The coordination with the factory was actually done by Liao Hanxiang. Of course, Liao Hanxiang did not coordinate, but threatened and lured Hafei and Shen Fei, two aircraft factories that mainly provide fighter planes for the navy. Liao Hanxiang's movements were also quite fast, as soon as he received a call from Tan Renhao, he immediately found the person in charge of Hafei, and then went to Shenfei, and then asked both sides to be responsible for the development of the body and engine of the new bomber. Naturally, Liao Hanxiang did not forget to give these people a little benefit.

"General Liao, you really have the means!" After listening to the "story" told by Liao Hanxiang, Luo Yunchong laughed first, "After you do this, I'm afraid that now Ha Fei and Shen Fei are already organizing personnel to develop new bombers." ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, Liao Hanxiang does have such a domineering spirit, and this is exactly what a young general like Tan Renhao lacks. At the two aircraft factories, Liao Hanxiang directly threatened the order of the "Wolf Dove" (which had already been officially named), and then reached an agreement with the two aircraft factories that the two sides would distribute the development share of the new bomber according to the manufacturing ratio of the "Wolf Dove" bomber. At the same time, this will also determine the proportion of production of new bombers in the future. The R&D cost will be directly calculated into the manufacturing cost when large-scale orders are placed in the future. In other words, the development funds will be allocated to each bomber in the future, and the factory only needs to help the Navy with this money first, and this money is actually part of the order of the "wolf dove". This is beneficial to both sides, and the factory side is naturally happy to cooperate with the Navy.

"This is done, and both sides have agreed to speed up the development process. And I'm also hinting. If a new bomber can be made as soon as possible, then the new ground bomber will be produced, and the 'wolf dove' is just for transitional use. Liao Hanxiang also looked very happy, now he is the commander of the strategic strike force, "You think the people in the factory have no brains? According to Luo Yunchong's estimates, the cost price of the new bomber is three times that of the 'wolf dove', and the profit is also three times that of the 'wolf dove'. Naturally, the factories were willing to produce Xindi bombers, otherwise they would not have made much money at all. ”

"Anyway. That's a good thing, at least, we don't have to worry about it. Tan Renhao put his feet on the chair next to him, "By the way, you know what happened to the Second Task Force, right?" ”

Luo Yunchong furrowed his eyebrows, while Liao Hanxiang shook his head slightly.

"The principal is probably going to assign the second task force to the Western Pacific Theater Command, leaving only the first task force under the direct command of the naval command. lest other theaters of war come to ask for fleets. If this is the case, then we will have two striking forces, the fleet and the bomber group, which will certainly be of great help to us in the future. ”

"If that's the case, then it couldn't be better." Liao Hanxiang immediately laughed, "It's just, how is the establishment of the second task force?" Was it newly formed, or did all the officers and men of the 1st Task Force be moved over? ”

"I don't know, but. There will be news soon. ”

"We'll have results soon." Luo Yunchong did not know much about the fleet, "The last round of test flights will end at the end of the month, and at the beginning of the new year, the manufacturing of bombers will be in full swing, and the more than 30 bombers participating in the test flights will return to the factory at the end of the month for modification, and then the first batch will be provided to the troops for training and use." to speed up the equipment of the troops. Why don't we visit Jeju Island in a few days? ”

Tan Renhao glanced at Liao Hanxiang, Liao Hanxiang, the commander, was definitely going over, and Luo Yunchong, the commander of the bomber unit in the theater, was definitely going to the place.

"Let's go together, you are the chief of staff of the theater, and you belong to a parallel command with me, Luo Yunchong is still half of your subordinate." Liao Hanxiang lit a cigarette, "Just let the old soldiers stay behind, and in the future, you and Luo Yunchong will be responsible for the specific bombing operations, so you must also understand the situation of the troops." ”

Tan Renhao nodded. said, "It's fine." In the past few days, I will first arrange the work of the General Staff, and then bring Hao Dongjue with me. Let's go over and see the newly formed troops. ”

Five days later, after Tan Renhao arranged the work of the theater staff, he took Hao Dongjue with him, followed Liao Hanxiang, who set off later, to Jeju Island, and Luo Yunchong had already rushed over three days in advance.

