Chapter 25: 25, High-altitude Precision Bombing Plan, Action Training
Right in Fang Wen’s dormitory, two military officers sat on stools, Fang Wen sat on the bed, while Howard and Pan Jiafeng temporarily left the room and waited outside.
The questioning began.
The officer on the left took out paper and pen to prepare for recording, and the officer on the right spoke up to ask: “Please state your identity.”
“Fang Wen, special flight commissioner appointed by the Ministry of Communications for China Airlines, graduated from Nanyuan Aviation School.”
“Was the night flight incident last night done by you?”
“Yes.”
The officer confirmed again: “I’m talking about the airplane that flew over SH city around midnight last night dropping leaflets—was that the one you were driving? If so, please explain the situation.”
“Last night, I flew a China Airlines Detroit-type aircraft, code name White Clouds No. 3, departing at 10 p.m., carrying mechanic Howard and patriotic student Pan Jiafeng on board, heading together to Shanghai. During the flight, we followed the Huangpu River to Wusongkou, went out to sea, mapped the Japanese Army warship locations in Shanghai, then dropped leaflets over the SH urban area, and returned at 2 a.m.”
Fang Wen explained the situation in detail from beginning to end.
The two officers exchanged glances, looking astonished.
They then asked: “Can you really fly at night? How did you do it?”
“Mainly because I’m familiar with the Shanghai terrain. I flew over Shanghai multiple times in the air last year, plus navigation by stars and some personal talent.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely talent.” The officer replied enviously. “Give me the warship location map. Your situation still needs verification, but don’t worry, your patriotic act won’t be a problem.”
Immediately, the two officers stood up and left.
Howard and Pan Jiafeng hurried into the room, asking with concern what had happened.
As for this, Fang Wen didn’t know what to say.
But the matter wasn’t over yet.
Just half a day later, the two officers came to the hangar again and asked to talk with Fang Wen once more.
“Fang Wen, we need to talk again.”
Fang Wen, who was inspecting under the fighter jet, crawled out and followed the two to the rest room.
“Last night’s matter was just like that—what more is there to talk about?”
“The warship location map is very important to us. To confirm its authenticity, we contacted the 19th Route Army in Shanghai, and part of the location map’s accuracy has been verified. At the same time, we learned from other sources that you flew a long-haul transport aircraft to the Northeast in October last year, and it was also a night flight.”
“Yes, but that time because I wasn’t familiar with the terrain, I prepared in advance and was equipped with a night navigator,” Fang Wen replied.
“We also learned about another thing: on your return flight, you commanded the dropping of a 100-liter aviation fuel barrel, which caused three Japanese Army military vehicles garrisoned in Shenyang to explode in flames, killing or injuring more than thirty people.”
“Yes, at that time I saw that Japanese Army convoy preparing a flanking maneuver, so without much thought, I gave it a try,” Fang Wen replied.
“In a similar situation, but with the ground target changed to a ship at sea, are you confident you can hit it?”
“Maybe I can hit it, but I dare not guarantee it.”
Fang Wen’s words energized the two officers.
“We think you have special talent in aviation bombing. If this action is confirmed, we happen to need an airplane driver like you. Are you willing?”
“What action?” Fang Wen felt pleasantly surprised inside, sensing that what he did last night seemed to have paid off.
“It’s not finalized yet, but we can discuss precision bombing now.”
As the officer spoke, he took out paper and pen and roughly drew some line segments and dots.
“This is the warship location map you brought back last night. Suppose we want to put pressure on the Japanese Army—the only way is to sink their warships. But from your warship location map, the enemy main ships are strictly protected in the rear, and there are a large number of aircraft in the air occupying air superiority, so we can’t bomb them at all. We can only target the warships between the Huangpu River and Wusongkou.”
The other officer added: “There’s also a problem: we don’t have bombs that can destroy large warships. The two 50-kilogram aircraft bombs on military aircraft are for ground troops and can’t penetrate warship armor. Therefore, we collected some shells and grenades to make cluster bombs. But we only have one chance, and the plan is simple: our Guangdong Air Force’s seven fighter jets will attract the enemy aircraft, while you fly the Rhein NYP-2 at 5000 meters altitude and drop the cluster bombs with delay fuses onto the warships.”
What boldness!
Without large aerial bombs and bombers, they came up with this method.
It truly fit that saying: war has no rules; any means that can defeat the enemy is the rule.
Fang Wen looked at the two; theoretically, they were fearless, using seven aircraft to attract several times more enemies, all for one chance of success.
Since they could do it, what couldn’t he?
“I’m in.”
Fang Wen reached out and shook hands with the two officers.
The current Republic of China Government was chaotic internally, with the north still fighting over territory in the Central Plains, the Northeast lost, and even Guangdong in the south not aligned with the Central Army.
The Guangdong Air Force had seven aircraft arrive one after another, coming under the banner of protecting Shanghai.
The plan they proposed, though somewhat unusual, was approved given their patriotic heart.
February 1st.
The Rhein NYP-2 flew in from Guangzhou.
According to the plan, it would load bombs and take action in 2 days.
On one side, the Jinling military factory was urgently developing cluster bombs with delay fuses.
On the other side, Fang Wen was also racing against time to practice high-altitude bombing.
He thought about how to complete the training in these two days and achieve the effect.
He needed a bomb substitute; the airport garrison specially brought several large stones of similar weight.
With simulated bombs, he still needed personnel to carry out the on-site bombing drop task—at least three people to activate the bombs in time and push them out the hatch.
Howard counted as one, and Pan Jiafeng, still at the airport, strongly requested to join and was surprisingly approved.
The last one was the machine gunner from the Guangdong Air Force.
Then, Fang Wen flew the Rhein NYP-2, carrying the bombs and three members, to 5000 meters altitude.
“Pay attention below; that abandoned large ship on the river surface is the simulated warship target,” he said to the three members behind him.
Pan Jiafeng boldly opened the window and stuck his head out to look below.
“It’s so small. How do you aim and hit it?”
Not just him; the other two thought the same.
From 5000 meters altitude, the riverside large ship simulating the warship looked as big as a finger.
To hit the target, he had to consider wind speed, air resistance, flight path vectors, and more.
In reality, the hit rate wasn’t high.
But if he could really do it, he would be top-tier among bomber pilots of this era.
Fang Wen recalled the scene of aerial bombing near Shenyang last time.
That time the altitude was only half of now, but the data in various aspects was similar.
The biggest difference was the wind, which was very strong here.
The most important thing was to factor in the wind.
