Hearing the task assigned by Yang Zhen, Chen Xi was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time. Looking at the only national map on hand that could be used as a reference, he couldn't help scratching his head and said: "No. 1, meteorological data along the way. , there is no terrain data, and there is no test flight. You just want to fly from Yan'an to Wannan based on this national map. Isn't this a bit too risky?"
"Not to mention the deployment of Japanese aviation forces along the way, we know nothing about it. Even the geographical environment along the way is extremely unfamiliar. It is not clear that the terrain there can be used as a reference. There is no even the most basic ground navigation. Under such circumstances, it is quite dangerous to carry out a long-distance flight. Even if you can refuel in Luoyang, the risk is still quite high."
"Also, although there are no high mountains like those in the west, this route is located between the two major Japanese aviation bases of Wuhan and Nanjing. Even in Henan and Shaanxi, it is still within the operational range of the Japanese North China Front aviation force. .There are also Japanese aviation bases such as Wuhu and Anqing surrounding the destination.”
"The possibility of us encountering Japanese fighter jets along the way is quite high. Without fighter escort, once we are intercepted by Japanese fighter jets, and flying in an unfamiliar environment, we have almost no possibility of escape. Even if we are lucky enough to escape from the Japanese aircraft If there is disengagement, the possibility of getting lost is quite high."
"No. 1, when you march and fight, don't you never rely solely on the map for command? Before every battle, don't you also have to look at the terrain of the battlefield in detail? The flight of the aircraft is the same as your command of the battle, and you also need to have the ground. Reference objects can be used by pilots to judge whether they are lost or not."
"Especially when there is no navigation, ground reference is very important. From Yan'an to Wannan is not the time for us to come. When we come, there are routes in Mongolia that the Soviet army is already familiar with. Even if we enter the country , the unfamiliar flight route is also quite short. As soon as we pass Baotou, we enter a familiar route."
"But this time it's different. We haven't flown all the routes at all, and we don't know the reference objects on the ground. There are special landmarks that can be used as instructions, and we don't know them. Simply relying on the compass and the north needle is not possible. No, but the premise is that there cannot be interception by Japanese aircraft."
Regarding the difficulties presented by Chen Xi, Yang Zhen shook his head and said: "This trip to southern Anhui is related to the life and death of one of our friendly troops. No matter how great the difficulty is, you must find a way to open up the route from Yan'an to southern Anhui. This is not I, but the central government has assigned you the task, and you must do everything you can to complete it."
"However, don't worry too much. In terms of intelligence, I think once the central government agrees to my suggestion, it will find a way to obtain the necessary information. You should trust the central government's intelligence collection capabilities. Although we have not flown this route , but it is not unfamiliar to the National Government Air Force."
Seeing Yang Zhen's unchangeable expression, Chen Xi hesitated for a long time before gritting his teeth and said: "No. 1, if you insist, can you let us do a test flight first? At least we must be familiar with the route to avoid getting lost. Your safety is above all else, and as the pilot of your special plane, I must be responsible for your safety."
"We will conduct a test flight first. First, we will try to figure out the terrain on this route and find necessary ground reference objects. In addition, we can figure out the enemy situation on this route and how tight the Japanese air defense is, especially the Japanese aviation force. Activity patterns.”
Regarding Chen Xi's thoughts, Yang Zhen shook his head without thinking: "The news about my trip to southern Anhui must be kept secret, so your plane cannot be tested. All I can give you is a compass and a map. Maybe also There is a route map from Henan to Wannan by the Nationalist Government Air Force."
Due to Yang Zhen's insistence, Chen Xi could only shake his head helplessly and said: "No. 1, let me think of a way. If I can map the route, that would be the best. If it doesn't work, I can only bite the bullet and fly blindly. But once No., I still hope you can think about it carefully. You must know that your safety is related to the safety of the Northeast battlefield."
In response to Chen Xi's persuasion, Yang Zhen just shook his head and said: "You don't have to consider my safety. Your task now is to find a feasible solution as quickly as possible. Remember, no test flights are allowed. All actions must go through strict inspections." Keep it secret, except for your crew, no one else, including our own comrades, is allowed to reveal anything."
"In addition, except for the three people on your plane, all the others are loaded with 79 bullets. In addition, you are selecting a C-46 transport plane in the best condition and loading it with light and heavy machine guns, 65 bullets, and some medicines. , the radio station will be on standby with you."
"Tell the fighter commanders not to return to the Northeast during this period and to station themselves in Yan'an. Tell them to do a good job in air defense in the Yan'an area and resolutely not allow Japanese aircraft to drop the next bomb in the Yan'an area. As for the rest, All transport planes returned to the northeast. According to the original plan, the airlift mission to the central government was carried out."
Before Yang Zhen finished speaking, the bell used as an air defense alarm rang in Yangjialing. Listening to the clanging bell, Yang Zhen frowned, grabbed the binoculars and said to Chen Xi: "Really speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao is Arrive. I have just finished explaining the mission here, but before you can convey it further, the Japanese aircraft over there showed up uninvited. You go get the air-to-air radio station, and we will go take a look together."
