"The Secretary-General has arrived! The director has arrived! A loud voice was heard, and the somewhat noisy reception hall fell silent.

Song Meiling, secretary general of the Aviation Committee, Qian Dajun, director and commander-in-chief Zhou Zhirou walked in one after another.

General Counsel Chennault Prokofiev, Captain of the Soviet Air Force for China, stepped forward, and Soong Meiling smiled at the two of them: "Is the plan confirmed?" ”

Both nodded and replied, "Rest assured, Secretary-General, we have reached an agreement. ”

The reason why Soong Meiling asked this was because China and the Soviet Union had differences in combat strategy.

The Soviet air force paid attention to horizontal maneuvering, paid attention to combat, and cherished fighter planes to the extreme, while China had no air force tradition and basically adopted the Chennault teaching method, which emphasized vertical maneuvering, paid attention to cooperation between different types of aircraft, and attached great importance to pilots.

Fortunately, the enemy was at the head, and both sides abandoned their prejudices and decided that China and the Soviet Union would be responsible for their own areas under the unified command of the ground.

Song Meiling kept a smile on her face and made a pre-war mobilization to the neat and energetic pilots.

"Today will be a memorable day in the history of world air warfare, people of different colors, for freedom and resistance to aggression, to fight a great battle, on behalf of the Aviation Committee, on behalf of the government, on behalf of the 450 million Chinese, here, for you.

The enemy is unprecedentedly brutal, this is an ancient people's battle for survival, but also a decisive battle, your performance, determines the victory or defeat of this war.

All the citizens of Wuhan will be watching you from below the city, all the Chinese people will pay attention to you in various ways, and all the people of the world will be watching you closely, and I am very honored to be able to see you off today.

Warriors, please accept their compliments. ”

A group of little girls walked in, each holding a bouquet of wreaths and bringing them to the pilots.

After mobilization, Song Meiling's face showed a hint of worry.

This battle was too crucial, and there was already information that the major airports occupied by the Japanese army were full of planes flying from within Japan.

Japan will retaliate with the national force for the Tokyo air raid.

If our air force loses in battle, hundreds of Japanese fighters may come to Wuhan every day to bomb, which is no joke!

The person who has this idea is not only Song Meiling, but also his husband.

In the command room of the Air Force, Commander-in-Chief Zhou Zhirou and Lao Jiang were already waiting.

Song Meiling spoke very formally on a formal occasion, "Chairman of the Committee, the Air Force has made all the combat preparations. ”

"Good, good, I'm relieved." Although Lao Jiang nodded, the seriousness on his face that could not be hidden showed his worry.

Chennault was very confident, he stepped forward and said to Chiang Kai-shek: "Mr. Chairman, the victory of our army this time is inevitable, and we have five very favorable factors. ”

"Oh, is it true?"

"First, we have established an effective air defense alert system, starting from the enemy's airfield to 200 places outside Wuhan, a total of 9 cordons, which can effectively preempt the enemy.

Second, our army has the advantage of range, our air force can be in the sky for 2-3 hours, and Japanese planes can only stay for 20-30 minutes.

Thirdly, whether it is the Yi-15 or the Yi-16 fighter, or the Hawk-3 Hawker 75, they have proved superior combat performance, and they completely surpassed the Japanese army's 96 naval attack and 96 land attack.

Fourth, our army adopted the most advanced tactics, and the operational thinking of the Japanese air force remained stuck in the thinking of World War I. ”

At this point, Chennault glanced at Prokofiev, who returned a determined gaze.

Chennault continued: "Fifth, we are fighting under our own city and have a unified ground command system, which the Japanese air force cannot do. ”

After Chennault finished speaking, Lao Chiang's face completely stretched, in fact, he knew that Chennault's five major advantages may not be true, for example, Japan's naval attack 96 and land attack 96 attack aircraft may not be worse than the American and Soviet aircraft, but Chennault's words still made Lao Jiang feel a lot more at ease.

At the same time that Chennault threw out his theory of five victories, the Japanese planes that took off from Taiyuan had already completed their formation in the air and rushed in the direction of Wuhan.

At the airport in Nanjing, Tokugawa Yoshitoshi gave the Japanese pilots a wild pre-war lecture.

"You have all seen the picture of the tyrannical bombing of the sacred imperial capital, the tragic death of innocent citizens, and the safety of His Majesty the Emperor threatened.

The Empire must complete its revenge, and the despicable Shina must be wiped out! Today, Wuhan is to be wiped off the map! ”

One plane after another rose into the sky, and at Yangzhou Airport, Nanjing Airport, Wuhu Airport, Shanghai Airport, and more than 200 fighter planes that had already taken off from Taiyuan Airport, they attacked Wuhan with a formidable posture.

Near the Nanjing Airport, a person who stayed in an inconspicuous building stared intently into the air and wrote down the number and direction of the Japanese planes that had risen into the air.

"Report to Mr. General Counsel, the Japanese machine in Taiyuan has completed the grouping, and the specific situation is..."

"Report to Mr. General Counsel, the Japanese army in Nanjing has completed the grouping, and the specific situation is..."

……

One after another, information came.

"It was reported that the Japanese planes arrived in Yangxin, 200 kilometers from Wuhan."

"It was reported that the Japanese planes arrived in Xishui, 150 kilometers from Wuhan."

"Report, Japanese planes have arrived..."

Chennault's face was full of solemnity, and he said to everyone: "According to the predetermined plan, the fighter plane is ready to take off!" Operation Ripper, start now! ”

One after another, Chinese fighters began to take off, and more than 200 fighters of various types were dispatched to various airports in Wuhan.

