Not only did the Soviet Union delay deliveries, but the air fleet began to withdraw. What Li Kongrong didn't know was that the Soviet Air Force stopped fighting with Japanese planes after the Battle www.biquge.info of Guinan, and began to gradually withdraw from China next month, and in June, only one fighter group and more than 20 planes remained in Lanzhou, and all the pilots were evacuated, and the remaining personnel were all evacuated in 41 [Note 77], and the naval air force just met the shortage of the Soviets.

After the Battle of Guinan, the Chinese Air Force counted a total of 168 remaining combat aircraft, of which 112 were fighters [Note 78]. The number seems to be a lot, but this number includes the training planes used for training, and the poor maintenance of ground crew, so that less than 60 planes are actually ready to take to the skies for combat, while the Japanese have more than 300 planes in the pass. In May of this year, the Japanese army began to carry out Operation 101, and in the face of more than 100 bombers, the air force had only 30 planes to meet the enemy. By the time the Bishan air battle appeared zero, the two sides were no longer fighters against bombers, but fighters against fighters, and 13 of the 34 fighters they met were shot down, and the air force no longer had the confidence to take to the skies to meet them. However, this is the time of September, which is the time of March.

"Haha, Brother Wenlin, I haven't seen you for many years." In the spring of Kunming, at the Qipanshan Naval Airport, Colonel Chen Wenlin, director of the Naval Aviation Division and captain of the Overseas Chinese Volunteer Air Corps in the Americas, and Major Zeng Yijing, former director of the Naval Aircraft Manufacturing Department and now director of the Eighth Aircraft Repair Plant of the Air Force, greeted the visiting Aviation Committee and his delegation. As soon as the car stopped, the first to get out of the car was Colonel Shen Dexie, an old acquaintance of the Navy; as the Baoding Department of the Air Force, he was the commander of the Air Force of the National Revolutionary Army, but this commander was in name, and there was Zhou Zhirou, director of the Aviation Committee, and then Song Meiling, secretary general of the Aviation Committee, and then there were members of the Aviation Committee and Chang Kaishen, chairman of the Committee.

Shen Dexie is a native of Fuzhou, and this bureaucrat with no power is close to the navy. He got out of the car in front of Zhou Zhirou and the others, and then dragged out the tone and began to introduce: "Everyone, let me introduce it." This is Colonel Chen Wenlin of the American Overseas Chinese Volunteer Air Force, and this is the director of the Aviation Committee, Lieutenant General Zhou Zhirou; This is Junior General Mao Bang, commander-in-chief of the Air Force; This ,......"

Chen Wenlin was dressed in a white navy uniform, and the Eighth Aircraft Repair Yard where he had been transferred to the Air Force also wore a navy uniform; Zhou Zhirou and others are blue air force dresses. Chen Wenlin Zeng Yijing had a solemn face, but Zhou Zhirou had different expressions, their eyes were not only looking at the two of them, but also looking around. The naval airfield was built by the Xinzhong Company, and the time was tight, and the repair was simple, and the exterior walls of the low office buildings were unbuilt, directly exposed with blue-gray concrete. On one side of the office building, the incomplete asphalt runway is filled with asphalt workers and machinery, and under the lush grass at either end are semi-underground machine nests, garages, and towering anti-aircraft gun emplacements. The regulations are very strict, but unfortunately there is not even a shadow of the aircraft.

"Brother Wenlin has been admired for a long time." After Chen Wenlin saluted, Zhou Zhirou's smile was nonchalant, making people unable to see the depth. Mao Bangchu, who was beside him, was not polite at all, and asked directly: "What about your plane?" Don't tell me it hasn't been shipped yet. ”

"Part of it has arrived," Chen Wenlin paused and said very calmly.

"Then we'll go check it out." Mao Bangchu raised his eyebrows, his face was cross-faced, and he immediately wanted to see the plane.

"This ......" Shen Dexie, as the introducer, looked left and right, carefully looked at the colors of everyone, he saw that Zhou Zhirou also began to move, so he stood in the position of the Air Force and said: "Brother Wenlin, Director Zhou Mao Commander came from afar to express his condolences to your volunteer air team, and another purpose is to take a look at the plane, this, you, this ......."

"You can only see from afar." The plane must be seen, but it is important to look closely or from a distance, Chen Wenlin smiled and said.

"What does it mean to see from afar?" Mao Bangchu was followed by Jiang Jianren, with the rank of major general, and he was a little unhappy when he heard this, he knew that the air force was the navy, and the navy was the air force. "Don't forget, your fleet is also under the jurisdiction of the Aviation Commission."

