Carrier-based aircraft are not the most difficult thing, and the training of naval pilots is the most important thing in the eyes of Li Kongrong and Chen Wenlin, and given the number of overseas Chinese in the United States, both of them are very worried that the population base of less than 100,000 cannot train 300 to 400 qualified carrier-based aircraft pilots; Moreover, pilots are also consumables, and they must be trained continuously, otherwise the war of attrition will be weak in the future. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoTo this end, Chen Wenlin specially drafted a draft of pilot training. Lin Xianxin had read the draft, but he was a layman and couldn't see any problems, so he could only wait for Li Kongrong's opinion.

In Li Kongrong's view, the training draft is decent, and the entire flight training is divided into three parts: primary, intermediate, and advanced, each training period is four months, and the primary training uses the Fleett trainer plane, and the intermediate and advanced training is carried out in separate disciplines, and Douglas's reconnaissance plane, Huo Yu, and Huo Douglas are used for training. Croatian destroyers, Martin biplane torpedo planes, and Northrop BT dive bombers.

With the help of the Overseas Chinese Association, Chen Wenlin roughly determined that there would be about 6,000 to 8,000 overseas Chinese who met the requirements, and then he gave a physical examination of 20 percent of the elimination rate (the nutritional level of overseas Chinese is generally better than that in China), and after the formal training, the training elimination rate was 40 percent, which means that the number of overseas Chinese pilots will not exceed 640 at most, and the number will not be less than 400 at the lowest. This judgment is in line with Li Kongrong's previous prediction, that is, overseas Chinese in the United States can meet the requirements for the number of pilots of the first batch of 200 carrier-based aircraft, but the replenishment is indeed weak.

"It seems that the United States still can't replenish pilots in large quantities!" Li Kongrong sighed after reading the report. "Even if there are only four aircraft carriers and 350 aircraft, there are more than 500 pilots, and it is indeed a difficult problem to replenish these pilots."

"Therefore, the aviation school in the United States can only be run in 40 years before it is transferred to Nanyang, where there is the largest number of overseas Chinese." Chen Wenlin has long considered this, although FJ is also considering the location, but if RB blocks the country or sends Japanese planes to attack and disturb, it will not work. "If you want to transfer the school to Nanyang, the best option is in Singapore, but the British side has to agree."

"Pilots are different from the Army, they can't make trouble without planes and airfields, and the British will agree." Lee did not think that the British would stop him from running an aviation school in Singapore.

"What about training on board?" Chen Wenlin asked. The United States has an aircraft carrier, and it is convenient to get on the ship, but in Singapore there is no aircraft carrier, and the pilots cannot go on the ship for training.

"If the aircraft carrier goes to sea for training, these pilots can come to North America, and it would be good if they didn't enter the United States." Li Kongrong said helplessly, in addition to having no money, another difficulty is that he has no land.

"Brother Hansheng, I'm thinking about such a question, can we start running an aviation school in Singapore from the beginning?" Chen Wenlin suddenly said: "My main consideration is the cost, the United States aviation gasoline is cheap, but the salary in the United States is also extremely high, no matter how low the salary of overseas Chinese is, they can earn one dollar a day, which is twenty-six dollars a month, if one thousand people are recruited, then the salary will be 26,000 dollars per month, and it is 310,000 US dollars a year, but if we are in Singapore, we only need half of the money at most." ”

"Nope." Li Kongrong shook his head resolutely. "We should not only see the high salaries of overseas Chinese in the United States, but also see that overseas Chinese in the United States donate a lot, and only when they become fleet pilots will overseas Chinese buy bonds and donate. It is very troublesome to move around the aviation school, but there is no way to do it. ”

"Then I'm going to move to the aviation school in the second half of 40." Chen Wenlin saw that the idea was rejected, so he could only go according to the original plan.

"Well, let's move at the end of 40, if there are still cadets in the United States, then all of them will be transferred to the Singapore Aviation School." Li Kongrong said. "I can be sure that Britain will not stop us from opening an aviation school in Singapore at that time, but the aviation school cannot play the sign of the navy."

