The sudden attack stunned the Japanese planes, and for a while the pilots' headsets rang with exclamations.
"Chinese fighter plane!"
"Be careful, the China plane is coming!"
Nobuhide Nakaoka, who was riding in a Type 97 attack aircraft, happened to see more than a dozen Chinese fighter jets succeeding in one strike. Instead of being reluctant to fight, he directly pulled up the nose of the aircraft and climbed up.
At this time, he was shocked and angry. According to his intelligence, the Liantai Flying Group only had two airports. For this reason, he specially divided the 10th Flying Group into two. He personally led one group to attack the No. 1 airport, and the other
The team attacked Airport 2.
Moreover, it was agreed before that the two sides would maintain communication at all times. If these Chinese fighters took off from Airport No. 2, he had no reason not to know.
However, this doubt only lingered in his mind for a moment, and then he figured out that the Liantai Flying Brigade must have other secret airports.
"These stupid intelligence agents!"
He cursed bitterly in his heart, but even so, he did not panic because he still held a trump card in his hand.
Following his order, 16 Zero fighters that had been lurking in the clouds emerged from the clouds in an instant and rushed towards the climbing P40 fighters.
The P40 fighter that attacked was the No. 1 Squadron led by Huang Kebiao. As one of the most skilled fighter pilots in the flying group, Huang Kebiao did not forget to observe the surrounding environment even when he climbed again.
When he saw dozens of Zeros suddenly emerging from the clouds, he shouted loudly through the microphone like a conditioned reflex: "The enemy plane... is coming from the three o'clock direction. Immediately dive to avoid it."
There is no doubt that Huang Kebiao's response was timely and correct.
If we were to fight against the Japanese in this state, it would be like two people playing a toe-to-toe, with one person going uphill and the other person going downhill. There is no doubt that the person who is going downhill will suffer.
By the same token, at this time, their fleet was climbing, while the Japanese troops were diving from top to bottom. Whether it was maneuverability or engine thrust ratio, the Japanese troops definitely had the upper hand.
The pilots of the 1st Squadron didn't talk nonsense. After hearing Huang Kebiao's order, they pushed the control stick almost at the same time. The fighter jet quickly changed from climbing to diving state, and the speed also quickly gradually increased from 380 kilometers per hour to more than 400 kilometers per hour. When they
When it dived to more than a thousand meters above the ground, the speed even reached 610 kilometers per hour. This speed has exceeded the maximum speed of the P40 in level flight.
The response strategy of the First Squadron also exceeded the expectations of the group of Zero fighters in the sky, but what followed was overjoyed.
The three elements of air combat during this period were altitude, speed and firepower.
It stands to reason that the Zero fighters, which have advantages in height, speed and quantity, have an absolute advantage. In addition, they fall from the sky. Under normal circumstances, the consequence of the opponent's fighters rushing to engage is that they will be blown up by the volley.
Seeing that the opponent not only refused to fight but instead turned around and dived, Major Fujikawa Kosuke, the leader of the Zero squadron, couldn't help laughing: "The Chinese are really the stupidest. When they encounter the enemy, they don't want to fight. They actually follow the ostrich approach and bury their heads in the sand.
Li, do you think you can avoid being hunted in this way? Everyone listen to my order and kill all these Chinese people without leaving a single one behind!"
"Hi!"
Following Fujikawa Kosuke's order, 16 Zeros pounced down like hungry wolves.
The first batch of Japanese pilots to be equipped with Zero fighters were all elites of the 10th Flying Group. After converting to Zeros a few days ago, they were pleasantly surprised to find that compared to the Type 1 fighters they had previously flown, the performance of the Zeros could be said to be better.
A qualitative leap has been achieved.
Not only does it have an ultra-long range, but it also has a small turning radius, a terrifyingly fast climb speed, and its low-altitude combat performance is beyond any fighter they know.
Now, they all flew confidently towards the dozen or so Chinese fighter planes below. In their view, the dozen or so panicked Chinese fighter planes below had become meat on the chopping board.
Soon enough, 16 Japanese Zeros also rushed down. Everyone firmly believed that with just one dive and strafing shot, all the twelve Chinese fighters below could be wiped out, or even more than half of them could be destroyed.
But there is a saying that goes, extreme happiness produces sorrow, and sweetness produces bitterness.
The Zeros that dived from high altitude were naturally not slow, and quickly reached 530 kilometers per hour. But when their speed exceeded 570 kilometers per hour, an accident happened.
Kosuke Fujikawa was surprised to find that the controllability of his fighter plane suddenly dropped sharply, and the plane began to become unresponsive. The sudden changes surprised him. He had rich flying experience and subconsciously shouted to the public channel: "Everyone pay attention.
, slow down quickly!”
While speaking, he pulled back the throttle and control stick with both hands at the same time, and then opened the aircraft's flaps.
It later proved that his operation not only saved himself, but also saved the lives of most pilots in the Zero Squadron.
Under his operation, the speed of the diving Zero fighter suddenly began to decrease, and at the same time, the nose began to point upward. The huge overload moment made his eyes black for a while. When he woke up, he discovered the speed of the aircraft.
It dropped from 630 kilometers to 420 kilometers, and the aircraft's control returned to normal.
Not only him, but most of the Japanese pilots also slowed down the Zero. But some people were not so lucky. Almost at the same time, two Zeros rushed to the front, and they were also the fastest Zeros.
The wings of the fighter planes suddenly fell off one after another, and then the two Zeros actually disintegrated in mid-air.
This scene not only stunned the Japanese pilots behind, but also shocked the pilots of the first squadron who were climbing after the dive. Many of them even thought there was something wrong with their eyes and couldn't help but rub their eyes.
One pilot couldn't help shouting: "Am I right...why did the Japanese plane suddenly disintegrate?"
Another pilot also murmured: "Do the Japanese pilots also have the habit of having their caesareans performed if they disagree?"
Not only the first squadron was shocked, but even the Japanese pilots involved were almost frightened. When they climbed up to the altitude again, many people found that they were already covered in cold sweat on their backs.
In fact, what everyone doesn't understand is that in order to pursue the ultimate performance and reduce the weight of the aircraft, the designers of the Zero fighter went crazy and punched holes in various places on the fuselage, so that the aircraft weighed only 1.68 tons. This weight
Only 58% of the P40 fighters flown by Huang Kebiao and others.
The consequences of this have certainly greatly improved the performance of the fighter aircraft, but it has also made the structure of the aircraft extremely fragile. There have always been Zeros that were easily disintegrated when conducting high-speed dives at large angles.