Chapter 12 8. Shoot down the Kwantung Army's star in the sky

In the War of Resistance Against Japan, when it comes to the strength of the Japanese army, it is aircraft and cannons. So, is this military advantage of the Japanese army really indestructible?At least, before and after the "September 18th" Incident, it seems that the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army in Jinzhou tried to "destroy" it. On January 26, 1931, Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" published a news article with photos, titled "My fighter jet fell, Captain Hanazawa died in battle", the content is as follows—— On the 24th, the Special Commissioner of Dahushan reported on the 24th that the fighter jet driven by the captain of a certain independent squadron, Captain Hua Ze, at 3:00 p.m. on the same day, in the direction of Xinjiatun in the northwest of Dahushan, cooperated with the wingman and the ground troops to violently attack the local soldiers (Japanese troops) The anti-Japanese Northeast Army and People's Armed Forces - Translator's Note), after combined air and ground strikes, caused heavy damage to the enemy.But on the way back, he was hit by an enemy bomb, the engine failed, and he fell three miles away from Dahu Mountain, and lost contact.A few hours after the aviation unit returned to the airport, there was still no news, so it was judged that it had been shot down, so the Murai troops and Wang Dianzhong's troops (the puppet army supported by the Japanese army-translator's note) were launched to search, and plainclothes personnel were sent to conduct in-depth investigations. The remains of Captain Hanazawa and Cao Chang Tanaka who were shot down over Xi’an Fort and the Baoding (should be Baozhen, the former Northeast Army Boutez-type biplane two-seater fighter fell into the hands of the Japanese army in Shenyang and was used for them ——Translator's Note) The wreckage of the plane has been controlled by the Northeast Army.After ascertaining the situation, the Dahushan garrison dispatched a large force to start an operation. On the 24th (should be the 25th——Translator's Note) the remains of the two warriors were recovered.

Reported and quoted the photos of Captain Hanazawa before his death, which is very solemn. In this regard, the Chinese data records that it was the Zheng Guilin Department of the Volunteer Army who shot down Huaze—— On January 24, when the enemy raided the outskirts of Jinzhou, Lieutenant Tomoo Hanazawa, the captain of the 10th Squadron of its independent flight, led four "Type A IV" fighters and two French "Boutez" fighters to cooperate. The Liaoxi Volunteer Army in Zhengguilin, Jianshanzi, north of Heishan County, formed a circular route and dived and shot at ground targets one by one.The Volunteer Army knew that the enemy plane had spotted them, so they evacuated and organized anti-aircraft fire at the same time.When Huaze's plane was diving and aiming, the machine gun bullets on the ground hit his plane, which was severely damaged and could not continue to fly. It crashed in Zheng'an Fort, about 15 kilometers northeast of Beizhen County.Hanazawa and pilot Tanaka Tetsutaro Cao Chang were both killed.

Who is Captain Hanazawa, and why did his death attract so much attention from the Japanese side?After checking the information, it was discovered that this Huaze had a very important position in the Kwantung Army.Yuo Hanazawa, graduated from the twenty-ninth period of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy in May 1917, and immediately transferred to flying after graduation. In February 1922, he graduated from the twelfth period of the Army Flight School. He is an aviation pioneer in the Japanese army one.After the "September 18th" Incident, he was one of the two main commanders of the Kwantung Army's air force. His shooting down was equivalent to cutting off an arm of the Kwantung Army's air force. No wonder the Japanese army felt so sorry.

