. Please immediately notify all units to take precautions."

"receive."

Commander Wei immediately shut down communications and summoned his men to notify all units.

After giving the 31st Army a warning, Fang Wen also had to notify his air force to evacuate.

He adjusted the frequency and continued calling.

This time the call went through directly.

"The Japanese will launch a large-scale air raid in half an hour. All gunboats and aircraft must take off immediately and move to the airspace upstream of the Yong River!"

Ground crew and pilots sprang into action, everyone carrying some supplies, taking off in gunboats and heading towards the upper reaches of the Yong River. The engines of the fourteen gunboats roared to life, creating a deafening roar.

Subsequently, Fang Wen notified the air defense forces of the Independent Regiment on the south bank of the Yong River, ordering them to move their anti-aircraft guns to concealed locations and aim them at the southern sky in preparation for defense.

Suddenly, everyone was busy.

Air raid sirens sounded in the city, and people left their homes to take shelter in air raid shelters or went to more remote places outside the city.

The city's defenders set up their few 20mm anti-aircraft guns and stood ready for battle.

The defense zones of the two divisions of the 31st Army are also under intense preparation.

Half an hour later, a large number of Japanese warplanes appeared in the southern sky.

There were more than 40 aircraft, coming in with great force.

They dispersed from the 135th Division's defensive positions, leaving a few aircraft to cooperate with the Japanese army, while most flew towards Nanning, aiming directly at the Yongjiang River water airport.

Clearly, an insider leaked the airport's location.

A large number of aerial bombs fell from the sky, landing on the docks and camps.

A small number of aerial bombs were also dropped on the land-based airfield where Fang Wen took off.

Instantly, the entire seaplane airport area was covered in flames and thick smoke.

Then, Japanese warplanes swooped down and strafed the waterborne airfield.

But soon these excited Japanese pilots, fueled by war drugs, discovered that there wasn't a single plane in the area they were attacking.

In other words, the aerial bombs they dropped indiscriminately only destroyed the wooden dock of the seaplane base and a few barracks.

At this moment, the anti-aircraft guns of the 31st Army and the Independent Regiment also launched a counterattack.

Anti-aircraft artillery on both sides of the river fired a series of shells into the air.

Those Japanese warplanes that were diving and strafing were the first to be attacked by anti-aircraft weapons.

A fighter jet was hit by shrapnel from an anti-aircraft gun and crashed into a rice paddy by the river.

The remaining Japanese warplanes dared not dive and straf, and instead climbed to avoid the enemy.

At the same time, Fang Wen was leading the air force's gunboats to relocate.

Faced with an air raid by nearly 40 Japanese warplanes, gunboats could not engage in a direct confrontation; avoiding the enemy's main force was essential.

He led the gunboat squadron to a section of the Yong River upstream where the current was gentle and suitable for mooring.

This was a backup take-off and landing point that he had scouted in advance; no one knew about it, and there was no need to worry about the Japanese army discovering it.

One by one, the gunboats landed on the water. After docking, the people in the cabins disembarked and went ashore, looking towards the city of Nanning downstream.

I wonder what the situation is like in Nanning right now.

They wouldn't know for the time being, but Fang Wen had already received a telegram from the 31st Army.

Fang Wen, who was piloting the plane back to base, heard radio waves through his earpiece.

When he was alone, he made no attempt to conceal his true intentions and directly used his powerful mental strength to translate the Morse code in his mind.

More than 40 Japanese warplanes attacked Nanning, targeting the seaplane airport. Fortunately, you managed to evacuate all the planes in time, otherwise our losses would have been enormous.

Fang Wen's face turned cold at this. The most disgusting thing about the Japanese was their ubiquitous spies who transmitted a large amount of intelligence to their command system, which enabled them to launch various targeted attacks.

For example, in the recent battle in Guinan, the 31st Army was so passive and targeted everywhere. The Japanese army seemed to know everything about them, as if they could read minds.

The same was true of the previous battles.

Shaking off his thoughts, Fang Wen piloted the Qinyuan towards Nanning City.

