Chapter 324: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 334 Rescue of Air Force Advisor

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The sky northwest of Zhengzhou had thin clouds and glaring sunlight.

A mixed formation of the Soviet Volunteer Air Force, consisting of six I-15 Fighters and twelve SB2 Fast Bombers, was ordered to fly from Xi'an Airport to Wuhan to support the joint battle.

Unexpectedly, fifty Japanese fighters took off from Linfen Airport within the Second War Zone's defense area in Shanxi to intercept them.

On one SB2 Fast Bomber, Colonel Sol, who was preparing to serve as an Air Force Advisor to Xia Guo, was looking through the glass hatch at the continuous Qinling Mountains below.

"Enemy aircraft spotted! Ten o'clock direction, a large number of Japanese fighters!".

"There are some at four o'clock too, we've been ambushed by the Japanese devils!"

Hearing his subordinates' exclamations, Colonel Sol was also greatly shocked, never expecting his whereabouts to have been leaked!

Six brave I-15s immediately turned their noses and charged toward the Japanese aircraft group several times their number, trying to buy time for the bombers to withdraw.

The firing of the I-15 fighters' 7.62mm machine guns rang out in the sky, instantly starting the air battle.

Surrounded front and rear by Japanese fighters, the Soviet SB2 bomber formation could not head south and could only break out at full speed toward Henan in the east, while sending a distress signal to nearby Xia Guo friendly forces.

Although the I-15 fighters left behind to cover the retreat had good maneuverability, the Japanese Type 97 Fighters arriving were also quite capable, and their numbers were far too many; they were clearly prepared.

Six I-15 fighters could not hold off fifty prepared Japanese fighters; after leaving some fighters to dogfight with the I-15s, the Japanese diverted over thirty fighters to pursue the fleeing Soviet SB2 bomber formation.

Fortunately, the Soviet SB2 bombers were fast bombers with very high flight speed; the Japanese fighters spent quite some effort before finally catching up.

Among the Japanese pursuit group, Type 97 Fighter pilot Captain Kobayashi showed an excited smile on his face.

Through his sights, he was about to lock onto an SB2 bomber desperately trying to escape.

"As expected of Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi! As expected of the number one of Emperor Chuo Aviation! Brilliant strategy!" Kobayashi praised inwardly.

Air Corps Commander Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi believed that Xia Guo's air power had become quite strong with the Youth Corps' aviation troops.

Unfortunately, the Russian Volunteer Air Force also came to interfere; to reduce war pressure, they had to shoot them down as much as possible before the Russian air force entered the Wuhan battlefield!

After predicting the possible route of Soviet reinforcements, Air Corps Commander Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi ordered the Japanese aviation troops in Shanxi to launch an ambush operation to support the Wuhan joint battle.

"Alright, Russian, you've run long enough; it's time to end this!"

Captain Kobayashi's finger was already on the trigger, and the two 7.7mm machine guns on his nose were about to aim at the SB2 bomber in his field of view.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger.

Bang bang bang—Boom!

A scorching fire line came from the upper left, accurately hitting his Type 97 Fighter.

The power of the 20mm cannon was far beyond machine guns; Kobayashi's fighter shook violently, the control stick instantly failed, alarms kept sounding in the cockpit, and thick smoke and flames burst out from the rear.

"Baka! What's going on?!" Kobayashi looked up in terror, only to see a monoplane fighter passing by at an astonishing speed, the blue-white emblem under its wings especially dazzling.

That was not a Soviet plane.

He had chased so confusedly that he had already flown into Henan territory.

It's over, he ran into the Youth Corps' fighters!

Immediately afterward, more BF109 Fighters painted with the same blue-white emblem dove down from high altitude like hawks swooping for prey, extremely fast and fierce in firepower.

The mixed fire of 20mm cannons and machine guns instantly disrupted the Japanese pursuit rhythm.

Several Type 97s preparing to attack the bombers were caught off guard, hit one after another, trailing black smoke as they crashed.

"Great! It must be Lv Muzhi's air force unit!"

Colonel Sol saw this scene in the bomber, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

"Don't stop! Keep flying toward Zhengzhou! Fast!"

The remaining SB2 bombers, taking advantage of the Japanese being disrupted by the newly appeared Chinese fighters, flew at full power toward Zhengzhou in the east with all their might.

What made Colonel Sol feel even more relieved was that not long after, a squadron of BF109 fighters flew out from the Zhengzhou direction, appearing on both sides of his bomber formation, and began escorting them.

These Xia Guo pilots were skilled and their formation was neat, silently escorting this group of terrified Soviet planes.

A call came over the radio: "This is the Third Squadron of the Fighter First Squadron of the Youth Corps Aviation Troops; I am Squadron Leader Liu Cuigang."

"My squadron was ordered to welcome friendly forces coming to China to assist in the war; we salute you!"

What came over the radio was actually Russian, which made Colonel Sol feel even more relieved and shocked; the Youth Corps was indeed full of talent!

At noon, the Soviet bomber formation finally saw the runway of Zhengzhou Airport.

Subsequently, under the guidance of Xia Guo aviation troops, the remaining ten SB2 bombers landed on the runway one after another.

When Colonel Sol climbed out of the cockpit and stepped onto the solid ground, he let out a long breath.

Looking around the airport, he was surprised to find over ten fighters parked on the runway waiting for battle; besides the commonly used Hawk III Fighters of Xia Guo, there were also some monoplane BF109 fighters.

The airport was orderly, and ground personnel were busy everywhere.

Colonel Sol was dazzled by the planes here and even failed to notice Lv Muzhi and the others in the distance.

Qiu Qingquan said softly to Lv Muzhi: "Lu Commander, that is the Air Force Advisor sent by the Russians to the Central Government, Colonel Sol; we accidentally saved him."

While speaking, several surviving I-15 fighters, under the guidance of Youth Army fighters, also landed at Zhengzhou Airport one after another.

A Chinese officer with a translator came to negotiate and brought Colonel Sol before Lv Muzhi.

Through the translator, Colonel Sol expressed sincere thanks: "We were ordered to come support your country's War of Resistance; we didn't expect to encounter an ambush on the way; thanks to General Lu's timely rescue, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable."

Lv Muzhi extended his hand to shake hands and politely responded: "You came from afar to help us; providing protection is what we should do."

"Otherwise, our country would lose an excellent air force advisor!"

Colonel Sol nodded modestly.

Qiu Qingquan said: "This place is safe; you can rest at the airport for a day first; we will immediately arrange to replenish fuel and necessary supplies."

Afterwards, Colonel Sol and the surviving Soviet pilots were settled in the barracks near the airport.

That evening, Lv Muzhi received a telegram of gratitude from General Shanov, commander of the Soviet Volunteer Air Force, at the Youth Corps Headquarters.

In the telegram, General Shanov expressed his highest degree of gratitude for the timely rescue by the Youth Corps airmen, and praised the bravery and professionalism of the Xia Guo pilots.

At the same time, General Shanov expressed his hope that he would have the opportunity to meet General Lv Muzhi in the future and visit Zhengzhou Airport.

Afterwards, another telegram came in; the sender was Xue Yue, commander of the First Army Group, who was participating in the Wuhan Campaign in Nanchang.

Lv Muzhi laughed and said: "Xue Yue is complaining again; this is the third telegram he has sent!"