Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor again!

Zhang Yun still can't forget that thrilling day, and the scenes comparable to Hollywood war blockbusters suddenly revived in his mind with the question of the colonel.

He carefully recalled, then stood up, picked up a pencil and began to draw on the drawing:

"As you can see, the climb rate and turning radius of the 'Zero' are excellent, they can easily overtake our F4F Wildcats and P-40s, and if both sides are hovering at low speeds, they can turn almost twice as fast as we are, and the turning radius is much smaller. Two planes can bite the tail of the P40 with a single turn at the same time, so it is tantamount to suicide to engage in a grappling with the Zero with these two aircraft at low altitude. ”

"Hmm......"

"But when I was competing with the 'Zero' in the air, I found that if it was at high altitude, its excellent vertical maneuverability would deteriorate, and the higher the altitude, the worse the deterioration."

“…… Why is that? ”

"I don't know," Zhang Yun put down his pen, "but I guess: it's because they're too light." ”

"Too light?" Chennault was stunned, "Is there any basis for what you say?" ”

"No, Colonel." Zhang Yun corrected, "But you've also observed their flying fights on the spot, I wonder if you've noticed a strange phenomenon?" They are not flying faster than our P40s, which means that their engines are not very strong; They have a wingspan of 12 meters, about the same size as the P40; But their climbs and turns are better than ours. Combining these three points, there is no other explanation at all, except that their bodies are lighter than those of P40. ”

"Hmm......" Chennault muttered for a moment and nodded, "you go on." ”

"If the strength of the fuselage is insufficient, it is easy to react to the ailerons at high speeds, and when maneuvering in this way, the ailerons will be sluggish and slow down."

Chennault nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, you go on." ”

"Also, I found that the Zero's high-altitude dive attack didn't work." Zhang Yun said.

This is what he saw on a forum in his previous life, and he survived on this point at Pearl Harbor, otherwise a rookie who has just gotten on the plane, no matter how talented he is, will not be able to support himself to the end surrounded by so many Zero fighters.

As for the reason, it is actually very simple: because the Nakajima Sakae 12-star air-cooled engine used in the Zero adopts the design of floating carburetors, it is easy to cause the engine to stall when diving at high speeds.

"When I was at Pearl Harbor, I was bitten by a Zero," seeing Colonel Chennault muttering, Zhang Yun had no choice but to continue, "at that time, they dived at a high speed and then rolled to get rid of it, and in this case they couldn't catch up with us, which should be an opportunity for us to get rid of the Zero's tail bite." So I think it's a mistake to use the climb to get rid of the Zero, and don't chase the Zero with a sharp climb, otherwise you'll be dead. Finally ......"

"Finally?"

"The Zero did not have any armor to protect the pilot and the fuel tank, and the fuel tank did not have a self-sealing device and fire extinguishing equipment, so it could easily be hit and catch fire."

In the tower, Chennault stood in front of the window, quietly looking at the distant sky, with his hands behind his back and not saying a word.

He seemed to be thinking all the time: sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning, sometimes chanting, looking focused and serious, even Zhang Yun had finished reporting.

Zhang Yun didn't dare to disturb, and it was difficult to walk away, so he could only accompany there silently.

After a long time, Colonel Chennault finally spoke again.

"The information you provide is valuable, but ......," he shook his head gloomily, "it won't solve the dilemma at hand." ”

Zhang Yun couldn't help but be curious.

"I don't understand, Colonel." He said, "Is there something flawed in my response plan?" ”

"No, don't get me wrong." Chennault waved his hand, "I'm not saying that your methods are bad, but that your tactics against the Zero are not very suitable. ”

"Not applicable?"

"Your method: roll off after a high-speed dive...... The operations involved here are too complex, and the overload pressure during high-speed dives is too great, and a little carelessness can be the cost of a crash. ”

"But ......"

"I know you can do it," Chennault interrupted, "but not every pilot of ours has the same flying skills as you do. ”

Zhang Yun couldn't help but be silent......

The colonel's considerations were not unreasonable, the pilots had different levels of piloting, and the skills of their own heads-up zero were not applicable to everyone.

It's like walking a tightrope, it's as simple as taking a balance beam and going up there. But if you ask an acrobat to do it, you ask an ordinary person to do it...... The results can be imagined.

So what's the way that everyone can do?

Zhang Yun tightened his brows and began to think quickly......

Suddenly!

Like an apocalypse, like a bell, he suddenly thought of a post he had seen on the forum in his previous life!

"There's a way!" The sudden discovery made him almost shout excitedly, "We can do this: let our fighters fly in pairs and pull the distance ......"

