Ron borrowed a few P-51s from the 14th Air Force back to India this time. Before leaving, Chennault again warned him that he could no longer make excuses to participate in air battles.

"I was also a fighter pilot, and to this day, I miss the feeling of flying a warhawk and fighting the enemy. But, Ron, you have to understand that you are no longer an ordinary pilot now, you are now a commander and your responsibilities are greater. You are responsible not only for your own life, but also for this battle, and even for this war. Air fighting isn't for you anymore. The battle is about to begin, don't start. There is an old Chinese saying that 'if you see a small profit, you will not achieve a big thing', and I think it makes a lot of sense. ”

Still, Chennault was very angry and did not remove the weapons from his plane.

"To fly over enemy-occupied territory, it's better to have weapons than nothing, isn't it? Still, I hope you'll be full of ammo by the time you land. ”

"General, I hope so."

Ron climbed into the cockpit, waved to the people seeing them off, then started the motor, closed the canopy, released the brakes, and slid down the track.

The flight went quite smoothly, along the way Ron and his formation did not encounter a single Japanese plane (there was no reconnaissance mission this time, so they deliberately avoided the airspace frequented by Japanese planes when choosing the route), and gradually, the dark green carpet rainforest began to fade away under the wings, and those - one - read - small - said - snow-capped mountains appeared in front of them again.

This time Ron returned to India with the main task of helping the 10th Air Force become familiar with safari tactics. Compared with the 14th Air Force, which often performs such missions, the fighters of the 10th Air Force are more often on escort missions and are not familiar with safari tactics. From pilots to commanders, it takes a period of training to better master this tactic.

It was late afternoon when we arrived in India. Under the crimson sunset, Ron jumped off the plane, and a jeep was already waiting for him.

After a night's rest, Ron was received early in the morning by General Bissel.

……

Kunming, Liaison Office of the Military Statistics Bureau.

Commissioner Huang Baoli is carefully studying a document.

"Starting next week, except for medicines, the quantity of other materials has been greatly reduced. Cigarettes, firearms, and even food have been reduced by more than 30 percent...... How much do you think the price of these things will go up during this time? ”

"As long as we send some news in advance and operate it well, the price can at least double." Sang Luobing replied while leaning most of his body on Huang Baoli's body.

Huang Baoli took her into his arms, "This business will be handed over to you, baby, don't let me down." ”

……

U.S. Army Air Corps 10th Air Force Operations Room, Assam, India.

"The basic requirements of the campaign should be clear to everyone. So let's let Colonel Ron explain the tactical aspects to you. After the staff officers had briefed the representatives of the various fighter squadrons present on the basic arrangements of the campaign, General Bissel gave the floor to Ron.

Ron stood up and walked over to the map.

"In this campaign, our main tactics include cruising and safaris. The so-called patrol tactic refers to the fact that our fighter units patrol the danger zone in advance before the transport planes are about to pass through the danger zone and clear the Japanese planes from this area. In order to ensure that transport planes are not attacked by fish, our fighter planes are configured in such a way that we have a crew of two aircraft and eight aircraft for every four crews in a group, and each cluster is responsible for an area. Once the swarm finds enemy aircraft, if the number of enemy aircraft is small, the swarm can take the initiative to attack them, and if the number of enemy aircraft is large, it should immediately call for support from the nearby swarm. When performing such a mission, once an enemy aircraft is detected, there is no need to maintain radio silence.

The planes in the cluster should be arranged in such a way that the four crews in the cluster are divided into two levels, high and low, and the two crews on the same floor should maintain a distance of about 400 meters, so that you can see each other at six o'clock. The altitude of the low-level fighter was supposed to be in the 3500-4000 meters, and in the target area, the speed was maintained above 300 miles. High-rise crews are 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 the Japanese resort to decoy tactics." For example, what if the Japanese send a smaller group to attract all our fighters, and then send another group to attack the transport planes? ”

"It's good that you can think of that." Ron first affirmed his train of thought, "But, you have to pay attention to two things. First, we have a clear advantage in the number of aircraft, and when the first Japanese fleet appears, our ground command will only guide the appropriate number of fighters to help in the battle. Second, the purpose of the campaign was to quickly deplete the few Japanese air forces in Burma. The Japanese could not afford to lose money, and there were too many bait, and the losses were too large, and even if the sneak attack was successful, it would be worth the loss for them. Still have questions? ”

The major thought for a moment and said, "Sir, not for the time being. ”

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

"Sir, no problem, we flew over this section of the airspace when there was no escort at all!"

