The Beacon of Laiyang Metal

Chapter 60 Engaging the Enemy

Yan Jinyun turned on the microphone and said to the wingman on the flank: "A suspected target has been found in the southwest. The visual distance is more than 30 kilometers and requires close observation and confirmation. Pay attention to the fuel gauge warning line and increase the flight altitude to save fuel consumption."

After saying that, he exerted force with his left foot to tilt the rudder angle, and at the same time pushed the control stick to the right. Several flying movements were completed neatly. After completing the turn at a large angle, the fighter plane turned towards the southwest like an arrow from the sky. Flying quickly in the direction, Yao Haiping, who was piloting the wingman, followed closely after receiving the order.

For the "P30" with a cruising speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour, it took less than five minutes to reach the target airspace at a distance of 39 kilometers.

When the flight altitude of the fighter jet dropped to 2 meters and left the clouds, the two men discovered that a formation of more than 20 ships suddenly appeared in their field of vision, heading towards the port of Anton. Coming at full speed, this fleet is the Japanese mixed fleet he has been looking for for a long time.

"Report empty finger, report empty finger, I am Skylark No. 1, please reply if you receive it! Please reply if you receive it!"

After confirming that it was the target of his search, Yan Jinyun immediately adjusted the communication channel to the rear command headquarters radio channel and started making an emergency call with a very excited tone.

After a burst of electromagnetic sound, the headset on Yan Jinyun's leather hat sounded the command's reply: "This is the air finger, please speak to Skylark 1!"

"Reporting to the air, Skylark 1 found traces of enemy ships 500 kilometers southwest. The enemy ships currently include 3 cruisers, 5 destroyers, and 15 supply ships or troop transports whose identities cannot be confirmed yet. They are heading towards our port. Coming at full speed, the remaining fuel of Skylark 1 cannot continue to carry out the surveillance mission of the enemy ship. Please request to return and let other crews carry out the surveillance mission of the enemy ship instead!"

"I, Gao Zhihang, agree to the request. Please pay attention to safety when returning Skylark 1. The second reconnaissance group will take off immediately to take over your formation!"

This time it was the regiment leader Gao Zhihang who answered them. In order to facilitate the command, Gao Zhihang moved the air finger directly to the tower.

在收到发现日军舰队的踪迹后，立即下令除执行侦查监视任务的2架“P39”战机起飞外，执行对海打击任务的5架“P39”各自挂载4枚50公斤航弹也同时升空，对日军舰队执行第一波试探性攻击。

Although drones are a big killer, Gao Zhihang has not given up using conventional aircraft to attack enemy ships.

On the one hand, it can interfere with and reduce the enemy fleet's sailing speed. If the enemy fleet's current sailing speed is followed, the enemy fleet will appear in the waters outside Anton Port in the afternoon. After all, according to the plan, drones will only be dispatched at night. Under the cover of darkness, they used torpedoes to annihilate the Japanese fleet in one fell swoop.

On the other hand, Gao Zhihang also has the idea of ​​​​training troops. At present, the aviation regiment's usual training subjects are mainly air combat and ground attack, while training for high-speed maneuvering enemy warships on the sea is almost zero. Even if sea training is performed They also found some old fishing boats as target ships, which could not truly simulate high-speed maneuvering enemy warships in actual combat environments. But now was a good opportunity.

Through daily communication with Wei Yuan, Gao Zhihang learned that the current firepower of Japanese warships is mainly focused on naval guns in pursuit of giant ships and large guns, and the air defense power is not strong. It was this information that made Gao Zhihang determined to let " P39" mounted aerial bombs and launched the first wave of exploratory attacks on the Japanese fleet.

Once it is truly determined that the existing air defense force of the Japanese fleet cannot threaten our own fighters, the "P39" and Stuka that will be subsequently prepared for combat will also enter the next attack mission.

As the attack order was issued, the combat trumpet sounded urgently in the pilot duty room of the Gushan Town Military Airport. The seven pilots who received the order put on their pilot equipment as quickly as possible. Some pilots did not even have time to zip up their uniforms. He rushed towards the runway, and the ground crew on the runway had already prepared seven "P7" fighters fully loaded with fuel and ammunition, waiting for the pilots to take off immediately.

