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In the "Escort" section of the movie "My Motherland and Me", the Chinese female pilot uses a Type 11 pistol (at the red arrow)
The movie "My Motherland and Me" consists of seven short stories, each story is produced by a well-known director, with a very different style but a clear theme, almost every paragraph can make people tear up, proud of the motherland and those builders of the motherland, can be described as burning patriotic soul! The finale play "Escort" tells the story of female pilot Lu Xiaoran driving a plane to participate in the National Day military parade, but as a backup aircraft to escort the aircraft group. There is a small scene in the film that may be rarely noticed, when female pilots are preparing their flying equipment, they pull out their pistols to check the guns and insert the holsters. Why do you have to carry a gun on a mission in peacetime? This starts with the use of the pilot's gun -
Legendary pistol air combat
Pilots have a history of armed guns as long as military aviation. The aircraft was applied to the military field soon after its invention, from the initial reconnaissance and shooting to the subsequent air combat and ground attack, this winged cross-era invention changed the battlefield from a two-dimensional plane to a three-dimensional three-dimensional.
However, countries initially believed that aircraft had only a limited effect on war. At the outbreak of the First World War, there were more than 700 aircraft from various armies participating in the war, but these aircraft can hardly be called military aircraft, they have neither weapons nor types of differences, and almost all of them are sent to the front to observe the activities of their opponents. Many conservative senior Army officers considered airplanes to be nothing more than expensive toys, less important than horses on the battlefield, and were skeptical of the intelligence brought back by pilots until ground reconnaissance confirmed them. And the pilots at that time were like "knights in the air", these days the proud sons had innate pride, even in combat were polite, the enemy and us were flying around unarmed aircraft, although the air was lively but peaceful, and even greeted each other. However, the brutality of the ground war soon affected the determination of military commanders and the mentality of these pilots, and the air was no longer a pure land, and air combat broke out. However, since the dedicated aviation weaponry is almost zero, the pilots have created many interesting tactics, using weapons such as pistols, bricks and even darts to attack the opponent's equally slow aircraft, like a version of street fighting.
The German pilots of World War I were dressed thickly because they flew the aircraft in the open cockpit
So, in the history of air combat, who was the first to shoot down an enemy plane?
Born on 8 February 1886 in Munich, Germany, the man was born in Munich, Germany, and at the age of 10 he entered the Junior Academy and officially joined the German Marine Corps five years later as an outstanding cadet. Prushov was not willing to spend his life on the lower deck of the warship, and then entered the famous German Lampler Aviation School at that time to learn to fly a "pigeon" reconnaissance aircraft. Prushov, who became a pilot, was soon sent to the Far East. In November 1913, he took a Lampler Dove reconnaissance plane to Qingdao, China, and became a lieutenant pilot in the German East Asian Squadron. However, to the surprise of Prushov, who wanted to come to the Far East to live happily, only a year later, the First World War suddenly broke out.
On August 23, 1914, Japan, which had long coveted Qingdao, declared war on Germany, and quickly blockaded Jiaozhou Bay with its fleet, sending 60,000 troops and more than 60 ships to cooperate with the British in besieging the Germans. According to the war history, the Japanese army invested a total of 9 aircraft in Qingdao, including 3 French seaplanes (French "Maurice Farman" mf7 biplane imitation) and 1 "Lu-type B" biplane seaplane ("Morris Farman" mf11 seaplane imitation), and the Army Aviation Corps invested 1 "Newport" ng2 monoplane and 4 "Mo" biplane (French "Maurice Farman" mf7 land-based biplane imitation). The difference with the seaplane is the removal of the pontoon, the use of wheeled/skid landing gear), stationed in Qingdao Jimo's Dogtabu Front Line Airport. Previously, the German troops stationed in Qingdao still had 2 "pigeon" reconnaissance aircraft, but before the start of the war, 1 was dropped, and at present, only the "pigeon" type piloted by Prushov. During the war, the Japanese Navy and Army successively dispatched fighters to bomb German positions, and even took the initiative to bomb the German aircraft take-off and landing runway in the racecourse, but because the bombing was purely by luck at that time, the bomb was dropped by the pilot's hand, so it did not cause damage to the German "pigeon" reconnaissance aircraft parked in the hangar. The German commander also knew the importance of this reconnaissance aircraft, and only allowed it to carry out reconnaissance missions and limited ground attack missions, and could not take the initiative to encounter Japanese military aircraft. However, because the appearance of Prushov's "Pigeon" reconnaissance plane was so conspicuous, the Japanese Navy and Army Air Force regarded it as a thorn in the eye, carrying a machine gun operated by a bomber on the aircraft, intending to shoot it down in one fell swoop.
