Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 863 Shooting Down 2 Ki-46s: Visual Kill Tactics

With Patrick Shinan executed on the spot, the Japanese spy network that had been entrenched on Penang Island was completely eradicated.

For the already precarious defenses of Penang Island, this is undoubtedly the greatest boon in a desperate situation.

Lieutenant Colonel Terry immediately made adjustments to the island's defenses.

All air defense artillery positions and coastal defense heavy artillery positions on the entire island have been relocated.

All ammunition depots, fuel storage points, and frontline command bunkers were relocated overnight, away from the old marked areas;

The locations of the garrison troops have also been adjusted.

The only unavoidable weakness is the island's airport.

Airport runways, aprons, and control towers are all fixed structures, and aircraft must take off and land here, so they cannot be moved at all.

Left with no other option, the British military worked through the night, felling large quantities of logs and piecing together planks to mass-produce more than ten wooden replica fighter jets, which were then neatly arranged on the tarmac and along both sides of the runway to resemble parked fighter jets.

The actual seven fighter jets were parked outside the airport and concealed by tarpaulins.

Just as Penang was busy rebuilding its defenses, a situation also arose on the other side of the strait.

The main force of the Japanese army finally arrived at Butterworth.

This time, it was not the vanguard that arrived, but the main force of the Japanese Malayan offensive regiment, which was strong and well-equipped.

The Japanese army delayed its attack by a full two days from the originally planned time, mainly to prevent another minefield air raid.

Previously, the Japanese advance troops had been ambushed by an unidentified air attack in a minefield in the northern suburbs, suffering heavy losses. The Japanese command was wary, fearing that they might fall into an ambush trap again in unfavorable terrain.

Therefore, the advance was temporarily suspended, and a large number of engineers were transferred to conduct a thorough search of the route to clear the landmine hazard before advancing to Butterworth in batches.

For a time, heavy troops were locked in a standoff on both sides of the Penang Strait, and the shadow of war loomed large.

The closest point between the two sides is the ferry terminal in Penang, which is only 3000 meters away in a straight line.

You can see what's happening on the other side using a telescope.

Japanese troops set up cannons on the ferry dock.

The British also set up more than a dozen cannons in different locations in Penang.

To avoid civilian casualties from shelling, all residents of Penang were evacuated to the hilly areas of the island for temporary shelter.

At that moment, news came from the Taishan fleet.

Taishan's residence on the west side of Penang Island.

Fang Wen examined the telegram handed to him by the messenger.

Three warships awaiting conversion have departed from Little Andaman Island and are currently located in the waters south of Phuket.

We expect to arrive at Penang Island in 10 hours.

This was his naval legacy, and Fang Wen couldn't help but feel nervous.

He had to personally escort the three warships awaiting refit to their safe arrival at the Singapore naval dock for the refit.

Therefore, he summoned two of his subordinates, Pan Jiafeng and Zhou Pomen.

Upon their arrival, Fang Wen said sternly, "Our naval ships are almost here. I must escort them to Singapore. The defense here will temporarily fall to you. Remember, cooperate with the British forces, and exercise caution."

Pan Jiafeng and Zhou Pomen responded, "Yes."

Fang Wen continued, "I'll be gone for at least a day. I hope you're all doing well before I get back."

The two were moved, stood at attention, and saluted.

At that moment, an alarm suddenly sounded from the small radar station set up at the base.

The radar operator rushed out and shouted, "Two enemy aircraft have been detected, flying in from the north and south sides of the island!"

Fang Wen's face turned cold.

This is clearly a Japanese high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Apparently, because the spies on the island failed to send out intelligence, the Japanese were unaware of the situation on the island, so this aerial reconnaissance was specifically conducted.

I'm about to go to Singapore, and I need to use those two Japanese reconnaissance planes to set an example and warn them not to come to the island so easily.

Fang Wen then drove to the airport on the island, 1000 meters away.

Two minutes later, the car drove into the airport.

The car stopped at the barracks, and Fang Wen said to the airport officer standing outside the barracks, "Give me a Spitfire fighter plane. Japanese reconnaissance planes are attacking."

The officer knew Fang Wen's capabilities, so he didn't ask any questions. He jumped into the military vehicle and pointed to the west of the airport: "Drive that way, the plane is hidden there."

Fang Wen drove his car over there, creating a makeshift road, and arrived at the disguised parking area for the fighter jets.

The officer pointed to an airplane covered with a gray canvas and said, "It's the best."

Fang Wen jumped off the military vehicle, carried a ladder to the side of the aircraft, quickly climbed up, opened the hatch, and crawled into the cockpit.

"Where's the ignition key?" he shouted down.

The officer ran into the wooden hut next door, came out with the start key, and tossed it to Fang Wen.

With the engine running, Fang Wen also activated his supernatural abilities and merged with the aircraft to conduct a rapid inspection.

There's nothing seriously wrong; it's ready to take off.

