Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Bombing of Chongqing" in English language version.
A6M1-A6M2 ZERO FIGHTER SPEC DEMANDS: On 19 May 1937, the IJN issued a request for the new fighter, dictating performance specifications; armament of two 7.7-millimeter machine guns and twin 20-millimeter cannon, plus two 60-kilogram (132-pound) bombs; and state-of-the-art radio gear. The performance specifications were raised in October, in light of experience obtained in fighting in China that year. The specifications were so aggressive that many thought that Japanese aircraft manufacturers could not meet them... Service trials were conducted through the first half of 1940, leading to combat trials in China and initial production.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)From May 1939 to August 1941 was the period when the Japanese bombing at the most intensive stage and the residents of Chongqing suffered the most. Under the continuous and indiscriminate bombing from the Japanese military, 4,889 buildings were destroyed to varying degrees, including the British, French and other foreign embassies and institutions in China. Even the German Embassy hanging the Nazi flag was not spared.
On the very day that the bill was signed, Great Britain and Greece (then at war with Italy) were declared eligible for lend-lease aid. Goods started to move almost immediately. China, engaged in a desperate struggle with Japan, was declared eligible on May 6, and Norway on June 4, 1941. The U.S.S.R. attacked by Germany on June 22, 1941—was declared eligible for lend-lease aid on November 7, 1941.
From the Battle of Chongqing to the Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Shanghai Incident set the stage for the Second Sino-Japanese (war) which was to break out five years later. It involved the first prolonged use of aircraft carriers during a continental conflict, and demonstrated their usefulness in supporting expeditionary forces ashore – which would prove key during the wider Pacific War a decade later. It also featured one of the largest air conflicts since the Great War... Of particular concern to the Japanese during the conflict was the poor performance of her fighter aircraft. Robert Short had managed to set upon half a dozen B1M bombers and deal them heavy punishment...
Like the Army, the Navy lacked a fighter with sufficient range to escort the bombers all the way to the targets; the G3Ms would be exposed to Chinese interceptors. The scheme to bomb the cities of western China into submission during the summer was dubbed 'Operation 100'... The 13th Ku went into action with a pair of raids on the 3rd and 4th May 1939... the raids were designed to force an end to the China Incident by terrorising the population of the new capital. the next day the bombers returned at dusk in order to avoid the Chinese fighters, and delivered another rain of fire on Chungking...
... the Soviet contribution to the Nationalists, particularly the air power... would appear significantly greater until the 14th U.S. Air Force arrived. In the U.S., we grow up thinking the Flying Tigers won the war...
When did World War II begin? Shanghai 1937: Where World War II Began answers that question in a way most audiences will find surprising. Americans might say December 7, 1941... The day the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For Europeans, it was September 1, 1939... When Nazi Germany invaded Poland. But in China, people will tell you a different date. August 13, 1937.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)I-15bis fighter biplanes and I-16 monoplanes were probably the most numerous warplanes in China prior to Pearl Harbor and open American intervention.