If coupled with the historical support of the Soviet Volunteer Air Force, after the outbreak of the all-out Anti-Japanese War, China's skies would not be fully controlled by the Japanese aviation.
When it comes to the Air Force that aided China during the Anti-Japanese War, many people immediately think of the American Chennault's "Flying Tigers." In fact, the Flying Tigers were only formed in 1941. Before that, there was also a blond and blue-eyed foreign volunteer army to help the Chinese Air Force fight the Japanese army.
In 1937, China and the Soviet Union formally signed the Non-Aggression Treaty. Subsequently, the two sides held talks, and the Soviet Union agreed to sell aircraft and tanks to China and provide a loan of US$50 million, but required that the government not use Soviet weapons to fight the civil war.
After that, the Soviet Union began to provide economic loans and military assistance to China, and dispatched military experts and volunteer air forces to participate in China's Anti-Japanese War
After the all-out war of resistance began, in view of the fact that Chinese pilots were almost wiped out in the early stages of the war, the Soviet Union not only provided China with loans to purchase aircraft, but also directly dispatched air force volunteers to China to participate in the war.
The Soviet Union attached great importance to the selection of pilots to aid China. They selected experienced senior officers and soldiers from the registered active duty air force personnel. Among them are pilots, aviation mechanics, radio operators, meteorological workers, airport directors, code interpreters, drivers, engineers, aircraft assembly teams, doctors, etc.
The coming of the Soviet Volunteer Air Force to China was definitely a timely help for China at that time. Firstly, the Chinese Air Force was exhausted in the previous Battle of Songhu, and both fighters and personnel were in urgent need of replenishment; secondly, China ordered 363 aircraft from Europe and the United States before the war, but less than a quarter of them actually arrived, leaving only a quarter of them. Some countries have ambiguous attitudes, and some cannot ship in at all because coastal ports are blocked.
During the same period, the Soviet Union sold 232 aircraft to China. Not only did they deliver goods to the door, they also came with pilots. These pilots not only helped China train pilots, but also personally flew aircraft into the sky to join hands with the Chinese Air Force in the fight against Japan.
As more and more Soviet aircraft came to China, the strength of the Chinese Air Force was replenished, and the two sides broke out in Wuhan three famous air battles in the history of China's Anti-Japanese War.
The largest one occurred on April 29, 1938.
On this day, the Japanese Navy's Second Joint Air Force dispatched 27 fighter jets and 18 attack aircraft to attack Wuhan, attempting to blow up the Chinese Air Force Base and Hanyang Arsenal as a tribute to the Japanese Emperor.
Unexpectedly, this plan had been informed by the Chinese army in advance.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, a total of 64 fighter planes from the Chinese and Soviet pilots, who had been well prepared, took off to meet the enemy. After 30 minutes of fierce fighting, 21 enemy planes were shot down, 50 people lost their lives, and two others were captured alive after parachuting. The Sino-Soviet Air Force lost 12 aircraft. Japan believes that this is the largest air battle since its war of aggression against China.
Including Wuhan, the Soviet Air Force Volunteer Team successively participated in air defense battles in Nanchang, Chongqing, Chengdu, Lanzhou and other cities. In 1938, it shot down more than 100 Japanese aircraft in one year.
It was not until the Soviet Union and Japan signed the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941 that the Soviet Union's aid to China was suspended and the Soviet Air Force was withdrawn.
In more than three years, more than 2,000 Soviet volunteer aviation personnel participated in the war in China, and more than 200 pilots died heroically. One air force formation that came to China originally had 60 people, but only 16 people were left when they returned to China.
The results of such sacrifices are also considerable. According to official statistics at the time, by 1940, the Japanese army had lost a total of 986 aircraft on land and in the air, of which 539 were destroyed by the Soviet Air Force Volunteers.
The Chinese people have not forgotten the contributions of these internationalist fighters. There are tombs of martyrs of the Soviet Air Force Volunteer Corps in Wuhan and Chongqing respectively.
Among the Soviet volunteer aviation personnel who experienced the Chinese Anti-Japanese War, 14 later became Heroes of the Soviet Union, one became an Air Force Marshal, two Air Force Generals, and five Lieutenant Generals.
And now if Mr. Situ's aviation club continues to supply pilots to the Chinese Air Force, Zhou Wen believes that in the skies of the future anti-Japanese battlefield, the Japanese army will no longer be able to wreak havoc at will. Although this move is not enough to reverse the huge gap between the Chinese and Japanese air forces, it at least provides stronger resistance.
As a result, Zhou Wen and Mr. Situ, old and young, became more and more speculative as they talked. They even forgot to go to the restaurant for breakfast and just stood on the ship's side deck to communicate for half an hour. Zhao Xiaojin and Zhang Xiaoping, on the other hand, understood little of what they were talking about, but knowing that what they talked about was confidential, they voluntarily spread out to be on guard.
At the end, Mr. Situ reminded Zhou Wendao in a low voice: "Xiannephew, this matter is only known to you and me. Don't tell anyone about it for now. Wait a few years and it will become a fait accompli. Then we will reveal it to Nanjing and let them Just be prepared to accept people. Of course, my dear nephew, don’t worry, I will keep the best talents for you."
Zhou Wen understood immediately. He knew what Mr. Situ's concerns were.
On the one hand, it was to prevent the Japanese from causing trouble if they knew about it, and even to use diplomatic means to protest and negotiate with the United States. On the other hand, it was to prevent the principal from interfering indiscriminately.
It seems that Mr. Situ is also familiar with the principal's temperament. This principal wants to control everything in his own hands, and wants to get in when he sees the benefits. But at his level, it would be a layman directing an expert, which would lead to bad things.
And Zhou Wen was also overjoyed when he heard that Mr. Situ was going to keep the best talents for himself. This not only solved the problem of reserve talents that he had been worried about, but more importantly, Mr. Situ clearly regarded himself as one of his own, and the cooperation between the two parties will be closer in the future.
You should know that during this period, although it was difficult to purchase American weapons due to the U.S. arms embargo, in addition to weapons, the United States also had a lot of equipment that represented the most advanced technology in the world that could be purchased.
Others don't know these things, not even the Americans themselves, but Zhou Wen knows that in a few years, the United States will develop something called a backpack-type frequency hopping walkie-talkie.
This is the originator of portable military walkie-talkies in the world. In battle, it has the same convenient communication function as Zhou Wen's current communication device. It is simply a revolutionary equipment for battlefield communication.
Zhou Wen's entire mercenary group now only has 6 intercoms. In order to cover up this unexplainable advanced equipment, it has to be hidden and used, and it can only be used within a very small range.
But walkie-talkies are different. According to Zhou Wen's idea, if they can be purchased in large quantities, they can be directly equipped to the squad and platoon level of the mercenary regiment, and they will be very useful on the battlefield.
Of course, these are all things for later. Zhou Wen thought that he would have to spend some time with Mr. Situ anyway, so he was not in a hurry to talk about it today.