As the seven fighter planes on duty took off one after another, and after watching the last fighter plane take off and disappear from the sky, Gao Zhihang turned to the adjutant on the side and said: "Telegraph to the division commander, the Army Aviation Regiment has discovered traces of the Japanese fleet, and it has now been Launch the first wave of probing attacks, and the status of subsequent attacks will be reported to the division command at any time." At the same time, after receiving the news that the sailors on duty had discovered the China fighter jets, Tokuo Hirata, who was originally resting in the captain's cabin, hurried to the bridge and picked up the Looking through the telescope on his chest, he saw that there were indeed two monoplanes painted in green and black hovering over his fleet. They looked very maneuverable and extremely fast.

"When did the Chinese have such advanced aircraft? Could it be the Soviets?"

This made Tokuo Hirata very confused. In his impression, the Chinese still had braids like pig tails. As long as the imperial army fired artillery fire and infantry raided them, they would tremble like lambs to be slaughtered without anyone daring to resist. At this time, the imperial army only needs to pull the triggers one after another at their fleeing backs, and wipe them out easily like hunting. It is absolutely impossible to have such advanced fighters.

Just as he was about to order the battleship to fire in the air to disperse the two China fighter planes, he saw the two planes flying around the fleet, shaking their wings a few times, and then flew back towards Anton.

Haha, the timid Chinese people, so what if they have advanced fighter planes? Seeing the power of the imperial fleet, they turned around and fled back in fear. Giant ships and cannons are the real overlords on the ocean! "

Seeing that the two planes were like two annoying mosquitoes, they only met the fleet and flew back. This made Tokuo Hirata despise the defenders on the opposite side. After arranging the sailors on duty to pay attention, Then he returned to the captain's room to rest, preparing to recuperate enough before personally commanding the fleet to break through the Chinese defense line on the opposite side.

If you raise the overlooking angle and then zoom in, you will find that in the Bohai Sea area near Andong Port, two attack teams composed of warships and fighter planes are heading towards each other, one heading southwest and one heading northeast, one on the sea and one on the sea. The sky is like two sharp swords stabbing each other, both preparing to give each other a fatal blow.

8:51

At this time, less than an hour had passed since the "Skylark 1" discovered the Japanese warship. The first batch of seven fighter planes to take off had already appeared in the sea 7 kilometers away from the Anton Port Pier. Judging from the approximate speed of our own fighters and the Japanese fleet, The location where the two sides met was basically in this sea area. In addition to the two fighter planes flying at the front responsible for reconnaissance and surveillance, the other five "P400" pilots performing attack missions were also staring closely at the sea, ready to plunge into the enemy at any time. The enemy fleet is attacking.

Ever since he discovered that two Chinese fighter jets were discovered an hour ago, the chief of staff of the fleet, Captain Kazuhiko Kishida, had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Even if the Chinese were afraid of the battle, they would not even open fire. They just circled around the fleet and flew away in a hurry. Let's go, there must be something wrong here.

Being cautious by nature, he did not get off the bridge and enter the cabin to rest like Fleet Commander Tokuo Hirata did. Instead, he continued to stay on the bridge of the "Izumo" as the fleet commander. Even Hirata Tokuo sent someone to invite him to play Go and have a drink. He declined the sake. In his opinion, drinking before the war was a taboo for a commander. As a commander, he should keep a clear mind at all times, but Tokuo Hirata was not good at it as his superior. If you try to dissuade someone verbally, you can only politely refuse to give up.

"What is that?" The sailors on guard duty in the bridge room exclaimed and pointed to the sky in the distance. Kazuhiko Kishida immediately raised the telescope he was wearing and looked into the sky ahead.

"Enemy plane! It's an enemy plane formation! Everyone is ready to fight."

Kishida Kazuhiko let out a scream. As his order was issued, there was a panic in the bridge watch room, and then "ding ding ding" alarms sounded from each ship to engage the enemy.

Several black spots in the distance seemed to have discovered the fleet below, and they also began to turn their nose downwards and flew rapidly towards the location of the fleet.

(End of this chapter)