At 9:45 a.m. on May 8, the order to take off to meet the enemy reached the Dongying Daqing Independent Torpedo Aircraft Battalion.
We still don’t know what happened in the Bohai Strait. We only found out after receiving the imperial edict. The captain and the airport commander immediately panicked, jumping up and down as if their claws were numb, looking for the pilot, the technician, the fuel director...
This is the first time for these humble officials to receive an imperial edict, but that's all. What's more terrible is that the emperor asked for an immediate takeoff, but most of the pilots are not at the airport at the moment. Shandong is a rear area, and it is usually lax.
Some of the pilots took leave to return to their hometowns, some went to Dongying City to play, and some of them disappeared to unknown places... The same was true for technicians and ground staff, who were all like this.
There are also those torpedo planes. It is said that there are only about 30 of them in the country, so they should be baby bumps. But because they are baby bumps, their mission is to guard the Bohai Sea and protect the gateway to Beijing and Tianjin. Facing the overwhelming advantage of the Nanming Navy,
, Beiqing has always pursued the policy of preserving its strength. No matter how the Nanming fleet shows off its power outside, the Beiqing does not care. As long as the Ming army does not enter the Bohai Sea, it has always been tolerated. Of course, it is impossible to let torpedo planes go out and actively provoke Nanming warships.
However, the Ming fleet has not entered the Bohai Sea for decades. In the more than ten years since the establishment of the Qing Air Force, the Bohai Sea has always been the world of the Qing Dynasty. When the torpedo aircraft brigade was first established, everything was quite fresh.
, a bit eager to get ready, but after a year or two, it was completely exhausted, and was quickly overwhelmed by the looseness, slackness, and decay prevalent in the Qing army's rear troops.
After receiving the imperial edict at 9:45, the entire airport went crazy, but it was not until 10:10 that 62 pilots and sufficient ground staff were summoned.
The 36 torpedo planes were hastily inspected, and 21 with minor problems were hauled out, filled with fuel, and mounted with torpedoes.
It wasn't until half past ten that the 21 heavy biplane torpedo planes flew off the ground like ducks.
At this time, the 2nd Fighter Group of the 7th Aviation Regiment, which was also at another airport in Dongying, had already taken off. 32 Jebie fighter jets had been waiting for them in the sky for ten minutes. If they waited a little longer, they would have to come down and refuel.
Okay. Now I finally saw this group of ducks.
Only then did the 53 biplanes begin to form a chaotic formation, and then flew unsteadily toward the northeast, looking for the Ming fleet.
The location of Dongying is very good. It is a protrusion of the Shandong Peninsula extending to the Bohai Sea, and it is right in the middle of the Bohai Sea. The distance to the east and west ends is almost the same. Taking off from here, whether it is to go east to the Bohai Strait or to the west.
Dagukou in Tianjin is only about 100 kilometers away, so the voyage is very advantageous.
But the pilots on every torpedo plane, whether they were the captain, the bombardier, or the machine gunner, all looked pale at this moment, as if they all knew that their fate was doomed. They knew that in the few years since the torpedo plane force was established, their total
Even the few symbolic flights were carefully prepared ten days and half a month ago when superior officials came to inspect.
They were also jealous of those guys who took leave to go back to their hometowns and went to Dongying to be romantic and happy. Those guys were lucky and escaped. Anyway, they would definitely be punished afterwards, but pilots are all precious little ones, and no matter how much punishment they are punished, they will not die.
Ah! God, it’s so unfair!
The enemy ship hasn't been seen yet, but almost every aircraft is paying the same attention. The bombardier and machine gunner began to use the in-flight radio to quietly discuss with the captain: throw away the torpedoes when seeing the enemy ship.
, then turned around and ran away.
…
At this time, 52 kilometers west of the Bohai Strait and about 100 kilometers northeast of Dongying, the Nanming Hongwu squadron has formed a circular air defense formation and is escorting the two aircraft carriers to turn around and sail southeast. The two aircraft carriers are sailing at a speed of 30 knots.
Drive at high speed against the wind and release the last batch of reconnaissance planes. The key reconnaissance direction is Dongying in the southwest. Because there is a brigade of torpedo planes there, which is the only force in the Bohai Sea circle that can pose a real threat to the fleet.
At 10:40, the two aircraft carriers Tianji and Tianxuan launched the last wave of reconnaissance aircraft, and the Hongwu squadron returned to the 090 due west course again, and the speed dropped to 20 knots.
A total of 64 Sea Kingfishers in 32 two-aircraft formations were released in two groups, more than half of which flew towards Dongying. There are currently 104 Sea Kingfishers on the two aircraft carriers.
…
At this time, the two planes of a Kingfisher formation were less than 30 kilometers away from the coast of Dongying and could already see the coast of Shandong. Although the reconnaissance planes were dispersed and not organized into a fleet, Dongying was
The main reconnaissance direction, the reconnaissance planes become more dense as they get here.
Now more than a thousand meters away on the left and right, a two-plane formation can be seen on each side.