When the plane landed on Seogwipo Airport, Tan Renhao could barely recognize the airport. The last time I was here with Liao, there was only a 1,500-meter-long runway, a rudimentary tower, and a dilapidated barbed wire fence around the airport. Now, the runway has been extended to 2,500 meters, and to the north, a new parallel runway is under intense construction. The tower has been renovated, more than 20 hangars have been erected, as well as quarters for officers and men, two large fuel depots on the west side of the airport, an ammunition depot on the ground in the southwest corner, and three anti-aircraft artillery positions on the north side. In addition, there are about 500 engineers working on the expansion, and a lot of construction machinery is parked at the airport.

"The expansion will be completed in mid-January, the other two airports will be completed by the end of January, and by the end of February, all six airports will be completed." Liao Hanxiang made a simple explanation, "When the time comes, at least 720 bombers can be deployed on these six airports, and if necessary, the capacity of the airports can be expanded, and if each airport can eventually support 200 bombers for combat, then we will not need those airports in North Korea at all." In addition, the naval engineering corps is also expanding the ports of Seogwipo and Pyoseon-ri, so that ammunition, fuel, and other materials can be directly transported to this area in the future, reducing the difficulty of logistical supply. ”

"If 1,200 bombers were dispatched at a time, it would be enough to destroy any Japanese city." Tan Renhao sighed, the war time is different. In the past, it would have taken more than a year or even years to expand an airport. And in wartime, everything is at the service of the war, and the speed of the expansion of the airfield can simply be described as "flying".

"Let's hope so!" Luo Yun rushed over, "The actual result needs to rely on the battle to test the ground. We don't dare to say big things now. The first bombers arrived in the afternoon, and I'll show you around first. ”

The airport is indeed huge, and Liao Hanxiang had already thought about the future development when he planned it, not just to meet the needs of the present. All of this made Tan Renhao feel very excited!

At half past the clock, the first company of 12 "wolf doves" arrived over Seogwipo Airport. After circling three times, the bombers landed on the runway one after another, and then stopped in unison on the grass at the western end of the airfield.

Liao Hanxiang personally drafted and set up the establishment system of the strategic bomber force. Because no one in the navy knew this better than him, the system he set up was quickly approved. In order to distinguish it from Hainan Airlines. Liao Hanxiang adopted an establishment similar to that of the army. The basic unit of a strategic bomber is a squad, one bomber is a squad (nine members, also similar to the establishment of an army squad), four bombers are a platoon, three platoons are a company, and three companies are a battalion. The battalion is the smallest tactical unit, and the regimental size is not necessarily the same. It could be two battalions or as many as five (and later ten) battalions. And above the regiment is the division, and the size of a bomber division is not completely determined, and above the division is the army. The corps is the largest strength of the bomber force in the theater.

The first strategic strike force was formed, and the first bombers were not incorporated into combat units, but into training units, so that pilots who had previously flown hundreds of hours on medium bombers could familiarize themselves with the new bombers as soon as possible, and these pilots would become bomber instructors. Train more pilots. At that time, more than 2,000 pilots and more than 300 crews had completed preliminary training. And among them, at least a third of them will become instructors, and two-thirds of the crews will be used to form the backbone of the First Army of Strategic Strike.

"This is Major Jiang Shikuan, who is now the commander of the First Regiment of the First Division. When the official appointment is made, he will be a lieutenant colonel. Liao Hanxiang introduced the pilot who stepped down from the first bomber.

"The major was one of the first heavy bomber pilots of the HNA, and he was the best among the pilots, having previously participated in factory test flights and test flights before equipping the troops." Luo Yunchong gave a more detailed introduction, "If he hadn't taken the initiative to apply to come to the combat unit, I would have really left him in the training unit." ”

"Okay, Major, this is Major General Tan Renhao, and in the future, he and Brigadier General Luo Yunchong will command your actions."

