The Japanese army's defense on Jeju Island is not very strong. There is not even a military defense in the area of Hanlin Beach. However, Seogwipo, the landing point of the 73rd Marine Regiment, has a squadron of Japanese troops and a squadron of North Korean troops. This defense of more than a thousand
Under the attack of the navy's heavy artillery, the rear forces quickly gave up their beachhead positions.
At Hanlin Beach in the west, after a brief shelling, the Republican Army never found any sign of Japanese military activities. It was obvious that the Japanese focused most of their attention on northern Korea and Taiwan, and basically did not expect this attack.
The landing craft of the 13th Mainland Regiment rushed to the beach, but no enemy was found in this area.
At 7:20, the landing commander sent a telegram to the fleet flagship: "The landing was successful and no resistance was encountered!"
Subsequently, the 13th Army Regiment began to expand its stall, and amphibious combat vehicles modified from the Type 28 tank and this tank chassis also began to come ashore. This 22-ton amphibious tank was equipped with a 75mm cannon of 48 times the caliber.
Although its armor capability is slightly inferior to that of the Type 28 tank, it is more than enough to deal with Japanese armored troops.
The 3rd Battalion of the 13th Mainland Regiment advanced southward after landing its equipment. It did not encounter any armed forces along the way. At 11:20 in the morning, a small battle took place at Jiefu Rock. There was a small group of Japanese troops defending here. The 3rd Battalion
It took about 10 minutes
Within minutes, this infantry team with only three grenades was completely wiped out. The 1st Battalion expanded to the Huanglong Temple area deep to the northeast. The resistance they encountered was stronger. Here the Japanese deployed a squadron of Japanese troops.
There are also some artillery pieces.
At 10 a.m., the 73rd Marine Regiment also successfully landed in Seogwipo. The two Marine Regiments that landed early intended to connect the landing sites in the southwest of Jeju Island.
At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the 2nd Marine Division and the 9th Marine Division arrived at Jeju Island, and a large number of personnel and supplies began to come ashore. The situation on the island was irreversible.
It was not until this time that the Japanese base camp woke up from a dream. The Republican Army's landing on Jeju Island was a blow to them. The Republican Army's combat purpose was clearly revealed at this time: regardless of the Japanese army's heavy defense and large-scale construction
The fortifications were of North Korea, the outer Northeast and Taiwan, but pointed directly at the Japanese mainland.
The Republican Army's landing operation on Jeju Island shocked Emperor Hirohito. At the cabinet meeting in front of the Imperial Palace, the Chief of Naval Command, Shitaro Shimada, vowed that he would do his best to protect Jeju Island, which calmed the emperor. Returning to the Navy Ministry, the island
Taro Taro immediately called the newly appointed commander of the combined fleet, Yamamoto Isoroku, and asked the entire combined fleet to make retaking Jeju Island their top priority, no matter what the cost.
It was not until 2:30 in the afternoon that 52 bombers of the Japanese 12th Air Wing, which scrambled from Shimonoseki Airport, rushed to the sky above Jeju Island. The destroyer Jining, which was serving as the peripheral guard, first discovered traces of the enemy aircraft on the radar.
The 1st and 3rd Air Fleets, which served as flank guards, immediately dispatched 120 fighter jets to intercept.
In this battle, the aviation fleet mainly performed cover missions, so each aircraft carrier replaced two bomber squadrons with two fighter squadrons. Each warship carried 72 fighter jets, and the nine aviation warships carried a total of more than 560 fighter jets, which was enough
Ensure air safety in the landing zone.
Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Chao, commander of the 1st Air Wing Fighter Group, personally led the interception team. The advantage of the air warning radar is that it can detect enemy aircraft groups more than 200 kilometers away. It not only bought nearly half an hour for the fighter planes to take off, but also
It also pointed out the direction of the enemy's attack.
Major Yoshiro Yamashita led 32 of the latest Type 97 fighter jets belonging to the Army's 3rd Flying Group Shimonoseki Air Force to escort 52 bombers of various types cobbled together by the Japanese Army. These bombers actually included 16 slow-speed bombers.
Type 92 biplane bomber.
