Chapter 1502: Going Into the Artillery Array Alone!

"Chinese, all dead!" In the jungle below, a Japanese army lieutenant colonel wearing a camouflage cap looked up at the Chinese fighter planes that were dragging smoke and rising at high speed in the sky, with a ferocious smile on his face.

Although he did not ambush the most advanced "Thunder" fighter plane equipped by China, it would be an excellent military achievement if he could shoot down 6 P-40s in one fell swoop.

Perhaps the world of fighter planes is at high altitudes, but at this low and medium altitude, the 24 20mm anti-aircraft guns under his command are definitely the nightmare of all fighter planes.

"Boom!" There was a loud bang!

The fuel tank of a P-40 fighter plane was penetrated by a 20mm warhead, and the leaked aviation fuel was ignited by the flames at the tail of the plane, causing the fuel to explode and directly burn the fighter plane that was leaving at high speed into a ball of fire.

Pilot, there is no chance to parachute!

"Onboard!" The Japanese infantrymen on the ground cheered like a tsunami.

The Chinese infantrymen watching this scene on the high ground punched the trenches hard. Some of them felt the pain of seeing their air force comrades sacrificed, but more of them watched their own fighter planes struggling to hold on in the ground artillery fire, but they were powerless.

"Where are our guns? Why are our guns firing at the dog-days?" The young soldier on the 221 high ground asked angrily.

"The Japanese anti-aircraft artillery positions are all 2,500 meters away, and they are all in the dense forest. How do you want the artillery to fire? Do you want them to fire blindly?" Tan Tai Mingjing said calmly with a telescope in his hand without turning his head.

"Squad leader, look, what is that plane going to do?" A soldier on the side suddenly exclaimed.

There was a roar of an engine in the sky, even overwhelming the sound of the anti-aircraft artillery shells firing and exploding.

Tan Tai Mingjing looked up and his eyes suddenly widened.

When the ground anti-aircraft firepower is dense, the best way for the fighter plane to escape is to drop the heavy bombs on the wings to reduce the weight, and then quickly pull up to high speed to get out of the range of the anti-aircraft guns.

It is definitely an unwise choice to try to compete with the ground anti-aircraft guns with the heavy machine guns on the aircraft, because the anti-aircraft guns are protected by fortifications, and the number is definitely more than one or two, and the value of both sides is completely not at the same level.

Cheng Tieshou, the commander of the anti-aircraft battalion, once said: "An airplane costs tens of thousands of silver dollars, and it takes several years to train a pilot. Let alone exchanging one anti-aircraft gun, even 4 anti-aircraft guns are worth it. If the Japanese dare to exchange, I will accompany them to the end. If they dare not exchange, then I will chase them to the end. No matter which choice is made, the brave will win when they meet on a narrow road!"

This is the law followed by the anti-aircraft battalion when competing with the Japanese aircraft group, and it is also one of their secrets of victory!

Of course, the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun also contributed to this. This kind of anti-aircraft gun can be powerful on the European battlefield. Even the Americans imitated it in large quantities in the middle of the war, not to mention the Japanese technology tree.

In general, if you want to deal with ground anti-aircraft firepower, the best way is to drop bombs at medium and high altitudes and destroy it with carpet bombing, rather than rushing to medium and low altitudes to play bayonet with it.

But this fighter plane that dived almost straight down from an altitude of 2,500 meters obviously did not think so. From the roar of the aircraft engine, it can be seen that the pilot almost pushed the throttle to the bottom and entered the full-speed dive mode.

It no longer looks like a moth flying into the fire, but like a meteorite falling from a high altitude. The terrible air friction caused by the high speed makes people seem to have an illusion that sparks are shining on the metal fuselage, although reason tells the Chinese soldiers on the ground that it is the reflection of the scorching sun at noon.

The extreme determination and speed made the people on the ground worry that the fighter plane would fall apart before reaching low altitude because of its high speed.

The Chinese soldiers on the ground naturally could not hear the conversation from the air.

"Deputy Captain Lin, Tiger has been killed, Green Snake and Eagle were hit and need to make an emergency landing at Zhijiang Airport. I will cover the brothers to evacuate!" Air Force Second Lieutenant Chen Xiangrong reported to Lin Heng, who was hovering in the sky, with grief.

