Chapter 23: Brilliant Performance (Vote and Collect)

  ument.write(

  Ruo He took Sun Xiang onto the train heading to the Spanish border, most of whom were volunteers from the Third International Organization. After a day, the train stopped at Andorra, a fascist border city in France. With the assistance of the Spanish government army, this small team of only 400 people transferred to the train heading to Madrid, and along the way, they heard planes flying overhead from time to time, and the atmosphere of war weighed on Sun Xiang's heart for the first time.

  This small group was considered the vanguard of the International Brigades, and although they did not have a formal organization, Sun Xiang still received as much preferential treatment as possible because he was a genuine US Army Air Forces lieutenant, this kind of flying talent being extremely scarce in Spain at that time, with the early Spanish Republican military basically having no pilots of their own, with Soviet pilots flying the planes.

  The main fighter aircraft used by the Francoist rebels and German and Italian intervention forces during the war was the Fiat CR.32, whose main features were: speed 360 km/h (224 mph), service ceiling 7,540 m (24,770 ft) and range 796 km (495 mi). The armament consisted of two 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns. The Republican air force was mainly equipped with Soviet planes, mainly the Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighters.

  This Soviet aircraft design was more advanced, incorporating features such as cantilever wings and retractable landing gear, and was 62.1 mph (100 km/h) faster than the CR.32. However, the Italian fighter had better maneuverability, a faster dive speed and smaller turning radius. The CR.32's two 12.7 mm machine guns also outranged the I-16's four 7.62 mm machine guns. This allowed the CR.32 pilots to choose whether or not to engage in combat.

  Sun Xiang was frustrated with the situation all the way, and before the new plane arrived, he could only use the I-15 or I-16 for now. The train arrived in Madrid, and the station was empty and cold, where you couldn't see crowds of people welcoming heroes and flowers, but these team members didn't care about these things, and soon a Republican army officer came to pick them up. After Sun Xiang revealed his identity, he parted ways with this advance team, and his destination was Madrid Airport.

  The officers of the Spanish Republican Army enthusiastically introduced some recent battles, and the rebel army's advance was very rapid. The cities of Badajoz, Cáceres, Talavera, Toledo, etc., were successively occupied by the rebels, and now they have connected the two controlled areas in the south and north, with their target directly pointing to Madrid.

  The situation is not optimistic, Sun Xiang's lightly equipped troops entered Madrid Airport, the airport was very busy with planes taking off and landing from time to time. The highest commander in charge of this base was a Spanish old officer named Alberto Gómez who had participated in World War I.

  For Sun Xiang's arrival, this stubborn old military officer showed great enthusiasm. Now the Republican Army is completely suppressed by the rebel CR·32 (Italy) and BF-109 (Germany) in the air force, plus the shortage of pilots in the Republican Army, so Sun Xiang, a fighter ace, actually won the reception of the base's highest commander.

  Sun Xiang asked Old Gomes: "Sir! How many planes are there in the base now?"

  "Gomez replied: 'Yeah... now the I-15 has 19 planes, the I-16 has 21 planes, and the rest are some old-fashioned fighter planes from World War I.'"

  Xun Xiang continued: "My partner in the US will be shipping over a new fighter jet to complement the base's combat operations after some time, but before that I need a fighter jet of my own, can you do it?"

  Gomez: "No problem at all, yesterday a Soviet pilot was seriously injured in combat, and I was worried that there wouldn't be a skilled enough pilot to fly it. From today on, the No. 10 I-16 fighter is yours, good luck kid!" This was a simple meeting, but it played a crucial role! Gomez returned to the control tower, and Sun Xiang didn't hesitate before starting his maiden flight in Spain. He found the No. 10 fighter, looked at the big-headed guy with a propeller in front of him, and couldn't help but smile wryly. The twin-bladed propeller and powerful engine made Sun Xiang feel resigned to his fate.

  The ground crew filled up the oil for Sun Xiang, this Soviet young man obviously did not think that an Asian from the United States could control this new aircraft representing the highest technology of the Soviet Union, but two minutes later he stared with wide eyes...

  Sun Xiang sat in the plane, put on his helmet and fastened his seatbelt. He carefully examined the aircraft's control panel and found that it was much simpler than the MiG fighter jets of later generations. Five minutes later, the I-16 took off into the sky. After an initial period of familiarization and adjustment, this I-16 had already met general combat requirements.

  In the five months in the United States, Sun Xiang has accumulated more than 700 hours of flight experience on World War II aircraft. Now he is familiar with piston fighters like his own arm. The performance of I-16 can only be considered average among piston fighters in 1936, and for Sun Xiang, it took only 25 minutes to achieve what Soviet pilots could do in two or three days.

