Just half an hour after Zhou Zhirou ordered the air raid siren to sound and the fighter squadron took off, the first wave of Japanese air raids arrived in Wuhan.
Major Chen Ruidian, captain of the 28th Squadron of the Air Force stationed at Hankou Airport, is originally from Dajiang Village, Taishan County, Guangdong Province. His father is Chinese and his mother is Peruvian. In 1913, Chen Ruidian was born in Portland, Oregon, USA. After graduating from high school, he entered the local
He studied at the American Aviation School run by Chinese and obtained a U.S. pilot license after graduation. After the September 18th Incident, he and 13 overseas Chinese patriotic young people from Oregon, Washington State, and California
He joined the Volunteer Army and returned to China to participate in the war. Unexpectedly, after arriving in Shanghai, the Chinese Air Force did not take them in, so he had to go south to Guangdong, join Chen Jitang's Air Force, and served as a second lieutenant in the Sixth Flying Team of the Guangdong Air Force.
In 1935, Chen Ruidian was sent to Germany to learn air combat technology. After returning to China, he was promoted to lieutenant. During the "Guangzhou-Guangxi Incident", Chen Ruidian flew north with his comrades and joined the Central Air Force, serving as a fighter flight instructor at the Central Aviation School in Jianqiao, Hangzhou.
Served as the major squadron leader of the 17th Squadron.
On the second day of the Songhu Anti-Japanese War, Chen Ruitian participated in the famous "August 14th" air battle with his comrades. Two days later, he piloted his Hawker biplane fighter and shot down an advanced Japanese single-wing Type 96 bomber, marking the first of its kind.
His own record of annihilating enemies. In the subsequent Songhu Anti-Japanese War, the Nanjing Defense War, and the Xuzhou Battle, Chen Ruidian became more and more courageous as he fought. He shot down two more Japanese planes and crashed one with his tail. His plane was also destroyed twice.
He was hit, but fortunately he was saved by parachuting.
At this time, Chen Ruidian was already the lieutenant colonel captain of the 26th Squadron of the Air Force.
Ordinarily speaking, Chen Ruidian's performance should be very brilliant, and his popularity should be as close as the four great kings of the Chinese Air Force. But for some reason, he is always missing when the Chinese army promotes the heroes of the Air Force. Chen Ruidian himself has been trained since childhood.
American education emphasizes fair competition and does not understand the bad habits of Chinese officialdom. In addition, he is dedicated to killing the enemy and serving the country and does not care about publicity or not. But others can see it very clearly. The reason is that Chen Ruidian was born in the Guangdong Air Force, not in the Guangdong Air Force.
A direct descendant of the Central Air Force, in the eyes of some people in power, publicizing him would have negative effects. Therefore, Chen Ruidian's achievements were hidden.
Of course, these things are just the thoughts of a meddlesome person. Chen Ruidian himself has never thought about it and has no time to think about it. He spends all day in a tense battle, how can he have time to think about these false claims!
When receiving the order to take off urgently to meet the enemy, Chen Ruidian and his comrades were waiting in the cabin. When they heard the announcement on the radio that enemy planes were incoming, all the fighter jets scrambled to take off to meet the enemy. Chen Ruidian immediately ordered all ten Il-15 fighters in his squadron.
Emergency liftoff, then ignited the aircraft, taxied to the runway, and quickly lifted into the air.
After the fighter planes successfully took off one after another, Chen Ruidian directed the entire squadron to climb higher to seize a favorable position and prepare to intercept the Japanese planes.
At 5:30 in the morning, the first batch of Japanese aircraft arrived over Wuhan.
The Japs have bombed Wuhan many times and are very familiar with the terrain and defense conditions of the three towns in Wuhan. They thought that this was a sneak attack and the Chinese Air Force must not be prepared. It was the best time to destroy Wuchang and Hankou Airport. Therefore,
As soon as the Japanese plane landed, it headed towards Hankou Airport.
Military airstrips of that era were rarely made of hardened cement. Basically, the ground was leveled directly and the runway was paved with gravel. Although the airport was simple, it was repaired quickly. This is what both Chinese and Japanese air force airports were able to do after they were bombed.
Quick root cause fix.
After Chen Ruidian and others were deployed, the Japanese plane arrived over Hankou Airport.
At this time, the sky gradually turned brighter and the visibility improved. Chen Ruidian looked down and saw that at an altitude of about 3,000 meters below, the Japanese aircraft were completely dark. It really matched the intelligence. The fighter jets were protecting the bombers. It looked like the bombing was about to begin.
.
Of course, Chen Ruidian is a veteran pilot who has fought with Japanese aircraft for a long time. He knows that the reason why the Japanese aircraft are at an altitude of 3,000 meters is that on the one hand, they think that a sneak attack is guaranteed. On the other hand, and the most important aspect, the Japanese fighter jets can only fly when
The highest speed can only be achieved at an altitude of about 3,000 meters.
