Chapter 30: 30, Ground War Erupts, Aerial Machine Gunners In Position
Nanjing Airport.
Since the last air combat, Fang Wen’s relationship with those pilots from the Guangdong Air Force has improved a lot.
These days, although there were no flight missions, everyone would get together, exchanging some experiences and skills in flight with each other.
Through communicating with them, Fang Wen benefited greatly and also shared some of his own experiences.
The experiences he summarized through mechanical perception, although many were only suitable for himself, could still inspire others.
It was exactly like this that both sides benefited.
The only pity was that he couldn’t pilot the K-47 fighter jet; after all, he was a civil aviation pilot, not part of the Guangdong Air Force, so no matter how good the relationship was, it was impossible to pilot a military aircraft.
And in idle time, everyone talked more about the warfare in Shanghai.
As soldiers, they were very sensitive to this and often expressed various opinions.
At such times, Fang Wen would act as a listener, not expressing opinions, quietly listening.
“The warships on the river surface have decreased, indicating that our bombing has been effective. If we continue bombing, it will create even greater pressure.”
“You are a soldier, not a student full of emotions. I ask you, in the current situation, how do you carry out bombing?”
“Yeah. They installed anti-aircraft machine guns on the warships, with eight to ten airplanes cruising in the air every hour, already forming a tight defensive formation. Once our fighter jets enter Shanghai, they will face crossfire from air and ground. In a situation where numbers and military equipment are inferior, is it just going to send them to their deaths?”
The aviation captain spoke up to stop the argument.
“Everyone stop talking. Last time we caught them off guard, but now the opponent is alert, and any air raid will be extremely dangerous.”
Fang Wen also agreed with the aviation captain’s words in his heart. War ultimately compares strength; the weaker side wanting to win can only persist, and this persistence will last a long time, long enough to make some people collapse.
He could see the future and wanted to contribute to the War of Resistance, but not by doing foolish things when the powerful enemy was prepared.
The argument ended there.
But the conversation continued, and the pilots’ topic shifted to the overall situation.
They took out newspapers transported from Shanghai, pointing to the comments on them and discussing.
“Look, the newspaper says the battle situation has changed, but the huge military gap between the two sides cannot be changed. Relying on superiority at sea and in the air, the Japanese Army still holds the upper hand. But they have no more ground troops participating in the attack, which is their biggest shortcoming.”
“According to the analysis above, this military action is just a cover-up to alleviate the pressure from the Northeast incident.”
“What they want is to buy time, and after consolidating the results in the Northeast, they will free up hands to enter the pass and attack the Central Plains.”
This kind of comment obviously received agreement from many people; even many pilots from the aviation team thought so.
Regarding this, Fang Wen had a different view.
In his impression, the Japanese Army was not monolithic; the Army and Navy had long had differences.
The Army easily obtained the Northeast because of the non-resistance movement.
How could the Navy show weakness.
In other words, if the Japanese Navy didn’t get the benefits it wanted, it would be suppressed by the Army in the cabinet. Therefore, this war would definitely continue, but the outcome was a game at the top level.
With the precedent of selling out the Northeast, Shanghai probably wouldn’t fare much better.
But before that, regardless, a larger-scale war would be fought.
Just as Fang Wen thought, air combat only splashed small ripples in the long river of history and couldn’t change the big direction.
The war continued until mid-February, when the 19th Route Army welcomed reinforcements; the currently most elite New 5th Army arrived in Shanghai.
In the following days, no large-scale firepower exchanges occurred.
Until the twentieth.
Alarm sounds echoed through the airport, and pilots from the three aviation teams gathered outside the airport.
Fang Wen ran out from the dormitory and heard the Guangdong Air Force captain giving a speech.
“Currently, the Japanese Army has launched a fierce offensive. Intense combat is occurring in Jiangwan and Miaohang, with large numbers of Japanese Army attacking toward the north and south sides simultaneously, attempting to connect Wusong and Zhabei. Our unit has received orders to air raid their ground troops.”
