Chapter 24: The Imperial Guard Flight Squadron

  When He Juncai returned to the Taiping Municipal Airport, he found that it had also been bombed. The ground crew's houses beside the runway were hit, and bodies were constantly being carried out of the ruins, while several I-152 wrecks remained on both sides of the runway. Fortunately, the DC-2 was parked in an aircraft revetment and had not been destroyed. He Juncai quickly boarded the DC-2 and took off to return to the floating airbase.

  Back at the airbase command center, He Juncai found everyone busy. Zheng Shaoyu walked up to He Juncai and handed him a loss report. The Air Force's Fourth Route Command found enemy planes bombing multiple locations including Chongqing, Tongliang, Liangshan, and Bishan. On July 31st, the Japanese naval aviation stationed in Hankou deployed 88 Type 96 land-based attack aircraft, while the army aviation stationed in Yuncheng deployed 36 Type 97 heavy bombers. They formed small teams of 5 to 10 planes each and carried out scattered bombings on Chongqing, Chengdu, Nanchong, Langzhong, and nearby suburban towns. Additionally, naval and land aviation each deployed a reconnaissance squadron for aerial reconnaissance and command.

  Because the Japanese bombers took off before dawn, ground intelligence personnel were unable to provide timely warnings. They were only discovered after entering the radar detection range of the floating airbase, at which time the Japanese bombers had already entered Sichuan Province, with less than an hour's warning time. Although the Fourth Route Command of the Air Force dispatched two reconnaissance planes in a timely manner to track and observe, and immediately ordered the Fourth Squadron and the Soviet Volunteer Aviation Corps to take off from their bases. However, due to communication failures, they were unable to notify the Fifth and Third Squadrons stationed in Chengdu and Suining. The Fourth Squadron had to dispatch two I-16 fighter planes to inform them separately at the two airports. After taking off, the fighter planes of the Fourth Squadron and the Soviet Volunteer Aviation Corps quickly drove away the Japanese bombers over Chongqing, with only Liangping County being bombed as it was located in the far east and rescue efforts were not timely. Possibly due to fear of air-to-air bombs, when the Japanese bombers saw the approaching Chinese Air Force fighter planes, they did not form a large formation like before, but instead simply dropped their bombs and turned around to escape, which made the Chinese pilots curse loudly.

  In addition, several "J-1" fighter jets took off from the floating airbase and drove or shot down the Japanese 97-type command reconnaissance aircraft flying at high altitude with a relatively fast flight speed, causing the Japanese to lose their eyes and be forced to retreat.

  However, the situation in Chengdu, Nanchong and Suining was very bad. First of all, the warning time was too short, and when the I-16 fighter planes dispatched by the Fourth Air Group arrived at the two airports, Japanese bombers had already flown over. The airport and city were both bombed. Moreover, Japanese reconnaissance planes lingered in the high altitude, waiting for Chinese air force fighters to run out of fuel and be forced to return to the airport to land, then they called up fake returning bombers to bomb again. As a result, the urban area was severely damaged, and many air force fighter planes were destroyed, with multiple pilots and ground crew members killed.

  He Juncai was preparing to go to Nanchong, which also suffered its first bombing. Since Japan had never bombed Nanchong before, there were no air defense facilities in the city at that time. People inside Nanchong City were still living a peaceful life, and it seemed that the war of resistance was far away from them. The bombing of Nanchong lasted for more than an hour, and since the Chinese Air Force did not arrive on time to drive them away, the Japanese bombers not only dropped their bombs but also flew low and fired machine guns. At that time, the poet Lei Yu-sheng wrote a poem "Bamboo Branch Lyrics - The Actual Situation of the Japanese Plane Bombing Nanchong" to describe the tragic situation at that time: "The hawk birds lined up in the air, the sound of the explosion was tight, blood and flesh flew horizontally, and the sky was dark. Gunpowder smoke filled the southeast corner of the city, and the sound of rescue was heard all over the street. The cries of children calling their mothers were piercing, and their relatives had already died on the street. The child's broken branches were placed on the wall, and the bloody clothes and flesh were hung in the garden."

