Kurishenko nodded again and again and said loudly: "Okay, okay, then hurry up and put it on!" As long as it is loaded, we will attack Hankou at night and smash the airfield of the little devils. Take the stress off for tomorrow's big battle. ”

Han Xing said to Xu Da again: "Commander Xu, it's up to you!" ”

Xu Da hurriedly saluted Han Xing and said, "Mobilize all our technical forces to complete the task as soon as possible." ”

Kulishchenk asked again: "So, is the air force of the national army also equipped with night flight equipment?" ”

Han Xing said: "Of course! Only when our national army, the Soviet Volunteer Army, and the Southern Expeditionary Army join forces, will they be powerful! ”

All the logistical personnel and technicians of Xu University were dispatched to inspect the Soviet planes, and then installed the necessary night flight equipment. As for Han Xing, he went to contact the national army about the night attack on Hankou at night.

Han Xing knew that the Chinese Air Force at this time could not have been more appropriately described as "tragic".

On August 13, 1937, the "Battle of Songhu" began. The next day, August 14, the Chinese Air Force dispatched bombers to bomb Japanese warships in the Yangtze River and a number of Japanese military targets in Shanghai, sinking a Japanese destroyer and causing heavy losses to Japanese personnel and materials.

At noon, the Japanese army sent fighter planes to retaliate against China, and was intercepted by the Chinese air force over Hangzhou Bay, and the two sides engaged in a fierce air battle over Hangzhou Bay. On the same day, the Chinese Air Force shot down six enemy planes and achieved a 6:0 record.

At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese side had only 305 aircraft capable of fighting, while the Japanese army had 140 squadrons and the navy standing base had 65 flying squadrons, and the army and navy had a total of about 2,700 aircraft.

Sure enough, in the following days, the Chinese Air Force and the Japanese army fought thrilling battles in the skies over Shanghai, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Hangzhou. The Chinese Air Force, which was at a disadvantage, relied on its own courage to inflict heavy losses on the enemy. In the three months after the "August 14 air battle", the Japanese lost 230 planes and 327 pilots were killed. However, the Chinese air force also suffered heavy losses, and by December of that year, when Nanjing fell, the Chinese air force was almost completely lost.

What is even more serious is that most of China's few pilots were killed in battle, and a number of famous air generals fell one after another. Gao Zhihang, captain of the Fourth Air Force Brigade, who is known as the head of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of the Chinese Air Force, set the record for shooting down enemy planes for the first time, and since then, he has shot down many enemy planes by one person, and has been called "the most valuable pilot and commander of the Chinese Air Force" by the Japanese army.

On November 12, 1937, Gao Zhihang was strafed by Japanese planes at Zhoukou Airport in Henan Province and was shot and martyred. Less than half a year after the start of the war, the other three of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of the Chinese Air Force, Liu Cuigang, Le Yiqin, and Li Guidan, were also killed.

Just when the Chinese Air Force was in a desperate situation, the Soviet Volunteer Air Force came to China in December 1937, and at the same time, a batch of Soviet-made fighters were also shipped to China, and the Chinese Air Force was in a desperate situation.

When Han Xing and Xu Da arrived at the second tarmac, Mao Yingchu, the fourth captain of the Chinese Air Force, had been waiting for a long time.

Han Xing saw a young officer wearing the combat uniform of the Chinese Air Force, surrounded by several young air forces next to him, and from his temperament, he knew that he was a commander at a glance. As for Han Xing, he was surrounded by several guards who were eyeing him, needless to say, this was not an ordinary character. Xu Da is directly wearing an air combat uniform that he has never seen before, and he knows at a glance that he is an air force colleague.

Han Xing walked over a few steps, saluted him and said, "Han Xing of the Southern Expeditionary Army has come to report to you." Excuse me, who are you? ”

Mao Yingchu immediately saluted Han Xing and said, "Mao Yingchu, the captain of the Fourth Brigade of the Republic of China Air Force, reports to you." We're old friends, old friends we haven't met. ”

Han Xing looked left and right and still didn't know him, and asked suspiciously, "How can I say this, I don't seem to know you, right?" ”

Mao Yingchu smiled and said: "We have known each other for a long time during the Great Air Battle of Xuzhou, and thank you for the outstanding performance of your Southern Expeditionary Army in the Battle of Xuzhou, which enabled us to defeat the Japanese army aviation in that battle." ”

Han Xing hurriedly shook his hand again and said, "Then we are not outsiders, this time we will fight side by side." This is Xu Da, the commander of the Air Force of the Southern Expeditionary Army. Han Xing hurriedly introduced Xu Da to Mao Yingchu.

Mao Yingchu and Xu Da saluted each other again, and then shook hands.

Mao Yingchu said to Han Xing and Xu Da again: "Director Zhou Zhirou of the Aviation Committee and Xue Yue, commander-in-chief of the Nanchang garrison, have already called, asking us to cooperate with you well and obey your command. Now our 4th Group, with 2 squadrons of fighters and 1 squadron of light bombers, a total of 36 aircraft, all under your command. ”

"Great," Han Xing said happily, "the technicians of the Southern Expeditionary Army, we will immediately install night flight equipment for you, and tonight we will attack Hankou at night and destroy the Japanese planes in Hankou, so as to relieve the pressure of the defense of Nanchang." ”

Mao Yingchu saluted again and said, "Resolutely obey Commander Han's command." ”

The ground technicians of the Air Force of the Southern Expeditionary Army immediately installed night flight equipment for Mao Yingchu's air force brigade. Fortunately, after some efforts, at 3:50 p.m., the necessary night flight equipment was finally installed on the Soviet Volunteer Army and Mao Yingchu's brigade.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Han Xing once again convened Captain Kurishchenko of the Soviet Volunteer Army and Captain Mao Yingchu of the Chinese Air Force on the third apron to hold a pre-combat military joint meeting.

