Episode 64 Dive Bomber

Xiang Xiaoqiang kept a few subordinates busy, walked out of the command car by himself, stretched his waist, and took out his pocket watch to see that it was already one o'clock at noon. He looked at the sky and suddenly saw that the fog was already light, much lighter than in the morning.

Almost, he thought, the plane should be ready to go into the sky. He turned into the command car and commanded:

"Gensheng, call the high command and ask the Chief of Staff of the Army General Staff Tang if the Army Airlines plane can take off and give us air support."

Li Gensheng called. Xiang Xiaoqiang opened the car door, looked at the sky, and muttered:

"It would be nice to have dive bombers at this time...... If there is, the battle for the defense of Nanjing will be won. ”

It's a pity that not now. The first real ground dive bomber was the Stuka. But it's still in a laboratory in Germany.

"Damn," Xiang Xiaoqiang said hatefully, "Germany has so many good things, you must blackmail Germany fiercely when you have the opportunity, and let them spit out more." ”

There was a sudden "grunt" in his stomach, and Xiang Xiaoqiang only now realized that he and these people in the headquarters had not eaten a grain of rice at noon. When I think about it, the hunger in my stomach seems to wake up, and I can't wait to eat a hot meal right now.

Xiang Xiaoqiang frowned, it was a trivial matter for him to be hungry for a while, and it was not a trivial matter for so many right-hand men in the headquarters to starve together. They must have been hungry too, but if they don't mention eating themselves, they can't say anything.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was about to ask, but saw a military truck driving from Changping East Road, avoiding the cement blocks on the road, and driving into Xinjiekou Square. Stop it. Then a few cooks jumped down, carrying a stack of large cage drawers, steaming.

Immediately after jumping down were two officers in naval uniforms. …… Well, it's still a woman.

It's actually Qiu Yu and Xiuxiu! …… These two Nizi are restless at home, what tricks do they have?

……

In fact, Qiu Yu was worried about Xiang Xiaoqiang. She knew that the place where Xiang Xiaoqiang commanded was also a cannonball, which was really worrying. And now she loves to mix oil in Xiaoqiang's love, and she feels very uncomfortable when she can't see it for a while, so she took the opportunity to deliver food.

Xiuxiu has been very depressed by the identity of "Ryukyu Princess" in the past two days, and she is the focus wherever she goes. She didn't want to show her face again, but when it came to delivering food to her husband, she was unwilling to let Qiu Yun go alone, so she followed her.

The gendarmes guarding under the car hurriedly ran over, helped the cooks take over the cage drawers, and then saluted Qiu Yu and Xiuxiu, calling them "Mrs. Qiu" and "Mrs. Shang", leading them to Xiang Xiaoqiang's side.

Originally, the appearance of two handsome female naval officers here was eye-catching enough, and I heard that it was the commander's wife, and the guards around them all stuck their heads out to look. Everyone has heard that Lord Xiang's two wives are both beautiful women, and now they are feasting their eyes. The GIs watched and whispered to each other:

"Which one is Madame Shang? Which is Mrs. Cho? ”

"That lieutenant is Mrs. Qiu, and that second lieutenant is Mrs. Shang."

"I heard that Mrs. Shang is the princess of the Ryukyus!"

"Tsk, it's a blessing to adults......"

"Why, you're going to read those tabloids...... Madame Shang herself did not admit ......"

"Shh......h You don't know, Mrs. Shang is an illegitimate daughter, of course she doesn't admit it......"

……

In front of everyone's eyes, of course Xiang Xiaoqiang had to pretend and reprimand the two little girls. It's nothing more than "hindering the morale of the army" or something like that. But learning from Xiaoqiang for a long time with the command belt is already very tired. Seeing the appearance of confidantes, my heart is quite comfortable. In addition, they are originally soldiers, and they are also officers in the People's Guard sequence, so it is really nothing to come and deliver meals to everyone.

But Xiang Xiaoqiang is still very cautious, and he has always taken it as a warning for the "broadcastgate" incident that occurred during the training of the Jibu Regiment last time. One of Xiang Xiaoqiang's strengths is one thing, as long as he realizes it, he will never make the same mistake again.

Li Gensheng, Gao Dayi, etc., heard that the two ladies were coming, and they all hurried out to greet them. Although they were all colonel-level officers, they still treated these two little female officers of the rank of lieutenant with great respect and acted like subordinates.