"Assholes, you are not high enough, what can you use to cover? Listen to my orders, continue to pull up and detach, escort Green Snake and Eagle to Zhijiang Airport and return to the base! The three formations in the west of the city continue to perform the mission, and the flight formation is under the unified command of Lieutenant Zhao Yishu! Attention, this is an order, and those who do not execute it will be punished by military law!" Lin Heng's low roar spread throughout the wireless communication channel.

"Deputy Captain Lin, what are you doing?" The exclamation came from the wireless communication channel.

This time, Lin Heng did not reply, but looked up at the photo posted in the cockpit. It was taken on the eve of his going abroad to study. He was still a young boy at that time. His parents and his elder sister, who was 11 years older than him, stood beside him with a smile. The young master of the famous Lin family had a very bright future.

Unfortunately, the war has come!

"Father, mother, elder sister, see you in the next life!" Lin Heng sighed in his heart and pushed down the rudder and throttle lever fiercely.

Lin Heng, who has participated in air battles of all sizes for no less than 50 times, knows too well what his choice this time represents.

The chance of survival of a single aircraft breaking into the firepower network woven by ground anti-aircraft guns will not exceed 10%!

But as the highest commander of the Chinese Air Force at that time, he had no choice.

If no one could attack the ground to attract the enemy's firepower, only one or two of the five fighters struggling at a low altitude of 900 meters could escape alive.

For his comrades and precious fighters, he could only choose to sacrifice himself.

The silver fighter plane leaping straight down from the sky was not only visible to the Chinese soldiers on the ground, but also to the Japanese air defense battalion that was closer and could see it even more clearly.

"Yoshi! I like this kind of bravery! To show respect for the warriors, I will treat you with 75mm anti-aircraft guns." The army lieutenant colonel on the ground was not surprised but happy when he saw the fighter planes rushing down from the high altitude.

Until now, the four 75mm anti-aircraft guns have been hidden and not fired. Aren't they just waiting for more and bigger fish to take the bait?

The only regret is that only one of the three Chinese fighter planes in the sky came down, and the other two immediately drove away at high speed after dropping a few bombs on the ground.

It seems that brave people are a minority after all!

However, the Japanese army lieutenant colonel still overestimated his communication speed and underestimated the almost terrible aircraft control skills of the Chinese air force captain.

The four 75mm anti-aircraft guns distributed in an area of ​​5 square kilometers with a straight line distance of more than 1,000 meters have not received the order to fire, and Lin Heng's P-40 fighter plane No. 4305 has already dived to a low altitude of 800 meters.

As Lin Heng pressed the bomb button, two 500-pound bombs broke away from the wings and glided for only more than 400 meters before crashing into the ground, turning an entire hillside into a sea of ​​fire.

The Japanese Army lieutenant colonel's face twitched fiercely. There were at least four 20mm anti-aircraft guns there. Under such a violent air wave, it was estimated that there were few survivors.

This Chinese pilot who dared to rush down at low altitude was definitely the best in the Chinese Air Force.

"Baga! 1st Squadron, 2nd Squadron, focus your fire and kill him!" Although the Japanese Army lieutenant colonel knew that the purpose of this Chinese pilot was to attract firepower to save the five Chinese fighters that were still struggling to break away from the high altitude, his fierce appearance had proved that he was worth it!

Eight of the 16 anti-aircraft guns that were still roaring turned their muzzles and began to bombard Lin Heng's fighter.

After dropping the bomb, the fighter plane No. 4305 was even more lithe, like a swift in a storm, constantly flying through the deadly raindrops and spewing out its anger.

Yes, Lin Heng not only kept controlling the fighter plane to avoid the continuous artillery fire below, but also launched an attack on the ground with the six onboard heavy machine guns of the P-40.

The six 12.7mm Browning heavy machine guns fired fiercely, and even the tanks known as the king of land warfare did not dare to ignore them. The fierce firepower instantly formed six visible earth dragons on the ground.

For a while, the ground was also covered with grass, trees, and gravel. The sandbag fortifications that the Japanese army temporarily piled up around the anti-aircraft guns were also shattered in front of the metal torrent composed of such thick metal bullets.

There was a 20mm machine gun group located right on the trajectory of one of the "earth dragons".

If you want to say that this artillery group is unlucky, then the Chinese fighter plane that just exploded into a ball of fire in the air is at least 50% of the credit of their gun. If they hadn't just hit the tail of the fighter plane with two shells and ignited the flame, the fighter plane would not have been destroyed in such a short time.

