Chapter 325 French 75mm Anti-Aircraft Gun?

For the black general Baoyan, there are only two options in front of him now.

Either launch an attack decisively, retreat immediately after a wave of attacks, and maybe there is a chance to retreat to a safe airspace before the enemy's air force arrives at the battlefield.

This option also has disadvantages. His intuition has been reminding him that the enemy below is very likely to have a backhand.

The second option is to continue to test until the Eighth Route Army loses patience and takes out all its cards.

The risk of this option is not small, after all, they are not fighting at home and time waits for no one.

The Eighth Route Army's Air Force 1st Division may arrive at the battlefield at any time. Once bitten by those locust-like guys, the slower light explosive flying team is estimated to have to stay.

After weighing the pros and cons, the black general Baoyan made the final decision with difficulty.

The old Japanese soldier gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, and ordered in the communication channel with murderous intent:

"The general attack begins! The 47th and 48th independent flying squadrons are responsible for pinning down the enemy's air defense positions. The bombs can be used up, but at least half of the bullets must be left to prevent accidents!"

"Light bombers are free to choose targets, but they must focus on large-scale fortifications. You must also keep one-third of the bullets for self-defense."

"We have five minutes left. When the time is up, everyone must retreat according to the scheduled route!"

"Hi!"

As soon as the enemy planes in the sky moved, the anti-aircraft artillery regiment commander Liu showed an excited expression.

It has been five minutes since the start of the war, and the enemy has never made up his mind to launch a large-scale attack. He even feels that he can only play a supporting role today.

Finally, the patient waiting has paid off. Now is the best time for their regiment to show their strength!

"Fire! Everyone fire!"

"Shoot down all the Japanese planes for me!"

After receiving the order from their own commander, the artillery group that was originally hidden in the front position immediately removed the camouflage.

Sixteen Hotchkiss 25mm and nine Schneider 37mm anti-aircraft guns fired simultaneously, and a denser firepower network than before instantly enveloped the diving Army Air Force fighter planes.

The primary target of the soldiers was naturally the Type 97 light bombers that were a little further away.

The bomb load of these things was not small. If they were allowed to bomb the fortifications outside the city at will, it would inevitably cause trouble for the subsequent defensive battle.

Moreover, the Type 97 light bombers were less flexible and much easier to fight than those slippery fighters.

"Boom! Boom!"

After a loud noise, the two dive bombers turned into fireballs at a height of one thousand meters, and then fell straight to the ground.

This was not because the Japanese pilots reacted slowly, but mainly because the timing of the soldiers' attack was tricky enough.

At an altitude of less than two thousand meters, the pilots had no chance to maneuver at all, and almost pushed the gun barrel into the mouth of the enemy.

The sudden explosion stunned the black general Baoyan, who was still fighting with the anti-aircraft artillery position, for half a second. He even almost hit an oncoming shell.

At this time, the old Japanese's expression was very interesting, switching rapidly between confusion, anger and shock.

"What?"

"The enemy really has a trick up their sleeve. They actually have a batch of anti-aircraft guns?"

Confused, because the Eighth Route Army has changed too much.

It has been less than a year since I returned to my homeland. I just studied new tactics for a period of time at the Akeno Flight School and the Yokosuka Air Force of the Navy.

How come after I came back, the local Eighth Route Army has turned into a rich man, and its field air defense capability is even stronger than that of the Empire's Type A Division.

Angry and shocked, because the enemy really looked down on me.

Facing the attack of five flying squadrons and his carefully designed multiple feint tactics, the Eighth Route Army commander below dared to keep a reserve.

Although in this battle of patience, the black general Baoyan was completely defeated by Captain Liu. But as one of the few ace pilots in the Army Aviation, the Japanese were very unwilling to accept the defeat.

However, there was no extra time for him to vent his emotions at this moment. The battlefield was changing rapidly and every second was important. The team members were still waiting for the next combat order.

After a brief thought, the black general Baoyan ordered in the communication channel:

"The general plan remains unchanged, and the light bomber flight team continues to attack freely."

"Independent flight squadrons 47 and 48, we must destroy the enemy's air defense positions! Either the enemy dies or we die."

Now all fighter planes are at a very low altitude, and forcing a dive means that they need to fly at low altitude. Facing an unreasonable number of anti-aircraft guns, exposing the belly of the aircraft is no different from committing suicide by cutting the stomach.

