Just when the Battle of Xuzhou entered its climax, air warfare also broke out in Wuhan. After the "218 Air Battle," the Japanese air force suffered a heavy loss, and for a long time did not dare to come over Wuhan to make a big fuss, and could only take advantage of the night to engage in some sneak attack tricks. Obviously, these guys won't give up so easily, and will definitely find a time to come back to the fun. But what day will it be?
Coincidentally, during the test flight, a plane of the four major teams stationed in Xiaogan suddenly found that a Japanese plane passed below.
The pilot immediately swooped down and shot down the enemy plane. This unbeaten plane turned out to be a reconnaissance plane, and when the wreckage was inspected, a dead ghost was found wearing a gold collar badge! What kind of people wear this thing? Of course, not ordinary people, but senior officers of the Japanese air force. The diary found shows that this senior official originally came to the front line to inspect, but unexpectedly became a sacrifice for the test flight of the new aircraft of the Chinese Air Force, and the diary also revealed that April 29 was the Tianchang Festival, and the air force wanted to bomb Wuhan to present a gift to Emperor Hirohito.
Chennault gets an important piece of information, but that's just information. After the accident of the reconnaissance plane, whether the Japanese Air Force will still carry out this plan will still have to be marked with a huge question mark.
After communicating with the Soviet Air Force, Chennault quickly had a plan. On April 28, the Chinese and Soviet air forces were all transferred to Wuhan, but it did not take long before they set off for Nanchang en masse. Unlike in the past, this time they did not leave immediately, but first flew low over Wuhan, and then circled around the city. Such a high profile, of course, is so that people on the ground can see it clearly, including those hidden Japanese spies and traitors, who passed on the information at the first time.
The Chinese and Soviet air forces began to turn back just an hour after leaving Wuhan. It was dusk, the light itself was dim, and the pilots flew at ultra-low altitudes, even eliminating the usual circling and landing procedures, all for the sake of secrecy.
In the process, Chennault personally climbed up to the tallest building in Hankou to observe the effect. But even he did not hear or see when the plane arrived at the airport, so he was sure that the trap set was foolproof, and the "snake" would definitely come out of the "hole".
Chennault's foresight was not bad at all. If the Japanese air force had more or less hesitated to bomb Wuhan before this, it became unscrupulous after they discovered that there was a "defensive vacuum" over Wuhan.
On 29 April, Chennault learned from the siren network that enemy aircraft had moved. The Kisarazu Air Force was prepared and murderous, even at the expense of its main lineup, which was full of first-class bombers and fighters, and just a few months earlier, they had participated in the attack on Zhoujiakou.
Chennault observed that since the refueling base of the Kisaratsu Air Force was far away in Wuhu, the Japanese aircraft could continue to operate over Wuhan for a short time, and when the fuel was exhausted, they would have to return to Wuhu. So he divided the Chinese and Soviet air forces into two, and the first round of combat tasks was given to the Chinese air force, the purpose of which was not to annihilate the enemy, but to delay the time as much as possible and consume the fuel of the Japanese aircraft, and the Soviet Air Force, as the main force, was temporarily hidden.
Wuhan Great Air Battle (1) serial, to be continued.......