"The air force is only subordinate to the aviation committee during combat, but the aircraft ......" Chen Wenlin still smiled, and his footsteps did not move at all, but he did not lead the way. The Navy and the Government agreed that the Air Force would be under the jurisdiction of the Aviation Commission during operations, but would have the right not to fight. This means that the operational plan will be decided by the air force and the aviation committee through joint consultation, and the air force will act strictly in accordance with the operational plan after the plan is determined. In addition to operations, if the air force does not go north to the north but does not enter the line of Zhaotong, Zunyi, and Huaihua, and does not enter Guangxi in the east, it will not fall under the jurisdiction of the aviation committee.

"It's okay, it's okay," Zhou Zhirou started a round for some reason, "It's up to the host, since Colonel Chen said that we want to see it from a distance, then we will watch it from a distance." The main purpose of this visit is to express condolences to overseas Chinese compatriots, and secondly, to show concern for the air force's preparations for war. ”

"Director Zhou has it." Chen Wenlin glanced at Zhou Zhirou with some surprise, and walked to the side of the runway with everyone. Sure enough, from a distance, across a barbed wire, a navy gray camouflage-painted attack plane was testing on the runway, and even if it was more than 20 meters away, the engine roar was deafening.

"This plane is huge!" Although Zhou Zhirou and others had not heard of the law that 'a good-looking aircraft must be a good aircraft', as soon as they saw the saboteur attack plane, they felt that this aircraft was strong and powerful, and it was abnormally strong, and the most advanced Yi-16 fighter of the Air Force seemed to be only half as long as it, and the wingspan was also very short, and the square wing was more sharp than the round wing. Compared to it, Yi 15 and Yi 16 are like baby toys.

“Nice.plane！” Chen Wenlin heard someone say something in English, this is Colonel Chennault, an adviser to the Air Force.

"It's huge." Chen Wenlin looked at this saboteur with pride and regret, the F5F cannot be exported for the time being, and the air force now only has attack aircraft and no fighters.

"Which aircraft company's plane is this? How much does it cost? The saboteur attack plane, numbered A-12, quickly skimmed the runway and took off in front of Zhou Zhirou and others. Probably the more I looked at it, the more I loved it, Mao Bangchu suddenly asked the price of this plane.

Prices are not confidential. "The planes are produced by Douglas, and we buy them in bulk, including weapons and radios, and they are shipped here for more than $65,000 each. As soon as Chen Wenlin said the price, everyone was shocked. The Yi 15 is only 35,000 US dollars, and the Yi 16 is a little more expensive, and the unit price is only 40,000 US dollars.

"It's too expensive, almost twice as expensive as a Soviet plane." , Mao Bangchu shook his head and smacked his tongue, and then looked at Chen Wenlin a few times strangely, as if he was thinking about how much commission he had taken from it. But he is not familiar with the Douglas Company, only with the Curtis Company, and he can't guess it. "Even for an American plane, it will not exceed forty thousand dollars." He concluded.

"You get what you pay for." Chen Wenlin smiled, "Soviet planes are really not good, their engine life does not exceed fifty hours, if you look at the hourly combat cost of the aircraft, I think it is the most expensive of all aircraft." ”

"Colonel Chen, how many hours does this plane's engine life have?" The combat cost per hour is a new concept, and Zhou Zhirou listened attentively, and then saw the plane rumbling overhead, and couldn't help asking.

"This aircraft engine is a new model, and the quality is not too good. However, the overhaul, that is, the first dismantling and washing, takes at least more than 200 hours. Chen Wenlin does not keep the engine life secret, "The body life of American aircraft, especially naval aircraft, is very long, and 500 hours is the most basic. ”

"Looks like an air-cooled engine?" Zhou Zhirou thought of the big nose and couldn't help but say.

"It's air-cold." Chen Wenlin nodded, "The navy likes air cold and hates liquid cooling. ”

"Why?" Zhou Zhirou didn't understand, he was not a navy after all, and he didn't understand the characteristics of naval aircraft.

"In a sea operation, if it is liquid-cooled and any part of the cylinder or heat sink is broken, the plane will never come back, the sea is not land, and it is impossible to make a forced landing; The advantage of an air-cooled engine is that the engine still works after breaking a few cylinders, it is nothing more than a drop in power, and people can come back. Chen Wenlin said. Then there is maintenance, the aircraft carrier hangar is narrow, the sea situation is changing rapidly, air cooling is easy to maintain, liquid cooling is not good. ”

"It's this, it's this." Zhou Zhirou kept nodding, and at this time, the plane flew a few laps and began to land, just like taking off, the landing was also very neat, and it stopped after taxiing not far after landing. At this time, the ground crew came running, and after the pilot got off the plane, they drove the plane into the cabin. "It's a good plane." He said. "If the Air Force wants to buy it, can it buy it?"

"This subordinate doesn't know." Chen Wenlin replied that in his heart he did not want the saboteur attack planes to be sold to the Air Force, not because he cherished the broomsticks, but because he looked down on the air force pilots -- the air force planes were military villages as soon as they landed, and their wives and children blew pillows every day. The plane was in their hands, and soon it was shot down and then studied by the Japanese.