Rather than dying in vain, it is better to destroy the Eighth Route Army's air defense positions as much as possible and forcibly complete the current task.

After the words fell, the Japanese lieutenant colonel secretly became fierce. While maintaining the dive, he kept dodging the oncoming shells and even found an opportunity to strafe the ground.

With the leader leading by example, the rest of the Japanese soldiers made the same choice and continued to perform the task of attracting firepower in the face of the metal storm.

In 1941, the Japanese soldiers were still at their peak in terms of fighting will and personal accomplishment.

Otherwise, there might be a talent like Sasaki Tomoji on the battlefield, who would perform the unique skill of serving the locust nine times.

Moreover, the positions arranged by the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region outside Datong were large enough to accommodate 63 aircraft in combat at the same time.

If a group of aircraft had to attack in several waves like in a certain ship world, who knows how many would be shot down by anti-aircraft artillery on the ground.

When the devils launched a hysterical attack, the artillery groups of the Eighth Route Army were getting smoother and smoother, and the overall performance was very calm.

The initial panic was because the soldiers really had no experience. At most, they aimed rigidly, and it was not easy to calculate the lead time.

After all, everyone used to be infantry, and only had some experience in shooting planes with light and heavy machine guns.

However, battlefield experience is gained through actual combat. The tacit understanding between the members of the artillery group requires everyone to go through the test of blood and fire.

After firing hundreds of shells in a few minutes, many veterans have been on the right track, and even corrected some wrong habits during training on the spot.

Accompanied by the sound of anti-aircraft guns firing and the roar of piston engines of various types of aircraft, the battle between the anti-aircraft artillery regiment and the two flying squadrons officially entered a white-hot stage.

Thirty-four explosions of dust rose from the anti-aircraft artillery regiment's position, and multiple artillery groups were shrouded in smoke.

Then, then nothing happened.

The two squadrons led by the black general Baoyan were both experimental units. Their Type 1 Fighting Falcon and Type 2 Zhong Kui were Ki-43 Type 1A and Ki-44 prototypes respectively.

The former could carry two Type 92 15 kg bombs, while the latter did not even have a rack.

How could they bomb the carefully prepared anti-aircraft positions of the Eighth Route Army with these weapons? Could it be that they had to rely on mysterious cohesion?

You sing and I come on stage.

After the three axes of the Japanese were completed, the anti-aircraft artillery regiment's counterattack power reached its peak. From time to time, a fighter plane would be blown up in the air, after all, bulletproof steel plates could not stop shells above 25 mm.

In just one round of continuous output, the Japanese lost five Type 97 single-light aircraft and two Type 1 Fighting Falcons.

The remaining aircraft were also more or less damaged. Whether it would affect driving and combat operations depends on the luck of the pilots.

Looking at the anti-aircraft artillery position below that was swept by him, and then looking at the left wing that was not too seriously damaged, the black general Baoyan clenched his fist unwillingly.

No other reason, he really couldn't lick it.

With only two 12.7 and two 7.7 mm aircraft machine guns, they could not cause any substantial damage to the Eighth Route Army.

After a moment, the old devil almost squeezed out a command from his teeth.

"Everyone, retreat!"

"We don't need to continue fighting, today's goal has been barely achieved."

As soon as these words came out, members of each flight squadron couldn't wait to leave the battlefield. No one wanted to fight such a frustrating battle, it was like every punch hit into cotton.

Fortunately, the previous confrontation was not completely fruitless. They at least disrupted the rhythm of the Eighth Route Army's anti-aircraft artillery and gained an opportunity for the current evacuation.

After consuming some machine gun bullets and all bombs, the maneuverability of the three types of devil fighters increased slightly.

In the pre-set plan, the survivors would make a big circle over Datong, and then retreat to Fengzhen Jining area.

Seeing the enemies preparing to escape, Captain Liu picked up the communicator with red eyes and called friendly forces. If the Black General Baoyan and his party wanted to retreat smoothly, they would have to pass through the territory of the other two regiments.

"Lao Wang, Lao Zhang!"

"The devils are going to run! They will pass through your defense zone! Never let the enemy go comfortably!"

The enemy planes are eager to get away, and they will definitely not fight or fight.