The current situation is very favorable to Chen Ruitian and the others. The Japanese army thought that a sneak attack was almost certain. Not only did they not find the Chinese fighter planes that had already occupied a favorable position, but the escorting fighter planes were not high enough. As long as Chen Ruitian and the others took action, they would definitely achieve results.
Chen Ruidian made a gesture and ordered an attack.
Although the Japanese bombers had completed their formation and were about to lower their altitude and start dropping bombs, Chen Ruidian still directed the entire squadron to pounce on the Japanese fighter jets. His intention was very obvious, to knock out several Japanese fighter jets first and then attack the Japanese bombers.
The IL-15 fighter jet has average speed, but has high sensitivity and is easier to operate during air combat. As soon as Chen Ruidian launched an attack with his wingman, the other eight fighters of the 26th Squadron also flew in groups of two and launched an attack on the Japanese fighter group.
attack.
Not to mention, the little devil was still very alert. When the bomber was about to lower its altitude to drop the bomb, it was discovered that there was no plane parked at Hankou Airport. This surprised the Japanese commander who led the team, thinking that the secret of the sneak attack had been leaked, and the Chinese army deployed in Wuhan
He set a trap and immediately ordered fighter jets to prepare for battle, while bombers quickly bombed the airport facilities.
The Japanese woke up quickly, and Chen Ruidian's attack came even faster. Seeing a Chinese fighter jet suddenly emerge from the sky above the fighter plane, the Japanese commander scolded Baga and ordered the fleet to disperse while yelling, and the fighter jets pulled up to seize the opportunity.
Advantageous location.
But it was too late to disperse the formation at this time.
Chen Ruidian was targeting a Type 95 fighter. This fighter was successfully developed by Kawasaki in 1935. It has a duraluminum truss double airfoil, an open cockpit with a windshield, a fixed landing gear with a fairing, and an all-metal ride.
What Chen Ruidian didn't know was that this aircraft was the last biplane fighter of the Japanese army, and production stopped at the end of 1938.
In the past combat experience, the Hawker 2 originally equipped by the Chinese Air Force is not its opponent. The Hawker 3 is slightly worse than it, but the IL-15 and IL-16 imported from the Soviet Union are slightly stronger than it.
The main reason is that this aircraft is slow, low in sensitivity, and has weak firepower. It is only equipped with two 7.7mm machine guns.
Everyone will be on high alert on the battlefield. The Japs pilot targeted by Chen Ruidian was not a rookie. When he found out that no plane was found at the airport, the pilot immediately began to prepare to move up, waiting for the Japanese commander to give the order to disperse and seize a favorable position.
, this devil pilot stepped on the left rudder hard, the plane slid to the left, and distanced itself from other planes, and then pulled the control stick, the nose of the plane raised upwards, and it was about to climb. It was too late, then it was faster, Chen Ruidian took the lead.
The wingman jumped down from a high place, spitting flames from his machine gun, and hit the middle of the Japanese plane, turning the little Japanese into a ball of fire.
After winning the first battle, Chen Ruitian became so angry that he turned around with his wingman and pounced on the Japanese wingman.
At this time, both the enemy and us knew the information about the air battle at Wuhan Airport. The Japanese military's communications were relatively advanced, and the follow-up fleet already knew about the failure of the sneak attack from the first wave of aircraft calls, and they were eager to rush to the battlefield and wanted to reinforce the first wave of fleets. I
On the military side, Zhou Zhirou has issued a death order. Fighters from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Brigades of the Air Force and the Soviet Air Force Volunteer Group from various airports around Wuhan are also rushing to Wuhan, intending to repel the incoming Japanese planes and defend Wuhan. Both sides
Everyone is competing against each other, and this air battle is about to turn into the largest air battle in the Wuhan defense war.
In the first wave of attacks, Chen Ruidian and his comrades shot down four Japanese planes and damaged one, which was an impressive record. But then the Japanese planes reacted, and the remaining seven Japanese fighters fought to the death, dragging them down.
Chen Ruidian and the others could not pursue the Japanese bombers. After the Japanese bombers discovered that there was no oil and water at Hankou Airport, they only carried out a wave of bombings at Hankou Airport, taking out the remaining oil barrels and ammunition that had not been transported away after refueling and loading the Eighth Route Army Aviation Brigade.
The explosion caused shrapnel to fly in all directions and flames to the sky. Then the Japanese bombers successfully escaped amid the fierce anti-aircraft fire on the ground at the airport and began to bomb other targets in Wuhan.
Because the Yangtze River and the Han River pass through the city, Wuhan is naturally divided into three towns: Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou. However, there is no such name as the three towns of Wuhan in history.