During the "September 18th" Incident, the Kwantung Army had almost no air force in Shenyang, and the air support mainly relied on the Sixth Flying Wing commanded by Changling Kamesuke, who was stationed at Pyongyang Meilin Airport (there were eight flying wings in Japan at the time, and the other Seven wings are stationed in Japan and Taiwan).After the battle started, the Sixth Flying Wing stationed in Pyongyang received an order from the 20th Division at 5 a.m. on September 19 that "Military operations have taken place in Shenyang, and two squadrons should be sent to Shenyang to be under the command of the Kwantung Army." Afterwards, the commander of the wing, Changling Guizhu, quickly designated the Eighth Reconnaissance Squadron and the Tenth Combat Squadron to make preparations before taking off, and then flew to Shenyang Dongta Airport.Among these two squadrons, part of the Eighth Flying Reconnaissance Squadron of Major Hirata Tatsuo has been operating in the Northeast, and the other part has flown from Pyongyang to Shenyang to participate in the battle. Eight "Type A Type IV" fighter jets with two wings, one engine, and no landing gear retracted the landing gear after landing in Sinuiju and refueling. They all flew to Shenyang at 11:00 on the 20th, and immediately refueled and loaded bombs. They took off and bombed Xinmin, Baiqibao, Zhangwu, Faku, Fushun, Qingyuan and other places.Since then, Hirata's 8th Fighter Squadron was deployed in Changchun, while Huaze's 10th Fighter Squadron remained in Shenyang.These two squadrons have carried out multiple reconnaissances on the Northeast Army bases around Shenyang and Changchun, airdropped leaflets, bombed, strafed and other operations, and attacked the train heading towards Shanhaiguan.

At this stage, Yuo Hanazawa was very active. He suggested that on September 24, 29, and 30, several front-line airfields were prepared and established in Zhengjiatun, Dashiqiao, etc., so that the Kwantung Army’s fighter jets could have a greater combat radius. Greatly increased, it is beneficial to cooperate with the long-distance combat operations of ground troops. On October 8, Huaze led a team to bomb Jinzhou.At the same time, he also inspected the "POTEZ" (POTEZ) and other fighter jets originally imported from France seized at Dongta Airport, and presided over the maintenance of Belarusian crews recruited by the Northeast Army, and painted them with the Japanese national emblem for use. It was such a plane that belonged to the Northeast Army that Ze flew in the last battle.Huaze became the sky star of the Kwantung Army for a while.

One month before he was shot down, on December 19, 1931, Tokyo's "Asahi Shimbun" interviewed Hanazawa and other Japanese star pilots. At that time, Hanazawa had frostbite on his face, but he seemed confident when talking about fighting.However, from the words of these Japanese star pilots, it can also be felt that the Northeast Army, which had lost its air power at that time, had carried out tenacious and effective resistance to Japanese aircraft. Hanazawa mentioned that his army’s aircraft had many He was hit by the Northeast Army and the Volunteer Army for the first time, and had to choose to make an emergency landing close to the railway line controlled by the Japanese army. His wingman was hit by more than ten bullets and barely returned; his Zhonglin Cao leader plane was shot down by the Chinese army. I was killed.

Second Lieutenant Bo Longai of the Japanese Army mentioned that his plane was hit by Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army when it was operating near Dahu Mountain, and was shot eleven times. Another Second Lieutenant Puzhong was even more exaggerated. His plane was shot 23 times and still flew back.Lieutenant Sato of the Japanese army recorded that the horse bandits (the derogatory name for the Volunteer Army by the Japanese army) were so cunning that they even placed the captured Japanese army flags in the forest, pretending to be the scattered Japanese army, and lured the Japanese planes to fly low to attack suddenly. With light weapons shooting into the air, the Japanese losses would be much greater.

If you only look at the documents of the upper echelons of China at that time, the Japanese aircraft are as invincible as the king of the sky.Only by reading Japanese literature can I feel that the Japanese aircraft are not invincible, they are really beating wolves with hemp stalks, and they are afraid at both ends.After all, at the time of "September 18", Japan was not fully prepared for war, and a large amount of equipment was still under development. Going back to the report that Captain Hanazawa was shot down, I suddenly found that on the side of this report, it described the news that the squadron leader of the Japanese garrison in Dalinghe was shot dead, and exclaimed that the situation of the Japanese army in the area was critical.

According to incomplete statistics, after the "September 18th" incident, there were 190,000 Northeast Army soldiers around Jinzhou. If the Northeast Army was able to devote all its strength to counterattack at that time, it seemed to have air superiority, and the Kwantung Army composed of elite soldiers and generals would be really invincible. ? It is a pity that history does not assume.