New World War II Eagle Strikes the Sky

() "George, I heard that you are going to be transferred to the 'Reverse Cross'?" A familiar pilot said to George? e? Brody.

"Well, yes, I've just been notified," replied George, "and they've given me a week's vacation, too, so I can go home and see."

"I envy you," said the pilot. "Our little Costa is almost two years old. I really miss him."

"Michael, are you thinking about the mother?" George? e? Brody laughed.

"Yes, of course I did. I haven't been back for almost a year." Michael said, "By the way, how do you go?"

"Several pilots are also going to serve in the 'Reverse Cross', and we will fly back together in one plane. Do you have anything that I can bring you, little Costa?"

"Thank you, George. If you have room in your bag, I'd like to ask you to bring something. I'd like a pipe for my father, and two bottles of Scotch; and then my wife said, She listened Said the British silver cutlery was very good, and he wanted a set; besides, I made some toys for my son out of 20-gun eggshells, and..."

"Wait! Michael, you have too many things! Even if I don't carry anything in my bag, I can't hold so much!"

"Just kidding. In fact, what I really need you to bring is just a set of tin soldiers. In addition, there is one very important thing to ask you." Michael suddenly straightened his face again.

"What's the matter?" Seeing his seriousness, George also became serious.

"When you get back, seize the opportunity and beat up Chief Ron, Papa, Bong, and McGaia for me."

……

Just as the fighter pilots selected by the "Reverse Cross" were packing their things and preparing to go home, the officers of the "Reverse Cross" at Nellis Air Force Base were also discussing the issue of a new squadron.

"A new squadron, an attack aircraft squadron and a light bomber squadron. Before building these two squadrons, we must first understand what is the training mission of these two squadrons?" Ron said.

"Although it is not clearly stated above, I am sure that in the future we will definitely go to the European continent from the coast of France to fight. Because the mountains in the north of Italy are too steep, the problems faced by large troops to cross them to attack Germany are unimaginable .Based on our previous experience in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, all our weapons are far superior to our opponents, except our tanks. This is not because we are technically inferior to the Germans, but because our The tanks faced much more obstacles than the Germans. Our tanks had to cross thousands of miles of sea frontier by boat, and they had to land in enemy ports that were blown up by the enemy or by us, mainly by our army aviation itself - those ports were in Most of the battles will be destroyed so that not even a decent crane will be left.

Once on land, they had to follow the path that our bombers had battered.And the bridges on these roads were either bombed by us or by the enemy-of course, the probability of being bombed by us is higher.Therefore, in order to cross the river, our tank troops must have the ability to quickly pass on bridges that have been temporarily repaired or even temporarily built pontoons.And all this means that our tanks must be lighter.We know that the Germans had some very heavy tanks, the Leopard weighed 45 tons, the Tiger weighed over 56 tons, and the Ferdinand and King Tiger tanks we encountered in Italy weighed 70 tons I t.And our m-4 tank is only about 30 tons.

More weight means thicker armor and more powerful guns.When our m-4 competes with these heavy tanks of the Germans, it is like a lightweight boxer weighing less than 45 kg challenging the heavyweight champion with unlimited weight.The heavyweight boxing champion stands there motionless, letting the lightweight boxer fight for a long time, the heavyweight boxing champion's skin will not be broken a little bit, and the heavyweight boxing champion can knock 45 kilograms less than the lightweight boxer with just one punch. The first-level players flew directly to the auditorium.So anti-tank will become a big problem for us.

And this problem, now largely depends on us Army Aviation to solve.Therefore, our attack aircraft units must master the skills of attacking armored targets proficiently in order to directly kill the enemy's heavy tanks.And our light bombers must be able to relatively accurately attack targets such as assembly areas, stations, warehouses, bridges, etc., in order to interfere with the operations of the enemy's heavy tank units.We lack experience in this area, but fortunately our allies do not lack experience in this area.I pass them.Learned about such second-hand experience.Scott, tell us what you learned from our allies. "

"Alright general." Scott stood up, turned on the slide projector, and some pictures of planes appeared on the screen.