  It should be said that the Japanese bombing tactics this time were quite successful, and they hit the weak point of the Chinese air force. After the original large-scale bombing tactics were restrained by China's "air-explosive bombs", the Japanese military took advantage of its many bombers and fast reconnaissance planes to use reconnaissance planes for command, and bombers were divided into small formations for multiple rounds of bombing. Due to the slow speed of the Chinese air force's active fighter jets, they could not catch up with the Japanese bombers, so they were exhausted from running around, and even when landing to refuel, they were ambushed by Japanese reconnaissance planes directing bombers.

  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

  Today's post-war summary meeting was requested to be held at Chiang Kai-shek's Huangshan official residence, and all the officers of the Air Force Command and the Operations Command were scolded by Chiang Kai-shek. He Juncai was the first to hear Chiang's classic "niang xipi". After Chiang vented his anger, he asked Zhou Zhirou to explain the reason.

  Actually, the Chinese air force is also quite unfortunate. It's not that the personnel are not good, but the weapons are too weak. The Soviet I-series aircraft were designed in the early 1930s, especially the I-152, which was even a biplane with a fixed landing gear that couldn't be retracted. Although it claimed to be the best biplane, it was still a biplane and its speed was far inferior to monoplanes. The I-152 could barely catch up to Japanese bombers loaded with bombs, and when the Japanese bombers dropped their bombs and dived away, they couldn't even keep up. Its firepower was also very weak. The only advantage of the I-152 was its good maneuverability, which was due to its low speed and biplane design. Additionally, the I-152 was relatively easy to handle and had simple operation. Another Soviet-made fighter aircraft equipped by the Chinese air force, the I-16, also had many defects. Due to its early design time, it still used an open cockpit and did not adopt a series of new aerodynamic layout improvements. As a result, its speed was relatively slow compared to the world's top fighters at that time, and its operation was complex. Many experienced pilots had accidents when flying the I-16 for the first time.

  Secondly, except for the Fourth Route of the Air Force, the communication and early warning capabilities of the remaining troops were very weak. When the floating air base was not put into use for early warning, even the method of beacons was used to transmit signals of enemy aircraft approaching, this two-thousand-year-old technology made both China and Japan laugh and cry.

  In fact, the initial strength of Chinese pilots was able to contend with Japanese pilots. At the beginning of the war, the Chinese Air Force graduated from the Central Aviation School, with four to five years of military service and a rank of lieutenant or above. Even in 1938-1939, after the full-scale outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, a formal air force officer still needed to study for 4 years at the Hankou/Chongqing Aviation School. Japanese pilots were basically new recruits who received half a year to one year of flight training and had a rank of non-commissioned officer. It can be said that Japan took advantage of its advanced aircraft to train a large number of ace pilots in China, which later caused a series of troubles for the Allies in the Pacific War.

  But the experienced pilots of the Chinese Air Force could only use outdated planes to counter the Japanese, resulting in heavy losses. In military terms, the value of a pilot far exceeds that of the plane itself, but faced with the harsh reality of China's impoverished aviation industry, the loss of one fighter plane after another, and Japan's increasing number of newer planes, many pilots thought first not of bailing out by parachute when their planes were damaged or malfunctioned, but rather of making an emergency landing to preserve the aircraft.

  In the "Four 2 Nine" air battle, Chinese pilot Xin Shouyun insisted on landing safely at the airport despite being hit by more than 70 bullets and his plane catching fire, which also made Soviet pilots who came to China to assist in the war admire him. However, in the cruel air battle, more pilots, such as Liang Hongyun, deputy commander of the Fifth Squadron, Huang Wenmo, a pilot of the Sixth Squadron, and Gao Mo, were forced to make emergency landings or return to their bases while carrying serious injuries, although they managed to save their planes, but eventually died due to excessive blood loss. Among them, the lone hero Gao Mo reported on the battle after regaining consciousness for a short time. Some pilots also encountered misfortune during emergency landings, with the most tragic being Yuan Bokang, an ace pilot who had shot down eight enemy planes. He insisted on making an emergency landing even though his plane's landing gear was damaged by the enemy, hoping to save the plane, but ultimately crashed and died.

