Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 165: Dangshan Air Battle (Part )
The other side of the sky.

The Kato combat team is patrolling the battlefield.

"well!"

Kato Ken'o turned his head and looked at the ground. An aerial bomb fell to the ground, the shock wave rolled over the surface, and a heavy machine gun point suddenly stopped firing.

Then he pulled the operating lever and the plane quickly climbed to a high altitude.

"Om-!"

The engine power was raised to the maximum, the fuselage was shaking violently, and the pointer on the instrument panel was jumping wildly on the edge of the limit.

Kato Ken'o looked back and saw an anti-aircraft machine gun aiming at him, firing bullets madly, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Stupid Chinamen!"

"ignorance!"

Anti-aircraft machine guns must be used intensively to achieve maximum effect.

A machine gun acting alone is unlikely to cause effective damage to a fighter plane, and it will also expose itself and bring about fatal disaster.

"There are two more."

Kato Ken'o muttered to himself, his eyes frequently scanning downwards, as if he was looking for a target point.

Suddenly, the fighter plane to his upper left shook, interrupting his bombing.

"Enemy plane!" Kato Ken'o reacted immediately.

The action just now was a signal that an enemy aircraft had been discovered.

Thinking of this, he quickly climbed to a higher altitude, constantly turning the joystick to pass the message to other fighter planes.

The basic ability of a pilot is to keep his eyes and ears open. In addition to locking onto ground targets, he must also always pay attention to the movements of the lead aircraft so as to receive tactical signals in a timely manner.

Thirty-six Type 95 aircraft increased their altitude and formed a formation to engage the enemy.

Kato Ken'o looked to both sides and made gestures.

"One squadron attacks!"

The surrounding planes understood instantly, broke away from the main fleet, and flew towards the horizon.

Kato Ken's son also followed.

He can't wait any longer!
The person who carried out the air raid on Luoyang some time ago and dared to issue a declaration of war to the Chinese Air Force must be no ordinary person.

Since the war began, there have been more and more stars on the plane to mark the results of the war. As of now, there are already eight stars.

Eight Chinese fighter planes were shot down!
In addition to his excellent skills, he is tactically cunning and is best at deception and ambush. He dares to fight for his life in battle and is as fearless as a madman.

In the Japanese Army Aviation, he enjoys the reputation of "King of Expulsion".

After the first squadron broke away, the remaining second and third squadrons were also not idle. They continued to increase their altitude, hiding in the clouds, and seizing an advantageous position in the battle.

This is a tactic commonly used by Kato's team.

First show weakness to the enemy, then quickly retreat after a brief contact, lure the enemy into the ambush zone, surround and annihilate them.

------

Almost at the same time, the Third Squadron also discovered Japanese planes.

Luo Yingde quickly swung the fuselage to warn the friendly plane nearby.

The 12rd Squadron has a similar number of aircraft to the Kato Squadron, and is composed of three fighter squadrons, each with a total of aircraft.

Luo Yingde turned his head, looked at his wingman, and made an [attack] gesture.

In the "two-plane formation" tactics, the lead plane refers to the leader plane, which is responsible for the main attack or command and is usually flown by an experienced pilot.

The performance requirements for fighter jets are also very high.

The wingman is a support aircraft, located behind or below the lead aircraft. It is responsible for cover, vigilance and finishing off the attack. It keeps a close eye on the leader's blind spot, guards against sneak attacks by enemy aircraft, and takes over the attack role when necessary.

After receiving the hand signal, the wingman responded by slightly shaking his body.

Luo Yingde moved the joystick, and the I-16's fuselage tilted and shifted to the left, flying out of the formation with its wingman.

There were other "double crews" following behind them.

The humming sound of the propellers was ringing in my ears, and even with a helmet and sound-silencing equipment, I couldn't completely block it out.

Luo Yingde squinted his eyes and looked up into the distance.

The figures of Japanese fighter planes gradually became larger, a war was imminent, and tensions between the two sides reached an extreme.

"one two three four"

Luo Yingde silently recited the numbers in his mind and saw through Kato Ken's trick at a glance.

During this period of time, the 3rd Squadron and the Kato Squadron have engaged in many air battles, with both sides winning and losing, and have already figured out the details clearly.

"There really is no trick at all!" Luo Yingde shook his head and pushed the joystick forward.

The I-16 fighter plane quickly increased its speed and suddenly rushed out.

The wingman below followed closely behind.

Amidst the screams, thirty-six fighter planes formed a fan-shaped attack and swooped down on the oncoming Japanese planes.

The two sides encountered each other!
Luo Yingde looked up and down and was the first to spot the Type 95 fighter plane painted with "eight stars".

"Da da da--!"

Finding the right moment, he pressed the small red dot on the joystick, and four 7.62mm coaxial machine guns opened fire, sweeping towards the target intensively.

In the cockpit.