He waved to the crowd: "Is the runway cleared?"

“There are no planes on the runway. You may take off,” the officer shouted back.

Fang Wen maneuvered the aircraft to taxi into the airport and then onto the runway.

The area in front of the runway was completely empty.

Fang Wen straightened the aircraft, accelerated, and took off.

High in the sky, Fang Wen unleashed his full supernatural abilities, searching for traces of enemy aircraft.

According to the radar operator's report, two high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft were approaching Penang Island from the south and north respectively. Since the airport was located in the south, Fang Wen simply flew south first to look for enemy traces.

He soon discovered it.

This is an airplane I've never seen before.

However, Fang Wen could guess the aircraft's model based on its characteristics.

It should be the Mitsubishi Ki-46 Type 100 Headquarters Reconnaissance Aircraft, which had just been commissioned into the Japanese military.

This thing was specifically designed for high-altitude reconnaissance.

Two 1000-horsepower engines, a speed of 600 km/h, and a range of 2400 km.

In return, there is almost no protection; in terms of weaponry, there is only one 7.7 mm machine gun in the rear cockpit.

It still follows the typical Japanese military design philosophy of trading speed for survival.

As long as you can't hit me, I'm invincible.

Fang Wen sneered, "Today, let's show this new fighter jet what it's made of."

How do we deal with this new enemy?

He was calculating in his mind.

As the top high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft of the Japanese military, the Ki-46 had a speed far exceeding that of the British Spitfire fighter, and its cruising altitude was extremely high. The Spitfire simply could not catch up with it using conventional pursuit methods.

In general encounters, Japanese pilots would use their speed advantage to escape as soon as they spotted the enemy approaching, which was the source of this fighter's confidence to attack alone.

Conventional air combat logic has no solution against the Type 100 reconnaissance aircraft.

But from the very beginning, Fang Wen never intended to use conventional tactics.

During World War II, all air combat decisions relied entirely on the pilot's naked eye and tail sights, without any radar lock-on warning.

As long as it's outside the enemy aircraft's visual line of sight, the enemy will be completely blind.

He could use his superhuman spatial perception to deliberately avoid all the enemy aircraft's forward, side, and rear views, and once he entered the blind spot, he would have a chance to deliver a fatal blow.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen lowered the flight altitude, avoiding the enemy aircraft's line of sight. Although the two fighter planes were clearly in the same airspace, due to their different spatial positions, the Japanese reconnaissance pilot did not notice the aircraft approaching from below at first.

The co-pilot in the rear cockpit of the enemy plane was looking down and taking pictures of the ground defense deployment on Penang Island, but he did not see Fang Wen's plane in his field of vision.

Unaware that the enemy was already close, they realized that the enemy had already approached.

Fang Wen quietly approached from an absolute blind spot in the other party's field of vision.

Suddenly, the engine roared to full power, and the Spitfire instantly burst into its maximum sprint speed, nose-up and flying away.

Even when the distance closed to a kill range of 300 meters, the Japanese warplanes remained completely unaware.

"ended."

A cold glint flashed in Fang Wen's eyes, and he decisively pulled the trigger.

The Spitfire's nose-mounted eight machine guns simultaneously fired flames.

A dense hail of metal bullets covered the enemy aircraft's fuselage, engine compartment, and fuel tank area.

The Ki-46's thin fuselage was simply no match for the saturation fire of eight machine guns.

The fuselage was riddled with bullet holes, and the fuel lines burst instantly, spewing out aviation fuel.

The engine caught fire instantly, and then the entire top-class Japanese reconnaissance plane exploded in mid-air, turning into a blazing fireball and crashing into the sea east of Penang.

The entire flight lasted less than thirty seconds; it was a high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that the Japanese military was so proud of.

Before it could make a complete evasive maneuver, it was silently hunted down.

Fang Wen did not stop, but maneuvered his fighter jet to turn around and head towards the airspace north of the island to intercept the second Japanese reconnaissance plane that was making a flanking maneuver.

At that moment, another Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft in the northern airspace was focused on photographing the northern beach fortifications and artillery positions, unaware that its comrade had already perished.

Fang Wen used the same trick again, relying on his special ability to accurately calculate the heading, speed and angle of the two aircraft, and cut into the enemy aircraft's blind spot in advance, always hiding in the enemy's blind spot and quietly approaching.

Just as the two aircraft were about to cross paths, the Spitfire suddenly accelerated, closing in to firing range in an instant.

At that moment, the Japanese soldier in the rear cockpit caught sight of the British warplanes that had suddenly appeared to his side and rear. His pupils constricted, and he roared hysterically, "Enemy planes! Take evasive action immediately!"

The pilot saw it out of the corner of his eye.

He was covered in cold sweat, and instantly pushed and pressed the cue, trying to dodge to the side and escape at full speed.

However, the speed of a bullet exceeds that of a fighter jet's maneuverability.

