January 29, 1938, the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.
With the Spring Festival just two days away, the National Government Aviation Committee urgently transferred the 23rd Squadron back from Lanzhou.
The reason is simple. The Japanese army air raided Nanchang again on January 28.
Although it was repulsed, it lost four more fighters.
In less than ten days, the Japanese army launched two air raids, which also put great pressure on the Air Force.
Under this circumstance, the Air Force transferred the 10-I-16 fighters of the 21st Squadron of the 4th Group to Nanchang to help the Fifth Group, the Ninth Group stationed here, and the China Aid Air Force to resist Japanese air attacks.
Because the aircraft of the Fifth Group are all somewhat backward Hawker series, they are unable to effectively fight against the Japanese new fighters.
The reason why the 23rd Squadron was transferred back was mainly due to Li Hang's combat effectiveness.
It is not an exaggeration to say that he alone is comparable to a squadron.
Of course, this also requires the cooperation of the entire squadron, otherwise Li Hang would not be able to face multiple Japanese aircraft alone.
Naturally, the 23rd Squadron did not dare to refuse the orders from their superiors and flew the plane directly. After refueling twice in Xi'an and Xiangyang, they flew to Hankou Airport.
At this time, the combat effectiveness of the 22nd Squadron has not yet been fully restored, and the 21st Squadron has been transferred, so there is an urgent need for the 23rd Squadron to come back to guard Wuhan.
But there's more to it than that.
"Lu Jichun, Li Hang, come here."
As soon as they returned to Hankou Airport, before they could rest, Lu Jichun and his wife were called away by Li Guidan.
"Captain, what's the special mission here? Are we going to launch a counterattack?" Li Hang saw Li Guidan's serious face and thought there was a big move.
"Counterattack? You dare to think about it." Li Guidan shook his head and was a little surprised by Li Hang's boldness.
"Captain, then the purpose of our return this time is just to defend Wuhan?" Lu Jichun was also curious about the purpose of the other party calling them two.
"Wuhan does not need much defense now. The Japanese army should not touch Wuhan again in the short term. Even if there is no fourth group of us, there is still a Chinese Air Force to assist."
"Then you asked us to come back?"
"This New Year, you will temporarily spend it in Wuhan. After the New Year, you will have to be transferred to Nanchang, one of our important cities there. During this period, we suffered successive air raids by the Japanese army, which made the government very dissatisfied, because Chief Zhou and Chief Mao wanted to We can teach the little devil a lesson in Nanchang." Li Guidan directly stated his true intention.
This is not a secret. After all, as long as the mobilization of air force is exposed, it is easy for people to guess the intention.
"Captain, are we passively defending in Nanchang? It's useless." Li Hang was a little unimpressed when he heard that it was just passive defense.
"What? You still want to take the initiative?" Li Guidan looked at the other party in surprise.
"Why not? The Japanese airports in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are just in Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. We can definitely carry out an active attack, choose a suitable target, actively attack, and directly destroy the Japanese aircraft at the airport. This is better than passive defense. More useful." Li Hang was not willing to passively defend.
China's current weak air force, coupled with previous losses, has led to a shortage of pilots, otherwise aviation school students like Zhou Zhikai would not have graduated early.
Taking the initiative can retreat the battlefield to the Japanese control area, and can also use the only air force more effectively.
After all, there is no way to defend passively. The main reason is that the force is too weak and there are not so many aircraft to defend.
"The range of our aircraft is not enough. The maximum range of the I-16 is only 810 kilometers, and the distance from Nanchang to Nanjing or Hangzhou is more than 400 kilometers.
This means that even if our plane can fly to these two places, it cannot return safely. " Li Guidan reminded.
“We don’t have to take off from Nanchang, we can stop in Hefei or Quzhou to refuel, and then rush to the target airport.
In order to hide our whereabouts, we can take off early in the morning and kill them at dawn, which will definitely achieve miraculous results. "
Li Guidan was a little moved when he heard that, but this was not something he could make the decision as a captain. "Your idea is not bad. But I also need to report this matter to Commander Zhou and others, and I can only start it with approval."
Cherish the opportunity these days, you can't stay in Wuhan for more than a few days. The Fifth Group needs to replace itself with Soviet fighters, and Nanchang's air power will be weakened by then. "
"Sir, don't worry, I will definitely make sure that the little devil never comes back." Li Hang immediately promised.
"Don't be too proud, kid. Don't leave the airport if you have nothing to do. The little devils don't know you have returned to Wuhan yet, otherwise they will launch another attack on you." Li Guidan reminded.
Just when Li Guidan was about to let the two leave, Lu Jichun suddenly said, "Captain, Li Hang has designed a new fighter plane, can you find a way to manufacture it?"
"New fighter plane? Real or fake?" Li Guidan looked at Li Hang in surprise, "Have you really designed it?"
"I've drawn all the drawings and they're in my bag."
"Go get it and take a look."
After a while, Li Hang brought his drawings about the new fighter plane to Li Guidan to see.
Although Li Guidan didn't understand aircraft design, his eyes immediately lit up when he saw the sketch of the aircraft on the drawing, because it was not a random drawing, but contained a lot of data.
And the plane looks great.
He was very excited after hearing some of Li Hang's ideas for this fighter aircraft that existed on the drawings.
Although Li Hang originally wanted the maximum speed of this fighter to reach 500 kilometers per hour, due to engine reasons, it was changed to 450 kilometers per hour, which basically matched the Japanese Army's Type 96 carrier-based fighter and the old Mao Zi’s 16.
As for achieving the performance of Spitfire, BF109, or P40, Zero, etc., Li Hang didn't dare to think about it.
If the prototype's performance reaches the level of the Type 96 carrier-based fighter jet and the I-16 fighter jet, it will be a big breakthrough for China.
After all, starting from scratch is very important. Only when you break through this level can you consider going from one to many.
"Can it really be made?" Li Guidan looked at Li Hang with some uncertainty.
"I need funds, experienced technicians and a radial engine, preferably the M25 engine on the I-16."
"The engine is actually easy to say. I can find one for you from scrapped aircraft, but I can't guarantee you the first two." Hearing this, Li Hang and Lu Jichun were both a little disappointed, but Li Guidan continued, "I will report this to Commander Zhou. If you can get support from the Aviation Research Institute, maybe your idea can be realized. They have the funds and technical personnel.
Of course, if you continue to perform well in the subsequent air battles and have the opportunity to meet the Chairman or his wife, the possibility will be greater. "
Li Guidan's statement is similar to Lu Jichun's. To put it bluntly, the superiors agree, and even Lao Zhou may not be able to make the decision.