But if you want to say that they are lucky, then what about the ballistic trajectory that directly hit the metal torrent extending from 150 meters away?

The P-40 has a maximum speed of 580 kilometers per hour. In such a desperate environment, Lin Heng had already driven the engine to the point of smoking. The distance of 150 meters is just a breath away.

At least 30 bullets as thick as fingers swept around this artillery, and the two gunners were instantly beaten into blood gourds. The shrapnel splashing on the steel made several Japanese soldiers around scream miserably.

Lin Heng, who had taken advantage, did not turn the rudder to the left to disengage, but made a sharp turn and rushed to the Japanese artillery position on the right hillside that was still chasing his comrades and shooting.

The six aircraft-mounted heavy machine guns once again spit out fierce fire snakes, and even Tan Tai Mingjing, who was still 3 kilometers away, could see the smoke and dust rising from the hillside through the telescope.

"This pilot brother is really good." Although the soldier lying next to Tan Tai Mingjing could not see the crazy attack traces of his own fighter with his naked eyes, he knew from the direction of the fighter that the fighter was attacking the ground with its own strength, and its purpose was to escape smoothly for the five fighters in the sky.

"It's just that he will be very dangerous, and all the Japanese artillery fire will be aimed at him." Tan Tai Mingjing's face was extremely serious.

"Bang bang bang!" As the white fog continued to explode in the sky, the faces of the Chinese infantrymen were collectively ugly.

In addition to the 2mm anti-aircraft machine guns, the Japanese actually had larger caliber anti-aircraft guns, and the original survival rate of only 10% was almost reduced to 0.

Four Taisho 11-year type 75mm anti-aircraft guns distributed on several hills fired at the Chinese fighter plane that was madly advancing and sweeping the ground. The sky was densely covered with white fog. The nearest fog almost bloomed on the wing, but the fighter plane passed by at high speed, leaving the white fog far behind the fighter plane.

The Chinese soldiers finally let go of their hanging hearts.

Perhaps only Lin Heng in the fighter plane knew that the violent shaking of the fighter plane meant that the shrapnel flying out of the white fog that was only seven or eight meters away from the fighter plane finally hit the fuselage of the fighter plane. Even if it had not hit the key position, the fighter plane could still maintain its combat effectiveness for the time being.

However, as he continued to go deeper, when all the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery aimed at him, he had no way to survive.

But what does it matter? Looking up at the sky, he saw that five fighter planes had already leaped into an altitude of 2,000 meters, basically out of the attack range of the 20mm machine guns. His tactical goal had basically been achieved.

"Baga! Damn Chinese, you must die!"

The Japanese Army Lieutenant Colonel looked at the five Chinese fighter planes in the sky and had already escaped. Although the two fighter planes dragging thick smoke were shaky, they still escaped to the southwest under the protection of several Chinese fighter planes. His back molars were almost gritted. Broken.

And all of this was caused by the Chinese fighter plane swooping down from high altitude, which reduced his ability to shoot down 6 enemy planes to only 2.

One has exploded in the air, while the other is naturally a fighter jet still racing at low altitude.

Although several 20mm anti-aircraft guns were lost, there are still 15 that can attack the sky at this time, and four 75mm anti-aircraft guns from the Taisho 11th year were even added as the bottom of the pressure box.

Although the muzzle velocity of the 75mm anti-aircraft gun is low and the rate of fire is not high enough, it is a large-caliber anti-aircraft gun after all. It has a shooting height of 7900 meters into the air. The 6.5kg projectile is also lethal enough. The barrage constructed by four concentrated fires is enough to destroy any target. The low-altitude fighter planes were buried in the blue sky.

This Chinese fighter plane is dead.

"Deputy Captain Lin, hold on, I'm coming!" Chen Xiangrong in the sky had already begun to control the steering of the fighter plane.

"Exchange one for five. I've made a lot of money. If you come here, not only will I not be able to survive, but I will also lose another plane and a pilot who I trained with great difficulty. You are planning to make me die without being happy, right?" "Lin Heng did not use military orders to suppress his subordinates' behavior this time, but replied calmly.

"Yes," the air force second lieutenant burst into tears and choked with sobs, not knowing how to answer.

"My personal belongings were packed before I got on the plane. Remember to send the package of belongings to my eldest sister for me. I have already left the address." Lin Heng continued to say calmly. "However, if the devil wants to kill me, it's not that easy!"

