Over the sky of China (Ki-21-Ia, two Ki-27a)
On July 7, 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War began with an incident on the Lugoutsa Bridge not far from Beijing. From the first days of the invasion, the main blow was held by the aircraft of the Japanese fleet, and this forced the acceleration of the delivery of aircraft to the Army Air Force. In the spring of 1938, a Ki-27a fighter appeared in the sky of China. His combat qualities, combined with the high morale of the personnel, allowed the Japanese aviation to gain an advantage over the Chinese Air Force. In air battles, the fighter successfully fought against Soviet-made I-15 and I-16 aircraft. Also in 1938, Ki-21-Ia bombers appeared in the Chinese sky, the 60th Sentai was the first to receive them. The planes were immediately involved in active combat operations, and their crews managed to develop effective tactics of use - they maintained close combat order in the area of the target, combining this with mutual fire support. The Ki-21-Ia bombers also showed their high survivability – they could withstand damage from a large number of conventional caliber bullets. For a certain period of time, these aircraft were the only long-range bombers in the Japanese Army Air Force.
