日本“九六”式陆上攻击机（资料图）

August 14, 1937, is a day worth remembering in the history of the Chinese Air Force. The Japanese army dispatched 18 bombers, divided into two groups, from Taipei Songshan Airport to undertake a bombing mission in Jianqiao (Hangzhou) and Guangde (Anhui). In the sky above Hangzhou, the Chinese Air Force launched a large-scale air battle with the Japanese for the first time. With a 3-0 result for China, it was a complete victory in the air battle between China and Japan, breaking the myth that the Japanese Air Force was invincible.

At almost the same time, another platoon of the Japanese Air Force was returning from southern Anhui, and one of the enemy planes lost its orientation and crashed in the mountains of Zhuzhai (in the area between where the villages of Xinguang and Zhifeng, Yuzhai Township now lie) in Pujiang. A Japanese pilot was captured, and the wreckage of the enemy plane, including pilot seats, parachutes, guns, etc., was moved from Pujiang to Jinhua for public exhibition.

On the 86th anniversary of this event, the descendants of Jin Pingou, the collector of the pilot’s seat of the wreckage of the enemy plane, donated it back to Pujiang.

“Boom! There was a loud noise, and a fire suddenly flashed out of the clouds in the dark sky. A plane belching black smoke swooped down from the southeast side of the village and crashed in a mountain depression northwest of the village.” 95-year-old villager Zhu Yaoxiang still remembers the scene of the Japanese plane crashing into Zhu’s house in Pujiang. “I was 9 years old that year, and the loud noise scared me so much that I fell into the water.”

It was August 14, 1937, around dinnertime, and it was drizzling. Zhu Yaoxiang followed the adults to the scene, only to realize that it was a parachute and a pilot, and there was a seat under his buttocks. The pilot was motionless for a few minutes after landing, then stood up, limping and embarrassed.

When villager Zhu Shaoyi learned that he was Japanese, hatred welled up in his chest. He picked up a hoe from his home and was about to smash him to death, but the surrounding villagers dissuaded him. Subsequently, the villagers escorted the pilot to the village, arranged for guards, and sent someone to report to the township government.

Zhu Yaohui, a villager who graduated from the Baoding Military Academy, tried to communicate with the captive in Mandarin, but the other party could not understand or communicate back. He was given a pen and paper and wrote the word “Taiwan,” indicating that the plane took off from Taiwan.

Zhu Xiguang is a local lover of literature and history who has studied the history of World War II in Zhuzhai for more than 20 years and recorded the memories of many witnesses through oral interviews. He explained that the plane crashed into the valley 3 or 4 miles away from the village, and many villagers rushed to see what happened. The wreckage of the plane was scattered all over the place, the main part of the plane was still burning, there was a small piece of scorched black earth nearby after the rain, there were six dead bodies at the scene, and holes were smashed in the ground around the plane.

Over the years, Zhang Jiemin, a researcher on the history of the Republic of China in Pujiang and vice president of the New Fourth Army Research Association, and Jiang Dongfang from the Yuequan Institute have consulted data for verification, and have unearthed more details from the numerous historical materials.

On the second day after the enemy plane crashed, the Japanese prisoner was escorted to the township government by villager Zhu Hexiang and the police. At the same time, the police hired farmers to pick up the wreckage and have it delivered to the Pujiang County government. Carrying more than 30 loads of plane wreckage on their shoulders and escorting the captives, the group walked in a meandering way, attracting crowds of onlookers along their route, and everyone was elated when they realized what they were seeing. Finally, the prisoner were transported to the provincial security office in Hangzhou.

According to Zhang Jiemin, the enemy plane that crashed was a Japanese “96” land attack aircraft with 7 crew members (pilot, co-pilot, bombardiers, and machine gunners), 16.45 meters in length, and nearly 5 tons in empty weight. This model was the main bomber aircraft used by the Japanese to bomb Chinese cities.

On August 15, 1937, the Southeast Daily reported the incident for the first time: “The enemy plane fell into the Pujiang River and was captured. … An enemy plane landed suddenly, and there were Japanese people in the plane… the other one has been captured alive and will be released for investigation on the 15th.”