Looking at the I-16 fighter jet opposite, Kato Ken'o grinned, pulled the joystick, and climbed quickly upwards.

The Type 95 fighter has thin armor but excellent maneuverability.

Weighing only 1385 kg, the army model is equipped with a water-cooled V12 engine with a maximum power of 850 horsepower.

Climb rate 1000 m/min.

As a biplane, its speed was comparable to that of the monoplane I-16.

Seeing that the bullet missed, Luo Yingde made up his mind and immediately increased the altitude. The fuselage flipped in the air and closely followed Kato Ken's back.

The wingman below also wanted to help, so he pushed the joystick to the bottom and roared the engine to the extreme, but he found that he could not catch up with the two men no matter what.

"Damn it!"

The pilot was extremely anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only watch the two planes getting farther and farther away from him.

"Ding Ding Ding!"

During the pursuit, we suddenly heard sounds coming from the wings on both sides.

The pilot turned his head sharply and found several bullet holes on the lower left wing.

"We're being harassed by the devils!"

The pilot's heart was filled with alarm. He looked at the lead plane moving farther and farther away in front of him, made two or three decisions in his mind, and immediately dived down.

The Japanese planes behind were chasing relentlessly, and more bullet holes appeared on both sides of the wings.

Compared with Kato's squadron, the pilots of the 3rd Squadron were extremely inexperienced and were so flustered that they didn't know what to do.

crucial moment.

An I-16 fighter jet appeared from the front left, with a wingman following behind it.

"It's Lieutenant Liang!"

【Ⅲ-24】The pilot seemed to have seen a savior and turned around to meet it.

Inside the fighter plane number [Ⅲ-11].

Liang Zhihang looked up and instantly understood. He climbed up the plane and dodged [Ⅲ-24] sideways.

After adjusting the angle, press the fire button.

"Da da da--!"

Four 7.62mm coaxial machine guns opened fire, and dense bullets swept towards the Japanese planes.

The Soviet-made "ShKAS" 7.62mm aviation machine gun has a muzzle velocity of 800m/s and a theoretical firing rate of up to 1800 rounds per minute.

Let’s look at the Type 95 fighter.

It was only equipped with two Type 550 heavy machine guns with a theoretical firing rate of 16 rounds per minute, and its firepower was far inferior to that of the I-.

Liang Zhihang released the button and subconsciously swung the fuselage to the left.

"Ding ding ding——!"

There was a sound of bullets coming from the right wing, with several bullet holes densely distributed at the tip.

Liang Zhihang breathed a sigh of relief.

The vulnerable parts of a fighter jet are the belly. A small number of bullet hits on the wings and tail will not affect normal flight.

The Japanese planes on the opposite side were not so lucky.

In just one or two seconds, the four heavy machine guns fired at least two hundred bullets.

The Japanese pilot wanted to dodge, but was a step too slow. The bullet hit the belly of the plane, and the fragile aluminum skin was torn apart instantly. Thick smoke and flames gushed out, and the entire plane completely lost balance.

The pilot frantically pulled the joystick to try to turn around, but the fuselage refused to obey and kept flipping in the air, rushing diagonally towards the ground. Three thousand yards.
Two thousand yards.
One thousand yards
The Japanese pilot's face was distorted. He tried every possible way in more than ten seconds, but still failed to make a successful correction.

"boom--!"

A ball of brilliant sparks rose up, and the Type 95 fighter plane rolled and fell into the dense forest.

Looking at the falling Japanese fighter plane, Liang Zhihang grinned:
"the fourth!"

Then he took out a pen and drew a star on the seat.

This symbolizes his life's work - a total of four Japanese planes shot down since the war began.

On the battlefield.

The Japanese army had no intention of fighting, and after seeing their own losses, they immediately changed direction and tried to lure the Third Squadron into an ambush area.

Luo Yingde was not a fool. Seeing that he could not catch up with Kato Ken'o in a short time, he gave up the idea.

After finding his wingman, he immediately returned to the fleet formation.

"These little Japanese are really fucking difficult to deal with!" Luo Yingde looked to both sides and muttered.

The encounter was just an appetizer. The real battle would have to wait for the Japanese troops hidden in the clouds to show up.

【Chase! 】

Luo Yingde shook the joystick and the fuselage made corresponding movements.

The first and second squadrons reorganized their formation, and 24 fighter planes chased in the direction of the Japanese escape.

The three battalions circled in place, waiting for the best opportunity to fight.

This set of tactics was planned in advance before takeoff. Once in the air, all communication between pilots was completely cut off.

It is impossible to execute such a rigorous operation simply by guessing and improvising.

Kato Ken'o looked behind him and saw the Chinese Air Force catching up with him, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Stupid Chinese, they don't use their brains when fighting."

"Kawahara-kun, it's up to you from now on."

Kato Ken'o suppressed his smile, turned around and looked serious.

