The results of the air battle were very bad!

When Bai Shujie returned to the headquarters, it was already around three o'clock in the afternoon on January 1, 1940.

On New Year's Day, Bai Shujie has forgotten about this festival. Because of the briefing by the Air Force Command, he was particularly depressed and heartbroken.

The 24 Mustang fighters that took off from Jeonju airfield fell into the enemy's siege because they directly inserted themselves into the ribs of the enemy's large group, 3 fighters were shot down, and the pilot died.

Of the 24 biplane attack planes that took off from Jiangnan Airport, seven of them were shot down because they were head-on with the enemy's group, and all the pilots were killed.

The air battle lasted 17 minutes, shooting down 16 enemy planes and losing 10 of their own. It was a battle worth the cost, but it was a necessary one. Because the overall strategic layout of the little devil is like this, and it won't work if you don't fight.

For the loss of the plane, Bai Shujie did not care. But the loss of 10 pilots is where his heart aches.

The Wyvern Expeditionary Force is different from the little devils, and all the pilots add up to less than 2,000 people. The number of pilots who can really rush to the front line of combat is currently less than 700 people.

After this battle, Bai Shujie finally made up his mind: "Order: From now on, all biplane attack planes will be converted into training planes of the flight training school, and they will no longer undertake combat missions against the enemy." From now on, the Type 96 attack aircraft will assume the duty of inland vigilance patrol and will no longer undertake the combat mission of taking the initiative to attack the enemy. ”

"Order: Type 96 bombers will assist the Flying Fortress bombers in combat in the future, and will no longer carry out combat missions alone; Miaoxiangshan Airport immediately dispatched a Mustang fighter squadron to Jiangnan Airport to undertake the task of supporting Jiaodao and Wonsan Port. ”

After adjusting the strength of the Air Force, Bai Shujie immediately drove to Mun's room: "Mr. Mun, how is the plan for modifying the engine of the P-38 fighter-attack aircraft being implemented now?" You should have heard about the big air battle the day before yesterday, and the old planes of the Japanese had to be decommissioned. ”

Munn nodded: "Our engine has come up with a verification machine, and we are currently undergoing the final endurance practice. It has been in continuous operation for 220 hours, and the operation is stable. Maintenance personnel for this engine are currently being trained, and then it can be mass-produced and all aircraft can be retrofitted. ”

"The view of our engine research institute is that the turbojet engine is fully mature, and it is better to launch the turbojet production line as soon as possible in order to completely gain air superiority. Merely improving propeller aircraft is not the way to do it in the end. ”

Bai Shujie said with a wry smile: "Mr. Mun, let's not talk about whether high-strength steel can keep up, just training pilots, I also need time, don't I?" Now that we have six jet trainers, we have to train a large group of pilots in one year. ”

"Isn't the production line for turbojet engines already in production? My point of view is that while producing and perfecting, first reserve the engines to a certain number, and then start mass production of the fuselage for assembly. ”

It turned out that Lan Caiqin purchased a total of 322 propeller Mustang fighters from the United States, and also purchased 320 spare parts. Except for the lack of fuselage skins and the lack of 180 engines, these parts are basically complete aircraft parts.

This short battle on the Yellow Sea made Bai Shujie determined to retire all the little devil's fighters and then form two new combat attack aircraft groups.

For example, Jeonju Airport and Gimpo Airport in South Korea now have only 24 Mustang fighters in total, and the sudden appearance of a large air battle this time clearly shows that the number is not enough, and the number should be expanded to 72.

The Jiangnan airfield south of Pyongyang is responsible for protecting the shipyards and naval bases in the Taedong River valley and the city of Pyongyang, and the 24 Mustang fighter-attack planes are not enough, at least 48 should be able to barely cope with it.

Also, the aircraft carrier Kaga has been refitted. Bai Shujie originally planned to keep the little devil's ninety-seven ships to attack 58 planes, but after this battle, he had already found that it would not work.

Because their pilots are not skilled and have combat experience, they need more advanced aircraft to make up for it, so 72 Mustang combat attack aircraft are also needed here.

As for the 2 aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal, built by the Soviets, which are being refurbished at the Cangyunpu Shipyard, this is not in a hurry for the time being. Because of the glide jump flight deck designed by Bai Shujie, propeller planes could not be used at all, and it was intended for future jet aircraft.

"It will take us three months to produce enough engines to complete the retrofit assembly of 248 aircraft." Munn calculated carefully: "Because although those parts are complete, if they are to be used on an aircraft carrier, the strength of the fuselage is not suitable for the use of blocking cables, and it needs to be strengthened." ”

Bai Shujie thought for a while, the two bases of the little devil's Sasebo and Nagasaki, after a sudden retaliatory attack, it would take some time to recover.

The little devil has learned the lesson this time and should be honest for a while. Even if there are any changes, they should be able to hold out until after the beginning of spring, and three months should be enough.

At the same time, the little devil's plan for the southern front has already been implemented, and there will be no powerful forces to deal with the Korean Peninsula in a short period of time.

Three days later, Navy Commander Zhang Bingyang called, and after the unremitting efforts of the rescue fleet, the second sunken submarine was finally towed back to the Cangyunpu Shipyard. 3. The recovered submarines have already begun to be transformed according to the original three "White Shark class".

The three submarines are of different models, and the first one to surrender is exactly what Bai Shujie estimated, which belongs to the latest submarine of the little devil, the Yi 16 type submarine.

The other two are both Yi 74 type: 105 meters long, 8.2 meters wide, 4.6 meters draft, 1,420 tons of base displacement, 1,810 tons of standing displacement, 2,564 tons of underwater displacement, 9,000 horsepower for two-shaft diesel engines and 1,800 horsepower for underwater electric motors.