The construction of the city of Wuhan began in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Queyue City and Lushan City were built in present-day Hanyang. Anyone familiar with the history of the Three Kingdoms knows that at that time Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou and sent Huang Zu as the prefect of Jiangxia. The county seat was located in Queyue City on Turtle Mountain in Hanyang.
At the beginning of the Three Kingdoms, in order to compete with Liu Bei for Jingzhou, Sun Quan built Xiakou City on Sheshan Mountain in Wuchang today, and built a watchtower at Huanghuji in the city, named Yellow Crane Tower. Unexpectedly, Yue City and Xiakou City were completed at the same time.
, showing its important strategic position, which has been continuously strengthened in the past dynasties, and its economic and transportation status has also been rising day by day. Like Hanyang, it became the center for merchant ships in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in the Tang Dynasty, and was known as the "Giant Town in the Southeast". The great poet
Li Bai came here and wrote a beautiful poem: "The jade flute is played in the Yellow Crane Tower, and the plum blossoms fall in May in the river city." Therefore, Wuhan has also been called "Jiang City" since ancient times. When Lu You, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, passed by Wuchang, he wrote, "The city is majestic and prosperous, and its four buildings are numerous."
"Fancuo" and "Nanshi" outside the city are also several miles away. Although Qiantang and Jiankang cannot be crossed, it is still a big city." is used to describe the prosperity of Wuchang.
Before the Ming Dynasty, there were only two towns in Wuhan: Wuchang and Hanyang, and Hankou was just a desert island connected to Hanyang. The poets of the Yuan Dynasty called Wuhan the "Twin Cities" in their poems. In the tenth year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, that is, 1474 AD,
The Han River was diverted from the northern foot of Guishan Mountain to enter the river, which separated Hankou from Hanyang. During the Jiajing period, Hankou Town was formed on the north bank of the new river channel of the Han River. At this time, merchants gathered, and Hankou actually came from behind, becoming a national water and land transportation hub and an inland river in China.
The largest port. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Hankou, Zhuxian Town, Jingdezhen, and Foshan Town were collectively known as the "Four Famous Towns" in the world. Together with Beijing, Suzhou, and Foshan, they were called the "Four Gatherings in the World" and were truly "Ten Miles of Sails".
According to Shili, thousands of houses are lit up all night long, and it is known as "the most prosperous place in central Chu". Merchants spread word of mouth that "goods arrive in Hankou and live there", which fully proves the development of Hankou's business at that time.
After the outbreak of the Opium War, Hankou was opened as a port. Britain took the lead in opening concessions in Hankou. Later, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan all opened concessions in Hankou, turning Hankou into the largest trading port in inland China, forming the Wuhan Three in the modern sense.
Town. In addition to Zhang Zhidong's factory in Hanyang, Wuhan became the cradle of modern industry in China. By 1908, the end of the Qing Dynasty, the trade volume of Hankou alone was as high as 130 million taels of silver, and it was called the Oriental by foreigners.
Chicago.
After the First Uprising of 1911 in Wuchang and the end of the Qing Dynasty, Hankou became a special city of the Republic of China, Wuchang became the capital of Hubei Province, and Hanyang became Hanyang City. It was not until 1927 that the government of the Republic of China moved the capital to Wuhan, merged the three towns of Wuhan, and established
Jingzhao District, collectively known as Wuhan.
During the Republic of China, Wuhan carried out municipal reforms, and the scale of the city further expanded. Western-style houses abounded. Especially in Shanghai and after the fall of Nanjing, Wuhan became the central city of China. The slogan raised by many young intellectuals in the occupied areas when they participated in the Anti-Japanese War was
"Go to Wuhan". Unfortunately, the Japanese army bombed the city frequently, and the Nationalist government focused on relocating Wuhan's industries for the sake of the long-term war of resistance. The prosperous Wuhan has now lost its glory.
When he saw the Japanese bombers escaping from the fire net of ground anti-aircraft fire and bombing Wuhan in the early morning, Chen Ruidian's eyes turned red. He hurriedly ordered four fighter planes to chase the Japanese bombers, and he took the remaining six fighter planes to fight with the Japanese fighter planes.
fight.
The Japanese fighter jets suffered losses at first, but now they have reacted and started fighting with the 26th Squadron's fighter jets as they rolled and rolled in the air.
The Japanese army often bombed, and the people of Wuhan were used to it. Although the air defense siren had already sounded, and the police and military police were organizing people to evacuate, many people were more concerned about the results of the air battle. Some simply stood on the street and looked into the sky.
The alarms were blaring and the police whistles were blowing, but they just refused to leave.
The Japanese bombers didn't make any big gains at the airport, so they were going to bomb other military and industrial targets in Wuhan. When they saw the people watching the battle on the street, the little Japanese went crazy and threw bombs at the crowd and opened their machine guns.
