Japanese Air Offensive and Soviet Resistance
Following the capture of Shanghai, Japanese forces advanced up the Yangtze River towards Nanking. On November 20, 1937, the third and final Japanese “air offensive” on China’s temporary capital began. Although ground resistance was ineffective, air cover for the capital and Nanchang (the second primary target) was sharply reinforced by “volunteer” squadrons of the RKKA Air Force.
These squadrons arrived in Nanking just in time to bolster the severely battered air defenses. During these battles, which continued after the fall of Nanking until approximately December 22, A5M fighters from the 12th, 13th Air Groups, and the aircraft carrier “Kaga” constantly escorted Hiryu G2H1 and Mitsubishi G3M2 bombers. The A5M allegedly destroyed 38 enemy aircraft.
Nevertheless, the Japanese acknowledged that Soviet I-15s and I-16s, hastily engaged in combat over Nanking and Nanchang, managed to achieve local air superiority to some extent. In the last decade of November, the combat tally of Imperial Navy pilots drastically slowed, with only two aircraft shot down on November 22 and another two two days later, despite numerous skirmishes.
Tactics and Heroism in the Skies
Soviet fighters, given new nicknames in China (I-16 as “swallow,” I-15 as “siskin”), indeed fought alongside American “Hawks,” their main rivals in Spain, “Pyrenean crickets” (Italian Fiat CR.32s), British “Gladiators,” and French “Dewoitine” D.510s. No special allowances were made for the varied aircraft types.
On December 9, a curious incident confirmed the reliability of the new Japanese A5M (“Type 96”) fighter. Hastily put into series production, it was initially considered insufficiently robust. However, its metallic structure’s strength later surprised even the Japanese themselves, as the fighter held ShKAS bullets quite well. That day, an A5M1 piloted by Petty Officer K. Kashimura of the 13th Air Group collided in mid-air with a Chinese “Hawk” III, allegedly already shot down and falling erratically.
A third of the Japanese fighter’s left wing detached, but Kashimura managed to return safely to base. In this engagement, seven A5Ms fought against 20 Chinese and Soviet fighters. The Japanese claimed to have shot down 12 enemy aircraft, losing one A5M. The Chinese reported that this A5M was shot down by Commander Wang Hanxun of the 26th Squadron.
Aerial ramming was far from uncommon in that war. Chinese and Soviet volunteers in Soviet fighters carried out several such rams. On February 18, 1938, Wu Dingchen rammed a Japanese aircraft in an I-15 and parachuted to safety; and on April 29, 1938, Junior Lieutenant Chen Huaimin heroically died over Hankou, ramming an enemy aircraft with his I-15 when surrounded.
Escalation and Diplomatic Tensions
The Japanese command believed that after the fall of Nanking, China’s central government would collapse, and resistance would break into isolated pockets. However, Chiang Kai-shek moved his capital west to Hankou, and despite immense losses, the Chinese demonstrated their readiness to continue fighting. New deliveries of Soviet aircraft significantly increased the aerial strength of the Chinese Air Force, restoring their combat capability.
By April 1938, the Japanese government indirectly acknowledged the high effectiveness of Soviet pilots’ actions, demanding through diplomatic channels that the USSR recall them from China. Naturally, this demand was categorically and unequivocally rejected. Foreign Affairs Commissar M. M. Litvinov officially stated the USSR’s right to assist any foreign state and found the Japanese government’s claims incomprehensible, as Japan itself asserted there was no war in China, only a “more or less accidental incident.”
Our volunteers continued to fight in China, participating in intense battles such as the large air engagement on February 18 over Hankou. In this battle, 29 I-16s (and other I-15s) of the 4th Air Group confronted 12 G3M2 bombers and 26 A5M fighters. Accounts vary, but both sides suffered significant losses, demonstrating the ferocity of the fighting.