In late August 1951, the invading U.S. military dispatched a large number of aircraft to blow up many railways from Pyongyang to Panmunjom, causing an emergency in the supply of weapons and ammunition on the front line of the Volunteer Army.
To this end, the Logistics Department of the Volunteer Army decided to select a group of politically reliable, skilled, resourceful and brave train drivers to form a commando team to transport a large number of weapons and ammunition to the front.
The heroic driver who had made great contributions to the Liberation War was selected as the head of this commando team.
After Fan Yong entered the DPRK, he led the commando team to brave the bombardment of enemy aircraft to continuously transport weapons and ammunition to the main battlefield and make new contributions to the motherland and the people.
On August 27, Fan Yong suddenly received an order from his superiors to meet a chief in Dahun ridge, North Korea. As for which chief it was, the superiors refused to reveal it.
Fan Yong arrived in Da Hump Ridge in a jeep and was led into a cave (at that time, most of the important organs of the volunteer army were working in the cave).
When he looked up, Fan Yong was surprised that this chief was deng (Xiaoping), the head of the Chinese people's condolence group to the DPRK.
"Hello chief!" Fan Yong's voice trembled a little from excitement.
"Hello Comrade Fan Yong!" Commander Deng held out his hand enthusiastically, "I've seen you heroic driver again!" We met once at the National Heroes' Conference in 1949 and heard a report on your deeds. ”
"Right, right, right..." Fan Yonglian nodded.
Next, Colonel Deng went straight to the point and said that he would give Fan Yong a very difficult special task.
"Tonight, I will send you to personally drive two arms trains to transport a batch of weapons and ammunition to the Shaliyuan station. The first column was loaded with 'Katyusha' rocket launchers, and the second was loaded with 'Katyusha' shells dedicated to such cannons. ”
Commander Deng glanced at Fan Yong and emphatically said: "This second train is particularly important, it is the 'Katyusha' shells that we bought from the Soviet military at a huge cost, with a total of five carriages.
The price of each shell is three or two gold, and the value of five carriage shells is even more incredible, which is equivalent to the sum of the investment in economic construction in the first five years of new China!
”
"Ah..." Fan Yong listened, too surprised to speak, which made him feel the burden on his shoulders was extremely heavy.
Commander Deng took a step closer, clasped Fan Yong's hands, and said solemnly: "Therefore, Comrade Fan Yong, we must ask you to complete your tasks in victory and live up to the great trust of the party and the people of the motherland!" ”
"Resolutely complete the task!" Fan Yong replied excitedly.
After bidding farewell to Commander Deng, Fan Yong immediately took a jeep back to Pyongyang Station, and then led Zhou Rongxin, Liang Yuxiang and three other assistants to set off, waiting for the first train at the north end of The Datong River Bridge, special train No. 03.
Unexpectedly, Fan Yonggang flew this special train across the Datong River Bridge, and the US military plane smelled the wind.
It was a group of P-61 fighters nicknamed "Black Widow", and as soon as they saw Column 03, they flew over to drop shells and set up an interception line every four or five kilometers.
Faced with this unfavorable situation, Fan Yong was unusually calm and drove the train at full speed. Braving enemy fire to drive a train has long been commonplace for him, but considering that the "Katyusha Cannon" is not easy to come by, he reminds himself not to be reckless, and to fight with the enemy while fighting wits.
At this time, the train is about to enter a valley between the two mountains, and Fan Yong is in a hurry to come up with a clever way to deal with the "Black Widow".
He asked his assistants Zhou Rongxin and Liang Yuxiang to quickly throw coal into the boiler in turn, and He Zongguo turned on the air supply, so that thick black smoke rose from the chimney of the locomotive, thus rising a unique black smoke barrier in the valley and hanging over the train.
Although the enemy plane was closely following the No. 03 column, because the black smoke in the valley was thick and long, it was unable to accurately lock on to the target of the bomb, and it was in a hurry.
Next, Fan Yong continued to flexibly adjust the speed and rhythm according to the changes in the terrain and terrain, using the magic trick of "black smoke protective body" to drive the train into the Shaliyuan station within the specified time.
Except for the assistant Liang Yuxiang's left little finger, which was broken by a bullet fired by an enemy plane, the others and the "Katyusha" cannon in the carriage were safe and sound.
Then, Fan Yong and his assistants rode all the way in a jeep and went straight to the Pyongyang station, ready to sail out of the next military train.
Unexpectedly, an accident occurred on the way, and the water tank of the jeep suddenly exploded, causing the body to roll over. Fortunately, apart from some blisters on their faces and bodies, there was no major problem.
The time is extremely tight, and we must rush back to Pyongyang as soon as possible, but what if there is no transportation? Fan Yong was anxious, and the others stomped their feet.
Just then, a volunteer car passed by, and Fan Yong, with the consent of the driver, borrowed the car and finally arrived at the Pyongyang station at 11:55 that night.
At 0:20 a.m., Fan Yong drove the No. 05 column full of Katyusha shells and went straight to the front line again. This was a very peculiar special train in the Korean War, because the shells carried in the five carriages were huge in value, each equivalent to three or two gold.
To Fan Yong's great surprise, as the train sped along, there were no flares from the enemy in the air, nor did they find the night aircraft they used to reconnoiter the situation of the Chinese and North Korean troops.
Only later did he learn that in order to ensure the smooth delivery of the five-carriage "Katyusha" shells to the front line that night, the Volunteer Army headquarters sent out almost all the belongings of the air force units, dozens of fighter planes, and built an air blockade line over the Korean Strait to intercept enemy aircraft, which bought a lot of time for the No. 05 column.
However, just as the train was about to reach its finish line, there was still an enemy plane that slyly bypassed the blockade line and rushed over to shoot wildly at the body.
Fan Yong, who had long put his life and death aside, drove the No. 05 army column at full speed. Incredibly, although the shells of the three carriages at the rear of the train were shot to varying degrees, the "Katyusha" shells inside the carriages were all unscathed!
At 5:20 a.m., Fan Yong finally drove the military column to the destination in time and successfully completed this thrilling transportation task.
In recognition of Fan Yong's heroic deeds, the headquarters of the Volunteer Army awarded him the first class of merit, and the North Korean side also awarded him the First Class National Flag Medal.