Blood is flowing on the streets of three towns in Wuhan.
The four chasing Chinese Air Force fighter jets saw the Japanese bombers massacring civilians, and they opened fire immediately. The pilot of a Japanese bomber just smiled ferociously, not expecting retribution to come so quickly. The fuel tank was blown, and the plane exploded immediately in the air. This time
, the common people watching the battle on the ground were not afraid of death threats and rushed into the streets, waving their arms and cheering.
It's a pity that the Japanese Type 96 bombers have good performance. When they encounter Chinese Air Force fighter jets with equal or similar numbers, they will run away in fear. But now there are only four fighter jets chasing them. The Japanese have lost one bomber and have 17 more. Xiao
The Japanese turned around and started fighting with the fighter jets, trying to destroy the four fighter jets.
Chen Ruidian had neither a numerical advantage nor a head start, and the fight with the Japanese fighter planes was very difficult. At this time, what he was looking forward to most was for reinforcements to arrive quickly to encircle and suppress these sneak attack Japanese fighter planes. As a result, the reinforcements did not arrive, and the second wave of Japanese troops
The fleet has arrived again.
The second wave of Japanese fighter fleets is the Isshiki Type 97 fighter. This is a fighter that corresponds to the Japanese Type 96 carrier-based attack aircraft. It has a single seat, single engine and single wing, and has good air combat performance. It is the Japanese military's response to the short range of the Type 95 fighter.
, a new model developed with the shortcomings of weak firepower and poor combat capabilities, and it is also a front-line model of the Japanese army.
In the previous stage of the battle, the Chinese Air Force's method of dealing with the Type 97 fighter jets was to use Il-15s for dogfights and Il-16s to cooperate with sneak attacks. In this way, the Japanese aircraft rarely took advantage. But now Chen Ruidian's 26 Squadron is all-Illegal fighters.
Er 15, without the cooperation of Er 16, the decision will be made.
As soon as the second wave of Japanese aircraft arrived, several Japanese aircraft fought against a Chinese Air Force fighter, and the situation worsened unprecedentedly.
As soon as Chen Ruitian emerged from the encirclement of three Japanese planes, he saw his wingman being shot by the Japanese. A Japanese plane was chasing and shooting at the parachuting pilot. Chen Ruitian was furious and rushed down as soon as he pressed the nose of the plane.
Then he opened fire on the Japanese plane. The pilot of the Japanese plane was chasing the Chinese parachute pilot with a grin. He never dreamed that a mantis stalking a cicada and an oriole behind him, Chen Ruidian's fighter plane passed by him, and bullets hit his plane.
A series of bullet holes were made in the side until he was killed on the seat of the cockpit of the aircraft.
As soon as Chen Ruidian pulled out the plane, he felt the plane shake. When he looked up, he saw that the three Japanese planes that had just surrounded him were surrounding him. The machine guns on the planes were spitting flames. Needless to say, his plane was attacked by these little devils.
He was injured.
Chen Ruidian knew that there was no chance to break out of the encirclement anymore, so blood suddenly rushed to his face, and he used his fighter plane to directly hit the Japanese Jaap 97 fighter jet.
Seeing that Chen Ruidian's plane was already smoking, the little devil knew that the Chinese plane with the most sophisticated movements and the greatest results was finished. He was chasing after it triumphantly, trying to shoot Chen Ruidian's plane into a volley and explode. He never expected that the Chinese pilot would
After parachuting, Er did not fly the plane to escape, but instead played a desperate game of crashing the plane. In desperation, the Japanese pilot hurriedly accelerated to dodge. Just as he was about to dodge, at this moment, Chen Ruidian stepped on the left rudder with his left foot.
The fighter plane drifted to the left, and its wing slammed into the waist of the Japanese plane, like a sharp steel knife, cutting the Japanese plane into two pieces in one stroke.
At this time, Chen Ruidian's fighter plane lost its wings, completely lost its balance, lost control, and fell crookedly toward the west of Wuhan.
Chen Ruitian's ferocity frightened the other two Japanese planes. The little Japanese on the two planes did not dare to pursue them again, and watched Chen Ruitian staggering and falling. As a result, Chen Ruitian really succeeded in parachuting, and later returned to the sky again.
Continue to fight against the Japanese machine.
With the squadron leader Lieutenant Colonel Chen Ruidian parachuting out of the 26th Squadron of the Air Force, the battle with the Japanese army was basically coming to an end. At this time, the devil-like Japanese bombers were roaring and wreaking havoc, not to mention military targets and industrial targets, little devils
Even the small wooden boats parked on the banks of the Yangtze River and Han River were not spared. They kept dropping bombs, swooping and shooting, until Wuhan was regarded as a Shura field.