After considering many factors, Huang Yushan's plan for the modification of carrier-based bombers or carrier-based torpedo planes was overturned.

The gap between theory and practice is once again revealed, and young geniuses must be honed.

Curtis's final plan was to continue to use the P40 fighter line to fully tap the potential. Design a dual-purpose fighter for dive bombers and torpedo bombers.

In World War II, carrier-based aircraft were originally two types of ship-explosive aircraft and ship-attack aircraft, and to put it bluntly, they were dive bombers and torpedo aircraft. The same is true for the United Kingdom, the United States also had these two types of aircraft at the beginning of World War II, but by the end of World War II, there was only one type of aircraft - dive bombing and torpedo bombing.

Curtis originally also had a dive bomber, but when the P40 was transformed, they found that the original SBC-4 bomber was inferior to the modified P40 in terms of bomber function, and there was a gap in speed, bomb load or capacity. The SBC-4 can only carry a 225 kg bomb. Of course, the SBC-4 is an old model, but it is quite common in the United States and Europe.

Curtiss engineers were stimulated to make a bold innovation. As a result, Curtis's design has changed radically. The single-engine scheme was completely abandoned, and the twin-engine scheme was adopted to increase the power of the fighter. The fuselage is still largely made of P40 fuselage parts, with two engines mounted on the wings. The wing area was increased, the fuselage was lengthened, and the fuel tanks were enlarged.

This scheme is undoubtedly more expensive than the current biplane carrier-based torpedo aircraft in the UK, after all, two engines are used. But the surname can not be improved a little bit.

It is said that the carrier-based bomber can only carry one 250-kilogram bomb, while the torpedo machine can carry an 800-kilogram torpedo. When it comes to surname Neng, it is very good among single-engine fighters.

But Curtis has an American mindset – deep pockets. Although there is not much improvement in technology, the powerful power of the two engines can be described as a handsome and ugly. (The use of twin engines on carrier-based aircraft was a feat in the 40s.) ）

What the designers did not expect was that the SBP (Fearless Bomber), a bomber based on the fighter jet and designed and transformed, would become famous throughout World War II. Curtis's SB2C (Historical Dreadnought), another carrier-based bomber in the history of World War II, died before it was born.

In fact, for bombers, the twin-engine bomber being designed is not advanced, and the bomb load is only one ton. But one thing is most important, like the P40, it is produced quickly and cheaply, which makes it extremely commercially successful. Although the bomb load is not large, the maneuverability can be compared with the fighter, and in the subsequent improved models, the powerful firepower and solid fuselage make this dreadnought bomber have a powerful combat function against the enemy at the same time.

For Curtis, although the production of the P40 fighter is high, the price is low, and it has not created a very ideal profit for the company. But this patchwork bomber generated huge profits for the company in World War II. After all, this bomber and the P40 fighter have nearly half of the parts in common, and the engine model is exactly the same. The production costs are low, and the selling price is not very low, so the profit is very considerable.

Digging into the reason, the original design feature of the P40 fighter was that it was strong enough, otherwise the engine was only 1200 horsepower, and the total take-off weight could reach 3810. The famous Zero fighter, with an engine of 1,000 horsepower, has a total take-off weight of less than two tons and four. That is to say, the power difference is two hundred horsepower, and the weight difference is one point and four tons. It is almost as heavy as the Zero itself.

From this data, it can be seen that the failure of the P40 fighter is that it is strong but too bulky, and it is this failure that is really just right when applied to the bomber, and the dive bomber is characterized by its rigidity. It can really be said to be a lost corner of the harvest of mulberry elm.

Of course, this bomber, in World War II, can reach the output of 7,500 units, is not without advantages, because it is only a ton of light bombers, and the power is not smaller than other types of bombers in the two-ton class, so the speed advantage is excellent, the maximum speed of bombers in this era is basically below 500 kilometers, and this bomber, the maximum speed reached 550 kilometers, until the late stage of World War II, there were no other companies' fighters to surpass this bomber. (Historically, Curtiss produced 6,150 SB2C dive bombers, which had good basic parameters, but not good performance.) ）

It is precisely this advantage that in the early days of the Pacific Theater, when the US fighters were not the opponents of the Zero War, the bomber losses were relatively small.

Although the cooperation between Curtis and the Naval Resistance Force is okay, if you want to get this fighter, it will take time, and second, you need an export license from the United States. In short, Li Guang still needs to wait, and he still needs to negotiate with the US political axe.

Due to the battle between Shixiang Island and Chile in March, the fighter squad suffered small results and large losses, and the two leading officers, Yuan Yin and Liu Gensheng, felt that they had lost face. In the months of Li Guang's absence, the two captains began to practice with their lives. The two main contents are grasped quite tightly.

The first is dive bombing (or strafing) of ships, and the second is air combat.

Li Guang had a little leisure, and he would also participate in fighter training, and he also experienced the refreshing feeling of dive bombing. The feeling of swooping is comparable to that of the roller coaster pirate ship in Disneyland, which is quite cool.

The Naval Resistance Force has only one training cruiser, and this cruiser has been in bad luck lately. Several of the existing captains of the Naval Resistance Force are obliged to cooperate with the Air Force in training, and of course they are also trained in their ability to dodge bombs and torpedoes.

The dive bombing used wooden bombs, and even so, it was a shock to hit the battleship, and the taste of being abused was not better.

The confrontation between the captain faction and the flying faction was quite fierce, and in this confrontation, the level of both the ships and the pilots was rapidly improving.

In air combat, Li Guang provided a tactic, the famous Chinese battlefield Chennault's invention of the P40 fighter against the Japanese military fighters. However, now the Chinese army has not yet obtained the P40 fighter, and this tactic should not have been born.

At the same time as fighters were training to dive bombs, and transport planes were training dexterity bombs, torpedoes were also attacking the old cruiser. Of course, training torpedoes were used with uncharged training mines.

This old cruiser, in addition to being abused by bombs, was also hit by training torpedoes every day, and all the captains of the Maritime Resistance Force had to try the abuse every once in a while.

There is no doubt that this kind of training will improve the captain, but even if it is trained with this old warship, the cost is extremely amazing, and Li Guang grinned when he looked at the bill.

Another part of the training is anti-aircraft gun shooting. This also requires the cooperation of a seaplane, which throws a towing target - a rope two or three hundred meters long, and then drags an air bag with a diameter of one meter and ten meters long.

The anti-aircraft gunners practiced shooting with this as the goal. However, the consumption is too large, and the simulation training is the majority.

The training of the Naval Resistance Force is intensive, but every link is very economical. Even so, the consumption made Li Guang feel a little at a loss.

The Air Force, and the Air Force alone, if according to Li Guang's plan, does not include dive bombers, it will need $5 million for equipment and $1 million for spare engines and spare parts. The training cost is only 12 seaplanes, 12 transport planes, and 20 fighter planes, which will cost 100,000 US dollars a month.

In short, by the end of 40 years, Li Guangde will prepare at least $6 million for this air force.

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