  The I-16 aircraft in Sun Xiang's hands was like a soaring war eagle, Sun Xiang pushed the plane to its limits, constantly performing some unconventional actions. The plane flew in the sky, making an "8" shape, rolling and diving. Sun Xiang squeezed out almost all of the I-16's performance. All the personnel on the ground were stunned, including the ground crew, Soviet pilots, passing Republican soldiers, and even the airport control tower. Everyone was shocked by Sun Xiang's flying skills. Some senior pilots could also perform these actions, but they would never be as effortless as Sun Xiang's, and most importantly: this was Sun Xiang's first time in contact with the I-16 fighter plane! Some Soviet pilots who knew the inside story cried out to God, this was almost an impossible task!!!

  Afterwards, Sun Xiang quickly drew close to these Soviet pilots. It can be seen that these Soviet youngsters sincerely hoped to have a flying ace like Sun Xiang fight alongside them. After having lunch with these Soviet pilots, the base now has 40 aircraft, two I-15s were damaged and are being repaired, which means Madrid airport only has 38 aircraft available for takeoff against the enemy. Most of the pilots are Soviets, with only one Spaniard (Havie), one Pole (Ponorski), plus Sun Xiang, and a few British pilots.

  The rebel army gave Sun Xiang a whole day to prepare, and on the second day, October 17, 1936, Sun Xiang welcomed his first aerial battle in Madrid, Spain.

  October 17, 1936, at 7:43 am, Sun Xiang took off in the midst of a busy base for his first patrol. A total of eight aircraft were divided into two small teams, with one team responsible for the northeast and the other for the southwest. Sun Xiang's No. 10 machine was assigned to the second team. The weather that morning was exceptionally good, which did not favor a surprise attack, as enemy planes could be seen from a great distance, so everyone was very relaxed. The wireless radio on the plane transmitted the voice of his comrade:

  "Good morning, comrades! Slept well last night, didn't you?" It was the voice of his comrade Ponovsky.

  "Haha, yeah I still dream about my honey, haha~ American nights can't compare to Spanish nights in terms of romance?" - Little Havi from Spain.

  "Captain Turyaev Yevgeny: "Oh! What the devil, why is there a scoundrel like you in my squad? Ah! Bullfighter?"

  "Oh no! Captain, you can't criticize this honest Spanish bullfighter like that! His spear is now stuck in the bull's body, he doesn't have any extra weapons to deal with the bull!"

  "Huh? Hahaha..."

  Four planes flew southwest for 18 minutes... Three CR-32s appeared in the four men's line of sight.

  "Attention all units! Enemy patrol aircraft appeared at 12 o'clock direction, climb quickly!"

  "Got it!" "Got it!" "Got it!"

  Four planes quickly climbed up, and the speed of 460MK per hour also made the I-16 plane have an advantage in air control. It can be seen that the pilots sent by the Soviet Union are all old hands. Except for the Spanish kid's plane, which is slightly less agile, the other three planes launched an attack on the enemy plane at the first time. However, due to the weak firepower, unless a vital part was hit, it would not cause much damage to the opponent's plane.

  The enemy pilot was Italian, and the opponent's CR.32 flew much slower than the I-16. As soon as they made contact, Sun Xiang clearly felt that the opponent's plane was much more agile than his own. The first wave of attack did not cause significant damage to the opponent, and then the four men fought separately, with the team leader dealing with one plane, Sun Xiang fighting alone against one plane, and the Spanish kid Havi and another Soviet youngster named Ponorsky fighting against one plane.

  Sun Xiang's plane was up against a CR.32, this insect-like aircraft gave Sun Xiang a lot of pressure, two consecutive turns were tightly followed by his opponent, and several times he narrowly escaped being hit in the wing, Sun Xiang was extremely frustrated!! Sun Xiang's opponent was called Joaquín García Morato, a Spaniard, who later became the ace pilot of the Spanish Nationalist Air Force, with rich experience and excellent flying skills. Many pilots had already joined the first and second fighter squadrons of the rebel forces in Spain. With the support of Italy and Germany, planes were constantly being replenished into the civil war.

  Sun Xiang had no good way to deal with the plane behind him, so he simply ignored it and took advantage of the I-16's speed being faster than his opponent. Sun Xiang dropped his own opponent and quickly attacked the enemy plane of the squadron leader. The two planes' firepower crossed, focusing on attacking this CR.32. The plane continuously spat out flames, and the 8 7.62mm machine guns from the two planes immediately set the enemy plane on fire and exploded it. The remaining enemy planes saw that things were not going well and immediately retreated.

  "Hah! Cowards! The bunch of rebels have fled, haha!" Harvey's voice was still full of vitality.

  "Alright, guys, let's continue our patrol and head in the direction of 7 o'clock!"

  Starting point. Welcome, book lovers! The latest, fastest and hottest serialized works are all on the starting point of original works!