The "Pigeon" reconnaissance aircraft was an early bullet-wing two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, which was heavily equipped with German troops from 1914 to 1915, and its shape imitated the shape of a pigeon, which was a model for the application of bionics to military technology at that time
The mothership Wakamiya recycles the replica Maurice Farman seaplane
The Japanese mothership Wakamiya released the imitation French "Maurice Farman" seaplane
Prushov's "pigeon" reconnaissance aircraft at the German base in Qingdao, pay attention to the city walls and Chinese civilians in the background
Prushov and his "pigeon" reconnaissance aircraft
painting. Prushov piloted a "pigeon" reconnaissance plane and used a pistol to fire at the "Mo" aircraft piloted by Lieutenant KoguanGuan
Air combat is inevitable. At 6:20 a.m. on October 21, Prushov took off in a "pigeon" reconnaissance plane to reconnoiter the Japanese encirclement, and he flew to the side of Jiaozhou Bay, gained altitude, and then reconnoitred in the direction of the Japanese army. At 6:44 a.m., Lieutenant Kenjiro Nagasawa and Lieutenant Hiromatsu Masabi flew the "Newport" ng2-wing aircraft with machine guns to intercept and encounter a German "pigeon" reconnaissance plane between Lonely Mountain, Bao'er, and Lee Village. Neither side had much experience in air combat, and Lieutenant Hiromatsu Makoto, who was in the back seat, fired several rounds of machine gun at Prushov, but did not hit the target, but accidentally broke the tension line in front of his left wing, so he had to hurry back. Subsequently, the Japanese army sent Lieutenant Xiao Guanguan to pilot a "Mo" biplane alone. This biplane was specially modified by the Japanese, because the performance of the original "Mo" biplane was worse than that of the "Pigeon" aircraft, and it could not catch up with the "Pigeon" aircraft at all, so the Japanese army reduced the mass of this biplane and lifted off by a single person in order to be able to shoot down the "Pigeon" aircraft.
The two sides entered a fight after encountering each other, but this time it was Prushov who opened fire first. In Prushov's book "The Pilot from Qingdao" (1927 edition, p. 72), it is clearly written that in this air battle, he fired about 30 rounds of bombs in a row with a Luger pistol at a Japanese land-based aircraft, which fell before his eyes, but he did not write that he saw the Japanese plane crash on the ground, when he had quickly left the air battlefield, because he was afraid that other Japanese aircraft would come to attack him. The Germans later concluded that Prushov had shot down a Japanese land-based aircraft, while the Japanese army denied it. However, this was the world's first recorded pistol air battle. As for the domestic media that previously said in the narrative of the incident that Prushov shot down a seaplane of the Japanese Navy, it was Zhang Guanli, a plane of the same name of the Japanese Navy and Army, who was worn.
The p08 Lug artillery pistol used by Prushov, which can be used as a stock with a barbed holster, can be equipped with a 32-round drum, and has a strong sustained firepower
In his memoirs, Prushov made it clear that he had used the Luger p08 9mm semi-automatic pistol in air combat, a German landmark pistol that was used from World War I to World War II, reliable and durable, and was so popular in the Luftwaffe that in 1936 the Luftwaffe ordered 120,000 p08 pistols to be distributed to pilots and service personnel.
So, how did this Luger pistol shoot 30 rounds? The German Luger p08 pistol magazine can generally hold 8 rounds of 9×19mm Baraberum pistol cartridges, and there is obviously no time to change the magazine in the fierce air battle. So Prushov is likely to use a Lug p08 artillery pistol, which can be attached to the holster as a stock, can be equipped with a cartridge with a capacity of 32 rounds, its barrel length is 203 mm, longer than the standard type (barrel length of 102 mm), the range and accuracy are better, and it is capable of hitting the slow and leisurely "Mo" biplane in air combat.