The surface speed is 23 knots, the underwater speed is 8.2 knots, the surface range is 10,000 nautical miles/16 knots, and the underwater range is 90 nautical miles/3 knots. The maximum diving depth is 85 meters, carrying 442 tons of fuel oil, and the personnel are 68;

1 120mm deck gun, 1 13mm machine gun, 1 7.7mm machine gun; There are 4 533mm torpedo launchers in the bow and 2 533mm torpedo launchers in the stern, and 14 torpedoes are equipped.

Zhang Bingyang said on the phone: According to the explanation of the captain of the little devil, he is not going to attack Pyongyang, but is looking for the three submarines that were missing. Before they came out, they had received strict orders that they absolutely should not take the initiative to attack Pyongyang. If Pyongyang is found to have dispatched warships, it is necessary to urgently avoid them.

When attacked, the little devils of the submarine had no idea what was happening, because their sonar did not detect the approach of an enemy ship. The little devil's submarine urgently floated not to surrender, but to find out whether it was an aircraft attack or a warship attack.

"After the transformation of these three submarines is completed, the port numbers are White Shark No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6." Bai Shujie said on the phone: "The transformation of the Yi-16 submarine has allowed the shipyard to remove the sealed hangar on the deck. The original 140mm main gun and machine gun were gone, and became a twin DW88mm high-level dual-purpose gun, and a DW30mm six-barreled phalanx, mainly for air defense. ”

After Bai Shujie answered the phone, he could only smile bitterly and said to Zhao Jinxi next to him: "Sister, judging from the results of Zhang Bingyang's interrogation, it can be said that we have fought a battle that should not be fought this time?" ”

"I think it's the right time." Zhao Jinxi shook his head: "After this battle, the surrounding area has calmed down in recent days. Xiao Lamei's listening radio station has received information from Chongqing that the little devils bombed the border area between Yunnan and Burma this morning. ”

"Lao Tzu also thinks that this battle should be fought!" Bai Shujie smiled: "Do you know what day Lao Tzu sank two submarines and captured one submarine?" Hehe, it was the day when the little devil suffered a defeat at Kunlun Pass, northeast of Nanning, Guangxi, and the commander of the 21st Brigade, Nakamura Zhengxiong, was killed! ”

"The little devil is naturally not convinced after suffering a defeat in Kunlun Pass, but he needs to readjust the deployment of troops, so he will order these three submarines not to cause trouble. The little devil's plane went back and forth, interfering with our judgment on the one hand, and on the other hand, it was afraid that we would make a ghost. ”

Zhao Jinxi came to the map and said: "The little devil suffered a defeat in Kunlun Pass, and Nanning will definitely not be able to hold it." Instead of strengthening the defense in Nanning, they bombed the border between Yunnan and Burma, did they want to cut off Kunming's offensive route in the direction of Nanning? ”

"That's just one aspect of what you're talking about!" Bai Shujie shook his head: "The little devil is scheming, and he is not stupid. They always emphasize overall efficiency, so they don't do anything for nothing. Now the direction of the attack is just right, and it plays the role of killing three birds with one stone. ”

"The first is that overseas Chinese in Nanyang often pass through the border of Guò Yunnan to transport supplies to Chongqing. The little devil is preparing to completely cut off Chongqing's southbound communication line, cut off international aid, and force Jiang to surrender. ”

"The second is that the little devil didn't regard Jiang as an opponent at all, even if Kunlun Pass was temporarily frustrated, the little devil didn't take Jiang someone seriously. Cutting off Yunnan from Burma and Annam (Vietnam) was to prepare for its own full-scale occupation of South Asia. ”

"The third role is what you call blocking Yunnan's attack on Nanning. It's a pity that Jiang has a problem with the arrangement of troops, and Kunlun Pass will inevitably be lost again. ”

Zhao Jinxi was a little worried: "If Guangxi and Yunnan are lost, Chongqing will be finished." If the Sichuan Basin is lost, China will have no danger to defend, and the domestic anti-Japanese war situation will be terrible. ”

"Don't worry!" Bai Shujie pouted: "Jiang put more than two million troops around Chongqing, plus Chongqing is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the little devils can't attack it." Moreover, the little devil is not ready to attack Chongqing, the main direction of operation is to occupy Indochina, and by the way, to ring the alarm bell for Jiang someone! ”

"Tong Guò exerts pressure in Guangxi and Yunnan to let Jiang's attention be withdrawn from the two lakes and Guangzhou, so that the little devils can spare troops to run the vast areas of South Asia."

"What Jiang lacks is this kind of strategic vision, he always thinks that he is very valuable, and the little devil will definitely attack Chongqing desperately, so he shrinks all the troops back and lets the little devil do whatever he wants in Lianghu and Liangguang."

"Actually, if there is an effective army behind the enemy to make trouble around Liangguang, the little devil will not have the energy to attack the front line of Kunlun Pass at all. Such troops behind enemy lines are not needed much, one army is enough. ”

As a result, Jiang concentrated five armies in northern Guangxi, and was bent on fighting positional warfare with little devils, and there was not a single hair in Guangdong. If this does not fail, then it is unreasonable. ”

Zhao Jinxi nodded: "Since this is the case, what should be our next strategic policy?" ”

"Lao Tzu has no capital to fight positional warfare with little devils, so he can only bury his head in sharpening his knife for the time being." Bai Shujie stretched out his hand and slapped it on the map, and then said: "When the little devils occupy all these places and all the troops are used to the limit, it will be the time for us to wave our troops south!" ”

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.