"The Soviet and German air forces were centered on direct ground support from the beginning. The Germans relied primarily on the Stuka dive bomber for ground strikes. This thing can attack bridges, staging areas, artillery positions, Fortresses and other targets with fairly precise strikes. Later, the Germans shifted their focus to fighter units. Ground attack did not receive enough attention. In order to deal with Soviet tanks, the Germans developed a number of anti-tank attack aircraft, and will Fw-190 has been converted into a ground attack aircraft. Basically, the Germans are following this route: special attack aircraft + modified fighter.

The Soviets had a very effective attack aircraft, the il-2 attack aircraft.Even so, the Soviets, who attached great importance to ground attacks, still used fighter jets to perform ground missions in large numbers.For example, the Soviets liked the p-39 fighter jets we aided them.One of the important reasons is that the 39mm gun of the p-37 is very useful in ground attacks and can be used to deal with almost any German tank.

Taken together, both the Germans and the Soviets made extensive use of dedicated attack aircraft and fighter jets to perform ground-to-ground missions.This may also become the norm in ground attack operations after we landed on the European continent from France.Our allies tell us that when performing this type of mission, the biggest threat is the enemy's fighter jets first, and the enemy's anti-aircraft fire second.The German fw-190 fighter has fierce firepower, dives well, and rolls even better.Once it has a high altitude advantage, its bz is very threatening.However, this is not a particularly troublesome problem for us.Because at the current rate of decline in the power of the German Air Force.It won't be long before its fighter force can pose any decent threat.

We all know that for attack aircraft flying low to the ground and fighter jets performing ground missions, large and medium-caliber antiaircraft guns are almost no threat.Their reaction speed is too slow, and the angular speed of turning the barrel cannot keep up with the passing fighter planes.Therefore, small-caliber antiaircraft guns are the most serious threat to fighter planes performing direct fire support missions to the ground.

The Soviet Air Force invested a lot in direct fire support to the ground. In order to deal with the huge number of Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft groups, the accompanying anti-aircraft firepower of the German armored forces has always been very strong.The Soviets told us that when an attack plane launches an attack, it must enter multiple lines, fast in and fast out, so as to ensure safety as much as possible..."

After Ron's adjutant introduced the information provided by the Soviets, Ron spoke again:

"I think that our future ground attack can only rely on special ground aircraft + fighter jets. Our existing A-20 attack aircraft is more similar to a light bomber. The new one draws on what we have learned before. Some experienced attack aircraft are being developed and may not be able to catch up with the battlefield. So I think, maybe, we will rely more on similar missions with fighter jets and modified fighter jets. Perform close-range direct fire support missions At this time, it is impossible for us to fly too high and too fast, which will affect the accuracy of the attack. At this time, the enemy and the enemy are very close, and the lack of accuracy will bring a lot of accidental injuries. This is unacceptable. And once the speed and altitude are reduced , we ourselves will be very vulnerable to attack. Therefore, I think observation and search before attack, and emergency response when encountering anti-aircraft artillery fire should be the focus of teaching. What do you think about this?"

"General, I think we should use more rockets as a means of attack. The range and power of this thing exceed that of aerial guns. In addition, the anti-armor cluster bombs of the Soviets are also worthy of emulation." Bunge said.

"Rockets are not as accurate as cannons. I still like the big-caliber cannon pods of the Germans." Some people objected to Bunge's opinion.

"What do the ground crew think about this?" Ron asked.

"Ah, general, does it even matter? Of course we prefer rockets. Maintenance of cannons is much more troublesome than rockets. And rockets have a longer range, which means that you have a better chance of destroying the aircraft. Small. Of course we support rockets. As for attack accuracy, I think that when high precision is really needed, the big deal is to fly closer. In terms of the range of aircraft guns, the accuracy of rockets is not bad. Too many." Lieutenant Colonel Rosskopf, who has been in charge of ground handling, replied.

"But……"

……

It was already afternoon when the meeting ended.Leaving the meeting room, Ron didn't even have time to go to the restaurant to eat, so he hurriedly drove a jeep and left the base - tonight, Nadya's ballet troupe will leave Nevada for Los Angeles.This will also be their last stop in the United States. After half a month, they will leave the United States and return to the ice and snow Russia.Last night, Nadya promised Ron that she would ask the regiment to stay in the United States after returning.Whether or not the Ballet agrees is long overdue.It's just that there are no mobile phones in this era, and Ron has no way of knowing.And this made him even more anxious.