Ten minutes later, the Qinyuan arrived at the west side of Nanning.

After failing to bomb the seaplane base, the Japanese warplanes ahead turned to bomb Nanning City.

The defenders' anti-aircraft firepower was insufficient to deal with such a large number of aircraft, which emboldened the Japanese pilots.

Fang Wen was preparing to charge in.

Suddenly, he detected signals from another batch of 18 aircraft through his radar detection device.

They flew in from the northwest! There's only one possibility then: it was the Soviet air force at Zhijiang Airport.

It seems that the Guangxi clique's top brass has finally persuaded Chongqing to send the Soviets to provide support.

Fang Wen was overjoyed. He adjusted his course and flew over.

When they were a few kilometers away, Fang Wen adjusted the communication frequency, which was the walkie-talkie frequency he had set for the Soviet air force's walkie-talkies.

"Comrade Ivanov, this is Fang Wen. Please respond if you hear me."

Russian was being transmitted from the wireless equipment.

"Fang, where are you?"

"We're about to meet. How about we cooperate in battle again this time?"

"Great. When we parted last time, I was wondering when we could fight together again. I didn't expect it to be so soon."

"Let's briefly discuss the tactics. I'll be playing a free-roaming role this time, and I'll be cooperating with you guys."

"Ok."

During the conversation, Fang Wen piloted the Qinyuan to meet up with the Soviet air force, and then they flew together towards Nanning.

Smoke filled the sky above Nanning.

Thirty-four Japanese warplanes were scattered over the city, some strafing the city's fortifications at low altitude, others circling to find new bombing targets. These pilots, who had taken "air assault pills," were excited about the atrocities they had committed.

Just then, a dense roar of engines came from the northwest. Eighteen Soviet Il-16 fighter jets appeared on the horizon first, followed closely by the Qinyuan, piloted by Fang Wen.

A 19-on-34 aerial battle erupted over Nanning.

"Attention all crews! Deploy according to the pre-arranged tactics! Groups 2 and 3 provide cover, Group 4 provides pincer movement, Groups 1 and 5 follow me in a frontal breakthrough!" Ivanov's Russian instructions were transmitted throughout the Soviet air force via the Taishan walkie-talkie. The 18 I-16s instantly changed formation, charging towards the Japanese aircraft in an "arrow" shape.

Subsequently, Fang Wen, as a free agent, controlled the Qinyuan to climb to a higher altitude, activating his mechanical perception ability to "seize" combat opportunities.

Japanese pilots also spotted the approaching Chinese and Soviet aircraft. Although they outnumbered the Chinese and Soviet planes, their dispersed formation was their weakness.

Before the Japanese warplanes could regain their battle formation, Soviet warplanes had already broken in, tearing the Japanese aircraft group in two.

Squadron Leader Ivalov's decision was correct, and the Soviet air force gained a tactical advantage as a result.

For a time, despite their numerical advantage, the Japanese warplanes were unable to suppress the Soviet air force.

Amidst the chaos of battle, Fang Wen also sought his opportunity high in the sky.

What he wanted to do was to eliminate the elite of the Japanese Air Force and its commanding officer.

Soon, Fang Wen found his target, a fighter jet with a rich paint scheme, including colored paint and Japanese characters, all of which were place names in China.

Clearly, this Japanese soldier had participated in numerous air battles against China and was a very experienced fellow.

Now, he's acting very cunningly, actually trying to ambush Ivan's fighter jet.

Fang Wen, of course, would not let them succeed.

The aircraft is randomly controlled to dive down from high altitude.

The 20mm cannon shells in the nose of the aircraft were fired rapidly toward the target.

Before it could react, the plane was hit and exploded in mid-air, ending its 'colorful life'.

After easily taking down a fighter jet, Fang Wen used his mechanical senses to survey the entire airspace's combat situation.

The Soviet air force still maintained its advantage in group operations, and its concentrated firepower had already shot down two Japanese warplanes.

However, this advantage will disappear once the chaos in the Japanese army ends.

