Killing someone while he is sick is an essential skill for a qualified commander. The word "mercy" is not allowed to exist in war. Not only Gao Hongming understands this, but Okamura Neji understands this even more.
When Colonel Mukayama and Saburo, who was commanding the troops to clean up the bombed airport and rescue damaged fighter planes and supplies, received a telegram from Neji Okamura that all fighter planes would take off to meet the enemy, he was stunned for a moment, then expressionless.
He raised the alarm and jumped into the cockpit of a Zero fighter plane.
As the shrill and piercing air defense sirens sounded at the airport, all the Japanese pilots rushed to the runway without hesitation. In just a few minutes, one after another planes rose from the ground, heading in the direction reported by the tower.
Fly away.
"One hundred and twenty-eight, there are only so many combat aircraft left in Shanxi. I hope they can destroy a few more China fighter planes." Xiangshan and Saburo, who took off in the fighter plane, thought to themselves.
The Japanese ground crew members standing on the lawn were silent for a long time as they watched the fighter planes disappearing away. They knew very well that these fighter planes would basically never come back after taking off. However, as a soldier, all Japanese pilots took off anyway.
At some point, tears began to flow from many people's eyes, and some began to sing in a low voice.
"You and I are cherry blossoms from the same period, blooming in the courtyard of the same military academy,
I have long had the consciousness to give up immediately and leave calmly for the sake of the country.
You and I are cherry blossoms at the same time, blooming in the courtyard of the same military academy
Flesh and blood are connected without distinction, so why do we have to separate when we are so close to each other?
You and I are cherry blossoms at the same time, blooming in the courtyard of the same air force
Looking up at the sunset burning like fire
That landline that can’t wait for you to come back anymore…”
In the sky, Doolittle, who was sitting on a B-25 bomber, looked at the densely packed group of bombers around him through the cabin window, feeling filled with emotion.
This operation was personally ordered by Gao Hongming. He still clearly remembered that he asked the other party in surprise: "General, if I read correctly, this is all the air power in your hands. Do you really want to use it?"
Do you want me to command such an important force?"
"certainly!"
Gao Hongming looked affirmative, patted his shoulder vigorously, pointed to the densely packed fleet of aircraft on the runway and said: "There are 96 B-25 bombers, 36 Stuka dive bombers, 72 P47 fighters, and F6F
There are 24 fighter planes, a total of 228 aircraft.
This is also all the air power in my hands. Now I officially hand over the command of this fleet to you. I have only one request, that is, I don’t want to see a Japanese plane in Shanxi after this bombing. You
Can it be done?”
Looking at Gao Hongming's solemn expression, Doolittle felt for the first time the heavy pressure brought by something called "new appointment".
As a soldier, he certainly knew what this fleet meant to Gao Hongming. Now that Gao Hongming handed him over to him, it was equivalent to him handing the fate of the Liantai Militia and himself into the hands of a foreigner. Once the fleet was lost,
The fate of the entire Liantai vigilante group will be disastrous.
As an American, Doolittle certainly didn't know that there is a Chinese saying that "a scholar will die for his confidant", but this did not prevent him from understanding this emotion. After all, human emotions are common.
The only thing he could do was to solemnly salute Gao Hongming and then step onto the plane.
But what he didn't know was that Gao Hongming did this out of helplessness.
The Liantai Flying Corps is really too young, so young that even if you want to find a commander who can take the lead, you can't find one.
He searched the entire flight group but could not find a commander with experience in commanding a large fleet.
As the commander-in-chief, Huang Huaimin was lame and could not fly the plane into the air at all. Not to mention the captains who were promoted quickly. It was okay to let them command a fleet of several or dozens of aircraft, but it was not possible to do so.
However, it is beyond our capabilities to command a large fleet of hundreds of aircraft including bombers, fighter jets, and other types of aircraft.
After several rounds of calculations, only Doolittle, a gringo, was the most suitable, because he came from a later generation and knew very well that Doolittle, who had decades of flying experience and could even build an airplane by his own hands, was the best flight commander in the world.
one.
Besides, China and the United States are allies now.
Commanding a large fleet of aircraft to fight like this may be difficult for others, but for Doolittle it is as simple as eating and drinking. Since he has such a useful candidate in his hand, wouldn't it be stupid for him not to use it?
Just when Doolittle was deep in thought, an excited voice came from the headset.
"Enemy plane... heading southeast by north!"
The pilots in the fleet all looked in that direction.
That's right, through the clouds, a large group of silver-white planes were flying towards the fleet. They were the Japanese interceptor fleet, and they were also the last Japanese air power in Shanxi.
Everyone understands that this battle will determine the ownership of Shanxi's sky. The losing side will completely lose the war in Shanxi and can only watch the other side's planes wreak havoc above their own heads.
"Report... report... plane found.
This is a group of China bombers, about 17 kilometers away, 3,000 altitudes... Get ready to intercept!"
The pilot's voice came from the headset.
Looking at the huge fleet of aircraft in the distance, all the Japanese pilots felt a chill in their hearts. The opponent's bomber fleet was not only huge, but also had a large number of escort aircraft.
The number of those escort groups alone is not much different from that of all the fighter planes. How can we fight this battle?
"I wish you success! Remember, even if there is only one plane left in the sky today, the Chinese must know the courage of the Imperial Japanese pilots!" Mukayama and Saburo ordered in a seemingly calm tone, but when he saw each other
When I saw the fleet of planes, my heart still couldn't help but tremble.
"Attention, everyone, immediately climb to an altitude of 4,000 meters. This is a Chinese heavy bomber, implementing dive tactics to disperse the enemy bomber group."
"Hi!"
The pilots' answers came from the headset, and then all the fighters immediately began to climb rapidly.
The fighter jets that were originally flying in formation also began to change formations, flying in various directions in small formations like goddesses scattering flowers. Dense formations have always been the only way for bombers to deal with fighter jets, and it is also a curse for fighter pilots.
Dream.
When attacking such a formation, even the bravest pilots have to fight hard.
In fact, the best tactic for dealing with dense formations is to use anti-aircraft artillery or a large number of fighter jets to disrupt their formations and break the powerful firepower network formed by dense formations. However, the Japanese army no longer has this condition.
Thinking of this, Xiangshan and Saburo couldn't help cursing the base camp in their hearts. If they could detect the deterioration of the situation in Shanxi in time and provide them with additional aircraft, pilots or even more advanced fighters in time, they would not have to risk using such dangerous tactics to disperse enemy aircraft.