Especially this British Stirling bomber, although there are problems of one kind and another. In the British army, because of the emergence of better performance bombers, the service time was quite short. After the Lancaster bombers with better performance, longer range and larger bomb load entered service in large numbers, they quickly moved to the second line.

However, because of the solidity of its airframe, it is the best of all strategic bombers, and the anti-resilience is also the best. It has always been responsible for the bombing of the entire Japanese mainland, the Tokyo area, where the Japanese air defense forces are most concentrated, and the Osaka Artillery Factory, the main military production area.

This kind of British-made heavy bomber, don't look at this and that fault. Its flight altitude is the lowest among the several types of bombers of the Anti-United Nations. The bomb load of the large range is also the smallest among all the bombers involved in the bombing of Japan by the Anti-Japanese Union. It is not as good as the B 24, nor is it as good as the B 17 bombers.

However, not counting the fact that he only participated in a few air raids, because he carried out bombing missions against Japan, the amount of bombs he collected during a long voyage was less than one ton, and his firepower for self-defense was too poor. After the arrival of the British-made bombers, they retreated to the second line of the Il-4 bombers, and the one that suffered the least losses among the several bombers that participated in the bombing of Japan by the Anti-Japanese Federation. During the entire bombing process against Japan, the number of battle losses was not as high as that of crashes during training.

Of course, this kind of bomber provided by the British was not the first strategic bomber to reach the Anti-United Nations. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Americans took advantage of the fact that the Japanese army had not yet made a move on Southeast Asia. The B17 bomber, which was originally stationed in the Philippines and evacuated to the northeast through the Dutch East Indies, was the first type of strategic bomber obtained by the Anti-Japanese Union.

Throughout the forty-two years, the Americans also gave more than 100 B17 bombers intermittently. However, in terms of quantity, it is still not comparable with the number of Wheatley, Stirling, and Wellington bombers in the British by four or three years, which reached more than 700. It was not until the second half of the fourth or third year that the bombers of the United States began to arrive in large quantities. The generosity of the British allowed the Anti-Japanese Federation to relieve the pressure on equipment before the arrival of a large number of American aids.

However, although the British fulfilled their promise, after the Soviet side agreed to let them go, they immediately picked up all the personnel selected by the Anti-Japanese Union. But it didn't follow Yang Zhen's expectations, as many people were selected, as many people were left. Pilots and navigation technicians went according to the number selected by the Anti-United Nations. But the rest of the air crew and ground crew only went to 500 people in total.

However, although the British fulfilled their promise, after the Soviet side agreed to let them go, they immediately picked up all the personnel selected by the Anti-Japanese Union. But it didn't follow Yang Zhen's expectations, as many people were selected, as many people were left. Pilots and navigation technicians went according to the number selected by the Anti-United Nations. But the rest of the air crew and ground crew only went to 500 people in total.

The location of their studies was not in England, where they had first promised, but in Karachi, far from their homeland. Later, with the Japanese invasion of India, the shape became very subtle, and it was moved to the Baghdad airport in Iraq, which was already under the control of the British and Soviets.

Because of the limited number of trainer aircraft, all the selected pilots can only fly the aircraft in shifts to gain experience in flying British aircraft. However, the instructors selected by the British were all veterans who had participated in at least five bombings against Germany and had extremely rich experience in strategic bombing.

You must know that the current long-range aviation of the British army has suffered many casualties in the current bombing operations against Germany. Because the Luftwaffe was at its peak at this time, the local air defense force was also quite strong, especially the deployment of many anti-aircraft guns with excellent performance. The casualty rate of its strategic air force in air raids is still quite alarming.

Being able to dispatch so many veterans with rich experience in actual combat at this time to train long-range bomber aviation units of the Anti-United Nations shows that it also attaches great importance to it. The British had already lost their small calculations to the skies of India in a few months with a series of crushing defeats on the battlefield in Southeast Asia.

But no matter what the British had planned when they first proposed this construction, what they planned to be. It is to think of the white wolf with empty gloves to show the Americans that they also have the same interests as the Americans on the Asian battlefield. Or out of some other selfish motives, I want to use this method as an exchange of interests with the Anti-Japanese Federation. But after all, the Anti-United Nations really learned something useful for itself.

Tong Guò learned the anti-union to obtain the tactics that he urgently needed, and the British carried out long-range strategic bombing. Moreover, under Yang Zhen's extremely resolute request, the British also arranged for all the pilots and aircrews who participated in the study to participate in at least one actual combat bombing.

After completing their initial training, these pilots and aircrews flew long-range bombers such as the Stirling and Manchester provided by the British, as well as Wellington-type medium bombers, at a similar distance to the Japanese mainland. Flying from Egypt across the entire Mediterranean, he bombed the Italian mainland and Romanian oil fields several times.

Some of them, pilots and ground navigators who were seed instructors, were also transferred back to Britain to participate in three bombings of Germany. In particular, in May '42, the British organized a thousand-plane bombing of Cologne. Of the 1,047 bombers invested by the British army, there were 30 Wellington bombers, 18 Stirling bombers, and 4 Wheatley bombers, all of which were piloted by Anti-Union personnel.

