"Please send out the air force to obtain air supremacy on the battlefield as quickly as possible, strike at the Japanese artillery positions, troop assembly points, material assembly points, airfields, etc., and assist the army in defense." Chiang Fangzhen left behind the troops of an army and more than 5,000 soldiers of the Marine Corps as the general reserve, and the front-line troops were quite sufficient, but he did not dare to concentrate the forces on the defensive line to the place where they were attacked, the Japanese had too many troops to attack from anywhere, and they had to leave enough troops elsewhere. After receiving the order, the air force liaison officers immediately went to the communications room to send a telegram to the airfields, and the plans for seizing air supremacy and bombing ground targets had already been drawn up, and the air force units were able to take to the air in the shortest possible time.

The air force's performance in China's previous wars was not as eye-catching as that of the army and navy, because the fighters at that time lacked air opponents, the bombers were not very efficient in bombing, they could carry less ammunition, their flight range was short, and their ground attack capability was weak. In front of the navy and the army, the air force, which is a separate army, is somewhat unable to raise its head.

However, after the major rearmament, the Air Force can be described as "completely new", and the quality of the aircraft, the number of pilots, and the quality of pilots have been greatly improved.

The new aircraft allowed the previous pilots to adapt for a long time, experiencing ultra-high flight speeds, ceilings, and developing air combat tactics after becoming proficient with the new aircraft. In terms of tactical aircraft, as in naval aviation, they also use dreadnought dive bombers, but the aircraft factory has made some modifications according to the actual operational requirements of the air force. The Air Force's dreadnought dive bombers have a larger bomb load, longer range, and better armor protection than HNA aircraft, but they fly at a slightly slower speed. In Kagoshima, the Air Force deployed twelve squadrons of dive bombers with a total of 300 Dreadnoughts. The army has 1,900 dreadnought dive bombers, and the number is increasing by 70 every day.

Unlike HNA, the Air Force has a wider variety of aircraft, and in addition to dive bombers, the Air Force also has medium bombers and four-engine long-range bombers. The B-25 medium bomber is widely used in the Air Force and naval aviation, with more than 700 B25s in service with the Air Force and 150 Navy B25J in service with aircraft carriers. This bomber, which has a large bomb load, a maximum range of more than 2,000 kilometers, and is equipped with eight machine guns, has become the main bomber of the Chinese army, and according to the estimates of the Air Force and the Navy, they still need at least 2,000 such aircraft, so the task of the aircraft factory is quite heavy. The Kagoshima Regional Air Force deployed two squadrons of 50 B25 bombers, and another 50 will be transferred from Shanghai three days later to support the front-line fighting.

The Air Force is most proud of the 190 B17 "Flying Fortress" four-engine long-range bombers, and its abundant resources and constantly strong industrial foundation allow China to equip a large number of various types of aircraft, without having to choose between tactical aircraft and strategic aircraft. The biggest feature of the B17 four-engine long-range bomber is that it is sturdy and reliable, equipped with 13 large-caliber machine guns, and is worthy of the name of a flying fortress. This precious strategic force, the Air Force, was prepared to deploy all of its troops there to support the war against Japan after the battlefield on Kyushu Island was stabilized, and now the military airfield on Jeju Island has become the main station of the B17, and its range is fully capable of supporting the bombing of southern Japan. The main manufacturers of Xi'an Aircraft Factory and Shenyang Aircraft Factory have received follow-up orders, and the ambitions of the Air Force are very large, and it is said that some Air Force generals have asked to equip 10,000 B17s!

The design of a more powerful heavy strategic bomber has also been completed, and the first prototype will be tested at the Xining military airfield in a month's time. Before the test flight, the Air Force had already placed an order with the aircraft factory for 150 bombers, which can cruise at an altitude of 10,000 meters and have a maximum range of more than 5,000 kilometers. It is expected to equip the Air Force within a year.

At present, the largest number of fighters in the Air Force are equipped with fighter planes, and most of the old biplanes have withdrawn from the front line, and more pilots have been trained for the Air Force in flight schools, flying clubs, forest protection and fire prevention, and modified pesticide machines. The new fighter entered service in early 1908 and reached its peak in mid-1909 as the line was expanded and matured. In August 1909, 450 fighters entered service in one month, and by the outbreak of the war, a total of 2,650 fighters had been delivered to the Air Force, and it was estimated that the Air Force would need more than 10,000 prototypes and subsequent improved fighters.