After saying that, Yang Zhen walked out of his cave first, pushed Li Mingbo and Zhang Zixiong who came to stop him, quickly climbed to the top of a hill behind his cave, raised his telescope and looked up towards Yan'an City. As for He is not worried about the safety of his fleet of planes parked at Yan'an Airport.
In order to protect these hard-won aircraft, the central government spent a lot of manpower to dig a large number of large caves near the airport to park aircraft. Facing these semi-natural air raid shelters, the power of the Japanese bombers no matter what they dropped Whether it is explosive bombs or incendiary bombs, both are very limited. Unless they can develop a super bomb, the dozens of kilograms of bombs they use will not be able to do anything to these cave dwellings hidden under the thick loess.
Even though the number of planes arriving this time was large and exceeded the capacity of these cave dwellings, the planes that could not be concealed in the shelter were quickly towed away from the airport and camouflaged after landing. As long as the Japanese aircraft did not dive extremely low, they would not be able to fly. It is impossible to detect those well-camouflaged aircraft.
All aircraft shelters and hiding places have small runways where these aircraft can taxi directly to the take-off runway when necessary. With these countermeasures, Yang Zhen is not worried about the safety of his fleet. He wants to What we want to see is how responsive the twelve fighter jets accompanying us this time are.
However, Yang Zhen was still very satisfied with the performance of the aviation force in this battle. Just when Yang Zhen climbed to the top of the mountain and raised his telescope, eight P-39 fighter jets quickly took off from Yan'an Airport to greet him. A group of Japanese bombers were attacking. An air battle started within Yang Zhen's field of vision.
Looking at the Japanese bombers without fighter escorts in the sky, Yang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief: "The central government's secrecy work is still quite tight. The Japanese obviously did not expect that there would be fighter jets in Yan'an, otherwise they would have carried out air strikes on Yan'an. , will not send out only a bomber group without fighter escort."
In addition to the fact that the Japanese army only sent bombers and not fighter escorts, Yang Zhen judged that the Japanese army did not know that a group of fighter jets had arrived in Yan'an. Yang Zhen also judged from the bombing targets of the Japanese bombers that the Japanese army obviously did not know that there was a A large fleet of aircraft arrived in Yan'an."
Otherwise, they would not have chosen the Yan'an city as the key target for bombing, instead of the airport, which is usually empty except for the Anti-Japanese Alliance transport aircraft group and the occasional US-Soviet transport aircraft. Because Yan'an Airport usually has nothing to offer. They are worth bombing targets.
The airport currently used in Yan'an underwent a large-scale expansion after the establishment of the air corridor. In addition to lengthening and widening the runway, a large number of aircraft shelters were also excavated on the side of Qingliang Mountain. Although there is a lack of tractors and necessary The airport only had two vehicles for towing and a refueling truck left behind by the Northeast Army. However, the central government specially recruited some horses from the border area for this purpose.
In order to expand the airport to be able to accommodate a large number of aircraft takeoffs and landings in the shortest possible time despite a weak foundation and lack of large-scale construction machinery, in addition to mobilizing a large number of security forces to participate in the war in turn, almost all leaders of the central government They all participated in labor on the construction site.
Even under the premise that migrant workers could not be recruited due to confidentiality, the 359th Brigade, which was transferred back from the front line, was pulled to the airport construction site as soon as they arrived in Yan'an to participate in the expansion of the airport. After several months of hard work, they finally got the chance. Before the freeze, the expansion of the airport was completed.
However, although this airport located at the foot of Qingliang Mountain in Dongguan, Yan'an has undergone large-scale expansion, due to original conditions, there is only a simple wooden tower and only two air radio stations used to direct aircraft takeoffs and landings. As for the rest, The only thing I had was a flag used to replace the anemometer.
In the entire Yan'an Airport, except for the frequent visits by Anti-Japanese Alliance aircraft, only Soviet transport aircraft and National Government aircraft occasionally took off and landed. Such an airport had no targets worthy of bombing by the Japanese army and was difficult to attack. .Compared with the central government agencies that they thought were still stationed in Yan'an City, this airport did not attract the slightest interest from the Japanese army.
Therefore, Yang Zhen knew that they had not discovered the fleet of aircraft he led since the Japanese aircraft targeted Yan'an during the attack. Otherwise, given the character of the Japanese, even if there was a small amount of anti-aircraft fire cover at the airport, they would ignore it Destroy everything.
The target of the Japanese aircraft was not the airport. While Yang Zhen was relieved, he was also worried about the people in Yan'an City. The airport was important, but the safety of the people in Yan'an City was equally important. Can his fighter jets take these things down? The bombers dispersed or even forced them to retreat, which not only affected whether the Anti-Alliance Aviation Army could get a good start in front of the central leadership, but also meant whether the people of Yan'an could suffer less losses.