New World War II Eagle Strikes the Sky

Ron still borrowed a few p-14s from the No.51 Air Force to return to India this time.Before leaving, Chennault warned him again that he could no longer find excuses to participate in air combat.

"I am also a fighter pilot. To this day, I still miss the feeling of flying a warhawk and fighting the enemy. But, Ron, you must understand that you are no longer an ordinary pilot. You are now a commander. Your responsibility is greater. You are not only responsible for your own life, but also responsible for this battle, and even do your part for this war. Air combat is no longer suitable for you. The battle is about to begin, Don’t be alarmed. There’s an old saying in China that ‘seeing small gains can lead to great things’, and I think it makes sense.”

However, Chennault was still very angry and did not dismantle the weapons on his plane.

"It's better to have a weapon than nothing to fly over enemy territory, isn't it? I hope you'll land with full ammunition, though."

"General, I hope so too."

Ron climbed into the cockpit, waved to the people who saw him off, then started the motor, closed the canopy, released the brakes, and taxied to the runway.

This flight was quite smooth, and Ron and his formation did not encounter even a single Japanese plane along the way (there was no reconnaissance mission this time, so they deliberately avoided the airspace frequented by Japanese planes when choosing the route), and gradually On the ground, the dark green carpet-like tropical rain forest began to fade away under the wings, and those snow-capped mountains appeared in front again.

This time Ron returned to India, and his main task was to help the Tenth Air Force familiarize themselves with safari tactics.Compared with the No.14 Air Force, which often performs such missions, the fighters of the Tenth Air Force are more often engaged in escort missions and are not familiar with safari tactics.From the pilot to the commander, it takes a period of training to better master this tactic.

It was already evening when we arrived in India.Under the crimson sunset, Ron jumped off the plane, and a jeep was already waiting for him.

After a night's rest, Ron was received by General Bissell early in the morning.

……

Kunming, Liaison Office of Military Statistics Bureau.

Director Huang Baoli is seriously studying a document.

"From next week, except for medicines, the quantity of other supplies will be greatly reduced. Cigarettes, firearms, and even food have all been reduced by more than [-]%... How much do you think the prices of these things will increase during this time?"

"As long as we send out some news in advance and work hard, the price can at least double." Sang Luobing replied, leaning most of his body on Huang Baoli's body.

Huang Baoli took her into his arms smoothly, "I leave this business to you, baby, don't let me down."

……

Tenth Air Force War Room, U.S. Army Air Forces, Assam, India.

"Everyone should be clear about the basic battle requirements. Then Colonel Ron will explain the tactical aspects to you." After the staff officers introduced the basic layout of the battle to the representatives of the participating fighter squadrons, Bi General Purcell handed over the right to speak to Ron.

Ron stood up and walked to the map.

"In this campaign, our main tactics include cruising and safari. The so-called cruising tactics refer to our fighter force patrolling over the dangerous area in advance before the transport plane is about to pass through the dangerous area. The area is cleared out. In order to ensure that the transport aircraft will not be attacked by fish that slipped through the net, our fighter configuration is as follows: we use two aircraft as a group, and each group of 8 aircraft forms a cluster. The cluster is responsible for an area. Once the cluster finds enemy planes, if the number of enemy planes is small, the cluster can actively attack them. If the number of enemy planes is large, it should immediately call nearby clusters for support. When performing such tasks, Once a bandit is spotted, there is no need to keep radio silent.

The aircraft in the cluster should be arranged like this: the four crews in the cluster are divided into two floors, and the two crews on the same floor keep a distance of about 400 meters, so that you can see each other's six o'clock.The low tier fighters should be at 3500-4000 meters and maintain speeds above 300 mph in the target area.The upper-level crew is to fly 800-1000 meters behind them and maintain an altitude difference of 500-700 meters with them.Do you have any questions about this? "

"Sir, I have a question." A major officer stood up, "What if Ri himself adopts decoy tactics. For example, Ri himself first sends out a smaller fleet to attract our fighter jets, and then What about sending another group to attack the transport plane?"

"It's good that you can think of this." Ron first affirmed his train of thought, "However, you have to pay attention to two points. First, we have a clear advantage in the number of aircraft. When the first Japanese fleet appeared Sometimes, our ground command will only guide an appropriate number of fighter jets to assist in the battle. Second, the purpose of this campaign is to quickly consume Ri's small air power in Burma. Yes, the loss is huge, even if the sneak attack is successful, it is not worth the loss for them. Is there still a problem now?"

The major thought for a while and said, "Sir, there are no more for the time being."