The F51 Mustang fighter is praised by the Chinese Air Force as the world's best propeller fighter and the pinnacle of piston propeller fighters. The original time and space are at the same level as the British Spitfire and the German ME109, each with its own characteristics, and the maneuverability is slightly lower than the two, but the gap is not large. Its streamlined, highly concise fuselage greatly reduces aerodynamic drag, and when the size and weight are comparable to similar aircraft, the fuel load is increased by three times, making its range reach more than 1,300 kilometers, which is enough to cover the B17 bomber for the longest range attack. As the main fighter of the Chinese Air Force, the biggest feature of the Mustang is balance, it has the high maneuverability of the Spitfire, and the strong protection of the P47, the production cost is lower than the above two aircraft, simplifying the logistics and transportation procedures, and has the best high-speed cruise performance and high-speed control performance. When the enemy's fighter planes are temporarily unable to threaten the Chinese Air Force, the Air Force can easily gain air supremacy on the battlefield in the face of the enemy's biplane fighters, and bombing local ground targets and strategic targets will become the main task. Instead of a fighter with too much maneuverability and protection, it needed a fighter that accompanied the bomber escort, so the P51 Mustang was the most preferred aircraft for the Air Force.

The engine is the core of an aircraft, and in the Chinese aircraft design community, there is even a habit of designing an engine first and then designing an aircraft according to the engine. China has always been at the top of the world's aero engines, scientists have figured out the limits of piston propeller engines, Britain, France, the United States and other Western countries are still struggling to explore the initial stage of the engine. One of the most important studies of the New York-based Military Research Council is on aero engines, and the technological prowess displayed by China has filled those countries with a sense of urgency and is not in the mood to hide their own scientific and technological prowess. The progress of research is amazing, countless technical difficulties have been broken, and countless new materials have been validated in the laboratory, but it will take at least two years to reach the level of the Second World War.

One of the most important tactical aircraft is the transport aircraft, there are many types of transport aircraft, depending on the use case, but there are two most representative ones. The first is a large transport ship called C47, with a crew of 3 people, which can carry 3 tons of supplies and has a maximum range of 3,200 kilometers. The development of China's civil aviation industry has allowed the Air Force to directly modify from civilian airliners to obtain military transport aircraft, and the C47 transport aircraft prototype of the "Blue Sky 04" passenger aircraft has increased engine horsepower and protection after military modification, and the larger loading capacity allows it to undertake tasks such as material transportation, air assault, carrying paratroopers, and personnel transportation.

However, the C47 is more delicate, and although the large retractable landing gear and high engine arrangement give it the ability to land and take off in harsh conditions in the field, the production cost is high, and no one wants to let it go through gravel and rough terrain in the field. In contrast, the JU52, another transport aircraft with a smaller load, is less sophisticated, and it is a wild child who prefers to survive in the battlefield and harsh field environment. The 1,100 hp engine of the JU52 was so ugly that the transport pilots who had just received the aircraft refused to even board it, only to soon convince the squeamish pilots with their performance. The three-shot JU52 can easily carry two and a half tons of materials into the air and fly about 2,000 kilometers, with a retractable landing gear and a sturdy belly, suitable for rough landing at field airports, and a three-engine station with high horsepower and high safety. Because of the characteristics of JU52's honest and reassuring nature, it got a nickname "Shandong Dahan"!

Advanced aircraft support the skeleton of the Air Force, and countless outstanding pilots have become the flesh and blood of the Air Force. Since the beginning of the Guangdong era, the Chinese military has attached great importance to the training and actual combat training of pilots, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the training of pilots has entered the stage of institutionalization, and the flight schools established by the government account for only a small part of the training system, and most of them still rely on the spontaneous forces of the people. Flying clubs all over the country are the main strength, and the low cost of participation, safe operation and thrilling feeling make the flying club a favorite entertainment for city residents along with shooting clubs and fight clubs. In addition, there are also a large number of pilots in air transportation, pesticide spraying, forest protection and fire fighting. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently 155,000 civilian pilots and more than 2 million flying enthusiasts in China. Judging by the number of pilots, the potential of the Chinese Air Force is terrifying.

Switching from quantity to quality is equally important, and as aircraft become more and more advanced and maneuverable, so are the demands placed on pilots. Of the 4,200 fighter pilots currently on active duty in the Air Force, more than 300 have participated in all wars, and the rest are rookies in actual combat.

The Air Force's way to improve the quality of pilots is to conduct high-intensity training, which ignores fuel consumption, aircraft wear and tear, parts replacement, and ground maintenance, which makes the ground crew tired, makes the military's finances miserable, and makes the residents near the airport angry, and at the same time, the quality of the pilots is rapidly improved. The Chinese army not only has the most advanced aircraft, but also the pilots have the most flight time, which is unmatched by any other country. For example, the gap between Japanese pilots and Chinese pilots is that between strong men and children, strong men also hold automatic rifles, and children hold wooden sticks.

Of course, the Japanese would like to train like this, but they don't have that strong aircraft production capacity, pilot training ability, ground maintenance ability, and parts replacement ability, and they don't have so much valuable aviation fuel for training and squandering.

All of this has created the strength of the Chinese Air Force, and the Chinese Air Force in the Japanese campaign is finally going to show its sword out of the sheath, for the pilots, the nearly 1,000 Japanese planes are the most delicious snacks! (To be continued.) )