On the other side, Paul was doing the same thing, assembling the use of the gunboat machine and the Vulcan cannon and handing it over to Franco's army. Although Franco's army also had Soviet-aided fighters, they were far less popular than the gunboat and A1 attack aircraft of the Dragon Soul Ordnance Complex. And the Vulcan cannon has become the favorite of the gunners, this new rapid-fire gun that can shoot thousands of shells per minute shocked everyone, but the gunners always feel that it is not enjoyable, because the rate of fire of the Vulcan cannon is too high, and hundreds of cannons are accidentally ejected, which is a money-burning cannon.

Soon these new weapons will be in their first battle!

On May 2, 1934, an air brigade of 60 fighters of the International Column, standing on the side of the Second Spanish Republic, took off from a front-line airfield in preparation for an aerial safari. However, most of these fighters are old biplanes, the I-3 fighters, and the PO-2 biplane trainers, which are basically wooden and canvas-skinned, and only six are the latest I-15 high-maneuverability biplanes. The I-15 fighter was sent to the Spanish battlefield by the Soviets just after it was put into mass production, and the main purpose was to test the performance of this fighter in real combat in order to further improve it. It has to be said that Stalin's calculations were very fine, and this method is indeed the most practical method.

The I-15 High Maneuverability Biplane was developed from the design experience of the I-5/I-6. The upper wing of the initial model was arranged in a gull-like arrangement to provide better visibility for the pilot; The landing gear is fixed; The shape is relatively simple, and some models also have fairings added to the wheels. The front fuselage of the aircraft is covered with aluminum, and the rest is covered with cloth; Disc brakes. The early I-15 could not be delivered on time due to the Soviet licensed cyclone engine (Soviet model M-25), and most of the I-15s produced in 1934-1935 were equipped with M-22 engines, called I-15M-22. There is a big difference in engine power between the M-25 and the M-22, with the M-25 having 630/715 hp and the M-22 having only 480 hp. As a result, the maximum speed and ceiling are reduced.

In terms of aircraft performance, the I-15 was the most superior of the biplane fighters that participated in the Spanish Civil War at this time, and it also had certain advantages over the A1 attack aircraft in some aspects, such as in maximum flight speed. Later models of this biplane fighter with 1000 hp engines reached more than 400 kilometers per hour, even the earliest models. With an engine power of 470 hp and a maximum speed of more than 300 km/h, it is more powerful than the A1 attack aircraft, but its aerodynamic layout is much behind.

The objective of this air group of the international column was an airfield of Franco's army, and they were preparing to raid this airfield, and if they were discovered, they would engage in aerial combat with a view to shooting down the opponent's fighters, and if they were not discovered, directly attacking the enemy planes on the airfield. Of course. What they didn't know was that the enemy's airfield was equipped with exactly ten newly arrived Vulcan cannons, so this time they were destined to be ducks delivered to the door.

At the same time, there was a lot of hustle on the ground at the front-line airfield controlled by Franco's army. On the positions of Vulcan guns and anti-aircraft machine guns, soldiers were inspecting their weapons, as well as camouflaging them.

There were several anti-aircraft positions defending the airfield. In a small bush at the end of the runway, there was a Vulcan artillery position, where two Vulcan anti-aircraft guns and some anti-aircraft machine guns were arranged. On the left side of the runway, there is a small mound covered with shrubs about 20 meters high. Two other Vulcan anti-aircraft guns were deployed. Then there were also scattered anti-aircraft machine guns and some Vulcan guns elsewhere. The fighters covered these anti-aircraft guns with camouflage nets and looked down from the air. These anti-aircraft guns are like part of the bushes, and if you don't open fire, it's really hard to spot.

The airfield is home to 30 M30 bombers and gunboats, as well as 20 A1 attack aircraft, and the latest aircraft have been deployed to several airfields after testing.

Soon the attack aircraft group of the international column also came to the skies over the Thyssen airfield, a front line controlled by Franco's army. It is rare that there are no interceptions by fighter jets along the way. Soviet pilot Ivanov, who now leads the team, overlooks the airfield from the air. It was found that quite a few planes had taken off at the airport, and there were only about twenty planes left. Obviously, they had been discovered a long time ago, and they must have been discovered by those enemy observation posts.

Six I-3 fighters dropped bombs on the runway. But Ikeda knew that such a bomb would not be able to destroy the airport. As soon as the fleet leaves, within an hour, all the craters will be filled in and the airfield will be able to resume operations. Fortunately, there was a second wave, and some of the remaining fighters dived down at the enemy planes on the airfield, and they were going to use their machine guns to beat those enemy planes into a sieve......

The altitude of these fighters was about 1,000 meters, and the low altitude was that the anti-aircraft machine guns on the ground could easily reach them. No matter how high it is, the accuracy will be greatly reduced. But anyway, bombing the runway, the target is large, and it is still easy to attack. They didn't know that the enemy had Vulcan cannons, so tragedy soon followed.

The fighters of the international column had not yet dropped their bombs, and the Vulcan anti-aircraft guns defending the airfield began to fire. A dense rain of bullets suddenly erupted from the bushes on a small mound. Almost instantly, the 2-headed Yi-3 fighter was torn to shreds. Finding that the other 4 planes that had fallen into the trap were just about to climb, they saw a string of fiery red bullets that had been whipped like a whip...... How could a wooden fighter like the Yi-3 fighter resist the Vulcan cannon? Even an anti-aircraft machine gun can knock it down, and the result of encountering the Vulcan cannon is that they explode directly into a fireball in the air!

The fighter pilots of the international column who wanted to strafe the enemy planes parked on the airfield also found that the situation was wrong, but it was too late, and there was a rain of fiery red bullets of death in several places, like a long whip, and these Vulcan cannons constantly whipped the fighters of the international column, and for a time the air was like a peony blooming one after another! The rain of flowers in the sky is spectacular, and the remaining fighter pilots of the international column are stupid, where have they ever encountered such a powerful air defense weapon, and if they rush down, isn't it looking for death?

So they immediately pulled up from the dive and dodged the whip of death from the ground of the airfield! Will they really be able to dodge, though? Although they temporarily avoided the threat from the ground, they found that they were surrounded by enemy planes again! (To be continued.) )