Immediately, the aviation team pilots boarded fighter jets one after another and flew into the sky.
Fang Wen watched the airplanes flying away in the distance, blessing them in his heart. These people would face several times the number of enemies; the journey was full of danger, hoping they could return safely.
This wait lasted more than three hours.
Airplanes returned to base one after another in the sky.
Only five airplanes from the Guangdong Air Force returned.
Fang Wen waited for the pilots to land and asked with concern, “How’s the situation?”
“Chen Shou Xian’s airplane fuel tank was hit and caught fire.”
The brief words conveyed the severity that only pilots would understand; the fuel tank was the most dangerous position on the airplane. Whether it was piercing the fuel tank causing fuel leakage or the fuel in the tank exploding, it was fatal to the airplane.
Fang Wen was saddened; an airplane fuel tank exploding meant the pilot and gunner were gone just like that.
But the tragedy didn’t stop there. Xie Bengui, the aviation team gunner who had once carried out an aerial bombing mission with him, was also carried out from the rear pilot seat.
He, covered in blood, had already fallen into a coma, and it was unknown if he could be saved.
Fang Wen watched Xie Bengui being taken away from the airport in a military vehicle, blessing him.
At that moment, his shoulder was patted by someone.
“Fang Wen, we have another air raid mission this afternoon, but we’re short one gunner. Can you do it?”
Fang Wen was stunned.
The K-47 fighter jet was a two-seater fighter and ground attack aircraft; the front pilot seat was for the pilot, and the rear pilot seat was for the gunner.
The gunner had to control two 7.92 mm caliber air-cooled MG08 heavy machine guns at the nose and tail, and also complete the deployment of two 50 kg bombs mounted under the fighter jet wings.
It could be said that without a gunner, the K-47 fighter jet would lose its attack capability.
The aviation captain asking him to replace Xie Bengui’s position was a helpless move; the only backup gunner had been injured and hospitalized during training the day before yesterday, and there were no substitutes left.
If Fang Wen didn’t agree, this K-47 fighter jet wouldn’t be able to carry out the afternoon air raid mission.
Should he go or not?
Fang Wen’s heart raced, thinking it over.
As a gunner, he wouldn’t be able to pilot the airplane, meaning handing his life over to the pilot in front.
This was extremely dangerous behavior.
He looked at that pilot with a face full of sadness. Xie Bengui had mentioned this partner, a Guangzhou native, son of a wealthy family, but very heroic in the air, the best pilot in the aviation team.
“Captain, can I talk to him?” Fang Wen asked.
“Alright, go talk to him.” The captain nodded.
Fang Wen walked over.
“Shao Sishen, the captain said for this afternoon’s flight, I’ll partner with you.”
“You’ll be my gunner?” Shao Sishen looked at Fang Wen in surprise.
“Yes. You also know I have some small talents in the air. If during piloting, I make some suggestions, can you accept them?” Fang Wen looked at the other very seriously; he needed a definite answer before taking this risk.
Shao Sishen hesitated. “I’ve heard Xie Bengui talk about you, and we’ve exchanged ideas. You do have some unique points. If those suggestions can save our lives, of course I’ll listen.”
“Good then. I need to familiarize myself with the gunner’s position.”
Fang Wen and Shao Sishen established a cooperative relationship, then boarded the fighter jet, and the two began communicating.
“There are two triggers here, one for the front machine gun and one for the rear machine gun. The two pull rings on the left are the bomb switches. By the way, Fang Wen, did you learn air combat at Nanyuan Aviation?”
“I did. There used to be a machine gun class specifically training gunners, but our class became comprehensive.”
“Good that you have experience; it was me who worried. You’re an air hero. Hope we cooperate well and give the Japanese a lesson.”
“No problem.”
Fang Wen suddenly felt his blood boiling.
Two airborne heavy machine guns, plus two bombs—what kind of battle results could they achieve in the afternoon’s action?
