ATPnovel Chapter 242 The Destroyed Japanese Air Force Group
Chapter 242 The Destroyed Japanese Air Force Group
"But it is also an indisputable fact that we destroyed a large number of the enemy's air defense weapons."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening roar suddenly came from the ground below.
Right in front of Ishida Akiichiro, the fighter jet piloted by that pilot was instantly engulfed in a cloud of smoke from an explosion.
It was a high-explosive shell fired from the 88mm gun that exploded at the altitude of the fighter jet.
"Boom!!!!!"
Amidst the deafening explosion, Ishida Akiichiro clearly heard the radio conversation abruptly stop.
He watched helplessly as the fighter jet disintegrated in mid-air, its fragments scattering everywhere.
The burning machine, trailing a long plume of black smoke, crashed heavily to the ground at an angle.
The pilots were just talking big, thinking today's mission would be incredibly easy.
They were completely obliterated in the explosion, leaving not even a trace of their remains.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!"
On the position below, the 88mm anti-aircraft guns of the Third Column roared in succession, their muzzle flashes lighting up the ground.
At the same time, a large number of 20mm quadruple machine guns were unleashing a barrage of firepower at the Japanese aircraft formations high in the sky.
"Bang bang bang!!!!"
Dense high-explosive shells exploded one after another in the midst of the Japanese warplane formation.
The massive shockwave caused even fighter jets a little further away to feel their fuselages shaking violently.
"Damn it! It's enemy air defense!!!"
Ishida Meiichiro's eyes were bloodshot as he roared furiously into the radio.
"All aircraft, dive immediately! Attack enemy air defense positions! Quickly!!!"
But his order came too late.
It wasn't just Ishida Akiichiro's fighter squadron that was attacked.
Other Japanese air force units rushing to the battlefield also encountered a head-on attack from the anti-aircraft fire of the Third Column at the same time.
This time, the firepower was even more intense and fierce than yesterday's.
Whether it was the terrifying kill radius of the 88mm high-explosive shells or the dense fire net woven by the quadruple 20mm cannons, both became the nightmare of Japanese pilots.
Fighter jets and bombers were constantly being hit precisely by artillery shells.
Some exploded and disintegrated in mid-air, turning into countless flying fragments.
Some aircraft shook violently, and the pilots completely lost control of the aircraft, leaving them no choice but to eject and parachute.
Some Japanese pilots didn't even have a chance to parachute; they were directly blasted to pieces in the cockpit by artillery shells, turning the cockpit into their own graves.
With red eyes, Ishida Meiichiro pulled the control stick sharply, and the fighter jet instantly dove downwards.
He stared intently at an anti-aircraft position below and pressed the fire button on the machine gun.
"Da da da!!!"
The machine guns roared deafeningly, unleashing a barrage of firepower at the anti-aircraft positions below.
The dense barrage of shells tore apart a quadruple 20mm autocannon position, and also tore apart the soldiers on the position.
At the same time, he pressed the bomb release button, and the aerial bombs mounted under the wings roared down.
The aerial bomb exploded with a deafening roar in the center of the air defense position.
Dust and gravel filled the air, and the position was instantly engulfed by smoke.
Ishida Meiichiro suddenly pulled up the fighter jet, exhaled a breath of stale air, and let out a fierce growl.
"Damn Chinese! I'll show you what I'm made of!"
He maneuvered his fighter jet, drawing an arc in the air, intending to dive again and launch a second strafe at the air defense positions.
But at that very moment, a quadruple 20mm machine gun below had locked onto his aircraft from behind.
"Fire!!! Bang bang bang!!!!"
The soldiers on the position roared and pressed the launch button hard.
The four machine guns fired simultaneously, and four blazing fire lines, like long whips, lashed fiercely at the tail of Ishida Meiichiro's fighter plane.
"BOOM!!!! BOOM!!"
A loud bang was heard, and the tail of the fighter jet was instantly torn apart by two machine gun shells.
"Damn it!!!" Ishida Meiichiro gripped the control stick tightly, veins bulging on his forehead.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull the out-of-control fighter jet back up.
The fighter jet swayed wildly in the air like a drunkard, its nose slamming uncontrollably toward the ground.
As the fighter jet was about to crash to the ground, Ishida Akio gritted his teeth, reached out to pry open the cockpit door, and prepared to parachute to safety.
But just as he climbed out of the hatch, an 88mm gun below roared into action.
The 88mm high-explosive grenade hit his out-of-control aircraft precisely.
"Boom!!!!!"
The violent explosion instantly engulfed everything, and Ishida Meiichiro, who hadn't even had time to parachute, was torn to pieces by the shockwave.
Along with his fighter jet, he transformed into a burning fireball and plummeted to the ground.
There were many other Japanese pilots who met the same fate as Ishida Meiichiro.
Most of them were shot down by the dense ground fire during their engagements with the third column's anti-aircraft fire and perished in the wilderness.
As for the clumsy Japanese bomber groups, they were in even worse shape.
Faced with the sudden and intense barrage of fire, they had no time to make any evasive maneuvers.
The aircraft fleet suffered heavy losses in an instant, and many bomber pilots panicked and hastily dropped their bombs.
They immediately turned the plane around and fled desperately in the direction they had come from, not even caring about the mission.
On the roof of the Japanese army command post in Huoqiu County, Tani Hisao and Ogisu Rippei stood side by side.
The two men had ashen faces and were staring intently at the distant sky.
There were constant bursts of light from explosions, and Japanese warplanes, trailing black smoke, crashed violently from the sky.
The explosions carried on the wind, one after another, each one like a whip lashing at their hearts.
After a long pause, Tani Hisao stiffly turned his head and asked in a hoarse voice.
"What on earth is going on? Didn't the enemy's air defense forces suffer a devastating attack yesterday?"
"Why do our air force units suffer such fierce attacks as soon as they approach the battlefield?"
He knew all too well that without air support, it would be impossible for ground troops to launch a counterattack against the Third Column.
They might even be overwhelmed by the armored forces of the Third Column, just like yesterday, unable to even lift their heads.
Ogizu Rippei slowly shook his head, his face full of confusion and despair, his tone carrying a hint of disbelief.
"I don't know. Did the enemy deliberately conceal some of their anti-aircraft firepower during yesterday's battle?"
"Are they just waiting for our aircraft to arrive today, then unleashing all their firepower to catch us off guard?"
Tani Hisao opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
With his hands behind his back, he looked once again at the airspace shrouded in smoke in the distance, his mood extremely depressed.
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