When the morning sun appeared in the east, 32 Japanese bombers at Mudanjiang Airport were quietly lying on the runway, waiting for departure. Almost all of the ground crews at the airport stood on the airfield, seeing off the Japanese pilots. The Japanese pilots stood in a neat row, each holding a wine bowl in his hand. Apparently they were on a suicide mission, so everyone remained silent, revealing a look of death.

The ground crew hugged and said goodbye to the pilot, and the scene was moving. The bombers were filled with explosives, there were no crews, and there was only one pilot per plane. The Japanese commander was expressionless and bowed his head to all the pilots.

Two red signal flares rose into the sky, and the Japanese pilots drank the liquor in their bowls, smashed their bowls, and ran towards the fighters. Soon, the Japanese bombers entered the runway in turn and began to taxi into the air. Mudanjiang Japanese military airfield is located on the north bank of the river, and the south bank is high and you can have an unobstructed view of the airport. At this time, in a snow hut hidden on the south bank of the river, a radio station flashed a red light, and a telegraph operator was delivering an announcement. "1, 2, 3 ・・・・・・・. A total of 32 Japanese bombers rose into the air, targeting the north-west direction! A man with a telescope was like a treasure, and the telegraph operator sent the information out in time.

At the same time, the same situation is happening at Changchun Airport and Jilin Airport. Because Changchun Airport had been bombed by US B29 bombers, and the airport facilities and runway had been damaged to a certain extent, the Japanese army only deployed a squadron of fighters at Changchun Airport, mainly to provide escort for transport planes. Due to the lack of attention to Jilin Airport, the Japanese army now deployed 45 bombers at Jilin Airport. After receiving an order from Okamura Ninji, Changchun's fighter squadron, about 25 fighters, were all dispatched in order to cover the suicide attack.

At Harbin's Majiagou Airport, all transport planes were emptied before 6 a.m. and flew back to Beiping and Tianjin airports, respectively, and the north and south runways were occupied by fighter planes. Liu Yalou received a telegram from the Japanese airfield radio team and immediately ordered all the fighters to take to the air for combat, and the target was mainly aimed at the Japanese bombers in the direction of Mudanjiang and Jilin. Having received an order to take off, the fighter scrambled to the air on two runways. Thirty-two fighters swooped to the east to intercept Japanese bombers in the direction of Mudanjiang, 45 fighters intercepted Japanese bombers in the direction of Jilin, and 23 fighters stood guard over the airfield and served as the defense of the airport.

In addition, some of the requisitioned artillery units used the captured Japanese anti-aircraft weapons to temporarily form an air defense network, mainly to protect the airport runway. The geographical location of Mudanjiang is located in the east and south of Harbin. Jilin is located in the southeast of Harbin, almost forming an equilateral triangle with Harbin, that is to say, the straight-line distance between Mudanjiang and Jilin and Harbin is roughly the same, both of which are more than 300 kilometers. The fighters of both sides took off at the same time and met about 20 minutes later in the middle ground.

The J-4 fighter installed by the Eighth Route Army has long surpassed Japan's Zero fighter in performance. The Japanese Type 97 bomber was an old fighter with relatively backward performance. It should be said that Okamura Ninji ordered the Japanese bombers to choose a suicide attack, and it was precisely after seeing that the enemy captured the airfield, he would definitely requisition fighter jets to protect the safety of the airfield, and at the same time, he also knew the combat capability of the fighters of the Eighth Route Army, so choosing a suicide attack was the only choice, and Okamura Ninji had to gamble.

The 32 fighters of the Eighth Route Army faced the Japanese bombers coming from the direction of the Mudanjiang River, which was a completely one-sided slaughter. Last year, when the fighters of the Eighth Route Army seized air supremacy in the northeast, they attacked the Japanese fighters with no complete body and had no power to fight back. Nowadays, in the face of the Japanese bombers, the self-confidence of the pilots of the Eighth Route Army is self-evident. The Japanese pilots were determined to die, so they didn't care about fighter interception at all, and rushed to the target without any scruples.

Since the bomber was loaded not with aerial bombs but with explosives, its own protection was almost zero. A Japanese bomber was hit with explosives in its engine room, causing a massive explosion. A fireball bloomed in the air, and the Japanese bomber turned into splinters in the air. What followed was almost a one-sided massacre, with Japanese bombers crushed in the air. All 32 Japanese bombers were shot down before they could fly to Harbin, and the interception efficiency was 100 percent successful.

Since the Japanese bombers themselves were filled with explosives, the violent explosion inevitably affected the fighters attacking at close range. Several fighters were damaged by fragments from the explosion, but the losses were negligible.

However, the situation is not so rosy, and now we are looking in the direction of Jilin. Liu Yalou judged that the Japanese fighters taking off from the direction of Changchun would fly directly to Harbin, so he left the fighters over the airport in case of contingencies. However, he underestimated the cunning of the Japanese army, and the fighters that took off from Changchun Airport did not fly directly to Harbin, but went straight into the airspace between Jilin and Harbin, and the Japanese fighters arrived first and quickly intercepted the fighters of the Eighth Route Army.

