Chapter 14: The Night of the Lighter (Minor Revision)
On the evening of June 17, 1940, at around 8 o'clock, the sun's afterglow had disappeared. This day was May 12 on the lunar calendar, and a new moon hung in the night sky, along with the stars, forming the only source of light. Above the clouds, two fighter planes flew in formation, about 10 kilometers apart. Below the clouds, a large group of slow-moving 96 Land Attack Aircraft were flying from afar, searching for the Yangtze River to fly upstream. The 96 Land Attack Aircraft was nicknamed "Wu Bang Machine" by the people of Sichuan because it resembled a ferocious carnivorous fish in the rivers of Sichuan - the Wu Bang (black fish). This group of Wu Bang machines were usually very powerful, but tonight they were destined to become their sorrowful night.
Enemy planes flew lower and lower to identify ground targets, unaware of the Chinese Air Force fighter jets approaching head-on in the high altitude. The I-16 flying ahead had already crossed over the Japanese bomber's upper side, forming a pincer movement with the following I-152 squadron against the Japanese bombers!
Far above Chongqing, Zheng Shaoyu captured the fighter and ordered the I-16 formation in front to turn around and disperse in small units. The I-152 formation behind also dispersed, preparing to surround and annihilate the enemy aircraft. The two formations simultaneously entered a dive, swooping through the clouds with a whistling sound.
After parting the cloud layer, the outline of the enemy plane and the navigation lights on the wings that flashed from time to time to coordinate the formation position can be vaguely seen in the night sky. The daytime bomber group obviously did not prepare to meet the enemy at this location, and the gunners at the tail and back of the aircraft had not yet opened the safety of the machine guns, and quite a few people were chatting with the pilots in the cockpit.
At this time, the air command center of the floating base was also busy, and each guide officer was busy calling his own team to occupy the best position and assign attack targets. In the air, a group of defenseless large planes had been surrounded by two batches of small planes, with both sides rapidly approaching each other.
"Enemy planes, enemy planes!" At this time, the pilot of the leading plane finally discovered the ferocious death god descending from the night sky. But it was already too late to dive and escape. The I-152 fighter planes lined up in a row had shot out fatal flames from the cockpit of the bomber below. The I-16 fighters behind also seized the opportunity, diving down from both sides to attack the engines and fuel tanks of the 96-type attack planes. The timing was just right, and this time the Japanese attack plane group was unlucky. Several planes were hit in a row, and even one unfortunate 96-type attack plane was hit in the oil tank, its body catching fire and burning, which then detonated the incendiary bombs hanging under the belly and wings (the 96-type land-based attack plane had no bomb bay, all ammunition was hung outside), exploding into pieces in mid-air. Not only did it ignite several nearby 96-type attack planes, but also exposed the silhouettes of other attack planes.
This lit up the airborne targets for the Chinese Air Force fighter planes, and both sides began a dogfight. Although the Japanese 96 fighters had machine guns in front of and behind the cockpit, on the belly and on the sides, all firing desperately, they lacked mutual cover from their formations, and it was extremely difficult to anticipate the direction of attack by the Chinese Air Force fighter planes at night, making it hard to resist the onslaught.
The continuous fireworks and explosions in the sky attracted the attention of Fengdu County residents, although they had already entered the blackout period, this rare scene still attracted them to come out of the air raid shelter to appreciate.
Whenever they see a big plane being hit and catching fire, they applaud with joy. If it's a small plane that gets hit, they get extremely anxious. They hope to boost the morale of the Chinese air force through their own cheering.
It seemed that the ground support had been heard, and the Chinese Air Force was getting more and more courageous. The enemy planes were already unable to maintain their formation, and began to disperse and break through. The air guides also noticed this situation, and immediately guided each squadron to the best shooting position for the target. After dispersing, the Japanese attack aircraft's situation became even more severe, with groups of fighter planes suddenly attacking silently from their own blind spots, as if they had opened their eyes. Although some of the participating G3M2 land-based attack aircraft in this air raid were equipped with a large bubble-shaped machine gun turret (20mm) on the back and bubble-shaped machine gun turrets (7.7mm) on both sides of the fuselage, due to the limited shooting range of the belly-mounted machine guns, they could enter from below the enemy's tail at a negative altitude, avoiding the defensive firepower of the rear machine gun, and then shoot at the aircraft body or one side of the engine before making a half-roll escape.
This experience the Chinese Air Force has already mastered in dealing with the 96-style land-based attack aircraft in recent years, but unfortunately, every time the enemy plane comes to attack, it is a large formation, and can be arranged in two layers, with many machine guns covering each other. Now that they are scattered, the enemy planes are like meat on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered by the Chinese Air Force. In this way, the losses are smaller than before, while the results are much more significant than before.
The air was thoroughly confused, with Japanese planes fleeing everywhere, some Japanese troops could not hold on, and threw away the incendiary bombs they were carrying, preparing to escape back to the Hankou base. Most of these incendiary bombs fell into the Yangtze River, and some fell in the fields, igniting crops and shrubs, but the local garrison arrived quickly to put out the fire.
The air traffic control officers at the floating base were busy guiding the green dots on the screen to surround and annihilate the red dots. As time went by, more and more red dots disappeared from the map. Zheng Shaoyu was so excited that he clenched his fists, as if he were personally participating in the battle.
Under the cheers of the Fuzhou military and civilians, one after another 96-style attack aircraft was ignited or disintegrated in mid-air, or crashed to the ground. Unfortunately, a Chinese Air Force fighter had its wing knocked off and the pilot had to parachute out. But it didn't matter, the ground troops had already rushed to the landing point to prepare for rescue. Few Japanese pilots successfully parachuted out, all due to the incendiary bombs loaded on the planes, "those who play with fire will get burned". Even those pilots who successfully parachuted out, the Sichuan prisoner-of-war camp had already opened its doors wide for them. Therefore, this night was called "The Night of Firecrackers" in history, a joyful firework for the Chinese Air Force, but a hellish flame for the Japanese military attempting to launch a surprise attack.