Fang Wen, as a free agent, only made the chaos last longer.

He climbs to greater heights, using his supernatural abilities to seek new opportunities for combat.

Two goals.

The first one was the Japanese army's three-machine gun team.

The fact that they haven't been scattered by the Soviet air force and have maintained their basic operational team configuration shows that they are not to be underestimated.

Therefore, the Soviet Air Force's Left Wing 2nd Group was particularly wary of this direction to prevent it from attacking friendly forces.

The second group was a formation of 12 fighter planes on the other side. These 12 Japanese fighter planes had recovered from the chaos ahead of time and were encircling the 6 fighter planes led by Ivalov.

In terms of battlefield impact, the second threat was greater, and that was the main force of the Japanese army.

If Ivalov's main assault squad suffers a setback, the Soviet air force will likely be unable to continue fighting.

Immediately, Fang Wen set his sights on the group of 12 enemy aircraft.

Of course, it's unrealistic to shoot them down one by one.

However, the current Chinwon is equipped with 20 air-to-ground rockets, which can have a surprising effect.

He immediately used his supernatural abilities to lock onto the group of 12 aircraft and adjusted the firing direction of the air-to-ground rocket launchers with one hand.

With repeated combat experience, he became increasingly skilled at using his supernatural abilities to control the launch of air-to-ground rockets, and quickly completed the two operations of course adjustment and firing direction control.

Immediately afterwards, the rocket launchers mounted under the wings of the aircraft emitted bursts of fire.

All 20 aerial rockets were launched and exploded in a series along the enemy's likely route.

This round of area-of-effect attacks inflicted enormous damage on the main force of the Japanese army.

The three lead planes were engulfed by the blast radius and were instantly riddled with holes by shrapnel, crashing directly into the river.

Without the lead of three wingmen, the remaining Japanese warplanes were no longer able to launch a group attack.

Ivanov observed their chaos, and Soviet warplanes swiftly flew over to strike.

Suddenly, the Japanese aircraft group that they had painstakingly assembled collapsed.

Under such circumstances, the Japanese aircraft could no longer form effective air groups for combat, and continuing to fight would only allow the Soviet air force to continuously expand its advantage.

With no will to fight, the Japanese warplanes had no choice but to abandon their bombing of Nanning and retreat south.

The Soviet air force did not pursue them during their retreat.

Ivanov communicated with Fang Wen via walkie-talkie.

"This battle is over. We're heading back now. We'll continue next time. By the way, Fang, it was so much fun fighting in the air with you."

The Russian guy was talking strangely. Fang Wen replied, "It was a pleasure working with him. Goodbye."

After the Soviet air force departed, the Japanese fighter planes were already 100 kilometers away according to radar.

This Japanese air raid has now come to an end.

But Fang Wen's battle was not over.

The departure of Japanese warplanes meant that our own air power could now be deployed.

He immediately switched to the communication frequency of the 31st Army Command.

"Commander Wei, this is Fang Wen. Please respond if you hear me."

"Fang Wen, you did a fantastic job this time. You saved us a lot of losses and saved all the planes."

"That's not what I want to talk about now. The Japanese air raiding groups have withdrawn, and it's the perfect time for us to return to the air battlefield and launch air raids against the Japanese ground forces. I'm preparing to fly to the defense zones of the 131st and 135th Divisions to carry out a wave of air strikes."

"Well done, you've learned the Red Army's tactics, haven't you? I'll go and inform them to cooperate with you."

After communicating with Commander Wei, Fang Wen sent a telegram to the air force on the upper reaches of the Yong River. After sending the telegram, he landed at the airport and immediately refueled the plane and replenished its ammunition.

Thirty minutes later, the Qinyuan took off again, joined 14 gunboats flying from the upper reaches of the Yong River, and flew south.

At this time, on the front lines, the Japanese army was launching an attack on the National Army's positions. They had thought that the air power in Nanning had been destroyed, but to their surprise, a large number of gunboats flew in from the north.

The advantage we just gained through airstrikes is likely to be lost again.

(End of this chapter)