the world is at stake

During these five days, the cowpen factory at Nanyuan Airport refitted the triplane reconnaissance aircraft.

First, a hanging magazine was dug out on the rear side of the fuselage, making it a bomber capable of dropping cylinder bombs; second, the plane was turned into a two-seater, which could serve as a trainer and separate the work of flying and bombing.

The 'rookie' pilots are not capable enough, and ultra-low-altitude flight and range-finding bombing have become two-person operations.In the test, it was found that this can greatly improve the attack success rate.

After the graduation certificates are issued, all trainees and ground staff will go south.The wings of the three modified triplanes will be removed and transported by ship.They will go to the battlefield with fuel and accessories at the fastest speed.

The other two test pilots will go to Yangzhou together as the leading officers to command the air force's anti-ship operations that will fail or fail.

When the students marched to the battlefield, Lei Qiang, who stayed behind, looked at the empty aviation school and aircraft factory, and shouted explosively: "Continue to recruit people, continue to build aircraft. As long as the foreign devils don't kill us all at once, we will surely kill us!" stronger."

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Wei Lepei in Nanjing breathed a sigh of relief.The cruiser 'Adventure' docked at Xiaguan Wharf and the four thousand-ton torpedo destroyers gave him great confidence.

Even if the Chinese army bombarded the Japanese patrol boat very strongly, this made the British feel that it was a sign of weakness-what is it to bully my dog?Something is coming at me!

Not daring to confront Daying directly can only show that the opponent is still trying to scare people by bluffing.Zhu Erdian also thinks that this shows that the Chinese side is afraid and has no cards.

The fleet was led by Colonel Culler of the British Navy. He invited Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm and Zhang Xun to board his ship, and allowed officers from the Nanjing Patrol Battalion and the Overseas Volunteer Team to visit the honor room on the ship and dine in the officer's restaurant.

Boarding the 'Adventure', Zhang Xun felt relieved.He has been terrified in the past few days. He originally thought that if he raised the flag of righteousness, he would surely follow like a cloud.Who knew that because the British took the initiative to intervene, he was scolded by the whole country.

Not to mention Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, even Yuan Shikai expressed extreme dissatisfaction with Zhang Xun's private collusion with the British.If the central government wiped them out quickly, there would be no possibility for the entire Beiyang to stand up.

But the British were really strong, and they sent a fleet to help, blocking the Yangtze River to prevent the central army from going south.

After Zhang Xun breathed a sigh of relief, he asked confidently: "Mr. Wei Lepei, if the defense forces in the north can't fight, it's our turn to go north, right?"

"We still need some time to adapt the army." Lieutenant Colonel Wei Lepei was not as confident as Zhang Xun.He received information from the imperial capital and the Japanese, and he knew that the Chinese National Defense Force had achieved a considerable breakthrough in military strength.

Self-propelled artillery has verified its rapid strike capability, and how the aircraft will be used will also be a hot topic of discussion among military attaches from various countries.

The Imperial Capital Nanyuan Airport has become the most popular "attraction" recently. Many foreign military attaches openly ran to the vicinity of the airport and used binoculars to observe how the National Defense Forces conduct flight training.

The Japanese military attache originally wanted to buy the technology of the aircraft from the Chinese side, for example, to buy three.One was disassembled for surveying and mapping, one was used for flight test training, and one was used as a spare.

As a result, Sino-Japanese relations suddenly became tense, and the matter naturally ended without a problem.

However, China's State Council has not closed its plan to sell the aircraft to foreign countries, but is negotiating with military attaches from many countries.Countries such as Spain, Italy, and Brazil are very interested, and there are still a lot of intended purchases.

"But what can an airplane do?" Lieutenant Colonel Wei Lepei changed the subject.He didn't want to talk about Zhang Xun's so-called 'Northern Expedition'. His mission was to maintain the status quo for the British Empire.

Minister Zhu Erdian didn't intend to make a big fuss either.

"It's really good for scouting, but that's all. Maybe I can drop a few bombs." The captain said with a smile, "but it won't help."

The navy knows best how difficult it is to deliver shells to distant targets. Naval guns often have a [-]% hit rate after firing for half a day. This is the result of well-trained gunners.

