This time Ron borrowed a few P-51s from the Fourteenth Air Force to return to India. Before leaving, Chennault once again warned him not to make excuses to participate in air battles.

"I am also a fighter pilot. To this day, I still miss the feeling of flying a War Eagle 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 for this battle, and even for this war. Air combat is no longer suitable for you. The battle is about to begin,

Don't alert others. There is an old saying in China, 'If you see small gains, big things will not happen'. I think it makes sense."

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

"When you're flying over enemy-occupied territory, it's better to have weapons than nothing, isn't it? But I still hope that your ammunition will be full when you land."

"General, I hope so too."

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

The flight was quite smooth. Ron and his formation did not encounter even a single Japanese aircraft along the way (there was no reconnaissance mission this time, so when choosing the route, they deliberately avoided the airspace where Japanese aircraft often appeared). Gradually,

On the ground, the dark green carpet-like tropical rainforest began to fade away under the wings of the aircraft, 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 become familiar with hunting tactics. Compared with the Fourteenth Air Force, which often performed such missions, the fighters of the Tenth Air Force were more often performing escort missions.

, are not familiar with safari tactics. From pilots to commanders, they need to go through a period of training to better master this tactic.

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

After resting for a night, Ron was received by General Bissel early in the morning.

…

Kunming, Liaison Office of Military Statistics Bureau.

Director Huang Baoli is studying a document carefully.

"Starting next week, except for medicines, the quantity of other supplies will be greatly reduced. Cigarettes, firearms, and even food have been reduced by more than 30%... How much do you think the prices of these items will increase during this period?"

"As long as we send out some information in advance and do a good job, the price can at least double." Sang Luobing replied, leaning most of his body against Huang Baoli.

Huang Baoli held her in his arms smoothly, "I'll leave this business to you, honey, don't let me down."

…

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

"Everyone should be clear about the basic campaign requirements. Then Colonel Ron will explain the tactics to everyone." After the staff introduced the basic layout of the campaign to the representatives of each fighter squadron attending the meeting, they concluded

General Purcell gave the right to speak to Ron.

Ron stood up and walked to the map.

"In this battle, our most important tactics include cruise and hunting. The so-called cruise tactics refer to our fighter units patrolling over the dangerous area in advance before the transport aircraft is about to pass through the dangerous area, so as to divert the Japanese aircraft from this area.

The area is cleared. In order to ensure that the transport aircraft will not be attacked by fish that slip through the net, our fighter configuration is as follows: we use every two aircraft as a crew, and every four crews of 8 aircraft form a cluster, each

The cluster is responsible for an area. Once the cluster discovers enemy aircraft, if the number of enemy aircraft is small, the cluster can actively attack them. If the number of enemy aircraft is large, it should immediately call for support from nearby clusters. When performing such a task,

Once an enemy aircraft is discovered, there is no need to maintain radio silence.

The aircraft in the cluster should be arranged like this: the four crews in the cluster are divided into two floors, high and low, 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 height of the low-floor fighter should be

At 3500-4000 meters, in the target area, the speed is maintained above 300 miles. The high-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 Japan adopts decoy tactics? For example, Japan first sends a smaller fleet to attract all our fighters, and then...

What about sending another cluster to attack the transport?”

"It's good that you can think of this." Ron first confirmed his idea, "However, you have to pay attention to two points. First, we have a clear advantage in the number of aircraft. When the first Japanese aircraft group appeared

At that time, our ground command meeting will only direct an appropriate number of fighter jets to assist in the battle. Second, the purpose of this battle is to quickly consume the Japanese's small air power in Myanmar. The Japanese can't afford the loss, and there are too many baits.

The losses have been huge. Even if the sneak attack is successful, it will not be worth the loss for them. Is there any problem now?"

The major thought for a moment and said, "Sir, we don't have any for now."

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

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

"Okay, then let's move on to the second tactic - safari. This is Myitkyina Airport, and enemy planes all take off and land from here. I have some small-caliber anti-aircraft guns near the airport, and the number is not too large.

