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The 36 fighters of the Second Fighter Group flew in a dense formation above the thick clouds over Taihu Lake. ∏∈，

The straight-line distance between Guangde and Shanghai is less than 200 kilometers, and it is only a 30-minute flight. As soon as the 2nd Fighter Group flew over Taihu Lake, a nervous shout was heard on the radio, and the 1st Fighter Group had already begun to attack the Japanese army.

After another 10 minutes, the 2nd Fighter Group caught up with the bomber group that had taken off in front, and by this time, they had been flying for 25 minutes, and they would be flying over the battlefield in about 5 minutes. But it was still cloudy, and the downward visibility was not very good.

Kukochi asked on the radio about the current situation in Shanghai, and Colonel Chen Qiguang replied that there was a fierce battle below, but he could not confirm the situation on the ground, and that some fighters of the 1st Group had already completed bomb dropping and were on combat cruises, but the enemy fighters had not yet been discovered.

A qiē is normal, that is, the cloud layer is only 800 meters high, and it is difficult for bombers to accurately find the target. However, with the cover of clouds, it was difficult for the enemy's anti-aircraft fire to be exerted.

The clouds beneath your feet have thinned a little, and through the gaps in the clouds, you can see a large number of buildings and the Huangpu River like a blue ribbon in front of you. Kukochi lowered his head to confirm the aerial map, and then asked the squadron leader of the 5th squadron, "Major Huang Musong, is Shanghai ahead?" ”

"Yes, sir, we are now to the west of it!"

"Well, the Japanese concession in Hongkou should be located to the north of the city, pay attention to the search for Japanese warships on the river!"

Kukoc pressed the nose down, and he looked back at the bomber formation behind him, which was still lined up in three echelons, still maintaining a formation.

He saw the fighter in front of him, hovering in front of him. There was a fighter plane that lit up with three red flares, which was the order to attack. It should have been Colonel Chen Qiguang's landline.

"Let's get started!" He spoke, then increased the throttle and swooped down towards the river.

Vice Admiral Kiyoshi Hasegawa was standing on the bridge of the "Izumo" and was anxiously calling for aircraft support from the air fleet. The Japanese 3rd Fleet under his command was stationed near the Huishan Wharf in the Japanese Concession on the Huangpu River to provide fire support to the Japanese troops on the shore. But this morning. He had already been bombed from the air, but fortunately the Chinese used horizontal bombers. However, despite this, the more than 30 Japanese ships anchored on the Huangpu River were hiding in Tibet, which made them look unbearable.

Now the second wave of bombing by the Chinese Air Force is here again.

First, another group of fighters swooped down from the clouds and began to drop bombs on the warships on the river. Anti-aircraft fire on the warship began to fire, but the enemy aircraft were fast. The dive was fired at the same time, and after the bomb was dropped, it was quickly pulled back into the air along the river.

Several mournful whistling sounds sounded high in the sky, Hasegawa Kiyoshi looked up at the sky, and three black dots rushed straight down from the clouds, heading straight for the "Izumo", and before the gunners on the ship could react in a hurry, three aerial bombs that were much larger than just now were like three shells. It flew straight towards them, and then exploded around the warship.

The warship was shaking violently. "Dive bomber!" Major General Yoshida, who was standing beside Hase, cried out in surprise, and before his shouting was over, a creepy scream was again in the clouds overhead, and six more gray planes were divided into two groups and rushed straight down the river. One of them lined up in a straight line and was speeding towards the Izumo. The anti-aircraft guns on the warship were chasing the three bombers that had just flown by, and none of the guns could turn their guns sharply.

It's a perfect fit, boom! Rumble! Two fires erupted in quick succession from the Izumo, and the other exploded less than 5 meters below the port side, but the damage was even more deadly. The side of the "Izumo" was directly pierced through a rift several meters wide. The entire river was in chaos, and clouds of black smoke from the explosion of anti-aircraft shells floated over the Huangpu River, opening like black flowers.

Looking down from the sky, you can see orange fires bursting on the surface of the river.

The bombers that swooped down from the sky were chasing the Japanese warships scurrying on the river, and the "Izumo", which was on fire, became an eye-catching target, and was hit by several aerial bombs in a row, this time it was really hopeless!

Several warplanes were hit by anti-aircraft fire, with black smoke emitting from their tails, and they cut their heads into the river or into the city's neighborhoods.

The Japanese fighters from the two squadrons of the Ma'an Islands airfield were the first to rush to the battlefield, and in front of the Chinese fighter group, which had an advantage in numbers and performance, the Japanese air force was in a comprehensive disadvantage, and at 1:12, the Chinese air force beat the Japanese fighters and made the Chinese citizens who were watching the battle in the concession area clap their hands and cheer for the Chinese air force.

Three squadrons of Japanese naval fighters that took off from the "Taiho," "Yamashiro," and "Kaga" also rushed to the battlefield, and the largest air battle between China and Japan since the war in Shanghai began on 13 August broke out. In the skies of Shanghai, more than 200 planes from both sides fought each other, and the Chinese bomber units began to hurry back after completing the bomb drops. The Japanese planes wanted to intercept and pursue the Chinese bombers, while the Chinese fighter formations were stubbornly entangled with them.

The two sides were constantly chasing each other and circling in the sky, and from time to time planes with black smoke fell from the sky.

Gradually, the Japanese planes began to lose and retreat, and after the Chinese fighter units chased for more than 10 minutes, Chen Qiguang reluctantly began to give the order to return home. This is also a major disadvantage of the BF109, the fuel in the fighter is already insufficient, and it can only collect troops in the case of taking advantage of it, and cannot drive out the Japanese army.

On 17 August, the young Chinese air force ushered in its biggest victory since the beginning of the war, sinking three Japanese warships, including the "Izumo," the flagship of the Japanese invasion fleet, and damaging many of them, while also losing 47 enemy planes and losing only 13 of its own. This was definitely an unprecedented victory, and it greatly boosted the confidence of the people of the whole country in defeating Japan.

Moreover, because of this bombing campaign, the Japanese fleet was forced to withdraw from the Yangtze River, which made the war in Shanghai anxious.

To commemorate the victory in this air battle, August 17 was designated as China's Aviation Festival.

Of course, there were also mistakes in this operation, and during the operation, the air force blew up the British heavy cruiser "Cumberland" anchored in the Huangpu River, seriously wounded it, and hit a 100-kilogram bomb of the American heavy cruiser "Augusta," and at the same time, two bombs fell into the concession by mistake, causing more than 1,000 casualties of its own.

The United Kingdom and the United States lodged a "stern protest" with the Chinese government, while Beijing issued a proclamation warning foreign ships to stay away from the area of engagement, otherwise "they will not be responsible for any damage!" ”

The failure of the offensive made the Japanese military even more frenzied, and Matsui Ishine, in view of the weakness of the navy's lack of combat aircraft, decided to preemptively land in the Jiangsu area, where the Chinese defense was weak, north of the Yangtze River, with the intention of establishing an air base in this area. Japan shifted the focus of its strategic offensive from the line of the Great Khingan Mountains to the line of the Yangtze River. (To be continued......)

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