Lieutenant Colonel Wei Lepei was not optimistic, because Minister Zhu Erdian forwarded him a reminder from London-the rapid development of the Chinese Air Force is likely to cause him trouble.

"If the plane is equipped with the 'Maxim' machine gun to shoot at the ground, it should cause great panic to the untrained troops." The lieutenant colonel glanced at Zhang Xun when he said this.It means that this man's subordinates are all mobs.

Captain Kahler understood, and laughed a few times, "It seems that I don't have to worry too much about the 'Maxim' on the plane. China has no weapons that can pose a threat to me."

The two British guys were chatting, and Zhang Xun sat behind the dining table like a fool.He looked back at the interpreter, and asked rather annoyed, "What is this foreign devil doing so funny?"

The interpreter said with a bitter face, "My lord, they are praising you."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Zhang Xun sullenly said, "Every time I play tricks in person, I always say something that others don't understand. This can't fool me."

The atmosphere in the officer's restaurant was relaxed, but a carriage drove past the Xiaguan Wharf where the warship was docked.Katya raised the car window and looked towards the pier. The warship in the night looked like a towering mountain.

People in later generations are used to super-large ships of 20 tons, [-] tons, and hundreds of thousands of tons.But thousand-ton ships are also [-] meters long and more than a dozen [-] meters high.Individuals are very small in front of it.

Katya glanced at the British warship, and said to the agent of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the same carriage: "The Air Force hopes to be able to shoot live targets. Is there any way to make this warship stop at the dock for a few days?"

The intelligence agent on board nodded and said: "Of course, a small boat sneaking up at night can be solved with a fishing net wrapped around the propeller. We are good at this."

"Great, let's do it."

Chapter 31 Ascension!

"On February 2, the Army Air Corps was established at the Nanyuan Aviation School. The frontline battle was urgent. I waited for the first batch of short-term trainees to graduate and form an anti-ship team. All personnel and equipment arrived in Tongzhou by car and shipped to Tianjin that night. "

"The fleet was replenishing coal water in Tianjin, but it was set ablaze and destroyed by hidden Japanese spies. Thanks to the protection of the Tianjin Branch of the Political Security Bureau, the loss was not large."

"I had no time to be angry. I set off overnight and arrived in Jining on the 22nd. The German soldiers stationed in Qingdao came on the Jiaoji Railway. They are very interested in aviation operations, and at the same time they brought the coastal defense heavy artillery and torpedoes that we urgently need."

"On the 23rd, the fleet passed through Xuzhou, and was sabotaged by Japanese spies again when it docked. Two people were killed or injured on our side. The Political Security Bureau was furious about this and wanted to carry out a [-]-day security purge in Xuzhou."

"On the 24th, Yangzhou is approaching. We are full of anger, not only for the country that has suffered a lot, but also for the comrades-in-arms who have not yet succeeded. I have made up my mind that if the attack fails, I will also hit the enemy ship."

"On the 25th, our department arrived in Yangzhou, and the personnel and equipment were disembarked. Director Li Zhonghua saw the diary and scolded me. He said that I was worth more than the plane. If the attack failed, I would come back and continue the attack. Death in vain is meaningless."

"On the 26th, at 8:[-] am, the weather is clear and the wind is light, which is a good day for aerial combat. The 'Lightning' is overhauled and the bomb is mounted. I am about to take off..."

Next to the temporarily built 300-meter runway, Lin Yi, wearing a flight suit, tied a streamer around his neck and put on goggles.He wrote a few notes in the diary, turned around and handed it to the ground staff, and said, "Brother, if I can't come back..."

The ground staff was also a young man, and said angrily: "The three instructors have said that no matter whether the attack is successful or not, people have to come back. At worst, come on and fly again. Don't be so frustrated."

"That's right." Lin Yi smiled, and stuffed the diary back into his pocket, "Okay, I'll write when I get back." He and his partner climbed into the cockpit, and waved their hands to signal that they were ready.