"Mr. Colonel," he asked, keeping an eye on the plane until it drove into the hangar and Chennault could not be seen. "Excuse me, is this a fighter?"

Chen Wenlin, a dignitary of the Aviation Commission, had read all the information, and when he saw that it was Chennault who asked, he replied in English, "No, this is an attack plane." ”

"Attack aircraft?" Chennault didn't know why, he had never heard of this model.

"Yes, it can also be used as a fighter jet." It is inconvenient for Chen Wenlin to go into details, but professionals can distinguish between attack aircraft and fighters, and the saboteur looks stable and solid, which is the characteristic of attack aircraft.

"Fighters?" The names of naval aircraft and the Air Force are completely different. The Air Force has only destroyers and bombers, but the Navy seems to have only fighters and attack aircraft. "Can we take a look at the fighters?" Chennault asked.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, they're still on their way." Chen Wenlin could not say that the US Naval Aviation Administration did not allow fighter jets to be exported.

"That's a shame." Chennault said. He had been thinking of a way to deal with Japanese aircraft, but the old Soviet planes could not take on this heavy task, so he pinned his hopes on naval aircraft. "Well, what about the performance of the attack aircraft?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but this involves military secrets." Chen Wenlin was incomprehensible, "I can only tell you that its combat radius cannot reach Chongqing." ”

"Can't reach Chongqing?" Chennault didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, but Zhou Zhirou and others understood, this was telling himself that the naval planes could not threaten Chongqing, and the government did not need to worry.

"What kind of plane is that?" After seeing the plane, Chen Wenlin was about to take people to the office building, but Zhang Yanmeng, the sharp-eyed commander of the first road of the Air Force, saw two large planes parked in Dianchi Lake, and the planes were too big, so he asked.

"Oh," Chen Wenlin looked over, an early warning plane was blocked by a tanker plane, and said disapprerovitously: "Oh, that's a cargo plane, and I'm mainly worried about inconvenient transportation." Let's go to the office building, let's sit down and talk about something. ”

The seaplane was just big, nothing else was surprising, and under the leadership of Chen Wenlin, several people turned back to the office building. I don't want a few people standing in front of the building, it's the provincial chairman Long Yun who is here.

"Chairman Long......" Chen Wenlin looked at Long Yun, and then at Long Shenzeng, and felt that they came a little strangely, because Long Yun had just come once a few days ago, and he suddenly came here today for some reason.

"Haha, Director Zhou and Commander Mao didn't say a word when they came to Kunming, it's really easy for me to find my brother." Long Yun smiled at Chen Wenlin, and then greeted Zhou Zhirou, he was actually here to save the scene - the navy and air force are incompatible, Zhou Zhirou and Mao Bangchu personally brought people to the naval airport, and he, the landlord, was afraid that everyone would make a bad scene.

"How dare we work Chairman Long." Zhou Zhirou smiled and shook hands with Long Yun, and Mao Bangchu also stepped forward to greet him cordially. Although they are the pride of the sky, Kunming is Longyun's territory after all, and the atmosphere is extremely harmonious for a while.

"Brother, I specially prepared thin wine, everyone can enjoy your face and go to Wuhua Mountain to sit." Long Yun said with a smile, he saw that everyone was not unhappy, and he immediately relieved his heart.

"Who dares not to give Chairman Long's face," Zhou Zhirou didn't come to Kunming once or twice, and was very familiar with Long Yun, and after he finished speaking, he falsely pointed at Chen Wenlin and Zeng Yijing, and said: "It's just that my brother has come on official business this time, and he wants to comfort the overseas Chinese volunteer air force on behalf of the national government." ”

Zhou Zhirou smiled like an elder, but Mao Bangchu lit a cigar, except for Long Yun, he didn't take anyone else seriously; Jiang Jianren, who was domineering just now, still had a constipated face, and he didn't have a good face when he saw anyone, and at the end of the team was Chennault, who was still looking at the planes taking off and landing on the runway in the distance, which was another plane.

Everyone was polite, but the poignant air defense siren suddenly sounded, Long Yun and Zhou Zhirou immediately changed color, Mao Bangchu grabbed the cigar in his hand, and wanted to move his steps but didn't know where the air-raid shelter was, Jiang Jian saw that everyone didn't go and didn't go, so he had to look around nervously, Chennault didn't panic, he asked: "Colonel, is this an air raid siren?" ”

The "......" air force has been stationed in Kunming for less than a week, but this is not a false alarm -- the ground-to-air radar has already been installed on the mountain. When Chen Wenlin was not as good as how to explain, the staff officer of the air force ran out and whispered a few words in his ear, and he smiled calmly when he heard the order in Hokkien, "Everyone, this is a false alarm, a false alarm. ”