At the meeting, Han Xing said to the two: "After the installation of night flight equipment, we can fly at night." It has been preliminarily decided that tonight, we will carry out a night attack on Hankow, and if we do not seize this opportunity tonight, I am afraid that there will be no such opportunity in the next few days.

My preliminary opinion is that after all the planes have taken off, the formation will be completed in the air, and then the air force of the Southern Expeditionary Army will lead and be responsible for air cover, guiding the large formation towards Hankou. Here, there are a few questions to discuss with the two of you. The first question is that since it is a joint force of the three armed services, there must be a command structure, should we jointly organize a command structure among the three parties, or should we choose one person to command? ”

Mao Yingchu found no opinion, it seems that he is waiting for Kurishenko to speak.

But Kurishenko said: "Don't count on me, because I still have to personally fly an AB-3 bomber, and I also command my air force group." My opinion is that the Southern Expeditionary Army has relatively rich experience in air combat and is also the best equipped, and it is better to have the Southern Expeditionary Army as the commander-in-chief. ”

Mao Yingchu also supported: "I agree. ”

Han Xing felt that a heavy burden was pressing on him, and after thinking for a while, he said, "If both of you agree, then it's okay, let our Commander Xu be the commander-in-chief!" The communication equipment of each machine shall be adjusted to the same frequency according to the requirements of technical personnel. ”

At this time, Xu Da's eyes were also looking at Han Xing's eyes, which meant that there was no problem with commanding the air force of the Southern Expeditionary Army, but with the heavy responsibility of commanding the three air forces, could I do it?

Han Xing cast a trusting eye on him.

Xu Da had no choice but to agree. I thought to myself, if I called Kurishenko or Mao Yingchu, who were on a night flight for the first time, to command the night air battle, I would be even more uneasy. If his command is not smooth, and Han Xing is still on the side, he has no choice but to say: "I will reluctantly make it difficult!" ”

Han Xing went on to say: "Because the performance and range of the aircraft are different, we can only sail separately, the first force is a strike force, composed of destroyers of the Republic of China Air Force, the Soviet Volunteer Army, and the Y-8 bombers of the Southern Expeditionary Army. The second force is a bombing force, consisting of bombers of the Republic of China Air Force, bombers of the Soviet Volunteer Army and J-20 fighters of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

The first unit arrived at the Hankou airfield, and first of all, our southern expeditionary army fired a few missiles to provide the initial illumination of the Hankow airfield. Then we have to have an air force that will go down and storm and draw out all the enemy's air defenses. This requires this unit to have a full spirit of sacrifice, and I don't know which force will make such a sacrifice. ”

Mao Ying first thought that the Southern Expeditionary Army had already taken over all the work of piloting and covering the bombers with the most technical difficulty, and the Soviet Volunteers, they were foreigners, and they also had the heavy task of bombing, so it was not appropriate to ask them to sacrifice first. It seems that as a "human bullet", we don't do whoever does, and if we don't go to hell, we will go to hell.

Mao Yingchu said: "Let's complete this task, and strive to beat all the Japanese air defense forces." ”

Han Xing nodded, on the one hand, he thanked Mao Yingchu's brigade for his sacrifice, but on the other hand, there was no way. You can't take J-20 fighters to attack the enemy's air defense positions, and you can't let Soviet friends do this dangerous work! The Chinese war must always be done by the Chinese, and the cheapest aircraft must be used to win the greatest results!

Han Xing continued: "If the Japanese air defense positions are all exposed, the air force of the Southern Expeditionary Army will destroy them. Of course, if it can't be eliminated, ask the planes of the Soviet volunteers to get on again. The first strike force, after destroying the Japanese air defense, immediately launched an air attack on the Hankou airfield, bombing all the Japanese planes that could be seen. In addition, if it is a runway, we will try to destroy it as much as possible, and the more damage it is, the better.

After the first strike force completed the air raid, the units quickly completed their formation in the air and immediately returned home. The one-way journey from Nanchang to Wuhan is about 360 kilometers, so whether it is an Iraq-15 or an Iraq-16, the time of the air battle cannot exceed 20 minutes.

After the second bombing force arrived in Hankou, it continued to bomb the Hankou airfield, and after the bombing was completed, it immediately returned home, and the J-20 fighters of the Southern Expeditionary Force continued to guide and escort it. My battle plan is almost finished, if you have any additions, please continue to improve it. ”

Kurishenko is slowly thinking that Nanchang to Hankou is 360 kilometers, and whether it is an Iran-15 or an Iran-16, the flight range is 720 kilometers, and if there is a slight delay, the plane may not be able to come back. And the range of the CB-2 and CB-3 bombers does not need to be worried, their range has reached 1000 km, and the range of the AB-3 heavy bomber is not to worry, it has a range of 2000 km.

Kurishenko said: "Because the distance is too long, a big problem is that the I-15 and I-16 fighters are quick to fight, and if they are delayed a little, they are afraid that they will not be able to fly back." The second problem is that in this case, we will not be able to escort the CB-2 and CB-3 bombers and the AB-3 bombers, so the task of escorting will be handed over to you to the Southern Expeditionary Army! ”