The commander of the Sakamoto Division personally led the 12th Brigade and the cavalry regiment, artillery regiment, engineer regiment, baggage regiment, and a newly configured tank squadron directly under the division, with nearly 20,000 troops to attack.
Cold mouth.
Not only that, he also asked Cui Xingwu's 7th Brigade of the puppet Manchu Army, which was undergoing training in Chengde, to arrive at Lengkou with supplies a week later to help in the battle.
By then, the total number of Japanese and puppet troops will be 24,000.
Out of caution, he also asked the Kwantung Army headquarters to mobilize part of the aviation force that was bombing Gubeikou to support the operation on the eastern front of the Great Wall.
That's why today Masato Hirota's bomber squadron was hastily sent to Lengkou for bombing.
But at this time, at an altitude of 5,000 meters, Hirota Masatochi could see the majestic Great Wall winding like a long dragon in the distance through the sunlight, and said to the machine gunner and observer behind through the communication hose:
"Confirm the bombing direction by comparing it with the map."
The Mitsubishi Type 93 light bomber is the first Japanese bomber with a fully enclosed cockpit. It has a total of three members: a commander, a machine gunner and an observer, and a bombardier.
Due to Little Japan's stinginess and technological limitations, there is no radio communication device in the cockpit, and the members can only communicate with each other through a communication hose.
The design of the Mitsubishi Type 93 light bomber is relatively advanced. It is among the first batch of bombers in the world to adopt a single-wing all-metal body. It is almost in sync with the British and American aircraft of the same period.
The only drawback is that the flight speed is only 225 kilometers, which also reflects the shortcomings of the Japanese aviation industry in the engine. This shortcoming lasted until the end of World War II and did not change slightly.
In the end, in order to improve the performance of the aircraft and be able to compete with the advanced aircraft in Europe and the United States, Japan could only work hard on the body design and materials. In the end, they actually let them develop a generation of famous aircraft, which is the famous Zero fighter.
However, although the maximum flight speed of the Mitsubishi Type 93 light bomber is only about 200 kilometers, it is still invincible in the skies of northern China because the Chinese army has no fighter jets in the north that can take off for combat.
Anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns are even rarer and can almost be ignored.
Therefore, a large number of Japanese pilots, represented by Hirota Masatomo, basically ignored threats from the air and the ground starting from September 18th.
In their view, as long as the altitude is not lowered below 300 meters during bombing, it is completely safe.
When we bombed Gubeikou a few days ago, the bombing effect was not good because it was cloudy and the visibility was too low.
So a bold guy lowered the altitude to 250 meters, but was hit by a machine gun of the Chinese army, killing the unlucky observer. On the way back, both engines stalled, and finally the pilot
and the bombardier had no choice but to parachute, and the plane crashed on the land of Rehe dragging thick smoke.
This was the first plane of the Kwantung Army shot down by the Chinese army since the September 18th Incident. Therefore, in order to cover up their shame, they were unwilling to admit that they had lost their virginity, so the Kwantung Army claimed that the plane had been injured and had safely returned to Chengde Airport.
However, you can brag externally, but you need to be held accountable internally.
That daring fellow was directly slapped into a pig's face by the captain's big ear-scratcher. Not only that, he was ordered to ground the plane and had to wash the crotch cloths of all the pilots in the group for a week.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Those are dozens of crotch cloths! Moreover, the facilities at Chengde Airport are rudimentary. These hard-blooded pilots have not taken a shower for a long time. Those on the crotch cloths... tsk, tsk, tsk... that smells bad!
"
Masato Hirota shuddered unconsciously when he thought of this, and felt a little nauseous in his stomach.
"4 o'clock direction, 8,000 meters away." the observer reported.
At this time, Masato Hirota had lowered the altitude of the aircraft to 2,000 meters and continued to push the rocker to lower the altitude.
This time the Japanese army dispatched a squadron of four bombers.
Since there is no radio communication facility, the only way to communicate between the aircraft is to lower the altitude, push open the cockpit roof, and use hand gestures to adjust the formation.
"His Excellency the squadron leader ordered us to follow him in descending altitude. After he dropped the bomb, we were the second in line."
After hearing this, Masato Hirota adjusted the speed of the plane, letting the plane of the squadron leader on the left go ahead, and he followed closely above him.
At this time, the countless crenellations on the Great Wall were already visible to the naked eye, and the squadron leader's plane began to lower its nose, preparing to enter the bombing height.
What they bombed was not the crenellations, but the Chinese garrison position on Phoenix Mountain where the city gate was located.
Fenghuang Mountain is very easy to identify. It is the tallest mountain in this section of the Yanshan Mountains and also has the sparsest vegetation. It appears to be bare.
At this time, the altitude of Masato Hirota's aircraft had dropped to 1,000 meters. Below and in front of him, the squadron leader's aircraft began to dive at an angle of 50 degrees, entering preparations for bombing.
Hirota Masato followed closely, mentally calculating the altitude of the squadron leader's plane.
According to normal flight requirements, the height at which the squadron leader first drops bombs is the reference bomb drop height of other aircraft. If the altitude of the leading aircraft is lower than 300 meters, other aircraft have the right to choose not to follow.
300 meters is currently the lowest altitude for Japanese bombers. If a bomb is dropped below this altitude, it is your credit if it hits, and it is your fault if it is hit. How you choose depends on you.
"600 meters...500 meters...400 meters..."
Masato Hirota was thinking silently in his mind, and his plane was following closely at a distance of 500 meters behind.
I watched the squadron leader's aircraft suddenly level off at an altitude of 400 meters. During the leveling process, the aircraft continued to descend to an altitude of less than 100 meters, and then the aircraft entered a stable level flight state.
"As expected of the squadron leader, perfect operation, Ogura-kun, now it's up to you."
The Type 93 light bomber adopts a horizontal bombing method. The aircraft must be leveled before entering to release bombs, so that the bombardier can aim at the target and press the bomb release button.
Soon, Hirota Masatomo, who had already descended to an altitude of 500 meters, saw the squadron leader's plane dropping four bombs like an old hen laying eggs. The bombs were in the air with the help of the wind, shaking their heads and heading straight towards the ground.
"Beautiful, the squadron leader is really great..."
However, before Masato Hirota's words of praise ended, he saw a string of sparks suddenly appear on the wings of the squadron leader's plane just as it was about to raise its head.
"Nani?" Masato Hirota was a little confused. Why did sparks suddenly appear on the wing?
"Enemy attack! There is an anti-aircraft machine gun position below, pull up quickly." Fortunately, the observer reacted quickly. This is not a spark, but a machine gun bullet hitting the wing, okay?