Beside the runway, senior officers of the anti-insurgency force were there.Including Zhou Qingfeng, Man Lu Zuo, Wang Xin, and Li Zhonghua, the training director of the Army Air Corps.But they are supporting roles at the moment.

In the past few days, the British and Japanese fleets have been extremely rampant on the Yangtze River, constantly bombarding the direction of Yangzhou on the north bank.

The Wehrmacht self-propelled artillery batteries carried out several more ambushes.But the Yangtze River is no better than the Jiajiang River. The river is wide and the enemy ships have enough room to maneuver.The short range of the mountain cannon and the weakness of poor accuracy are fully exposed, and there is no result.

The British Minister Zhu Erdian tried to mediate and openly proposed a plan to divide the North and the South.Minister Wang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs almost cursed, and the whole country was suffocated.

The Southern Revolutionary Party kept calling for the central government to resolve the Nanjing Incident as soon as possible and appease Zhang Xun so that the situation would not expand. Sun Dapao was returning to China by boat from Honolulu.

The 'Holy Light' team held their breath.

On the runway, the ground crew grabbed the propeller of the nose and pulled it hard, and the nine-cylinder gasoline engine, which was used as an aviation engine, burst out black smoke.The ground staff then tore off the front and rear blocking blocks, and Lin Yi, who was driving the plane, immediately stepped up the accelerator, and the body taxied on the runway to take off.

The three planes took off one by one, first climbed to an altitude of 500 meters, and flew southwest.The machine body was sprayed red, extremely eye-catching in the air.One is to improve morale, and the other is to facilitate visual command on the ground.

As the deputy commander of the Army Air Corps and the training director of the aviation school, Li Zhonghua personally set up a radio station at the airport and spread out maps to provide command and dispatch for his students.

More than a dozen observation posts have been deployed along the Yangtze River, which are responsible for ground guidance or rescue.The bombardier on the plane will also serve as the navigator, reducing the burden on the pilot.

The three big red planes will first fly south to reach the Yangtze River, then go west along the river, and will appear in the sky over Nanjing in 10 minutes.According to the intelligence instructions, the No. [-] target is at the Xiaguan Wharf, motionless.

The action team led by Kajia will also light several piles of firewood in the direction of Nanjing, and use the rising smoke column to guide the rookie with a flight time of only ten hours.

If it is just to attack a few British and Japanese warships of one or two thousand tons without air defense in the inland river, there is no need to spend so much trouble.

Get a few small steamers or fishing boats, organize death squads, and charge up with more than a dozen tons of explosives at night can also cause impressive damage to the enemy.

But this approach has too many limitations and too little deterrent effect.If the aviation anti-ship attempt is successful, the enemy will not retreat from inland rivers such as the Yangtze River, and will not even be able to approach the coastline.

Arranging an airport near an important port, even with the weak range and speed of the current triplane, within a combat radius of [-] kilometers, it can drive rough-skinned battleships around.

After all, the current warships have never considered air defense at all, and it is not a big deal to fight, and they cannot run away.

If you encounter a seemingly weak scum like 'Swordfish', but actually practiced the professional 'Broken Leg' skill to the highest level, it is as strong as the 'Bismarck', and you will cry tears!

If the current enemy wants to blockade China's coast, they can rely on naval guns with a range of more than ten kilometers to the sky, and wait for continuous attacks by overwhelming aircraft.

Air strikes are the real means of keeping the enemy out of the country. It can completely drive the big powers out of China, protect the coastal security without fear of the enemy's naval superiority, tear down the shameful foreign concessions, and maintain national unity.

At the moment on the Yangtze River, five Japanese destroyers are performing blockade missions.After the patrol boat was bombarded last time, the Japanese military was very angry. After obtaining the permission of the United Kingdom, it dispatched many warships from Shanghai and Taiwan into the Yangtze River and bombarded both sides of the river.

The five Japanese destroyers are very small, only three to four hundred tons, two British-made "Thunder" class, and the other is a Russian ship captured in the Russo-Japanese War.

These Japanese destroyers showed off their power on the river, and used their artillery to bombard Chinese civilian ships from a distance in retaliation for the humiliation suffered by the National Defense Forces a few days ago.