After talking about the relocation of the aviation school, Li Kongrong talked about the cost of pilot training, according to Chen Wenlin's draft, each pilot's flight time is only 200 hours, and in China, this will cost 15,000 yuan[Note 60], but Li Kongrong's assumption is that each pilot should have at least 600 hours of flight time, of which the time on board the ship should not be less than 300 hours. After listening to Li Kongrong's account, Chen Wenlin shook his head slightly, and he said: "In this way, the training cost of each pilot is estimated to exceed 30,000 US dollars. ”

"Not necessarily." Li Kongrong said with a smile. "The pass rate of pilots in Brother Wenlin's draft is no more than 40 percent, and if the pass rate can be increased to 70 percent, the cost is estimated to be less than 50,000 US dollars. However, it depends on the life of the R-2800 engine, if it can have a life of five or six hundred hours, the cost is low, if it is only two or three hundred hours, the cost is high. ”

"Seventy percent?" Chen Wenlin was a little moved, he has also led a lot of pilots, and the 40 percent training pass rate is already considered high, which is the result of his intention that every pilot will be interviewed in person. "How can you do 70 percent?"

"When recruiting, you can do a rigorous psychological test first." Li Kongrong said. "I thought the aviation school was going to recruit a Ph.D. in psychology, and then I got a mental test from the Luftwaffe that I would give them to revise and perfect, and finally give it to the pilots to test. The Luftwaffe had a training rate of 70 percent, and if they can do it, we can do it. ”

"Really?" Chen Wenlin stared at Li Kongrong, and he began to be somewhat convinced, after all, Germany is a big country in science and technology. In fact, he didn't know that this set of tests was an additional gain for Li Kongrong, a person who made a living by hanging certificates in later generations - as long as it is not a highly professional certificate, such as architects, electrical engineers, etc., and in addition to medicine, Li Kongrong has taken all the certificates, and psychological counselors are also one of them. He couldn't think of what psychological tests the pilots were going to do, and in the end he could only take the professional personality test to make up the numbers.

This is actually true, and the psychological test done by later pilots is similar to the professional personality test. Of course, he can't completely remember the nearly 100 questions above, but he still remembers dozens of questions, and the most important thing is that he knows the principle, and if he understands the principle, he can let the doctor of psychology design the corresponding topic, which is not difficult.

"Of course it's true, the Luftwaffe was the first branch of the Nazi Party to control the service, and Hitler's confidant Goering was the commander of the Air Force. Li Kongrong said with a smile. "With this set of psychological tests, we can achieve a pass rate of about 70 percent, so that the cost of training can be greatly reduced."

"Why don't you bring their training models with you?" Lin Xianxi, who was on the side, saw that what the two said was relishing, and immediately interjected.

"Training?" Li Kongrong said embarrassedly: "It's useless to take that, the Luftwaffe is all land-based aircraft, not naval aircraft, and the aircraft carriers under construction in Germany may not be able to serve. Speaking of Goering, Li Kongrong thought of the domestic air force again, and he said: "Is the air force really unwilling to release people?" ”

"I really refuse to let people go." Lin Xianxin received a telegram from Chen Jiliang, "They said that the navy is now gone, and there is no aircraft carrier, so it is simply redundant to ask for pilots." The aviation committee also has a bit of a Goering flavor, and everything that can fly is under their control, but the country is dredging through some connections, and even this aviation school wants to be hung under the Air Force, so as not to expose us. ”

"The aviation school should not be hung under the Air Force." Li Kongrong shook his head, "What should I do when the domestic pilots are dispatched?" And with their virtues, it is estimated that not only will the pilots be dispatched, but even the planes will have to go together. ”

Lin Xianxi and Zhou Yingcong are okay, they have long known that Li Kongrong doesn't like **** and doesn't like the chairman very much, but Ma Deji and Chen Wenlin were very surprised that Li Kongrong said this to the government because it was the first time they had contact with them. Li Kongrong did not notice their surprise, but spoke according to his own line of thought, "The biggest and biggest waste since the Anti-Japanese War is the Chinese Air Force, which is of no use, and it has spent so much money in vain, and it is better to buy more mountain artillery and mortars for the army." I'm not saying that the pilots are bad because the Air Force doesn't let them go, in fact, they really haven't played any role since the Anti-Japanese War, and they can't play any role.

In addition to the armored units of the army, the infantry units can learn air defense operations, and it does not matter whether there is an air force or not; As for the bombing by Japanese planes, it is just a bombing of cities, and it is impossible to stop it with or without an air force, so it is better to buy antiaircraft guns or conceal factories than to buy planes. The only thing that can really break the deadlock is naval aviation. Everyone is our own people, so I'll just say that the first task of the Navy's aircraft carrier fleet after reconstruction is to protect the line of communication, which is now under construction on the Yunnan-Burma Highway. ”

Li Kongrong has always talked about how to form an aircraft carrier if it is formed, and has never said what specific role the aircraft carrier fleet will play. Hearing this, Lin Xianxi asked: "You mean that if RB attacks Nanyang, we will help the British army defend Singapore?" ”

"The British, Singapore, may not let us in." Li Kongrong said: "I'm talking about Myanmar. Once the coast of Liangguang is lost, then the international communication line will only be Annam and Burma, Annam is too close, and France compromises with Japan more than Britain, so Annan can't defend it if he wants to, and the only one who can defend it is Burma. Burma is already beyond the Strait of Malacca, where the Amanda Sea and the eastern Indian Ocean are located, and as long as we hold the Amanda Sea with the Royal Navy, it is possible to delay the capture of Burma by Japanese aircraft.

