Chapter 1116: Haidongqing Brigade
After receiving the order, the Haidongqing Brigade began to withdraw from the northern front, but at this time there was no safe place in Italy, and with the loss of airfields and transportation hubs in central Italy, it was difficult to accommodate and supply such a brigade with nearly 80 aircraft. From a tactical point of view, although the Haidongqing unit is more suitable for interception operations, after all, these guys were on a ground mission in the previous period and lacked combat experience. So they need to first get some experience from the Americans who survived the catastrophe. At the same time, the Entente itself was also considering the formation of a special interceptor unit, so after some consultation with Huaxia, the Haidongqing Brigade withdrew to Sicily, and the temporary brigade where Boeington was located also withdrew to Sicily.
"This is your plane? Very good, I like it, look at the two 30mm cannons in the nose. There were also 20mm guns on the bottom bracket of the engines on both sides...... That's good. "Boington as one of the few would-be ace pilots (4 planes down, 1 heavy bomber. He allowed the use of pure interceptors, and as a gesture of friendship, Hua Xia agreed that the top fighters would choose their favorite landlines from the reserve planes, and of course, it would take some time .........to get acquainted with them.
Boeington's first eye-catching aircraft resembles the P38 Lightning, and its distinctive twin tails are eye-catching. But it's different from lightning. The aircraft uses two air-cooled engines. The armament in the nose was not 1 20 guns and 4 50mm machine guns, but was replaced with more powerful weapons. Physically, the aircraft's armament and layout are suitable, with two 30mm cannons in the middle and two 20mm cannons on the wings giving the aircraft an excellent walk in the vicinity of the ballistic convergence point. And the firepower is definitely enough. The muzzle velocity and trajectory of the 30mm cannon in the nose are somewhat stronger than the "grenade launchers" improvised by the Americans. And the shaft gun, which runs through the engine on the side, is also better than using an additional compartment.
"The vision is good. Lad. This is almost the best air combat performance of any aircraft in our group, and we call it the Foxbat fighter. It has a decent hovering ability, and it is not slow, the only problem is that the climb is more tragic, no way, we didn't have time to replace it with a new engine before coming, and because of the armor and weapons. The weight of this aircraft is somewhat large. But it's sturdy enough. As he spoke, Major Huaxia, who was in charge of leading them to choose the plane, gestured with his hand throughout the cockpit. We have armor all over the cockpit, as long as the opponent is coming at the fuselage and not from above the cockpit. Almost immune to 13mm normal machine gun bullets. The upper cockpit glass has also been thickened, and the defensive performance has been improved to a certain extent. ”。 …。
"As for the rest of the plane, even if it is broken by half of the tail, it can come back, and we have protected the engine industry. The entire front of the engine compartment was also appropriately armoured. Basically when you are flying a plane from the front towards the opposing bomber formation. The opponent's 13mm machine gun will not pose much of a threat to you. ”
"Okay, I'll pick it." Boeington said as he stroked the thick 30mm cannon and the thick fuselage.
"Don't jump to conclusions, young man, we have several other aircraft to choose from, our group has three kinds of interceptors, if you need a partner to operate an aircraft with you, you have another option, it has a very distinctive design, you can take a look." The major said with a smile.
Immediately, the group came to a standard twin-engine aircraft. The aircraft is very similar in appearance to the later German BF110. The normal layout doesn't look like a bright spot. But in the upper part of the two-seater cockpit, two 20mm cannons were inserted diagonally. The rest of the armament is as follows, with two 30mm cannons in the bow. At the same time, there is a machine gun that provides correction for the machine gun. Instead of using shaft guns like the Foxbat fighters, the wing armament was poded, but this pod was larger than the one that the Americans hastily went into battle, and one pod could hold two 20mm cannons. …………。
"This plane is called the Rhinoceros, it's bulky, but it's fierce! It has the most powerful firepower of any of our aircraft. Forward fire is 4 x 20mm cannons and 2 x 30mm cannons. If you wish, you can also swap the twin 20mm gun pods on the wing for a single 30mm gun pod. The diagonal fire is 2 20mm guns, which ensures that you can attack the enemy's weak belly even when flying underneath the bomber. If you think that's all the rhino's firepower, you're wrong. Look here! ”
As he spoke, a non-commissioned officer of the Huaxia Air Force next to him opened the bilge of the Rhino fighter. "Look, you guys, this was originally a bomb magazine, which could have held a 500kg bomb, but now it can still be used to hold bombs, but this bomb is this small bomb with a parachute. When your planes fly over the opposing formation, the bombs weighing about 1.5 kg will be thrown out of the magazine in pieces with timing fuses on them, and if the calculations are correct, they will land right in the opponent's formation. Of course, in theory. The Huaxia major said.