However, after all, the pistol has a short range and small power, and it is impossible to become a real air combat weapon, and as the machine gun is loaded on the aircraft, the history of air combat has entered a new stage.
The rear seat gunner of the American bomber in the movie Battle of Midway
So, is the pistol out of the air combat arena? Non also. There was also a case of pistol air combat during World War II, and it was in the famous Battle of Midway. Friends who like to watch movies will not miss the recently released American blockbuster "Decisive Battle of Midway", which has many heroic deeds of US torpedo planes and dive bomber rear gunners. In real history, there is such a rear-seat machine gunner, he was a rear-seat radioman and machine gunner of a TBD-1 "Ravager" torpedo bomber in the Third Torpedo Squadron (VT-3) of the USS Yorktown during the Battle of Midway. On June 4, 1942, Childers turned 21, and on that day, the Battle of Midway began. At 4 a.m., he came to the restaurant for a birthday breakfast with steak and eggs, which was a great luxury even in the U.S. Navy at the time, making him feel that it was "the last meal for death row inmates." In the morning, 12 "Ravager" torpedo planes of the VT-3 Squadron took off one after another and pounced on the Japanese aircraft carrier, and soon the gray figure of the Japanese mobile fleet, including 4 aircraft carriers, appeared at sea level, and the VT-3 torpedo squadron quickly descended to an altitude of 30 meters above the sea surface, and rushed in 2 rows towards the nearby Japanese aircraft carrier "Soryu". About 24km away from the Japanese mobile fleet, they were spotted by Japanese Zero fighters patrolling the air, which lined up in columns over the VT-3 squadron and rushed towards the American torpedo planes like tigers preying.
Lloyd F. Childes in his later years. He was a torpedo bomber resembrander and machine gunner during the Battle of Midway, firing a pistol at a Japanese aircraft
painting. Childers' machine gun malfunctioned, and he fired an M1911 pistol at the Japanese Zero fighter
According to Childes' recollection in his later years, the attack group composed of every 3 "Ravager" torpedo planes was followed by 6 "Zero" fighters, and the Japanese pursued the American torpedo planes in a 2-1 manner, and he immediately took up the twin m1919 .30 caliber machine gun on high alert. The six F4F Wildcat fighters escorting the VT-3 Squadron were intercepted by other Zero fighters and engaged in a grueling air battle over the air, leaving no time to take care of their comrades below. Childers put aside all thoughts and stared intently at the 2 Zero fighters flying towards him. "They were very agile," he recalls, "and they were so fast that I think everyone who saw a Zero fighter would be terrified." As the Japanese fighters approached, Childes quickly opened fire with machine guns. He did not like the machine gun in his hand, due to the limitations of the "Ravager" torpedo design, unable to carry the more fierce .50 caliber heavy machine gun, he believed that this .30 caliber machine gun was better than nothing, to hit the target can only continuously pull the trigger to make the bullet in an arc in the air. Unfortunately, Childes' machine gun quickly got stuck, and he quickly pulled out his .45-caliber pistol and opened fire on the pursuing Zero fighter. He recalled: "I don't know what good it was for me, but it was a comfort. I thought, when the magazine in my pistol is empty, I'll throw the empty magazine at those bastards. Of course, the machine gunner's pistol had little effect on the maneuverable Zero fighter, and soon his torpedo control system was hit by a Japanese bullet, and the plane entered a terrible dive state. Fortunately, Childers's partner, pilot Cole, was highly skilled, and he insisted on dropping torpedoes at the target and pulling up the nose, then tilted the aircraft to the right to exit the attack path, and flew away quickly from the battlefield after taking the opportunity to meet the only remaining torpedo in their squadron.
The Japanese fighters did not pursue these torpedoes, because the SBD-2 "Fearless" dive bombers that came after the Us army were ready to carry out a thunderous blow on the Japanese aircraft carriers, and the Japanese fighters fighting at low and medium altitudes climbed desperately to try to intercept the arrival of death, and had no time to take care of the torpedo planes that were no longer threatening. Childes was fortunate to survive and witnessed the destruction of the Japanese aircraft carrier. (To be continued)
(This article was published in Light Weapons, No. 1, 2020, and the public account has been deleted)
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