"Nice to meet you!" Tan Renhao smiled and stretched out his hand. "Let's be honest. I don't know anything about flying, and I'll ask you for advice later. ”

"General. You're too lifting! Jiang Shikuan was very polite, and he looked at Tan Renhao's gaze a little surprised, after all, Tan Renhao was recognized as the first person in naval aviation operations, how could he not know about flying?

"Alright, let's go see the plane!"

When he approached the "Wolf Dove" bomber, Tan Renhao felt how huge the plane was. In the past, he was used to seeing those tactical bombers on the aircraft carrier, and he thought that the plane was just like that, but now, when he stood on this behemoth with a length of more than 22 meters, a wingspan of more than 30 meters, and a height of more than 6 meters, he understood why Luo Yunchong wanted to say that the bomber group was an air fleet. If there were thousands of such bombers flying over the Japanese cities, I am afraid that even the sun would be obscured, and the bombs that fell all over the sky would be enough for the little devils.

Other bombers also arrived, and finally 36 "wolf doves" landed on the airfield. These bombers were all used during test flights, and later returned to the factory and were modified according to the standards after the formal finalization. According to the previous rules of the Empire, these test planes could not be equipped with troops, and most of them would be recycled, or a few would be sent to the aviation museum. But now that it is a time of war, it is necessary to save money, and it is even more necessary to let the troops get the planes as soon as possible, and let the pilots adapt to the new bombers as soon as possible. As a result, these testing machines were all put to use. In any case, it was the newly created bombers that carried out the bombing missions, and by no means these test aircraft.

In the evening, 36 bombers took off again, passed through the airfield several times, and flew around Jeju Island, and when they returned, they formed a dense formation and passed over the airfield together. This was arranged by Liao Hanxiang, nominally to review the troops, but in fact it was to demonstrate to the nearby army aviation to let the army aviation know that the navy's bombers had arrived. This also prayed for a good effect, and when the group landed on Seogwipo Airport for the second time, many nearby army officers and soldiers rushed over and looked at this huge bomber with surprise, curiosity, and shock.

In the evening, Liao Hanxiang held a reception banquet for the first batch of crew members of the 36th team to arrive, and he also invited all the naval officers from the nearby airfield. It's almost like celebrating the New Year (the custom of the Tang Empire, the New Year is the most important traditional festival). Those pilots (crew members, while in the narrow sense it refers only to those who fly the aircraft). Tan Renhao also seized this opportunity to meet several outstanding pilots, and humbly asked for advice. When these pilots learned that it was the rear admiral who had just chatted with them, they were all surprised.

After a lively night, flight training began the next day. The 36-member training team is responsible for training a group of pilots. First of all, the instructor will be the captain, the trained pilot will be the first officer, and the navigator and bombardier will also be on board together. It wasn't until the instructor was the co-pilot and the pilot-in-training was the captain that the machine gunner boarded the plane for in-flight shooting training. In order to speed up the training, the instructors flew four to five sorties a day, each for an hour to an hour and a half. Pilots in training fly at least once every five days, and the rest of the time they undergo other training (survival, parachuting, etc.) and digest the experience gained from flight training.

The specific training work was in charge of Luo Yunchong, and Tan Renhao left Hao Dongjue on Luo Yunchong's side. In terms of establishment, Hao Dongjue still belongs to the General Staff of the Western Pacific Theater, while he works in the Strategic Strike Force, which can be regarded as a secondment. Liao Hanxiang also built the headquarters of the First Army in Seogwipo, but he also quickly left Jeju Island and rushed to Hafei and Shen Fei to urge the factory to produce new bombers as soon as possible to meet the training needs of so many pilots.

Tan Renhao returned to Qingdao, and the theater staff still had a lot of work waiting for him to do. He also wants to stay on Jeju Island, but he can't let go of things here. As soon as he arrived at the war zone staff, he met an old friend!