In the sky over Wuhan, sirens sounded throughout the field, and Japanese planes had reached a distance of 70 kilometers within a radius of Wuhan.

The first to reach the skies over Wuhan was the Fujita unit of the 4th Flying Regiment of the Japanese Army, which took off from Nanjing and Wuhu airports, including 4 flying squadrons of 36 96 ship-attack fighters, 24 93 heavy bombers and 20 97 land attack light bombers.

"It's almost time to arrive at the Wuhan Arsenal." The ascending second lieutenant of the 64th Sentai secretly calculated the distance and direction, and at this moment, a loud shout suddenly came, "Zhina's plane!" Top right. ”

36 Hawk Threes, 48 Hawk 75s, appeared above the clouds.

At an altitude of 3,500 meters, the 4th Brigade of the 7th Brigade of the Chinese Air Force has long been waiting here.

The Chinese air force began to dive, in groups of 3-4 aircraft, divided into two parts, one to pounce on the Japanese fighter group, and the other to attack the Japanese bomber group.

The Japanese fighters also threw down the auxiliary fuel tanks one after another, and the pilots turned to meet the harsh sunlight.

A Hawker-75 appeared on the upper right side of Mingle, and the tongues of fire of the two heavy machine guns aimed at this 96 ship attack were a wild spray.

Mingle pulled up the control stick and desperately increased the throttle, desperately trying to get out of the distance from the enemy plane, feeling his plane tremble, and a Hawker III appeared on his left side, and the bullet fired had already hit the left wing of his plane.

"Oops, flanked!" Mingle secretly screamed that it was not good, and he looked up to see a Type 96 carrier-based fighter with thick smoke falling rapidly, which was the landline of his main engine, Lieutenant Osanori Kojima.

Mingle slammed on the rear wing to operate the pedal, hoping to make a tumbling motion and get rid of his opponent's pinch. Where were the Chinese fighters who could occupy a favorable position, four heavy machine guns were fired at each other, and Mingle's planes were constantly shot.

Mingle felt a pain in his lower back, and a bullet pierced the cockpit and hit him in the chest.

"It's over—" was the last thing he muttered, and then, forever unconscious.

While the Fujiwara unit of the 4th Flying Regiment was ambushed, the 2nd Flying Regiment taking off from Taiyuan was also fiercely attacked by the Soviet Air Brigade, which was in a favorable position and at a favorable altitude.

The main fighters of the Soviet Air Brigade were the I-15 and I-16, the I-15 was a biplane fighter, which was not fast, but it was flexible in turning, which was very suitable for aerial combat; And the I-16 is a monoplane fighter with a strange big head, like a baby bottle, his performance is the opposite of the I-15, the turn is very slow, not suitable for aerial combat, but he is extremely fast, reaching 450 km / h, which is the fastest aircraft in the world at that time, and it is very suitable for pursuit.

Fighters on both sides tumbled and turned, and machine guns spat tongues of fire at each other in a desperate aerial dogfight.

If the Japanese fighter unit was still able to fight against the Chinese fighters, the Japanese bomber force suffered a devastating blow.

Chinese planes, frequently using altitude and agility, bit the tail of the Japanese bombers and opened heavy fire.

One Japanese plane after another was hit, some caught fire and exploded on the spot, some were tumbling with thick smoke, and some were making strange movements, because the pilot had already been killed.

Ground command in Wuhan.

"No. 0744 shot down a plane!"

"No. 0871 shot down a plane!"

"No. 0561 shot down a plane!"

……

Inside the radio, there were shouts of excitement.

Chennault clenched his fists, the first battle had already been won, both the Soviet Air Force and the Chinese Air Force had achieved excellent results, the results of the battle have not yet been counted and confirmed, but one thing is certain, the Japanese army was defeated!

"Report! About 70 Japanese planes came from the southeast, about 30 kilometers from Wuhan! ”

It was the 21st and 77th Sentai of the Sugawara Flying Regiment, and after completing their formations at the airports in Yangzhou and Shanghai, they reached the 6th of the 9 cordons in Wuhan: the Air Force Operational Outer Arc.

"Command the troops, not to pursue, and to prepare for battle. The Soviet Aviation Brigade, replenishing fuel and ammunition in the fastest time, the 4th Brigade, the 7th Brigade, and the 11th Brigade, flew to the clouds about 3,600 meters above the East Lake in Wuhan and waited for the enemy in concealment! ”

The encounter of the Fujiwara 4th Flying Regiment was once again reborn in the body of the Sugawara 3rd Flying Regiment.

Qingshan East Lake, Cangzi, and Daijiashan were full of blazing Japanese fighters.

Tens of thousands of peasants from the regular army self-defense forces even spontaneously rushed over, standing around Wuhan, saw the plane falling, immediately gathered and rushed over, it was the Japanese, picked up knives and guns, it was Chinese or blue-eyed and high-nosed foreigners, hurry to help.

On October 10, when the sirens sounded in Wuhan, the entire city should have been evacuated, but no one listened to the government's orders.

All the citizens ran out to watch this grand air battle that had never been seen before.

On the rooftops, on the treetops, on the hillsides, there were crowds everywhere.

A middle-aged man, dressed in a casual suit, with his hands in his pockets and a look full of anticipation.

British journalist Robs Kalaw saw it and took this classic photo.

In the eyes of this middle-aged man, a Japanese 96 heavy explosion was falling rapidly.

"The latest battle report of the Central News Agency on October 10: Starting at 10 o'clock this morning, about 240 Japanese fighters of all kinds rushed to our Wuhan and suffered a devastating blow to our army, and as of 3 o'clock in the afternoon, 87 Japanese fighters of all kinds were shot down, and the damage was not counted, and our army only lost 11 planes..."

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