Eight machine guns unleashed another barrage of bullets, the spiraling barrages fiercely covering the sides, engines, and tail of the enemy aircraft.

The fuselage was instantly riddled with bullet holes, the hydraulic lines were damaged, the engine stopped immediately, and the out-of-control fighter jet, billowing thick black smoke, plunged headlong into the mountainous area of ​​the island below.

In just a few minutes, Fang Wen single-handedly shot down both of the Japanese army's newest Type 100 headquarters reconnaissance planes.

British troops on the ground in Penang witnessed the entire incredible aerial hunt.

The British troops at the airport, in particular, understood the value of Fang Wen's shot-down.

Such a high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was used for guided reconnaissance before Japanese bombing raids. It had appeared in the northern Malayan theater before, but British pilots could not do anything about it each time it arrived.

It can't catch up with either fire or hurricane.

But in Fang Wen's hands, they were like sitting ducks, not even having a chance to react, and were easily shot down.

"Incredible! What kind of aerial combat technique is that!"

"That was a completely predictive maneuver! It gave the enemy aircraft absolutely no chance!"

"Mr. Fang's flying skills are amazing!"

British pilots and officers at the airport expressed their heartfelt admiration, their eyes filled with respect.

With such a strong air combat expert in charge, their confidence is greatly enhanced.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen, having successfully shot down his target, had already flown back to the airport.

He maneuvered the fighter jet to slow down, aligned it with the runway, and completed the landing.

After the fighter jet came to a stop, Fang Wen pushed open the cockpit canopy and slid down the fuselage wall.

As soon as they landed, a group of British pilots surrounded them, their words full of praise.

Fang Wen responded with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I have important things to do. I'll talk to you another time."

After saying that, he walked to the military vehicle parked at the airport, drove away from the airport, and returned to the nearby Taishan garrison.

At that moment, he knew perfectly well what he was going to do.

Shooting down the reconnaissance plane was merely a temporary show of force, causing the Japanese military to slow down its air raids and island assaults.

His most important task right now is to head out to sea and escort the three warships awaiting conversion to Singapore safely.

He did not report his trip to the British troops on the island.

After giving instructions to Pan Jiafeng and Zhou Pomen, Fang Wen led Gong Xiuneng onto the gunboat.

With engines roaring, the gunboat glided and took off from the sea, flying at full speed toward the northwest.

Half an hour into the flight, a fleet appeared on the northwestern sea.

It was the Taishan Fleet that sailed from Little Andaman Island. The three warships awaiting conversion were arranged in a triangular formation, with the Taishan No. 1.5 aircraft carrier in the middle and two cargo ships converted into warships escorting it on the left and right.

Fang Wen picked up the microphone and switched to the fleet's dedicated channel: "Taishan No. 1, this is Fang Wen. Clear the upper deck in preparation for landing."

The captain of the Taishan No. 1 quickly responded through the headset: "Roger! The upper deck is cleared and ready to land at any time!"

At this time, the gunboat had plenty of fuel, so Fang Wen did not land to rest, but maintained a high-altitude cruising attitude to lead the entire fleet.

He would sometimes venture out to scout ahead, and sometimes circle back to wait for the fleet to catch up.

The most important aspect of reconnaissance is the airborne radar detection system.

The entire sea surface and airspace within a 300-kilometer radius were scanned, and no trace of any ship or fighter jet could be hidden.

Currently, the radar is not receiving feedback from aircraft or ships.

The temporary safety brought Fang Wen a slight sense of relief, but he still dared not relax and continued to fly escort missions with his nerves on high alert.

Time passed, and after two hours of continuous patrol and escort, it was time to land and rest.

With his superb flight control skills, Fang Wen piloted the gunboat and landed precisely on the upper deck runway of the Taishan No. 1.5 aircraft carrier.

The gunboats were not fast, and the friction upon landing was greater. After gliding for a while, they came to a stop.

The mechanics on the semi-carrier immediately came over to check the condition of the fighter jets and refuel them to ensure they could take off again for combat at any time.

After a short rest, Fang Wen immediately took off again to continue escorting the convoy.

After repeated takeoffs, landings, and patrols, and six hours of continuous escort, the fleet steadily entered the narrowest part of the Strait of Malacca.

This section of the waterway is narrow and is the most dangerous part of the entire route. If the fleet encounters the Japanese fleet, it will be completely unable to maneuver and avoid them. At that time, there will be nowhere to hide.

Therefore, it is essential to thoroughly investigate this voyage beforehand.

Fang Wen picked up the microphone: "Slow down the fleet and wait for me to conduct aerial reconnaissance first!"

After the call ended, the gunboats detached from the convoy and flew at full speed into the depths of the narrow channel.

As the fighter jet sped 100 kilometers, its onboard radar detection system suddenly emitted a rapid beeping alarm.

Fang Wen, who was in a state of mechanical perception, also learned of the situation immediately.

Radar detection system detected a ship ahead, waveform feedback! (End of Chapter)