Although he was confident in his tactics, it did not guarantee ultimate victory.

He had fought against the Third Squadron many times and had a general understanding of the strength of this aviation brigade. It was a little too early to celebrate the victory now.

Among the clouds.

24 Japanese planes that had been ambushed in advance swooped out.

Bit the tail of the third brigade!
"Enemy attack!"

The pilot in the cockpit of the I-15 was startled and reacted subconsciously.

Liang Zhihang was guarding the rear and was the first to rush forward when he saw the sudden approaching Japanese planes.

"Da da da--!"

Dozens of planes were tangled in the sky, bullets were flying, and planes were crashing from time to time.

Most of them were Japanese Type 95 fighter planes.

When the two sides came into close combat, the advantages of the "two-plane formation" tactics of the Third Squadron began to emerge.

The high maneuverability of the Type 95 fighter plane gradually made it unable to cope with this level of combat.

No matter where they climbed, they would be strafed by wingmen.

The fragile armor was pierced by 7.62mm bullets. The Japanese pilots wanted to fight back, but the firepower of the two machine guns was too poor to defeat the I-15 at all.

In the cockpit.

Kato Takeo completely lost his composure and two I-16 fighter jets surrounded him.

One biplane versus two monoplanes.

Even though he has rich combat experience, it is of no avail.

He could only keep rolling and trying his best to avoid the dense fire network.

"idiot!"

"Damn you Soviets, the Empire will take care of you sooner or later!"

Kato Ken'o ran away desperately while cursing.

"We didn't lose to the Chinese, we lost to the Soviets!"

Ever since the two flying squadrons hiding deep in the clouds were discovered by the enemy, the battlefield situation has become passive. Up to now, there is almost no possibility of a comeback.

"idiot!"

The more Kato Ken'eji thought about it, the angrier he became.

Thick black smoke was gushing out of the engine of a Type 95 fighter plane. The plane was swaying from side to side in the air, but it was still difficult to change its downward posture.

Finally, after struggling for a few seconds, the pilot decisively parachuted and temporarily saved his life.

"boom--!"

The plane hit the ground hard, causing a violent explosion that looked to be as powerful as a 105mm grenade.

【retreat!】

Kato Ken'o came to his senses and stopped fighting. He swayed the fuselage and sent a signal.

Without caring whether his teammates saw it or not, he straightened the fuselage and turned around and left, being the first to withdraw from the battlefield.

Living is the most important thing!
After returning, add a "1" before the battle report to fool your superiors' questioning.

Maybe you can even win an award.

Although this damaged the reputation of the imperial warriors, he did it many times behind the scenes.

------

Zhao Fangyuan stood on a high place, holding a telescope, constantly adjusting the magnification, trying to see clearly the battle in the sky.

"Sir, these planes are too high, we can't see anything!"

Wang Feng stood aside with a cold expression and ignored Zhao Fangyuan.

On the surface, he was observing through a telescope, but in fact his consciousness had already switched to a bird's-eye view.

"7 enemy planes destroyed, 5 of our own lost."

"That's a good fight!"

The battle over Dangshan was coming to an end. The Japanese fighter squadrons took their positions in a hurry, and the Third Squadron, like a medieval knight who had won a duel, circled several times before returning to the airport.

Seeing that Wang Feng did not respond, Zhao Fangyuan shut up and said no more. He lowered his head and fiddled with the telescope.

"That shouldn't be the case. It's already at the maximum magnification."

Victories in land battles were common and nothing to brag about.

But air combat is different. Up to now, Zhao Fangyuan has only seen his own fighter jets a few times.

Japanese fighter planes are seen every day.

Whenever the army suffers a setback in combat, they call for air force support.

It's so annoying!

Wang Feng came back to his senses: "Okay, the battle up there is over."

Zhao Fangyuan immediately came over and asked, "Sir, did you see it? How was the fight? Did you win?"

Wang Feng nodded: "We did win, but several pilots opened the cabin and parachuted into the Japanese-occupied area."

Zhao Fangyuan was anxious: "Should we send troops to rescue them?"

Wang Feng: "We must rescue them. No matter what, our army will not sit idly by."

"Send a telegram to the infiltration unit, and immediately search for our pilots in the Japanese-occupied area. Make sure their personal safety is guaranteed!"

Zhao Fangyuan saluted: "Yes!"

Then he turned and left in a hurry.

Wang Feng stood alone on the high ground, with evil thoughts in his mind.

"Central Air Force Pilot"

He had done this before, and had done it many times to recruit deserters along the way, but this was the first time he had recruited air force pilots.

If it was Chiang Kai-shek’s air force, they would just rob it.

It's not like I haven't done something similar before.

Besides, if we can win this battle, the Chongqing government cannot be blamed.

But most of these pilots were from Guangxi and had close ties with Li Zongren.

Now I still owe someone a favor, and it is not the right way to take it by force.

(End of this chapter)