Although the Japanese fighters were poorly performed, they had complete room for maneuver. When the fighters of the two sides were entangled, the Japanese bomber group arrived. Due to the entanglement and desperate cover of the Japanese fighters, 28 Japanese bombers broke through the interception and headed straight for Harbin. When the fighters hovering over the airfield spot the Japanese planes, they can make up for them and fiercely intercept them. The Japanese bomber pilots were determined to die, and the purpose was to plant the planes on the runway. The Japanese bombers had only one purpose, so effective interception was quite difficult.

A Japanese bomber was the first to break through the interception, and it fell almost 90 degrees and crashed directly into the runway on the north side. The explosion was so violent that it shot into the sky, and a large crater appeared on the runway. Another Japanese bomber did the same and landed halfway between the north and south runways, and after the explosion, it also formed a large crater.

At this time, the third Japanese bomber flew diagonally towards the runway, and was hit by ground anti-aircraft artillery fire and exploded. Japanese pilots continued to use this tactic when they found the vertical descent fast and almost impossible to intercept. In the smoke of gunpowder, a Japanese bomber aimed straight at the runway on the south side, and there was no doubt that the purpose of the Japanese bomber had been achieved. However, when the Japanese bombers were dozens of meters away from the ground, a fighter plane of the Eighth Route Army suddenly came out of the smoke and crashed into the Japanese bombers at a rapid pace.

The violent explosion shook the earth, and this pilot of the Eighth Route Army died at the same time as the enemy with a fearless spirit of sacrifice, which immediately aroused the blood of the other pilots. Then there was a tragic scene in the air, one after another Eighth Route Army fighters bravely crashed into the Japanese fighters, and within a few minutes, 12 Eighth Route Army fighters were killed by the Japanese bombers, writing a tragic scene. Due to the smoke over the airfield, it was difficult for the Japanese pilots to aim at the target. Several Japanese suicide bombers landed outside the airfield and one landed on the positions of the airfield's air defense units, causing more than 40 casualties.

The short 40-minute air battle was as long as 40 hours. During the aerial battle, Liu Yalou always stood outside the tent, and the scene of the Eighth Route Army pilot crashing into the Japanese fighter plane was clearly visible. The gunfire in the sky stopped, the smoke gradually faded, and one after another fighter jets landed at the south airfield, Liu Yalou was still a little numb. "Commander-in-Chief Liu, preliminary statistics of the results of the battle show that the Japanese army dispatched 77 bombers and shot down 15 Japanese fighters."

"We lost 25 fighters, 12 of which were lost to the Japanese bombers. When 13 Japanese planes were shot down, they were affected by the explosion because the Japanese planes were filled with explosives. Eight pilots parachuted, three pilots were found by the guards near the airport, and another five pilots were far away from the airport and guerrilla teams have been sent to look for them. Liu Yalou seemed to come to his senses and walked into the military tent and ordered: immediately send a report to the headquarters, and the Japanese army's air raid plan was crushed.

At this time, on the runway of the airport on the north side, facing a huge crater. Sweating profusely, the soldiers pushed blocks of frozen soil into the crater, and then filled the crater with snow. Ice and snow, local materials, can only temporarily let the snow work. The soldiers were sweating profusely, and the huge craters were gradually filled. Liu Yalou's figure appeared at the position of the air defense troops, and he wanted to know about the casualties of the air defense forces. The tragic aerial battle left an indelible impression on the people who witnessed the scene, and I am afraid it will be unforgettable for a lifetime.

The fighters landed to replenish fuel and ammunition, and the pilots all remained on the planes, waiting for the order to take off at any time. Guards soldiers sweep the runway from debris and look for the wreckage of the fallen pilot. After listening to the artillery commander's report on the battle damage, Liu Yalou said: "We smashed the Japanese army's suicide air raid, and everything is not all right. At present, the battle to capture Harbin has begun, and your unit immediately put the captured Japanese artillery and set up an artillery position on the south side of the airport! Prepare for a sneak attack by the Japanese army! ”

In the temporary headquarters of Tianjin Binhai Airport, Peng Dehuai's eyes were bloodshot. He was silent for a while with a telegram in his hand and said: "Fighter pilots are good, their heroic feats will go down in history, we must publicize them widely!" After Peng Dehuai finished speaking, he held Su Yu's hand and said, "My task is complete, and the next command of the operation will be handed over to you." Your headquarters went to Harbin with this group of reinforcements. Remember, Okamura Ninji will not sit still, and will definitely carry out a crazy counterattack! ”

"How to crush the Japanese counterattack, the heavy responsibility falls on your shoulders." "Please rest assured that Mr. Peng, resolutely complete the task!" Soon, Peng Dehuai accompanied Su Yu, Luo Ronghuan, and Peng Xuelan to Ouyang Jian's special plane to see off the generals. At this time, one after another fighter planes flew into the sky, and the roar was deafening. Peng Dehuai shook hands one by one, and all the generals raised their hands to salute the army and say goodbye. "I await your good news!" Soon, the group of planes converged in the sky and roared towards the north.