  Every time he thinks of this, the founders of the Chinese Air Force, such as Zhou Zhiyao, are filled with tears. So Chiang's question made Zhou extremely sad, not that the air force officers were not competitive, but actually the equipment was not as good as others! Fortunately, before coming to Huangshan Villa, the Air Force Headquarters had already discussed it internally and now it was just in time to report to the Chairman.

  "Report to the Chairman, this time the loss is mainly due to my fighter plane flying speed being slow and the air raid warning time being too short. In order to avoid the same tragedy from happening again, the Air Force has the following plan:"

  "One is to change the command system to a brigade and division organization like the army. In view of the enemy's 101st operational plan mainly targeting Chengdu, Chongqing and other cities in Sichuan, it is planned to merge the third and fifth brigades into the Fourth Route Command, together with the original fourth and eleventh brigades, to form the Air Force Fourth Flying Brigade, including all airports and floating air bases in Sichuan. He Juncai will be the brigade commander, and Zheng Shaoyu will be the deputy brigade commander, fully responsible for air defense matters in Sichuan. The Soviet Volunteer Aviation Corps will move to Lanzhou and be responsible for receiving and transporting new fighter jets."

  "Second, upgrade the fighter jets of the Fourth Flying Group. The new I-16-10 and I-16-18 fighter jets received from the Soviet Union were given priority to the Fourth Flying Group, and gradually replaced the original I-152 series fighter jets with other flying groups and the Central Aviation School in Kunming for training purposes. The existing I-16 fighter jet's wing-mounted machine guns were upgraded to caliber, and a protective steel plate was installed on the pilot's seat."

  "Third, the Central Aviation School expanded its recruitment from the military and civilians across the country. Simplify training courses and shorten training time. Transfer the training equipment of the floating base, including simulation devices and new trainer aircraft, to the Central Aviation School."

  Zhou Zuoren will report the results of his consultations with several departments, including the Equipment Department, Combat Command Department and Training Department, to Chairman Jiang. Chairman Chiang remained silent, and everyone present was extremely tense.

  "These matters you report to the Military Commission, I have no opinion personally. But there is one request, such a situation as today's can never happen again!" Chiang Kai-shek said suddenly.

  "Mr. Chairman, the intelligence personnel from Hankou reported that a 'small and fast' aircraft has appeared with 'bomb-like objects under its belly', I estimate it's probably a new fighter plane with auxiliary fuel tanks. The presence of auxiliary fuel tanks indicates that it was designed for long-range escort missions. Our current I-16 series fighter planes are even inferior to the Japanese 96-type carrier-based fighter planes, if the enemy's new aircraft is deployed for escort missions, our air force will likely suffer significant losses. It is suggested that we negotiate with the Soviet Union as soon as possible regarding the introduction of new aircraft!" He Juncai, who is now in charge of aviation in Sichuan, cannot help but bring up future difficulties.

  "This matter you Air Force quickly discuss with Legislative Yuan President Sun, ask him to negotiate with the Soviet side." Chiang Kai-shek thought for a moment and felt that this matter indeed needed attention, so he replied.

  Thus, the Chinese Air Force's 4th Flying Brigade, later known as the "Guard Flight Brigade", was established. This brigade is responsible for pure air defense tasks and is equipped with China's best fighter jets at that time. Many ace pilots emerged from this brigade, whose pilots were often assigned to other fighter brigades as deputy commanders or squadron leaders, serving as a source of cultivation for Chinese Air Force fighter pilots.

  Three things:

  Chapters 10 to 17 have been slightly revised, friends who have time can take a look.

  2. Starting point notification, there will be a recommendation next week, friends with time and strength can help support it.

  Something bad happened in Chongqing this afternoon, I'm in a bad mood...