Many. The mission of our safari aircraft group is to cruise near the enemy's airport, looking for opportunities to attack Japanese fighter planes that are taking off or landing - everyone knows that at this time, the fighter planes need speed but not speed, altitude but not height, what kind of actions?

It's impossible to do it, it's extremely fragile. As long as you seize such an opportunity, it's almost the same as target shooting.

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 a two-plane formation. Of course, the reduction in the number of people will also make them more vulnerable to air attacks.

The ability to observe the situation has declined, and the possibility of being attacked by the enemy has also increased, so the pilots participating in the safari must be veterans.

Finally, some principles of air combat.

Our P-51 is a very good aircraft, with fast speed and long range. In terms of performance, the Japanese Ki-43 is no match at all. But we should pay attention to the following points:

First, do not compete with the enemy in low-speed circling. There is no aircraft in the United States that can take advantage of the Ki-43 in circling below 200 miles. We must be good at utilizing vertical maneuvers.

Second, the P-51's laminar flow wings give it extremely excellent high-speed performance. At high speeds, no other aircraft can be as agile and stable as it is. Even at speeds close to 500 miles,

She can still aim and fire relatively stably. You must be good at taking advantage of her, stay patient, maintain speed, and fight in the high-speed section.

Finally, the laminar flow wing of the P-51 is not efficient at low speeds, and it is easy for one wing to stall, and, damn it - there will be no signs such as violent shaking before stalling."

Ron looked at everyone and saw that many people had expressions of concern. So he continued:

"Therefore, all pilots are not allowed to enter combat when the speed is 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 familiarize everyone with this combat mode, in the future

During the three weeks, we will continue to organize simulated confrontation training. We hope that by the time the battle is launched, everyone will be able to master this tactics skillfully."

…

Japanese Army Special High Technology in Nanjing.

"Sir, Black Butterfly has sent new information."

"Bring it over quickly," Hei Dao took the translated message from his subordinate and read it. His face became more and more serious, and he tapped the table with his fingers, "Well, the Americans don't have enough money to invest.

Very few, and they seem very confident. Immediately forward this information to the Army Aviation Department."

…

Japanese Army Aviation 64th Team

"The meeting is called because we have received very reliable information that the Americans will launch a large-scale air offensive in the near future. Here is the relevant information, you can take a look." Commander Takeo Kato asked the staff

Some materials were distributed to the officers attending the meeting, and everyone began to read them.

"After everyone has finished reading, tell us your opinions."

..., Seeing that no one said anything for a long time, Kato Takeo began to order.

"Komatsu-kun, what do you think?"

"Your Excellency, General, I think we will be able to wipe out all these ghost beasts!" Xiaosong immediately stood up and stood at attention, speaking in an unquestionable and firm tone. This is nonsense, but if you don't say this nonsense first, you will be criticized.

People regard him as a coward and an unnationalist.

"Well, it's good to have the belief that you will win. Apart from that, do you have any ideas on tactics?"

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

"The enemy has concentrated an obviously superior force. It is advisable to attack the enemy head-on. I think the defense must be strengthened. More anti-aircraft firepower and false targets must be deployed on the ground. The concealment of aircraft must be..."

"Shut up! You are a coward who is afraid of the enemy like a tiger, a non-national, and you are so scared before the evil beast comes! How come the Japanese Imperial Army..."

"Kawamoto, you Kansai country bumpkin, what are you talking about? You..."

"Am I a country bumpkin? A country bumpkin is better than a coward like you from Osaka. All the men in Osaka are..."

…

"That's enough! We are discussing tactical issues now, don't go off topic!" Seeing that a good tactical discussion turned into a regional attack, Kato was extremely angry.

Kato had outstanding military exploits and high prestige in the flying team, so after he stood up and lost his temper, the tactical discussion meeting was back on track again. After research, in the end, as expected, Japanese soldiers regarded defense as a sin
Chapter completed!