"The rhino is probably better for ground attack than for air. None of our ground attack aircraft have as much firepower as it. A British pilot sighed ..........
"You're right...... This was originally a twin-engine bomber, and the ground effect was really good. In addition to its strong firepower and defense, the biggest problem with this aircraft is speed and maneuverability, which is about the same speed as a twin-engine bomber, which means that the speed advantage is limited compared to the opponent's 4-engine bomber. So we put weapons on it, up, down, left, and right just to have more opportunities to fire. Major Huaxia explained.
"We also have a third type of aircraft, this kind of aircraft called the Seagull is also a twin-engine aircraft, and it is also a conventional layout, but the biggest difference with the Rhino is that there is no built-in magazine, there is no oblique machine gun, and the firepower of the wings and nose is the same as that of the Rhino, and it can be hung on the wings with small bombs, or on sub-bombs. The speed of this aircraft is very good, the forward fire is also very strong, and the speed is also very high, but the horizontal maneuverability is relatively poor, and it can be regarded as an aircraft between a flying fox and a rhinoceros. Then the major pointed to the third type of plane parked in the distance.
"I still like flying foxes, I'm a person who prefers single-seaters, and it's very uncomfortable for me to operate an aircraft with others." Boington looked at the Seagull in the distance and said: "The Seagull is also a good plane, but the maneuverability is a little worse. ”。 …。
"Okay, that's your business, hurry up and choose the plane, and then we're going to start training, and together we're going to intercept those vultures in Germany." The Huaxia major said indifferently that because Huaxia had always had a good relationship with Germany, he still had some good feelings for Germany, but when he saw the tragedy in Florence, he changed his opinion.
Having a new aircraft is just the beginning. How to arrange tactics and make good use of these expensive aircraft is the most important thing. (The price of a twin-engine aircraft is almost equal to that of two single-engine aircraft, and with the weapons that accompany it, the cost of forming such an air force is enough to build two fighter units of the same size.) At the beginning, Huaxia also had the attitude of trying to send three kinds of aircraft with different characteristics to Italy, and then see what kind of aircraft would be used in the future, and Huaxia's main interceptor aircraft.
"The rhino is very slow, and the overall flight performance is not much different from that of a twin-engine bomber, so the number of attacks will be relatively small. It can be a waste of time when tailing and flanking, so my idea is that the Rhino squadron climbs ahead of time and, having gained an altitude advantage, flies from the front to the German strategic bomber forces, and then drops the first wave of bombs in the direction of the opponent's travel. It's better if you can hit, and if you can't hit, the opponent's formation will create some confusion. The Rhino squadron then begins a shallow dive after the crossing, and turns to dive from the rear to attack the bomber formation at the tail of the opposing formation, and finally, if possible, consider attacking from the lower part of the opponent's formation with diagonal anti-aircraft guns. Wang Yue, the captain of Haidongqing, who was in charge of this operation, explained the tactics to the various squadrons under him. …………。
"My seagulls can follow the Rhino squadron together, and if the opponent's formation is disorganized, we can wait for the opportunity to attack the opponent's bombers." Said the Seagull Squadron Leader.
"The Flying Bat squadron is more flexible, our flight performance is not bad, and even if we can't beat the fighters, we can evacuate with speed and defense...... The opposing side's 13mm machine guns could hardly pose a threat to us. I hope we have greater freedom. The Flying Fox Squadron Leader thought for a moment and said.
"Yes, but this time you'll also need to bring some allied pilots, most of whom have chosen Flying Foxes, which can be considered your supernumerary strength. Except for the first wave with the brigade, you are free to attack the rest of the day. Don't listen to my orders. Wang Yue thought for a while and said.
"If there is nothing more problematic, let's be prepared, the Germans cannot remain dormant for such a long time, and their actions will soon begin. Finally, this is the first time we have dealt with a strategic bomber force of the Germans. Be sure to play well! Wang Yue finally said. And after the meeting, he still needs to go to Sicily to cooperate with the Italian Navy, his own brigade can fight bombers, but the premise is that there are enough covering troops, and a considerable part of the task of covering this time will fall on the naval aviation, so it is too necessary to coordinate the ......... first.
Thanks to the book friend hukaikaka for the tip~~~, and the book friend Wang Baishi's monthly pass support ~~~. (To be continued).