The wingman of this two-plane formation is asking the leader via radio:
"Formation leader, the Shandong coast is ahead. How about we fly over Dongying and have a look at their airport? See if they have taken off. What do you think, formation leader? Over."
The captain said in a gloomy voice:
"Just follow me. You can go wherever I go, so you don't have to worry so much. Over."
"Ah, I understand. It's over."
Suddenly, the headphone's urgent voice came from the earphones:
"Attention, a fleet of aircraft has been spotted below at ten o'clock! You report it and follow me at the same time! I will take you over to have a look! Over!"
The wingman was excited:
"Understood! Over!"
When the lead aircraft pulled the control stick, the Kingfisher fighter flexibly rolled to the left, increased the throttle, and plunged straight towards the large group of aircraft in front of it on the left. The wingman followed suit and pounced, keeping his eyes wide open to protect the lead aircraft.
The last few words of this two-plane formation were heard by other formations. At the same time, the two formations closest to them also saw the fleet below and rushed down.
…
At this time, the Hongwu squadron, which was 100 kilometers away in the northeast, received a report from enemy aircraft.
"There are 32 enemy fighter planes and 21 torpedo planes... The Qing army should have 36 torpedo planes, but only 21 have been found. Where are the 15?"
In the command room of the Tianji aircraft carrier, the commander of the aircraft carrier formation played the enemy situation report, hesitated for ten seconds, and immediately ordered:
"Report to the flagship, request to turn to 120, drive at full speed against the wind, we want to fly again."
"Yes! Report to the flagship and request to divert to 120!"
Without wasting a moment, the two aircraft carriers first opened up high speed and turned sharply, with white waves rising from the bows. Then the entire fleet followed suit.
The fighter jets that had been waiting on the deck were launched at the same time, and the pilots had already been sitting in the cockpit. Now that they could finally take to the sky, they all let out a sigh of relief and felt excited.
Strong winds swept across the deck again, deafening, and fighter jets slowly climbed onto the runway one after another. The pilot extended his thumb to the ground crew next to him, then pushed up the canopy and rushed forward.
Soon, the two aircraft carriers each released 30 Kingfishers into the sky. The 28 that got up first went straight to Dongying, and the 32 that got up later were on guard over the fleet.
The commander of the aircraft carrier formation seemed to be relieved at this moment. He threw all the pencil triangles on the chart table, sat in a chair, rubbed his face lightly with his palms, and then sighed:
"The enemy had 32 fighter jets, while we only had three two-plane formations with six aircraft. But our boys were not afraid and attacked directly. Such morale and confidence were unimaginable a year ago.
.It seems that the era of Ming’s advantage over the Qing Dynasty has arrived.”
…
70 kilometers to the southwest, an aerial dogfight was ongoing. Two torpedoes had already been hit into the sea, and the rest of the torpedo planes fled in all directions.
Although the speed and flexibility of the Kingfisher fighter jets are far better than those of the Jebie biplane fighters, there is a huge disparity in numbers after all. Six Kingfisher fighters suddenly swooped down from high altitude and destroyed two torpedo planes with lightning speed, and then
I was trapped by more than thirty planes.
There are lines of fire intertwining and dancing in all directions. No matter how they turn over, the six Kingfishers can't get rid of the enemy planes. Because behind each of them, there are not one or two planes, but three, four, five or six. And even if they turn around in circles, they can't get rid of the enemy planes.
After losing one round, I immediately discovered that new enemy planes would appear in front, on the left, and on the right, and they would rush towards me in groups, spitting tongues of fire.
During the fight, three Jebie fighter jets dragged black smoke into the sea, while two Kingfisher fighter jets were hit and crashed into the sea.
The remaining four Kingfisher pilots finally remembered that their mission was to conduct reconnaissance, not to act as heroes. The four of them shouted to each other on the radio:
"Okay, okay, get out!"
"Run quickly! If you don't run, you won't be able to escape!"
"Let's go!"
"run!"
"You run first!"
"Run together!"
"Whoever doesn't run is a coward!"
…
The four Kingfishers opened their throttles and dived downwards at the same time, using their maximum speed to escape the battle.
The Qing army's aircraft group began to gather the torpedo planes, formed their formation again, and continued to move forward. However, of the remaining 19 torpedo planes, 5 of them had already lost their torpedoes while avoiding the attack and were now returning.
While the pilots of the remaining 14 torpedo planes were in shock, they were all filled with hatred: These guys were really smart. They dropped their torpedoes in order to avoid the enemy planes. No one could say anything, and they could go home immediately.
Everyone else is thinking that the next time they encounter an enemy plane, they must drop their torpedoes first.
But the captain’s vicious orders came from the earphones:
"Listen to me, don't throw any more torpedoes! What we are doing today is the emperor's mission, and it was ordered by the emperor himself! If you fail, the superiors want my head, and I want your heads too! Say it again,
Unless you see the enemy fleet, you are not allowed to throw torpedoes at me! If you are beaten, you will be beaten, and if you are hit, you will parachute! Anyway, it is not cold to jump into the sea on this day! You are just not allowed to throw torpedoes at me. Whoever throws torpedoes will be killed.
Who, heard it?"
