927 Air Battle over Lechang(Date: 27th September 1937)
Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo (36 aircraft onboard) berthed at 16 miles off Mirs Bay (or Dapeng Bay) while aircraft carrier Hosho (41 aircraft onboard) berthed at waters between Hengqin Island and Wanshan Archipelago at the mouth of the Pearl River. Their carrier-based bombers had bombed ROC military installations along the railway between Guangzhou and Shaoguan and its connecting railroads for days. At 1200 hours on 27th September 1937, 3 Japanese heavy bombers were raiding on the southern section of the Guangzhou-Hankou Railway, ROCAF 29th SQ (Provisional) and 28th SQ, 5th PG, with the area of responsibility for Guangdong at the time, took off to respond. At 1210 hours, Cmdr. Chen Shun-nan, 29th SQ, leading 3 Curtiss Hawk IIIs, took off at Tianhe airfield in a V-shaped formation. When reached 15,000 feet over Lechang of Guangdong Province, they spotted 3 Japanese heavy bombers also in a V-shaped formation at 12,000 feet were bombing a section of the Guangzhou-Hankou Railway around Lechang. They then sped up to disperse the Japanese bombers, and began a hot pursuit respectively. The fighting continued over 10 minutes, Pilot Xie Quan-he knocked down a Japanese bomber while Pilot Huang Zhao-lian damaged another, which fled into the clouds with a leaking fuel tank. All Hawk IIIs returned to base at 1320 hours. Deputy Cmdr. Chen Rui-dian (Arthur Chin), 28th SQ, 5th PG, leading 4 Curtiss Hawk IIs, took off from Shaoguan, and engaged Japanese planes over Shaoguan and Lechang. The Japanese planes were soon forced to abort their mission and fled.
Photo: Japanese Type 94 bomber / source: Wings of China
Photo: Debris of a downed Japanese plane by ROCAF
Result:
One Japanese heavy bomber was killed while another was damaged during the battle.
Photo: Curtiss Hawk II on a mission