In a sense, this is a good time to collect tolls. Who would not like an opponent who doesn't fight back or scold?

"Got it!"

"Don't worry! I've been waiting for it!"

The movement on the main front position is not small, and every move there affects the hearts of the comrades.

When the two regiment commanders saw the enemy's retreat, they immediately ordered the artillery groups to prepare for battle. Shanxi is the territory of the Eighth Route Army, how can you come and go as you say?

······

When the city and left-wing positions were blocking enemy aircraft, the deputy regiment commander had already come to the command post with a loss report.

"Captain, our losses this time are acceptable. After a fierce battle, a total of seven positions suffered varying degrees of damage."

"According to the current statistics, there are 68 lightly and seriously wounded soldiers, who have been sent to the county hospital by the stretcher team. There are seven soldiers who died, and their bodies have been collected."

After hearing the report, Captain Liu's face was full of bitterness.

The devils are not human, and they die if they die. They have no parents, so naturally no one will feel sorry for them.

Our own soldiers are different, each of them is a good comrade with flesh and blood. Seventy-five casualties in a ten-minute battle, he really feels bad as a regiment commander.

As if he could see the commander's self-blame, the deputy commander patted his thick shoulders and then comforted him:

"Commander, our regiment has gained a lot in this battle. In addition to the two planes shot down in the initial raid, we shot down seven more in the subsequent battles."

"Nine planes, which was something we could never even think of before. The sacrifice of our comrades was not in vain!"

"Through the battle just now, we have also summed up a lot of experience. If there is another opportunity to fight against enemy planes next time, the soldiers will definitely go to a higher level!"

"Okay! We must avenge our comrades!"

In addition to the results of the soldiers' hard training, the optical sights on the 37mm anti-aircraft guns also played an important role in the current battle record.

Compared with the simple mechanical sights on the Hotchkiss 25mm anti-aircraft guns, the optical sights greatly improved the efficiency of each gun group. Of the nine planes shot down, six were shot down by the 37 guns.

Perhaps one day in the future, the anti-aircraft artillery unit of the Eighth Route Army will have a 37mm anti-aircraft gun with ten red stars engraved on the gun shield.

As if thinking of something, the deputy regiment commander suddenly asked before leaving:

"Commander, I heard that Director Huang has prepared a new weapon for us, which should be a larger caliber anti-aircraft gun."

Unlike ordinary soldiers, the commanders of the three main anti-aircraft artillery regiments have to go to the headquarters for training. During this period, they will more or less hear some rumors about new weapons.

After all, the Taiyuan Arsenal is also near the headquarters, where all anti-aircraft guns are produced.

"Well, it's true."

"But I also heard it from hearsay, it seems to be a 75mm anti-aircraft gun."

······

After officially evacuating Datong airspace, the black general Baoyan breathed a sigh of relief.

The process of this operation was too bumpy. The enemy's anti-aircraft artillery alone exhausted them. He even felt like simulating a battle with a navy deer.

Until now, the old devils understood a few things, that is, why the First Army was completely wiped out in Shanxi, and why the troops stationed in Mongolia and the direct troops of the North China Front Army were so nervous.

No, the Eighth Route Army was too strong.

After a moment, the black general Baoyan looked at his car.

Regarding the performance of the Type 2 Zhong Kui today, objectively speaking, it is still quite good.

Compared with the Type 97 fighter, it is simply a powerful beast with a omnipotent dive, climb and roll speed.

The shortcomings are also obvious, the first of which is the lack of firepower.

If this fighter is equipped with a 20mm cannon, there will be no embarrassing scene of being unable to lick the ground. Even if the overall ammunition is less, he dares to fight the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery position.

Secondly, it is a bit uncomfortable to drive, and the forward vision can be used for action.

After the summary, the black general Baoyan picked up the communicator at hand and said to the survivors of the 47th and 48th squadrons:

"Please rest assured, we are very fast and the enemy's Hurricane fighters can't catch up. In other words, we are in a very safe situation now."

Without waiting for the team members to reply, the old devil continued:

"During the return flight, I need you to recall the driving experience just now and think about the advantages and disadvantages of the new fighter. This is the ultimate goal of our trip."

"Whether it is fighting with Britain, the United States, or the Eighth Route Army of the Republic of China, we need to continuously improve the performance of the aircraft!"