Li Hang, who was touching the escalator with both hands, was stunned, turned his head to look at Lu Jichun, and nodded seriously, "I am really Chinese."
Hearing this assurance, Lu Jichun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got on the plane.
Li Hang didn't say much, climbed onto the wing, rolled into the cockpit, and then began to inspect the aircraft's control console.
Li Hang was in a daze when he saw the blue sky and white sun logo on the wing.
Although he had little identification with this symbol, in the Republic of China at this time, it represented the country after all, and he was fighting for the country.
Not far away, Soviet I-15s and I-16s took off one after another.
Li Hang also made gestures with Lu Jichun, Liang Tiancheng and others, and then piloted the plane to prepare for takeoff.
Currently, Squadron 23 has a total of six aircraft, including five Hawker IIIs and one Type 96 carrier-based fighter.
Because no one else was familiar with Li Hang, and because Li Hang's own aircraft performed well, he did not have a wingman, nor did he serve as someone else's wingman pilot.
As more than a dozen fighter planes took off one after another, air defense sirens were sounded across the three towns in Wuhan.
This is the first time that air raid sirens have been sounded in three towns in Wuhan. Many busy citizens were frightened and did not understand what was going on. There was even chaos on the streets.
Before, everyone felt that the war was still far away in the rear area of Wuhan City, so there was no sense of urgency.
The first air battle in Wuhan in history was actually two months later on February 18, which was also known as the '218 Air Battle'.
But because Li Hang robbed a Japanese plane and killed so many senior Japanese generals, the air battle was advanced by two months.
The Japanese army acted in a hurry, and the Chinese side was also poorly prepared. The pilots flying the Soviet fighters were not very familiar with the performance of the Soviet aircraft.
But there is no way, the Japanese aviation force is attacking, and China must respond.
After accepting assistance from the Soviet Union, China and the Soviet aviation fleet discussed how to deal with the enemy. Although this air battle came suddenly, both sides still made pre-war tactical arrangements for the upcoming large-scale air battle.
According to the preliminary plan drawn up before the war, the Chinese Air Force's aircraft should be deployed in layers in the intended combat airspace. One squadron should be left on the upper level to cover the group operations, and one detachment should be left on the upper level for each squadron operation.
However, the aircraft taking off from Hankou Airport were only 3 I-16s, 9 I-15s, 5 Hawker IIIs, and 1 Japanese Type 96 carrier-based fighter, for a total of 18 fighters.
It would take about ten minutes for the five I-16s and 14 I-15s that took off from Xiaogan to arrive.
Therefore, on the Hankou Airport side, among the six aircraft of the 23rd Squadron of the Chinese Air Force, Li Hang's aircraft was located on the upper level to cover and act as a surprise attack; on the Soviet Air Force's aid to China side, three I-15s were located on the upper level.
Their 18 aircraft not only need to shoot down enemy planes after the war, but also need to entangle the enemy and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Everyone was a little nervous, but thinking that Wuhan below needed their protection, they were also secretly cheering up in their hearts.
After they took off and circled for a while, the entire formation began to search eastward.
After only a few minutes, they discovered a huge fleet that was not weaker than theirs.
Since there was no radio, Lu Jichun gestured to the wingman and other pilots next to him, and then stared seriously at the Japanese aircraft group in the sky ahead.
Li Hang, who was in the upper air, saw the Japanese fleet in the distance and roughly counted the number. There should be about twenty. In front of them were the escorting Type 96 carrier-based fighter jets, but the number was not very large.
He set a goal of three for himself. Others should have no problem dealing with the remaining Japanese fighter jets, right?
Without the fighter escort, the remaining bombers should not be difficult to deal with as long as they are careful.
Thinking of this, he continued to pull the plane up, decided to hide in the clouds, act like a fool, and suddenly attack the enemy.
At that time, when the Japanese fighter jets approached, they suddenly jumped out and shouted "Demacia". . .
Sorry, I went to the wrong set.
It should be shouting, "You little devil, your Lord Hang is here to uphold justice!"
. . . . . .
In the sky east of Wuhan, a huge Japanese fleet consisting of 9 Type 96 carrier-based fighter jets and 12 Type 96 land attack aircraft was flying towards Wuhan at high altitude.
Not far in front of them, they could already see the urban area of Wuhan.
"Jun Dalin, we should be arriving in Wuhan. We can already see the urban area of Wuhan." A lieutenant pilot who was the co-pilot couldn't help but smile when he saw the urban area of Wuhan in front of him through the cabin.
"I don't know if the Chinese people are ready to accept the bombing baptism of the Imperial Navy Air Force. It's a pity for this beautiful city." Dalin Company also saw Wuhan in front of him and below, with a pity expression on his face.
"I believe the empire will capture this city soon." The lieutenant said confidently, "But we may have been discovered by the Chinese before. I don't know if the Chinese will send fighter planes to intercept us."
"It doesn't matter. Even if the Chinese have the help of the Lucians, they will not be an opponent of the Imperial Navy's aviation force. Send orders to other aircraft and let them prepare for battle. Our goal is to blow up the Hankou Airport and use the Chinese Use your blood to wash away the shame on the navy." Captain Dalin ordered.
"Hi!"
Soon, the lieutenant was sending orders to other aircraft via the bomber's radio.
The 12 Type 96 Land Attackers all have radios, while only the three lead aircraft of the 9 Type 96 carrier-based fighters have radios.
It's very simple. A total of 69 Type 96 fighter jets were produced. Type 1 does not have a radio, and Type 2 does not have a radio. Only Type 2 has a radio. Therefore, communication between pilots is very inconvenient. Only the lead aircraft can command the two wingmen through a signal transceiver or gestures.
At this time, the Japanese aviation forces were all three-three systems, that is, one lead aircraft and two wingmen.
This formation method is actually a bit outdated, but it is no problem to deal with the Chinese Air Force. However, it was later found to be inconvenient to deal with US military aircraft, so it was changed to a two-plane or four-plane formation.
With Dalin's order, the entire Japanese fleet began to prepare for battle.
On the plane where Legal Personnel Dalin was located, two bombardiers and three machine gunners were also busy.
The three machine gunners are responsible for the operation of the three revolving machine guns and are responsible for protecting the bombers; the two bombardiers are responsible for dropping the aerial bombs loaded on the aircraft.
After a while, the Japanese fleet also discovered the Chinese fleet coming from the west.
"The Chinese aircraft are coming. Order the 96th warship fleet to quickly destroy the Chinese aircraft group and cover the attack aircraft."
Ten seconds later, six Type 96 carrier-based fighter jets were seen quickly breaking away from the formation and heading towards the oncoming Chinese fleet.
The first air battle in Wuhan is about to break out!