Zhejiang Anti-Japanese War History clearly records: “On the same day, when the Guangde Air Raiding Team of the Luwu Air Force was on their way back from southern Anhui, another enemy plane fell into Pujiang County, Zhejiang Province, because it lost direction during the night flight.” (English text edited by Kendra Fiddler)

坠浦日机飞行员座椅14日回归浦江

86年前的8月14日，是中国空军史上值得铭记的一天。

这一天，日军自台北松山机场出动18架轰炸机，兵分两路，轰炸杭州笕桥与安徽广德。杭州上空，中国空军首次与日军展开大规模空战，以3∶0战绩首开中日空战全胜纪录，打破了日本航空队不可战胜的神话。

几乎同一时间，另一路日军从皖南返回途中，其中一架敌机因迷失方向坠落在浦江朱宅（今虞宅乡新光村、智丰村一带）山间。一名日军飞行员被俘，包括飞行员座椅、降落伞、枪等在内的敌机残骸被移至浦江及金华市区公开展览。

86年后的这一天，这架敌机残骸部件飞行员座椅的收藏者金平欧的后人，将其捐赠回浦江。这件见证侵华罪证的实物重回大众视线，一段鲜为人知的历史被重新打开——

巨响

“轰隆！”一声巨响，黑压压的天空云层中忽然闪出一团火光。一架冒着黑烟的飞机从村子东南面俯冲而来，在村西北面木榧场的山坳里坠毁……

日军飞机坠毁在浦江朱宅的画面，95岁的村民朱耀相老人至今记忆犹新。“那年我9岁，这声巨响吓了我一大跳，一脚跌进水里。”

那是1937年8月14日，事发在晚饭前后，下着蒙蒙细雨。过了一会，空中又飘来一朵白色“云团”，眼见着越来越大，最后落在村边的横耙四十田角。朱耀相跟着大人们赶去看，才知道那是降落伞和飞行员，其屁股下还连带着一把座椅。飞行员着地后的几分钟一动不动，而后起身，一瘸一拐，很狼狈。

村民朱绍宜得知他是日本人，仇恨涌上胸膛，从家中操起一把锄头，准备砸死他，在围观村民的劝阻下才罢手。随后，村民将其押解到村里，安排人员看守，并派人报告乡政府。

毕业于保定军校的村民朱耀晖以普通话与俘虏交流，但对方听不懂，无法交流，给他纸笔，才歪斜着写下“台湾”两个字，意思是该飞机从台湾起飞的。

朱希光是当地文史爱好者，研究朱宅抗战历史20多年，通过口述采访记录了不少亲历者的回忆。他介绍，飞机坠落地木榧场山谷距离村子有三四里路，许多村民赶去看个究竟。坠落的敌机已焚毁不全，飞机残骸散落一地，主驾还在燃烧，下过雨的地面有一小片焦黑，现场还有6具尸体，在飞机四周的地面砸出坑洞。

76岁的村民朱玉堂说，朱宅在抗战期间坠毁一架日军飞机并俘虏日军飞行员的事，村里人人都知，他的父亲曾捡到过坠毁的机尾。当地还流传着一段顺口溜：“日本飞机台湾来，浦江朱宅掉下来。”

扬眉

多年来，浦江民国史研究者、新四军研究会副会长张解民与月泉学社社长江东放等人查阅资料求证，从海量史料中挖掘出更多细节。

敌机坠毁的第二天，这名日军俘虏由村民朱和祥与警察押解至乡政府，警察同时雇农夫将搜集到的飞机残骸挑到浦江县政府。这一行肩挑30余担飞机残骸及押解俘虏的队伍，迤逦而行，沿途引来民众围观，大家看了都扬眉吐气。随后，俘虏被解送至位于杭州的省保安处。

张解民介绍，坠毁的这架敌机是一架日本“九六”式陆上攻击机，有乘员7人（正副驾驶、投弹手和机枪手），机长16.45米，空重近5吨，是日军对中国城市进行轰炸的主力轰炸机。

1937年8月15日，《东南日报》第一时间对事件进行报道：“敌机落浦江被我俘获（本报十四日诸暨电），十四日下午六时，距浦江十五里处，敌机一架突然降落，机内有日人……其余一人已被我活捉，十五日解杭讯究。”

《浙江抗日战争史》中明确记载：“同日，鹿屋航空队广德空袭队从皖南返回途中，又一架敌机因夜航迷失方向而坠落浙江省浦江县。”