"Okay, then we'll move on to the second tactic – safari. This is the Myitkyina airfield, from which enemy planes take off and land. The Japanese deployed a number of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns near the airfield, which were not too many. The mission of our safari fleet was to cruise around enemy airfields, looking for opportunities to attack Japanese fighters that were taking off or landing. As long as you seize such an opportunity, it is almost no different from target shooting.

Of course, the safari fleet cannot be too large, it is too conspicuous, and it is difficult to attack the enemy by surprise. Therefore, safaris can generally only be carried out in the form of two-plane formations. Of course, the decrease in numbers will also reduce their ability to observe the air situation and increase the possibility of being attacked by the enemy, so the pilots participating in the safari must be veterans.

Finally, there are some principles of air combat.

Our P-51 is a good aircraft, fast and long-range. In terms of performance, the Japanese Ki-43 is not an opponent at all. But pay attention to the following:

First, don't hover at low speeds with the enemy, no aircraft in the U.S. can take advantage of the Ki-43 in hovering below 200 miles. We need to be good at making use of the maneuver of the vertical plane.

Second, the P-51's laminar wing gives it excellent high-speed performance, and at high speeds, no other aircraft can achieve the same dexterity and stability as hers, even at speeds close to 500 mph, she can still aim and shoot with relative stability. Be good at using her strengths, be patient, maintain speed, and fight at high speeds.

Finally, the P-51's laminar wing was not very efficient at low speeds, it was prone to stalling on one side of the wing, and, damn it - there would be no signs of such violent jitter before stalling. Ron looked at everyone, and he saw that many of them had a look of concern. So he continued:

"Therefore, all pilots are not allowed to enter the battle at speeds below 260 miles, and if the speed falls below this value, they should immediately dive to gain speed and temporarily withdraw from the battle. In order to familiarize everyone with this combat mode, we will continue to organize simulated confrontation training for the next three weeks. I hope that by the time the campaign is launched, everyone will be able to master this tactic proficiently. ”

……

The Japanese Army's Special High Section in Nanjing.

"Sir, Black Butterfly has sent new information."

"Bring it quickly," Kuroshima took the translated message from his subordinates and looked at it, his face becoming more and more serious, and he tapped his finger on the table, "Well, the Yankees have a lot of money, and they seem to be very confident." Immediately forward this information to the Army Aviation Department. ”

……

The 64th team of the Japanese Army Airlines

"The meeting was convened because we had very reliable information that the Yankees were about to launch a major air offensive in the near future. Here's the relevant information, you can take a look. Commander Takeo Kato asked the staff officers to distribute some materials to the officers present, and everyone began to look through them.

"Let's read it, let's talk about it."

......, seeing that no one made a sound for a long time, Keno Kato began to order.

"Komatsu-kun, what do you think?"

"Your Excellency, I think we will be able to wipe out these ghost beasts!" Komatsu immediately stood up and said in a tone of unquestionable firmness. It's nonsense, but if you don't say it first, you'll be seen as a coward and a non-citizen.

"Well, it's good to have the belief that you will win, but other than that, do you have any ideas in terms of tactics?"

"General, judging by the readiness of the American animals, the offensive will be launched in about two to four weeks. We need to be ready to give them a head-on shot. ”

"The enemy has concentrated a clear superiority in forces, and it is advisable to meet the invisible head-on, and I think the defense aspect should be strengthened, and the ground should be equipped with more anti-aircraft firepower and false targets, and the concealment of aircraft must be ......."

"Shut up! You are afraid of the enemy like a tiger, a coward, a non-national, and a ghost animal before you come, and you are afraid of being like this! How did the Imperial Japanese Army ......"

"Kawamoto, what are you talking nonsense about this Kansai bun? You ......"

"I'm a bun? Buns are also better than Osaka cowards like you, and all of you Osaka men are ......"

……

"Enough! We're talking about tactics now, don't digress! Kato was furious to see that a good tactical discussion turned into a territorial attack.

Kato's success and prestige in the flying team were so high that after he stood up and lost his temper, the tactical discussion was back on track. After studying, in the end, as expected, the Japanese soldiers, who regarded defense as a crime, chose a head-on battle plan in the face of an superior enemy.