34th Squadrons flying eight Boeing 281 P-26 Peashooters, five Gloster Gladiators, 13 Hawk IIIs and Hawk IIs. The Chinese shot down four and damaged six Japanese G3M bombers. On 16 August, the Japanese launched two raids with a total of 11 Japanese G3M bombers on the airfield near Nanjing; they were intercepted by five Chinese fighters from the 17th and 28th Squadrons. The Chinese shot down three Japanese bombers, and lost three fighters. On 17 August Chinese Hawk III fighters flew 17 sorties shooting down one Japanese bomber; the Chinese lost two aircraft. From 20 August to the end of the month, daily aerial engagements took place between the Chinese and Japanese planes, and the Japanese facing unexpected tenacity from the Chinese pilots, suffered prohibitive losses made worse by the sacrifice of armored protection in exchange for supposed-advantage of lighter-weight and higher-performance of the newer Japanese aircraft designs. In that period the Chinese shot down 24 Japanese planes and lost 11 aircraft. While seeking to better compete against the highly advanced Mitsubishi A5M fighters of the IJNAF, Colonel Kao Chih-hang on a morale-boosting shakedown of his men and performance-boosting of his machines, had his maintenance crews remove the bomb-racks, fuel tank cowlings, landing lights, etc., to save weight and reduce drag off the Hawks, and on 12 October 1937, he led an aggressive seek-and-destroy mission consisting of six Hawk IIIs, two Boeing P-26/281 "Peashooters", and a Fiat CR.32 in the opportunity to engage any approaching Japanese fighter aircraft. A group of Mitsubishi A5Ms soon appeared on approach to Nanking and Col. Kao led his group into a melee, where Maj. John Wong Pan-Yang, a Chinese-American volunteer pilot from Seattle flying one of two P-26 "Peashooters", drew first blood shooting down the A5M piloted by PO1c Mazazumi Ino. Capt. Liu Cuigang shot down another A5M that was sent crashing down into a "Mr. Yang's residence in southern Nanking", and Colonel Gao scored a double-kill against the A5Ms, including that of shotai leader WO Torakuma, all before jubilant spectators of the city of Nanking. This was a monumental moment of air-superiority exhibited by the Chinese pilots due to the great experience of Col. Gao, Maj. Wong and Capt. Liu in particular, as they were outnumbered and yet so convincingly defeated the Japanese fighter group flying the far-more advanced Mitsubishi A5M "Claudes". Battle of Taiyuan As the frontline battlefields raged at the Battle