The I-152 fighter planes withdrew from the battle after completing the encirclement and annihilation of the dispersed enemy aircraft due to their speed, while the two squadrons of I-16s continued to pursue the fleeing Japanese bombers under the leadership of Wang Yuanpo and Bragoveshchensky until they were chased out of Sichuan before returning due to insufficient fuel.
The airport staff had already set up a row of oil drums with burning fuel to illuminate the runway on both sides of Baishi Airport and Guangyangba Airport after receiving the return information. The bombers, reconnaissance planes, and trainers that had fled westward had taken off in advance, and people were anxiously waiting for their own fighter jets to land. It used to be difficult to distinguish directions and find airports in the dark night. However, with the guidance of the guide, both squadrons quickly found their respective airports. Except for one Soviet volunteer air force plane that failed to grasp the angle during landing, flipped over, and injured the pilot slightly, all the fighter jets landed smoothly.
The results of the battle were counted one by one on the floating base, Zheng Shaoyu held the form, excitedly trembling slightly. "Captain Gao, tonight we avenged you!" The Air Force's Four Heavenly Kings, Gao Zhihang, also the first captain of the Fourth Squadron, was ambushed and killed by the Japanese 96-type attack aircraft during a transfer.
"Shot down 30 enemy planes, of which 15 exploded in mid-air and 15 crashed or made forced landings. Many were damaged. Our army lost two I-152s. Congratulations, Zheng Zhongxiao, it seems you will receive another 'Revival Honor Medal'. What a great honor for our Fourth Squadron!" He Juncai exclaimed with excitement as he filled out the report form. "He Xinshang, immediately submit the battle report to the General Command and Military Commission."
"That's great, the Air Force should be rewarded!" Chiang Kai-shek exclaimed with joy after receiving the battle report. Who would want Japanese planes flying overhead and bombing wildly, especially when one is still the president?
The citizens of Chongqing were surprised to find that the air defense team hung up two red lanterns and quickly took them down, not a single one was left, and the air raid alarm sounded a long cancellation signal. They all inquired with the air defense team why the Japanese planes did not arrive as scheduled today, and after learning of the Chinese Air Force's great victory, they were delighted to applaud and cheer.
The next day, major newspapers such as Ta Kung Pao, Shen Bao and Xinhua Daily reported the "617 Great Victory" on their front pages in large spreads. The Chinese Air Force scored a 30:2 victory. Photos of Japanese bombers that crashed into fields still burning and captured Japanese pilots were published in the papers. People rushed to celebrate, and embassies of various countries in Chongqing as well as foreign media sent messages back to their own countries, reporting on this outcome, with many photos fully confirming the authenticity of the results. Xinhua Daily also published a special article "Salute to the Air Force", giving high praise to the Chinese Air Force's brave resistance.
"In this more than half a month of intense bombing by enemy planes, the citizens of Chongqing have been living in the midst of flames and smoke. Although the enemy's incendiary bombs have destroyed some of our compatriots' homes, turning them into ashes, the flames cannot burn away the anger in the hearts of the broad masses of citizens towards the Japanese bandits. Today, all the citizens of Chongqing, regardless of age or sex, are not in the least disheartened, but instead have increased their excitement and tense work spirit. What is the reason for this? We must express our gratitude to the heroes in the sky, who view death as a return home, and fight bravely against the enemy with a spirit of sacrifice. Therefore, we specially represent the citizens of Chongqing and the people of the whole nation who are resisting the war, to pay our highest respects to the brave warriors of the air force!"
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Chiang Kai-shek spent the whole morning presenting medals at Baishi Airport and Guangyangba Airport, encouraging soldiers, and was busy with joy. But on the other side of Hankou, it was a completely different scene.
"I am a criminal of the Empire, please allow me to commit seppuku!" said Rear Admiral Yamada Tadashi, commander of the naval joint air raid unit who had personally drafted the "101st Battle Plan" and whose hands were stained with the blood of the Sichuan people, over the phone to his superior officer General Inoue Seiichi. Last night only 40 bombers returned (two of which made emergency landings without making it back), and these bombers were all damaged, with several gunners killed in their seats. Although the First and Second Joint Aviation Squadrons still had spare planes to make up for the loss of 32 aircraft, after all, the Empire's resources are precious. Originally, the Japanese Navy and Army were secretly competing with each other, now the Army has found a good excuse to attack the Navy, and Tojo Hideki and Kinoshita must be waiting to see our joke.
"Hakka, this is just a small setback, Mountain mouth heard less will, please you to muster the courage. If last night's army aviation corps launched an attack according to our agreement, the losses would not be so great." General Inoue Shigeyoshi had obviously seen various unfavorable photos in the newspaper, but he wanted to protect his fellow countrymen. "You investigate the reasons for the two Imperial bombers being ambushed, and if necessary, mobilize spies in Chongqing."
"Alright!" Yamaguchi nodded, his legs together in attention. "Since the air defense of Chongqing is so tight, I'll attack Chengdu and other places instead, and see how many places those few Soviet planes of the Chinese Air Force can protect." Yamaguchi said fiercely, ignoring the investigation task assigned by his superior, subconsciously thinking it was a 'blind cat bumping into a dead mouse'. "However, the spies around the airport do need to be cleaned up. Once that's done, it'll be the day of destruction for the Chinese Air Force!"