If you can't get external materials, especially weapons and ammunition, and only rely on the domestic arms production capacity, the country. The army will become weaker and weaker as it fights; Only to keep the external access, the country. Only then could the army launch a counteroffensive against the Japanese army. If the Japanese army goes to war with the United States, the number of troops stationed in the country will be drastically reduced, and the United States will provide large-scale arms aid loans in order to contain the Japanese army, just like the Soviet Union. If there is no line of communication, the aircraft, artillery and ammunition piles cannot be transported in India, maybe the Japanese army will have a battle plan at that time, and ZQ will be occupied by the Japanese army. ”

In his opinion, the joint landing of the US Navy on the territory of the war as soon as possible is a major move to change the war of resistance, but the problem is that if the people do not surrender without the atomic bomb, the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops in China will be in trouble. These armies are already dead moves, and they can't be withdrawn at all, and if they take a risk, they don't know how many people will be killed along the way. The only way to shorten the time when the Yunnan-Burma Highway was cut off by the Japanese army is to ensure that the Yunnan-Burma Highway is not lost.

However, this matter is really difficult to do, Britain does not want to defend Burma, and does not want to enter Burma too early, and Chang Kaishen is not willing to take the country. The elite of the army was handed over to Stilwell's command, and Du Yuming preferred the army to retreat into Savage Mountain. Immersed in this scene, Li Kongrong did not have any special rescue intention against the tens of thousands of soldiers who died in Savage Mountain, just like he did not have the slightest special rescue intention for Zheng Pingru, he only paid attention to the overall situation, and only changed the overall situation to improve the country. The situation of the army is the foundation of saving the country and the people, and mobilizing the masses for individual people and individual armies is a brain-dead manifestation of a complete failure.

Based on the current situation, he has been able to indirectly influence Chang Kaishen's decision-making, but he cannot influence the decision-making of Whitehall in London, which is equivalent to saying that Britain still does not change its original intention, and would rather lose Burma to RB than leave it to China. In this way, if you want to counterattack Burma, you can only rely on the strength of 100,000 expeditionary forces, and there is also an airborne chief of staff, Stilwell, I really don't know if it can be done? Of course, if he has a submarine of later generations, then he doesn't have to worry about any aircraft carriers, this submarine doesn't need to do anything else, just get a few hundred torpedoes (the electric mine school imported 240 German torpedoes in 1937), and then rely on the sonar system of later generations to light up the RB merchant ships and make the RB fall into a semi-blockade.

Feeling that he was a little far away, Li Kongrong pulled the topic back again, and he said: "The Burma operation is just an idea of mine, and it will have to be decided according to the international situation at that time." In any case, instructors should find the best, and there is no way to hire a flight instructor from the US Navy in China, but it is important to pay attention to the job responsibilities to be clearly written, and what can and cannot be done must be clearly determined, and cannot be ambiguous. We are not worried that the pilots will listen to them, we are worried that some of their ideas and tactics are actually wrong, because they control them, so many new things cannot be listened to, and in the end the pilots will suffer heavy losses after encountering the Japanese army. ”

"I'll take note of that." Chen Wenlin understands Li Kongrong's worries.

"Remember, this is not a struggle for power." Li Kongrong emphasized that he remembers very well what happened after the Beiyang Navy drove out Luang Weili. "Everything we do is to make sure that the pilots can fight with the Japanese veterans. In addition, the aviation school does not have the right to interfere with what aircraft the Navy purchases for combat, and they can at most suggest what aircraft the aviation school uses for training. ”

"I see." Chen Wenlin nodded. The United States is a commercial society, and aircraft companies may buy these instructors and then recommend some aircraft that they don't like.

"Then let's trouble Brother Wenlin to change the training plan." Li Kongrong finally instructed. "Two hundred hours of flight is too short, and naval pilots need at least 300 hours to get on the ship, and they have to train for 300 hours after they get on the ship. Don't worry about the money, we've already spent so much, there's no need to save any more. (To be continued.) )