New World War II Eagle Strikes the Sky

() After returning to the "Reverse Cross" on Monday, Ron made a little preparation, and then flew to Washington on a C-47 transport plane on Wednesday morning.

Ron went to Washington this time mainly for two things.First of all, he was about to leave "Reverse Cross", and he had to talk to General Arnold about some suggestions and plans that had not yet been realized.Secondly, he has to decide his future choice.

After a few days of thinking, Ron decided to choose Europe.Although from a psychological point of view, it is more enjoyable to play a small Japan, but it is a pity to miss a historic event like Operation Overlord.In contrast, although the battle to return to the Philippines cannot be said to be unsightly, compared with Operation Overlord, it is not at the same level at all.What's more, in this much smaller-scale operation, Army Aviation still doesn't get a big share, and most of the fat, such as the Japanese fleet, will fall into the mouth of the Navy.When Lu Hang got there, although he couldn't be said to be playing soy sauce, he was definitely just a small supporting role.

But in Europe it's different.Except for near-shore bombardment and transporting people ashore, the navy can play a limited role.Especially in matters in the air, the navy can't intervene.Army Aviation is not worried about being useless.Besides, judging from the history that Ron knew, after finishing the war in Europe, he came back just in time for the strategic bombing of Japan, and that was when Army Aviation could really take the lead.Considering these, Ron felt that it would be better for him to go to the European battlefield.

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"So, Ron, you are planning to go to Europe." General Arnold said, "Then tell me your views on the European battlefield and your thoughts on the construction of this new wing."

"Okay, General," said Ron.He sorted out his thoughts a little bit, and then said:

"We have already boarded a troop in Italy, but the terrain in Italy is not suitable for large-scale operations. General, the northern part of Italy is surrounded by towering Alps, and the Germans are defending dangerously. It will be very difficult for us to attack. .I heard that attacking from this direction is the idea of ​​the British. The British hope to attack from the "soft underbelly" of Europe. Before the Soviets, liberate more areas. From the political impact after the war Thinking about it, this idea is of course very tempting. However, the Alps make it difficult to realize this idea. Even if we can break through the Alps, how much material can be provided and how large an army can be supported by our logistics after crossing the mountains of the Alps? Not to mention, in the Mediterranean, we don't have close distribution points like we have in the UK. So, if we want to make a difference in Europe, if we don't want the Soviets to take control after Germany falls To live in the whole of Europe, we must land from France. Only in this way can we avoid this situation.”

"That's right!" General Arnold nodded appreciatively, "Well, Ron, where do you think we should land better?" He seemed to want to continue testing Ron.

"This has to consider hydrological issues, General. Although I have stayed in England for a while, I am not a navy and I don't know anything about these things. But I know that the Germans have built some kind of Atlantic barrier along the French coastline, and in this In the ramparts, the Germans paid special attention to Calais. I know that they built huge forts around Calais. For example, the Lindemann Fort, which has 406mm cannons installed on it. These cannons are well protected, they The reinforced concrete roof on it is very thick, and our British allies believe that its defense strength will never be worse than their fort at Dover. In their words, it is 'even if you accurately throw a Grand Slam on the It won't do anything to it'."

"General, I think that the Germans obviously realized that this place is the most dangerous and the most suitable place for landing when they are so fortified in this area. But with these batteries, the price we have to pay for landing here is too high. And we are still here. Lack of means to deal with these batteries. So, I think we might be able to give the Germans the illusion that we're going to land at Calais, but choose another location - as far as I know, the French coast is not like the British The coast is so steep, there are many places suitable for landing."

"Hehe, Ron, it seems that you have been thinking about this issue for a long time." General Arnold laughed, "Have you been eyeing this opportunity for a long time?"

Ron smiled, and did not deny General Arnold's opinion.As a low-level officer, it is enough to know some tactics, but as a general, if you show your strategic vision in a timely manner, you will be favored by your superiors.

"General, once we take action to smash this so-called 'Atlantic Wall', it will definitely be a great battle that has never been seen in human history. Being able to participate in such a battle is attractive to anyone of."

"Then tell me about your vision for the new alliance. You know, the new alliance hasn't had time to form yet."