Japan's aviation industry officially started in 1925, but with limited national strength and the impact of the Great Kanto Earthquake, Japan's aviation industry and technology development were still very slow. Before that, although the Japanese Navy built what is known as the world's first aircraft carrier
Fengxiang aircraft carrier
, but the Japanese did not understand the purpose of the aircraft carrier. Since the Hosho was launched in 1922, it has been floating on the sea as a floating iron box. It was not until 1925 that 35 Gaudelon aircraft were purchased from France, and the aircraft carrier was finally
True to its name.
Seeing that the Navy had aircraft, the envious Army also wanted to have such a thing. Although these "horse manures" did not understand the use of aircraft, the Army also spent money to purchase 25 aircraft. This was also the Japanese Army Aviation
The origin of the team. The original Japanese Army Aviation was just a decoration. Before the "Northeast Incident" broke out in 1931, the entire Japanese Army had only more than 50 aircraft in total.
During the "Northeast Incident", due to Zhang Xueliang's order of non-resistance, the Japanese Kwantung Army easily seized more than 80 intact combat aircraft from Feng Jun, and based on this, the Kwantung Army Flying Team was formed, which was later renamed
"Army Second Flying Group". For a long time, the number and size of the Second Flying Group of the Kwantung Army was far larger than that of the "Army First Group" with its headquarters in Gifu.
After the war began, the Japanese Army hastily established the Third Flying Group to be responsible for the defense of Taiwan.
As the war progressed, the Second Flying Group stationed in Kanto State was almost wiped out by the Republic Army Air Force at the beginning of the war. Then the Japanese Army reorganized the Second Flying Group in North Korea, but its strength was not as good as before. Currently, the Second Flying Group
The Second Aviation Group has less than 150 combat aircraft of various types.
The Army's Third Flying Group in Taiwan also almost suffered a disaster. It was finally reorganized in China and currently has more than 160 aircraft of various types.
Since the Army's First Flying Group is mainly responsible for the air defense of Tokyo and Kyoto, it suffered little loss in the several raids carried out by the Republic Navy on Kyushu and Wuhai. It currently has 224 aircraft of various types. However, the Japanese Army's flight models are old.
The total number of aircraft that can truly undertake combat missions does not exceed 200.
The Navy's bombing of Nagasaki destroyed two important Japanese aircraft manufacturers: Mitsubishi Nagasaki Aircraft Factory and Kawasaki Aircraft Co., Ltd. This severely damaged the Japanese aviation industry, which originally produced less than 2,000 aircraft per year. Currently, Japan has only
The annual aircraft production of three large aircraft factories, Nakajima Aircraft Factory, Nagoya Mitsubishi Aircraft Factory and Aichi Aircraft Co., Ltd. in Gunma Prefecture has been reduced to 1,200 aircraft, which is far from being able to meet wartime consumption.
.
Moreover, due to the blockade of the Republic Navy, it is difficult for Japan, which lacks resources, to import enough aluminum metal.
The 122 "Sakers" were divided into three waves and quickly rushed towards the direction of the Japanese bomber group. Two escort squadrons led by Yamashita Koshiro flew in front of the bomber group and maintained a distance of about 10 minutes.
The first two squadrons of "Saker Falcons" pounced on the Japanese escort fighters from an altitude of 4,000 meters, and the fighters from both sides fought together. The FJ-108 Falcons equipped by the Republic Navy were stronger than the Type 97 equipped by the Japanese.
The performance is much higher, the FJ-108 fighter can reach a top speed of 587
kilometers, while the Japanese Type 97 fighter jet has a speed of only 460 kilometers. In addition, in terms of armament, the FJ-108 Falcon is equipped with two 20 mm aerial cannons and two 12.7 mm aerial machine guns, and its firepower output is higher than that of only 2
The Type 97 fighter with a 7.7mm machine gun is much stronger.
The air battle that took place in the Korean Strait was without any suspense and turned into a one-sided massacre. The Republican Navy lost a total of 6 fighter jets, and all 84 aircraft sent by the Japanese Army Air Force were shot down, and no one escaped. The Republican Navy lost a total of 6 fighter jets.
Three of the six aircraft were crashed by Japanese planes in air battles, and the other three fell into the sea when they returned to the aircraft carrier for landing after being injured.
The only thing worth mentioning about this battle is that the Japanese aviation forces discovered a new method of air combat-suicide collision. Later, this desperate combat method also caused headaches for the republican aviation forces.