Leading the team, Admiral Ito stood on the bridge of the destroyer 'obscure' with a knife, looking at the broken sailboat wreckage on the river with great vigor.A few floating corpses floated across the water, which made him quite proud.

"Boss." The star officer on the ship received a warning from the lookout post, pointed to the side of the porthole, and shouted to Ito: "There are planes in the sky, red ones."

The weather was fine, and the three big red planes were very conspicuous above the river.

Ito noticed the abnormality, grabbed the binoculars and stared at the sky, and shouted in an inconceivable tone: "Nani? This is... a plane that exploded?"

Three planes flew across the sky at a cruising speed of one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, and the bright red bodies reflected golden light in the morning sun.Countless pairs of eyes on both sides of the Yangtze River saw its existence and heard the humming and roaring of its engines.

Many people on the ground had sharp eyes and recognized the five-star red flag pattern sprayed on the fuselage. They shouted in surprise: "It's our people, our plane. It was mentioned in the newspaper. They... are flying towards Nanjing."

Araki from Xuanyang Society took a donkey cart from Zhenjiang to Nanjing. He found that farmers, traders and children along the way shouted and raised their hands to build a shade shed and looked at the sky.

With just one glance, Araki's heart tightened.He had no doubt that it was a Chinese fighter plane flying in the sky.He is more aware that the appearance of three fighters means the expansion of the war.

"Are they here for investigation?" Araki thought to himself. He received news from Shanghai that the Chinese National Defense Force already had an aviation force, but he didn't know what role it would play.

Colonel Ito on the river watched the plane fly by at high speed, and his nervousness calmed down a little. He quickly shouted to the communications officer: "Send a report, send a report to Nanjing, and tell the British that the Chinese plane is coming."

Colonel Kahler in Nanjing at the moment is very upset because the cruiser 'Adventure' is out of order.The day after arriving in Nanjing, he planned to set sail to bombard Yangzhou, but the propeller creaked as soon as it turned, and the drive shaft smoked.

They sent someone to look under the water at the stern, and at some point, a large group of metal wires were twisted on the propeller.When the propeller rotates, the metal wire is tightly entangled, stuck inside the drive shaft, and rubbed against the sleeve.

Don't think about it, only the Chinese National Defense Forces can do this.However, on the night of the docking, guard posts were set up around the warship, and no suspicious ships were allowed to approach the pier at all.

Colonel Culler couldn't figure out how this group of tough metal wires appeared, so he could only send people into the water to dismantle and repair it, and stepped up vigilance to imitate the situation from happening again.

It's just that Nanjing has no personnel and equipment capable of repairing the cruiser's propeller, so a telegram must be sent to ask Shanghai to send divers.

But somehow the news leaked out. The British divers from Shanghai disappeared for unknown reasons after arriving in Nanjing by train.

The station staff said that the diver was picked up by a group of Westerners, but they couldn't tell who it was.A day later, his body was found soaked in a stinky ditch outside the city.

Therefore, the maintenance work was delayed again and again, from the 21st to the 26th.

Colonel Kahler sulked on the ship, cursing the Chinese for being despicable and shameless, and destroying his warship by means of indiscriminate means.He vowed to wait for the second batch of divers to repair the ship, and the ten 76mm naval guns on the ship will give the Chinese National Defense Forces a taste.

All the officers and soldiers on board knew that the colonel was in a bad mood, but the communications officer bit the bullet at this moment and knocked on the door of his cabin, sending a telegram.

"Who sent the telegram?" Colonel Kahler glanced at the telegram, and said, "The Chinese plane is flying to Nanjing." '

"It's Japan's Ito Squadron. He is carrying out a blockade mission on the Yangtze River for us." The communications officer also felt that this short sentence was too inexplicable, so he could only guess: "Maybe the Japanese discovered something, but they couldn't help it." Clearly described."

Colonel Culler received a warning from the British envoy, and when he had dinner with Lieutenant Colonel Wellept a few days ago, the other party also reminded him.But he really didn't think that the current aircraft with a few hundred kilograms could cause any damage to a thousand-ton steel warship.