He gestured with his hand as he spoke: "The wingman acts as a decoy to attract the attention of the enemy plane, after the enemy plane takes the bait, the fighters of this side tilt and cross, fly away from each other, and then the wingman immediately turns to the long plane, so that a large area of the enemy plane's flanks can be exposed under the muzzle of the long plane, although it is only a short moment, but the zero armor is extremely thin, as long as the long plane shoots desperately, it can directly shoot down the enemy plane!" ”

Zhang Yun's method is actually very simple, that is, Thatch's scissors.

It was the most effective means of dealing with the Zero before the advent of the new fighter, and it should have been created by American fighter commander John Smith Thatch during the Battle of Midway. But a good way is a good way, Zhang Yun borrowed flowers to offer Buddha, not for anything else.

He just wanted to help the Allied pilots out of the situation and that's it.

You must know that now in Yangon, the Allied pilots are almost talking about zero color change, and they are helpless to deal with the Japanese army's Zero fighter plane.

And it is precisely because of this that the Japanese were able to firmly control the air supremacy in Southeast Asia, and their bombers could drop bombs on Allied positions with impunity, and sometimes they dared to come out without even escorting fighters. That's why the campaign was so difficult.

And Zhang Yun's method, although it also needs to adopt 2vs1 tactics, puts forward high requirements for Yangon, which is now in short supply of fighters, but the shortage of fighters can be readjusted from elsewhere, and the technical problems cannot be solved in a short time.

Zhang Yun's method, at least ordinary pilots can do, which brings a glimmer of hope to the destruction of the "zero myth".

Chennault's eyes lit up.

"The Volunteer Air Corps still needs a lieutenant," he patted Zhang Yun on the shoulder, "can you do it?" ”

Zhang Yun immediately straightened up: "As you wish, Colonel!" ”

※※※

With the official letter of appointment, when Zhang Yun walked out of the tower, he was still thinking about Colonel Chennault's last words:

"The morale at Yangon airport is very poor today, and our pilots have even reached the point where they have changed color about the 'Zero' of the Japanese."

……

"You're the only one who has defeated Zero, and I need you to build a whole new team."

……

"Your mission is simple, to bust the myth of Zero! Use your achievements to tell the Allied pilots and the world that the Japanese are not invincible, and that our P40 can still beat down the 'all-round fighter' that the Japanese are proud of! ”

……

"Jon, Jon~?"

The continuous calls pulled Zhang Yun out of his memory, and he realized that he had walked to the tarmac in front of the hangar at some point.

There were a few P40s moored there, and David and the others were standing in front of them in a neat line.

"Hello Captain!"

The loud greetings were neatly aligned, with the standard military salute, which made Zhang Yun couldn't help but be happy. Compared with addressing the chief, Zhang Yun felt that the title of captain was more cordial and humane.

"What, you all know?"

Just now in the tower, Colonel Chennault incorporated a few of them into his combat squad - this was a decision just now, and they didn't expect to go out on their front feet, and David and they knew the news.

"The colonel's secretary, Miss Smith, has already informed us of the situation~!" Kip said, "Congratulations on the promotion, Jon. ”

In fact, among these pilots, Zhang Yun was the youngest and had very short qualifications, but he later became the captain of the second lieutenant, and if he changed to another unit, it might cause some controversy.

However, fighter pilots, as the leaders of the pilot group, value strength the most, as the only person in the entire volunteer aviation team to shoot down the Zero, Zhang Yun won respect with his achievements, so David, George and others have no objection to the appointment of the colonel.

"Thank you." Zhang Yun smiled and pointed to the fighter in front of him: "By the way, these are ......?" ”

He really couldn't help but notice this—unlike the other battle-scarred planes at Yangon airport, the spikes on the fuselage were shiny enough to serve as mirrors.

"Aren't we going to form a new flying team~ So the colonel specially allocated us 4 P40s." Kip excitedly and lovingly stroked the sharp lines of the plane next to him, "How about Jon~ All of them are newly manufactured original goods from Curtis Corporation in 39 years!" ”

Zhang Yun couldn't help but be stunned: now is an extraordinary period, the Allies have suffered heavy losses in the air battle with the Japanese, and it is already rare to be able to get planes, let alone brand new fighters.

However, he didn't feel the excitement of his comrades at all, but felt that his body was heavy - from this small detail, it could be seen that the colonel attached great importance to this flying team.

My burden is very heavy~

"Well, that one is yours." David pouted in the direction of the hangar.

Following David's line of sight, Zhang Yun set his eyes on the P40 on the right side of the hangar.

The dark green fuselage shell, the three-bladed variable pitch propeller, the smooth line design, and the fully enclosed cockpit with a large field of view...... Like an eagle with wings about to fly, it stands there silently, and it faintly brings a sense of oppression to people before it gets close.

Is this your car?

Zhang Yun's heart suddenly surged with a strange cordiality, although this plane is no different from other P40 on the surface, but Zhang Yun feels that it seems to have some kind of inexplicable connection with the depths of his own blood, this feeling was not so strong even when he was in Pearl Harbor. It's like......

It's calling itself.