After the Xuebing Army entered Chongqing, the first large-scale contest between the aviation forces of China and Japan took place in the airspace centered on Xuzhou. In this battle, the Xuebing Army dispatched three batches of a total of 573 fighters, and The Japanese army was even more exaggerated. Including aviation units coming from Shanghai, Peiping and Jinan, the number of fighter planes actually exceeded 1,000.
The number of fighter jets participating in the battle was one to two, but in terms of quality, the Japanese army was completely at a disadvantage. On the Chinese Air Force's side, because the fighter jets imported from the Soviet Union and the United States that were originally equipped by the Central Army were not enough to fly such a distance, the ones that arrived at the Xuzhou battlefield They are all white-tailed dolphins and golden eagles. On the other hand, the Japanese army has all types of aircraft, and even the old Type 91 and Type 92 fighter jets are dispatched. You know, actual combat has proved that the equipment of these two fighters is Even the aviation machine guns cannot penetrate the protective armor of the baiji dolphin within the optimal range.
The quality of fighter planes is not at the same level at all. In addition, the Japanese pilots are generally new to the service. Many of them have flown aircraft for less than a hundred hours. The results of the battle can be imagined.
The battle had just begun, and when the first batch of Japanese aircraft from the two flying brigades arrived at the battlefield in Xuzhou from Jinan, Tielin Fei and Zhou Zhirou ordered the accompanying Sky Fortress and Tiger Shark to return home out of caution. Colliding together, a quarter of an hour later, they looked at the battle report that had just been sent back from the front line, and the tense muscles on their faces immediately relaxed.
In the first round of fighting between the two sides, the Chinese Air Force had no other losses except one Baiji that suffered battle damage and had to withdraw from the combat airspace and make an emergency landing in the Pingdingshan area of Henan. However, the Japanese army shot down 29 of the 72 fighter planes that attacked, leaving only 29 of them. The Japanese airmen below realized that the situation was not good and actually ran away en masse.
"Commander, have you noticed that the little devil's aviation force is getting worse and worse." After Zhou Zhi Judo said that, he picked up the battle report with interest and read it carefully.
Tie Linfei smiled and said: "That's because their excellent pilots have all flown the Fifty Special Attack Aircraft, but the Fifty Special Attack Aircraft still has Lao Shizi's special attack tactics. Hey, the tactic of killing one thousand enemies and damaging eight hundred, with It could scare people the last time or two, but once they are discovered, they will be the only ones scared."
Zhou Zhirou nodded and said, "This is a classic, isn't it? The one who is scared now is the little devil himself."
The two people were chatting, and an enemy report was sent to the communication room. However, the radar station in Nanjing discovered that a cluster of enemy planes appeared over Shanghai and were flying towards Xuzhou.
"Hey, the little devil seems to be unwilling to admit defeat." Zhou Zhirou said excitedly, then picked up the phone and wanted to call Wuyishan Airport. When he put the phone to his mouth, he thought of something and handed the phone over. Tie Linfei said: "Commander, it's you who come."
The reason why Zhou Zhirou behaved so cautiously was naturally because he knew that he was not from the Xuebing Army, so he was "aware of current affairs". Tie Linfei did not point out this, and took the call directly to Wuyishan Airport and ordered The troops on standby immediately attacked to reinforce the Xuzhou battlefield.
In the Datong Room on the third floor of the aviation building of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, the commander of the China Aviation Force, Tokugawa Yoshitoshi, who was Zhou Zhirou and Tielin Fei's opponent in this battle and was also a fresh recruit of the Japanese army, was launching the "didi-drip" attack. He frowned and thought hard during the announcement. Due to the popularization of air defense radar, air combat in this time and space is completely different from that time and space. When there is no air defense radar, air combat relies more on the commander's vision and judgment, and he can often create a plan. A sudden victory can change the outcome of a battle or even a battle. But now, because air defense radar can provide early warning, sneak attacks, etc., the most common combat methods used by aviation forces have no place to use, sneak attacks. It is a blind attack, and an open attack under the warning of air defense radar is a bit similar to an offensive battle between ground troops. As a result, the requirements for the performance of the fighter aircraft and the quality of the pilots are high. Originally, Germany Kawa Yoshitoshi was quite conceited about commanding aviation operations. This was the biggest reason why he agreed to serve as an official without hesitation after receiving Tojo Hideki's invitation. However, now, in the face of the cruel reality, he found that his biggest Reliance does not seem to play a decisive role, and decisions made on the spur of the moment become hesitant.
"Your Excellency, the Qingpu Radar Station reported that a cluster of Chinese fighter planes appeared in the southwest. It is estimated that it is China's aviation force taking off from Wuyishan Airport." A communications staff officer suddenly stood up and reported loudly,
"Your Excellency, if this situation continues, the Xuzhou air battle may turn into a decisive battle. Do you want to order the 3rd Flying Division to attack?" Chief of Staff Kensuke Miyamoto said,
Tokugawa Yoshitoshi gritted his teeth and suddenly said loudly: "Order Xiang Muranami to attack immediately, and then call Major General Jiang Qixiongjun in Peiping to ask them to attack immediately." After a pause, he gritted his teeth and said: "The decisive battle will be a decisive battle. I want the Xuzhou airspace to become the Waterloo of the China Air Force."
Among the three major military branches of the Cadet Corps, if I had to say which branch is hated by the Japanese the most, it is naturally the Air Force. The Cadet Corps Air Force has not been established for a long time. However, because they were initially equipped with Baiji and Aerial Dolphins that were far more advanced than Japanese fighter planes, The fortress, so although it has always been at a numerical disadvantage, it has won more victories than lost, humiliating the Japanese aviation force again and again. As a pioneer in the Japanese aviation industry, Tokugawa Yoshitoshi naturally hopes to complete his achievements in one battle. To avenge his shame, before this, he had not considered defeating the Cadet Army Air Force through a life-and-death decisive battle, but at that time he did not have the ability. But now, it seems that the conditions are ripe.
Among the top brass of the Japanese aviation force, there are many people who hold Tokugawa's idea. Therefore, although the first battle between the Chinese and Japanese aviation forces on the Xuzhou battlefield ended temporarily with the defeat of the Japanese army, it failed to make them understand the situation clearly. Their confidence was shaken, so all the top commanders of the Japanese aviation forces who participated in this decisive battle resolutely carried out the order after receiving Tokugawa Yoshitoshi's order. As a result, the scale of the Xuzhou air battle became increasingly large. As the army grew bigger and bigger, it gradually took over the main role, replacing the ground troops and becoming the protagonist of this war.
In Chongqing, Tie Linfei and Zhou Zhirou received a battle report from the front line, confirming that the Japanese army had dispatched an unprecedented aviation force to the Xuzhou battlefield. Both of them stood up nervously and excitedly. From then on, their buttocks never touched the seats again. They realized They realized that if they could win this air battle and severely damage the Japanese army, it would promote the progress of the war. Thinking of this, even though they had full confidence in their troops, they couldn't help but become a little uneasy.