Operation Z

The year is 1937 — the end of the first stage of the Sino-Japanese war. The Mikado’s military aircraft have all but destroyed the Chinese Air Force, and Japanese ground forces occupy the entire north of the country. China moves its capital to Wuhan. Given the increasing Japanese threat, the Soviet Union comes to the rescue of China, sending airborne equipment and crews of volunteer pilots to the country. These staunch professionals fly to China at their own risk: under foreign names, in civilian clothes, and without documents. We tell the story of the Chinese and Soviet pilots who overcame linguistic and cultural barriers to unite and defeat the superior Japanese forces in what at that time was the largest air battle in world history — the battle for Wuhan.