"So is there a problem with the transport aircraft unit?" Ron asked again.

"Sir, no problem, we still flew through this section of airspace when there was no escort at all!"

"Okay, then let's move on to the second tactic—safari. This is Myitkyina Airport, and the enemy's planes all take off and land from here. Ri himself has some small-caliber antiaircraft guns near the airport, and the number is not too large. Many. The task of our safari fleet is to cruise around the enemy's airport, looking for opportunities to attack those Japanese fighter planes that are taking off or landing-everyone knows that at this time, the fighter planes need speed but no speed, no altitude, what kind of action? It is impossible to do it, and it is extremely fragile. As long as you seize such an opportunity, it is almost the same as shooting a target.

Of course, the safari fleet cannot be too large, it would be too conspicuous, and it would be difficult to attack the enemy unexpectedly.Therefore, safari can generally only be carried out in the form of two aircraft formations.Of course, the reduction in the number of people will also reduce their ability to observe the air situation, and the possibility of being attacked by the enemy will also increase, so the pilots participating in the safari must be veterans.

Finally, some principles of air combat.

Our p-51 is a good aircraft, fast and long range.In terms of performance, Ri's own Ki-43 is not an opponent at all.But pay attention to the following points:

First, don't compete with the enemy in circling at a low speed. No aircraft in the United States can take advantage of the ki-200 in circling below 43 miles.We must be good at using vertical maneuvering.

Second, the p-51's laminar flow wings bring it excellent high-speed performance. At high speeds, no aircraft can be as agile and stable as her, even at a speed close to 500 miles, She can still aim and shoot relatively stably.Be good at taking advantage of her, be patient, maintain speed, and fight at high speeds.

Lastly, the p-51's laminar airfoil is not very efficient at low speeds and is prone to stalling on one side of the wing, and, damn it - there won't be any signs of it like violent shaking before stalling. "Ron looked at everyone, and he saw that many people showed expressions of sympathy. So he continued:

"Therefore, all pilots are not allowed to enter the battle at a speed lower than 260 miles. Once the speed is lower than this value, they should immediately dive to gain speed and temporarily withdraw from the battle. In order to make everyone familiar with this combat mode, in the future During the three weeks, we will continue to organize simulated confrontation training. I hope that when the battle starts, everyone will be able to master this method proficiently."

……

The Japanese Army Special High-Tech in Nanjing.

"Sir, Black Butterfly has sent new information."

"Hurry up and bring it here," Hei Dao took the translated telegram from his subordinate and looked at it, his face became more and more serious, and he tapped his fingers on the table, "Well, the Yankee's capital is not high. Not much, and they seem confident. Pass this information on to Army Aviation immediately."

……

The 64th Squadron of the Japanese Army Aviation

"The reason for calling the meeting is because we have obtained a very reliable piece of information that the Yankees will launch a large-scale air offensive in the near future. Here is the relevant information, you can take a look." Commander Kato Takeo asked the staff Some materials were distributed to the participating military officers, and everyone began to look through them.

"After reading it, tell us what you think."

... Seeing that no one made a sound for a long time, Takeo Kato began to order.

"Mr. Komatsu, what do you think?"

"Your Excellency, General, I think we will be able to wipe out these ghosts!" Xiao Song immediately stood up and said in an unquestionably firm tone.This is nonsense, but if you don't say this nonsense first, you will be regarded as a coward and not a national.

"Well, it is good to have the belief that you must win. Besides, do you have any ideas in terms of tactics?"

"General, judging from the preparations of the American animals, the offensive will be launched in about two to four weeks. We must be prepared to give them a head-on blow."

"The enemy has concentrated a clearly superior force, and it is advisable to hit the invisible one head-on. I think the defense needs to be strengthened. The ground needs to be equipped with more anti-aircraft firepower and false targets. The concealment of the aircraft must be..."

"Shut up! You are a coward who is afraid of the enemy like a tiger. You are not a citizen. You are so scared before the ghosts and animals come! Why is the Imperial Army of Japan..."

"Hemoto, what are you talking about, a bumpkin from Kansai? You..."

"I'm a bumpkin? A bumpkin is better than a coward in Osaka like you. All the men in Osaka are..."

……

"Enough! We are discussing tactics now, don't digress!" Seeing that a good tactical discussion turned into a regional attack, Kato was extremely angry.

Kato had outstanding military exploits and had a high prestige in the flight team, so after he stood up and lost his temper, the tactics discussion was back on track again.After research, in the end, as expected, the Japanese soldiers, who regard defense as a crime, chose a head-on combat plan when facing an enemy with superiority.