The headphones "heard" listlessly... and at the same time, the crew members were abusing each other.
Before he finished speaking, a black spot appeared among the clouds in front of him, spread out widely, in groups of four, seven groups in total.
Another cry of panic rang out from the earphones of the Qing military fleet.
…
Just like before, the torpedo planes immediately dispersed and fled in all directions, and the 29 Zhebie planes immediately increased their throttle and rushed towards them.
However, things are different now. Just now, the Ming army only had 4 aircraft, but now there are 28.
The Ming army fleet leader ordered:
"The fifth, sixth, and seventh formations, go down and hunt ducks. The first, second, third, and fourth formations, follow me!"
Then he led 4 formations, a total of 16 Kingfishers, increased the throttle and pulled upward to seize altitude.
At the same time, cheers rang out from the earphones of 12 aircraft in the other three formations:
"Brothers, let's hunt ducks!"
For a time, there was a bloody fight over the sea.
The battle is divided into two levels. The upper level is a fight between fighter jets, while the lower level is not a battle at all, it is a one-sided pursuit. Those bi-wing torpedo planes escaping in a hurry are really like bulky ducks, constantly diving downwards.
They tried to get rid of the fighters behind them by diving at high speed. But the speed difference was too big. The Qing army's torpedo planes had a maximum speed of only 182 kilometers per hour, while the Ming army's Kingfisher fighters had a maximum speed of 392 kilometers per hour. They were not at the same level at all.
Especially since there were heavy torpedoes hanging under the belly of the torpedo plane, the pilots kept in mind the captain's threats and did not dare to throw them away. Before these "ducks" could finish their dive, they were overtaken by kingfishers one after another, and appeared above.
Jumping tracer fire line.
Several torpedo planes were shrouded in the tracer fire line, their wooden wings and fuselage were broken, and the open cockpit was filled with blood mist. The machine gunner at the rear was lying on his back with blood on his chest, and flames started to appear.
In the blink of an eye, six torpedo planes dragged long smoke towards the sea.
The remaining torpedo planes did not give up and immediately threw the torpedoes into the sea and fled. But even so, they could not escape the pursuit of the Kingfisher fighter jets. A few minutes later, the last torpedo plane towed
Catching black smoke, he fell headlong into the sea.
…
Although the battle at the upper level is a real battle, this battle also involves a huge disparity in strength.
16 Kingfishers fought against 29 Zhebies. On average, one Kingfisher had to fight 1.8 Zhebies. However, the quality and training advantages of the Ming army's fighter jets completely made up for the disadvantage in quantity. The Kingfisher is a new generation of single-winged aircraft.
The speed and flexibility of fighter jets are not comparable to that of the old-fashioned Jebie. In addition, the Jebie only has two 7.92mm machine guns, while the Kingfisher has four.
Not to mention that the pilots who came from the army this time were all veterans who had participated in the last air battle between the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Dongying Fighter Group of the Qing Army was a rear unit and had never experienced an air battle.
The battle was very short. In the first five minutes, 9 of the 29 Jebie fighters were shot down, and 3 of the 16 Kingfisher fighters were shot down. But by this time, the Qing army's torpedo planes had been wiped out.
The 12 Kingfisher fighter jets that were chasing them returned to the upper battlefield and joined the encirclement and suppression of Qing fighter jets.
The situation immediately became one-sided. Originally, the Ming Army had 13 aircraft versus 20, using quality to compete with quantity, and only had "some advantages"; now it suddenly became 25 versus 20, and it suddenly became an "absolute advantage."
Seeing that all the torpedo planes had been wiped out and that he had nothing to defend anymore, the leader of the Jebie fighter team immediately ordered to break away from the battle and return home.
But it's not that simple. The Kingfisher fighter's maximum speed is 40 kilometers per hour faster than Zhebie. If you want to chase it, the Qing fighter jets will simply not be able to escape.
The Kingfisher leader was about to issue an order to hunt down and annihilate the Qing fighter squadron, but a voice from the aircraft carrier sounded in the earphones:
"A wasp calls a bee, a wasp calls a bee..."
The leader held down his mask and replied: "Bee received it, please speak."
"The northwest reconnaissance formation has discovered Haidongqing fighter jets, about 80 kilometers away from you, about two squadrons in number... I order you to quickly break away from the battle and return home... I repeat, I order you to quickly break away from the battle and return home... Over."
The team leader had a cold war: Elite Qing fighter jets from the Beijing-Tianjin area were coming for reinforcements!
He immediately replied: "Bee received it, I understand. Return immediately, it's over."
The remaining 25 Kingfishers stopped chasing, reorganized, and turned around to fly northeast. The remaining 13 Jebie fighter jets of the Qing army also luckily escaped and were able to return.
…
At 11:20, the Kingfisher fleet returned to the aircraft carrier.
The Ming army's Kingfisher moved forward, while the Qing army's Haidongqing arrived on the back. However, they circled the designated airspace several times and found only parachutes floating on the sea, as well as floating oil stains and aircraft wreckage.
At the same time, the news that the Qing Dynasty's independent torpedo aircraft brigade was completely wiped out also spread back.