But the colonel left his wardroom anyway and made his way to the bridge.The moment he stepped onto the bridge, he found his officers in a mess.He angrily said, "What happened?"

"Sir, it's the plane. The Chinese plane is circling above our heads." The second officer was shouting, trying to organize the sailors to gather together.He expected to use his rifle to drive the 'flies' off his head.

The red triplanes have arrived over the 'Adventure', one of which is hovering at an altitude of 500 meters, and the other two are choosing attack tracks.

These 'rookies' first flew to the north of the 'Adventure', 20 kilometers away, and carefully lowered their altitude to 180 to [-] meters above the ground, and then increased to the highest speed of [-] kilometers, holding the joystick and sprinting towards the enemy ship .

Ji Dong's 'Lightning' hovered in the air as the lead plane, not only to attract the attention of the enemy ships at the pier, but also to keep an eye on the surrounding situation for his teammates to avoid making some low-level mistakes.

The No. [-] aircraft 'Jinglei' was the first to do it, and the pilot focused on the river so that his altitude was just right.

'Back then' when the British bombed the Ruhr Dam, the height was judged by installing two cross-radiating lights on the front and rear of the fuselage. The height of the overlapping light spots on the water surface was 18 meters.

But the British flew at night and used large bombers.At present, the Chinese do not have this condition, and there is only one way to judge the altitude-the force feedback when the aircraft wheel touches the river surface.

Colonel Culler ran out of the bridge and looked up at the red 'lightning' hovering over his head.His adjutant pointed at the river and exclaimed, "Sir, look where!"

On the river, a red triplane rushed towards it at high speed.Its wheels plowed two sprays on the river, as if walking on waves.

After touching the surface of the river, the triplane pulled up a little bit, then stabilized the body, and the engine roared to the bottom of the throttle.Colonel Kahler, who was standing on the bridge deck, was dumbfounded, thinking that the Chinese's trick was to drive a plane to ram the warship.

But when the fighter plane approached quickly, the bombardier in the back seat stared at the hull silhouette of the 'Adventure' in front through the optical rangefinder installed on the side of the fuselage.

When the silhouette matches the expected data, the bombardier pulls the bombardier at a distance of 300 meters from the hull.A second later, the magazine lock was released, and the [-]-kilogram cylinder bomb was dropped and fell freely.

The landing point is exactly at 200 meters.

The weight of the fuselage is reduced by one tenth, and the triplane climbs immediately. The pilot gently pulls the lever according to the operation process that has been memorized thousands of times.

The triplane swished past the mast of the 'Adventure', scaring the watchman who was staying above with his head in his arms.

Colonel Kahler on the bridge deck didn't pay attention to the plane, he stared at a black cylinder flying towards him.

When the thing fell into the water, it had a speed of nearly [-] kilometers per hour. After hitting the water, the sturdy projectile was bounced up again, rolling forward like floating in water.

It travels at about 50 meters per second, and touches the fuse after two seconds.Each impact with the water surface caused a splash of water, which bounced four times before hitting the hull of the 'Adventure' hard.

'Adventure' is a scout cruiser with a displacement of 2650 tons, built in 1904.As a 'colonial' type warship, its hull is not as thick as a battleship.

The violent impact caused a loud bang, and the whole ship could feel its vibration.The cylinder bomb created a crater half a meter deep and three meters in diameter on the waterline of the hull, but it did not break through.

At the moment of the impact, Colonel Kahler could not stand still, and he held on to the railing of the ship so as not to fall.Immediately after the impact, he peered over the side of the ship to watch the black cylinder take its damage.

The cylinder was very strong, it didn't fit into the hollow in the hull that he made, but fell off and fell into the water.The adjutant saw the splash caused by the cylinder falling into the water, and exclaimed with joy: "It didn't penetrate our hull."

Colonel Culler yelled in horror: "God...no!"

After the bomb fell into the water, the collision delay fuze detonated two meters below the water surface.Thirty kilograms of picric acid exploded violently, and the water rose into the sky, arching the hull of the 'Adventure'.

Colonel Kahler and his adjutant suddenly felt their bodies vacated, as if they had ascended to heaven!

Chapter 32

Yangzhou Field Airfield.