"General, the German air force has basically no combat capability up to now. Therefore, the number of pure air superiority fighters can be reduced, and one squadron is enough. And it is best to be multi-purpose, and the low-altitude performance is better For example, the p-81 is good. Among the attack aircraft, considering the need to cross the strait, the attack version of the p-38 has an advantage in range. Therefore, I think there should be two squadrons of p- in this wing 38 attack aircraft. Once we have a stable foothold in Europe though, I would prefer the sturdier p-47 attack version. I hope by that time, there will be another p-47 or two for us Assault squadrons, and I think one or two squadrons of B-25s are also essential for interdiction missions."

Hearing this, General Arnold laughed: "Ron, the wing you want is big enough, with 7 squadrons! It's seriously overstaffed."

Ron looked at General Arnold and found that although he was saying that the wing was seriously overstaffed, he didn't seem to refuse outright, so he also smiled and said: "General, Europe is a key area, and the troops deployed here The establishment is always relatively large, isn’t it? The Eighth Air Force, for example, is larger than any other air force.”

General Arnold just smiled and didn't answer.So Ron simply continued the lion's mouth.

"Airplanes are not enough, the key is pilots. The Eighth Air Force no longer needs so many fighter pilots. It would be great to transfer some of their fighter pilots to us and send them to the 'Reverse Cross' for a round of training. gone."

"Poaching is not a good habit, Ron." Arnold said, "However, this is indeed a necessary skill for a general. The group of students who have just been trained from the 'Reverse Cross', I did not let them return to the original army , I leave them all to you. Of course, there are not enough of them to build an alliance, and of course it is far from the kind of super large alliance you want. You can go and fight with Doolittle Coordinate with the general and ask him to add some pilots to you. In order to establish a normal wing including one p-81 fighter squadron and two p\a-38 attack squadrons. With your appeal in the fighter force , There will be many pilots who are willing to follow you. As for your requirements for the size of the wing, we will discuss it seriously. Your army must form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, and there is not much time left for you."

"Okay," Ron replied, "but General, I still need a team. You know, I can't take Bong and McGeater to Europe, and the 'Reverse Cross' will be left alone." Yes. But I need a group of middle and senior commanders."

"There are a lot of guys you are familiar with in our joint force with the Soviets. I transferred Pointon back to serve as the flight captain for you. Besides, these pilots have to be rotated constantly anyway. You can still go from there. Pick some more people. I have already prepared the ground staff and other personnel for you. Here is their information, you can take it and have a look."

So General Arnold's adjutant handed over this information to Ron.

"If you have any questions, you can come to me anytime these days." General Arnold said, "If you are satisfied with the candidate, I hope you can fly to England in a week. We are in Portsmouth, England A new base has been built nearby, including two adjacent airfields - this is the base of your new wing. The designation of your new wing is the 21st Attack Aircraft Wing. As for the team badge and nickname, Take care of it yourself."

……

It was already past five o'clock in the afternoon when Ron came out of General Arnold's office with the materials.His lieutenant, Scott, had been waiting for him outside the door.Seeing him coming out, I took the document from him and put it in the briefcase.A lieutenant took them to the Pentagon restaurant for dinner, and arranged for the next car to take Ron and the others to a hotel.

……

In the evening, Ron sat at the desk and carefully studied the document that Arnold had prepared for him.In that document, there are records of the officers prepared by Arnold for him who can serve as officials of the maintenance brigade, mission support brigade (ground support), and medical brigade.Several candidates like this entered Ron's vision.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomson Baker, born in Claywood, Colorado, in 1899, joined the active service after graduating from college in 1923, and served in the 3rd and 5th Air Forces successively. Later, he was transferred to the 8th Air Force and served as the deputy captain of the fighter wing maintenance brigade for nearly two years.The fighters of his wing had maintained a very high attendance rate in the previous major week of air battles.

Colonel Clark Speer, born in 1892 and enlisted in 1911, is a veteran who participated in the First World War. Since entering the US Army Air Service (the predecessor of the US Army Aviation) in 1918, he has been engaged in ground handling Work, from 1926, successively served as the squad leader and squadron leader of the Mission Support Brigade. He retired from active service in 1935 and rejoined the army after the outbreak of the war.Is an experienced old ground crew.

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