As he spoke, Lin Heng fiercely turned the rudder and slowed down. The fighter jet, which was advancing rapidly, suddenly turned to the left like a nimble bird. At the same time, the plane flew directly to a low altitude of 300 meters, thus avoiding the attack on him. Rows of shells were fired over.

"Damn it, the Chinese wants to run away, kill him, kill him!" The Japanese Army Lieutenant Colonel's face instantly became extremely ugly.

Everyone thought that this fighter would use a straight-line and pull-up method to avoid the barrages that were constantly attacking him. The four 75mm anti-aircraft cannons had even preset two barrages at 1000 meters and 1500 meters in advance to intercept him.

But unexpectedly, this Chinese fighter plane braved the intensive firepower of the 20mm cannon and rushed to a low altitude of 300 meters, causing all the preset barrage walls to fail.

Of course, for this experienced air defense captain, the Chinese fighter plane turning left means that he is fleeing towards the Chinese position. In this way, even if the fighter plane is hit and catches fire, he still has a chance to parachute above the Chinese position. escape.

"Everyone, get ready, come out with me to rescue people! Qiangzi, go and report to the platoon commander and company commander." Tantai Mingjing watched the fighter planes draw an arc and fly towards him, with admiration flashing in his eyes At the same time, he responded immediately.

Continuing to fly forward can only lead to a dead end. Flying towards his own position still has a glimmer of hope. The Chinese pilot he has never met has an excellent response to the battle.

As he spoke, Lin Heng felt the aircraft tremble suddenly and its speed slow down rapidly. Looking from the rearview mirror, the tail of the aircraft was almost invisible. It must have been destroyed by a cannonball.

As the speed of the aircraft dropped, the 20mm cannon below chased the fighter plane and fired harder and harder.

One shell even directly hit the cockpit. If the cockpit was not protected by 20mm armor, the 20mm warhead would have penetrated the cockpit and beat Lin Heng into pieces.

However, the violent vibration deformed the cockpit components and completely locked the canopy. Lin Heng, who had made all preparations for parachuting, calmly pushed the canopy, but found in despair that he could not push it.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down enough, Lin Heng gave up the urge to smash the canopy with his pistol. If the canopy was shattered at such a high speed, the howling wind would turn the broken glass into a more deadly threat than shrapnel.

If you can’t parachute, you have to make an emergency landing!

The speed had dropped to less than 200 kilometers per hour. The black-smoking fighter plane flew over the top of the mountain, continued to sway and descend, and jumped hundreds of meters in a completely deserted farmland before finally stopping.

In this farmland, 400 meters in front of Highland 221, Tantai Mingjing and six soldiers had already jumped off the cliff and were climbing over the deep trench and bending forward towards the place where the plane stopped.

When the plane was still tens of meters above the ground, Tantai Mirror had already determined the approximate location of the plane's emergency landing and got out of the position first. It was not until this time that the Japanese troops more than 700 meters away reacted.

"Yo Xi! Catch him alive!" A Japanese major on the other side was ecstatic.

Pilots are high-tech arms for both China and Japan, and they are far more useful alive than dead. Whether they are taking pictures and posting them in newspapers to humiliate the enemy, or exchanging prisoners of war, they are excellent bargaining chips.

During the week of fighting, more than ten Chinese and Japanese pilots successfully parachuted, but only two Chinese pilots fell into the hands of the Japanese. One of them refused to surrender and held on for half a day with a pistol before leaving his last bullet. own.

According to visual inspection, there are more than 5 Japanese pilots in the hands of the Chinese. The Japanese army urgently needs more chips to exchange these precious pilots.

The Japanese army sent at least one infantry squad towards the fighter plane.

"The entire company of mortars and heavy machine guns will block them for me at all costs." Tu Yunsheng, who arrived at the front line, calmly ordered. "In addition, ask for help from Battalion Commander Leng, and request the full support of the 1st Battalion Artillery Company and the Heavy Force Platoon."

As barrages exploded in the direction of the Japanese infantry, the Japanese soldiers on the front line also picked up the phone.

I'm afraid neither China nor Japan expected that for the sake of a Chinese pilot, the two warring parties would engage in an extremely large-scale precision artillery battle without engaging in offensive and defensive battles.

Even in the end, it was no longer simply blocking the opponent's infantry from advancing, but simply venting artillery fire.