Although in training and actual combat, the anti-United Nations is not without a price. In the midst of the British bombing of Cologne alone, two Manchester bombers piloted by anti-United Nations personnel crashed due to mechanical problems. A Stirling bomber, shot down by German ground 88 mm anti-aircraft guns.

None of the 21 aircrew members on the three bombers parachuted out to keep secrets, and all of them were killed along with the planes. During the air raid on the Italian mainland, more than 40 aircrews of the Anti-United Nations were also killed because the plane broke down or the plane was shot down.

The ground navigation personnel sent out also participated in the British bombing navigation of Germany. Even before returning home, there was a single charge for a ground navigation station. Despite the sacrifices they made, these pilots and flight crews gained a great deal of real combat experience.

By September '42, these pilots were flying one hundred and eighty Stirling bombers and sixty Wheatley bombers provided by the British, from after returning to the United Nations. Not only did it greatly strengthen the training in the base areas, but it also used the Il-4 bomber group, which had a small bomb load, as the main force, and a small number of B17 bomber groups to bomb Japan, which was originally not very strong.

As a result, the Anti-United Nations was originally limited by the number and performance of bombers, as well as the limitations of the original Japanese-style sextant maritime positioning and navigation mode. Harassing bombing, which could only be carried out on the Japanese mainland, has become a real strategic bombing. Moreover, as a seed instructor, he trained a large number of qualified pilots and navigators for the anti-Japanese strategic bombing of Japan.

Moreover, although the anti-United Nations personnel hated the bomber with a very high failure rate in Manchester. Most of the more than 70 planes transferred by the British were converted to training use. But Stirling and Wilytt and Wellington, the three bombers, were extremely popular.

Even a considerable number of pilots of the Anti-United Nations did not like American-made B24 bombers, preferring these three British bombers. In particular, the Wellington bomber, whose body was extremely strong, and the Japanese 25-mm anti-aircraft guns could hardly pose a threat to it. Although the flight performance can only be said to be average, the extremely strong survivability makes it quite sought-after.

It was just that when the British proposed this proposal, they demanded that the Anti-Japanese Union settle the matter of negotiations with the Soviet Union in the shortest possible time, so as to open the channel for the British to help the Anti-Japanese Alliance. The attitude of the British was very resolute, and if the Anti-Union could not solve the matter of negotiations with the Soviet Union for a day, they would not allow these pilots to set off for a day.

Because they don't want this matter to be known and mastered by the Chongqing side, and some unnecessary disputes will occur with the Chongqing side. The British were now negotiating with Chongqing how the two countries could work together to deal with the crisis in the event of a Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia. In particular, in order to keep India, the British still have a certain demand for Chongqing, at least for a short time.

For this reason, the British not only reopened the Yunnan-Burma highway, which had been closed for three months, but even provided Chongqing with a cash loan of 30 million pounds. Although this interest rate is a bit high, for the British who are stingy by nature, it has been extremely rare and generous since the July 7 Incident.

Not only that, the British also provided Chongqing with 70,000 rifles, 2,400 Thomson submachine guns, 1,500 Browning heavy machine guns, and French-made Hatch Chase heavy machine guns, as well as a large amount of ammunition and more than 100 Italian orogenic artillery guns captured in North Africa.

Of course, these weapons were second-hand goods that they had collected from the Americans after the Dunkirk retreat. and some of the weapons that the French had refurbished after retreating to Britain, as well as their spoils of war in North Africa. And these weapons, which cost a whole seven million pounds, were deducted directly from the loans of the British.

But after all, it also shows from another aspect that the British do not want to be too rigid with Chongqing because of their own reasons. Because they want to protect India, they will have to replace some of their troops in Burma and even Southeast Asia. If it is too stiff with the Chongqing side, then where to find a replacement for the dead ghost.

Therefore, the British repeatedly proposed that the pilots of the Anti-United Nations could only go to Britain to the Soviet Union, then to Iran, and then to Britain through the Middle East and Africa. Or get on a ship via Iran and make a detour to the Cape of Good Hope to reach the UK. As for the proposal of the Anti-Japanese Federation that the British negotiate with Chongqing, go through Guò Yan'an and Kunming, arrive in Burma, and transfer to the British communication route, the British did not hesitate to refuse.

Although the British gave good reasons, their attitude was quite enthusiastic. But in Yang Zhen's view, this situation does just prove that the British have ghosts in their hearts. I am afraid that there is an attempt to use this incident to suppress the resistance to make concessions to the Soviets in order to reach some kind of deal between them and the Soviets. The British, who have always looked down on the Chinese, are so enthusiastic about things that are not good for themselves?

Don't look at the reasons in their mouths are high-sounding, but Yang Zhen believes that the purpose behind it is definitely not so simple. Because Yang Zhen believes that he only thinks about taking advantage of the future battlefield in Southeast Asia and finding the British, who are the dead ghosts. When negotiating with Chongqing, in order to obtain more benefits for himself, he forced Chongqing to make concessions, and it was strange that he did not pull the Anti-Japanese Federation as a bargaining chip to exert pressure.

Know that if you don't want to be a bargaining chip for the British, or to reduce the bargaining capital of the British. Even though he knew that the British pressure would be a bitter fruit that would be difficult to swallow, he could only swallow the bait with his head. Because of this bait, it is extremely important for the next strategy of the Anti-United Nations.