Xiang Xiaoqiang frowned, and drove a few people back to the command car to continue working. Then let the guards set up a table outside, and let Qiuyun and Xiuxiu help with the meal here. Since you're here to deliver food, you have to look like you're delivering food.

Looking at Qiu Qiu, who was trained by himself, and Xiuxiu, who bowed his head to his ears, a trace of macho satisfaction swept through Xiaoqiang's heart. He leaned over, sniffed the cage drawer, and asked:

"It smells so good! What's the send? ”

Qiu Yun smiled:

"It's steamed dumplings!"

Xiuxiu also laughed and said:

"Today is Chinese New Year's Eve, Qiu Yu said, the front-line soldiers have eaten dumplings, and the adults in the headquarters can't eat it, so the two of us sent ......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang now knew that the front-line soldiers were eating dumplings, and he didn't know what was going on when he asked. Qiu Yu immediately smiled and said that it was Xiuxiu's idea. Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but glance at Xiuxiu approvingly, and boasted:

"Well, good show!"

Xiuxiu lowered her head, feeling happy in her heart.

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the smuggling Qiu Xiu and the secretly happy Xiuxiu, smiled slightly, and said:

"Qiuyun, send dumplings to the adults in the command car!"

Qiu Yu immediately agreed happily, and immediately took the lunch box distributed by the cooking soldier and sent it in. Soon, the voices of several senior officers came from the command car, and Qiu Yu laughed and laughed.

Xiuxiu also wanted to help send it in, and smiled at Xiaoqiang:

"Xiuxiu, you stay here."

Xiuxiu was stunned, stood a little timidly, and looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang.

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly and said:

Xiuxiu,...... You are smarter than Qiu Qiu, more beautiful than Qiu Qiu, and more sensible than Qiu Qiu. Qiuyu, I only treat her as a wife. And you, I treat you as both a lady and a helper in my career. You know, you're much more promising than Akiyu. Qiu Yu is straight-eyed, has no scheming, and can't see a lot of problems, so you have to help her more. This, you ...... Do you understand? ”

Xiuxiu's heart was pounding, how could she not understand? She knew that this was Xiang Xiaoqiang gently tapping herself, and all the cleverness she was playing was in his eyes. But Xiuxiu finally heard that Xiang Xiaoqiang personally affirmed that he was more beautiful than Qiuyu, and he felt a little happy in his nervousness.

As for telling Xiaoqiang that she is smart, sensible, and "promising" than Qiuyun, and regards her as a "career helper", Xiuxiu didn't think so. She already knew this, and she already had this confidence. And a girl, saying that she is "smart" and "sensible" is far less beautiful than saying that she is beautiful and makes her happy.

Xiang Xiaoqiang sat down at the table, pulled over a plate of steamed dumplings, praised while eating, looked up and saw Xiuxiu standing aside, and said with a smile:

"You also sit down and eat, why are you so raw! …… Come, I have something to ask you. ”

Xiuxiu agreed, and sat down carefully.

Since hearing that Xiang Xiaoqiang received the edict and grasped unprecedented power, Xiuxiu felt more and more that she had not followed the wrong person at the beginning, but she was more and more in awe of Xiang Xiaoqiang. However, unlike Qiuyu, Xiuxiu not only felt happy, but also felt a little uneasy, and there was a faint worry about unpredictable blessings and misfortunes.

Xiang Xiaoqiang held a steamed dumpling and asked casually while eating:

"Xiuxiu, do you know what Daming has now...... Is it an aircraft suitable for dive bombing at large angles? ”

Xiuxiu nodded:

"Yes, dive bombers."

Xiang Xiaoqiang was almost choked to death by half a dumpling, and it took a big sip of soup to recover, and he looked up and asked in shock:

"Dive bombers? Is there one now? What model? ”

Xiuxiu didn't understand why he was so excited, and was a little surprised, and said:

"Well, it's our navy's planes, it's the bombers on the aircraft carriers. ...... to you, sir."

"That's right!" Xiang Xiaoqiang slapped his head and startled Xiuxiu, but he immediately stood up, turned around twice in place, and kept saying excitedly, "Yes, yes, carrier-based dive bombers!" …… Just thinking about land-based aircraft, how can you forget about carrier-based aircraft! ”

He only remembered now that although there are no dive bombers dedicated to ground attack, there are on aircraft carriers! The bombers on the aircraft carrier were all dive bombers. Because carrier-based bombers mainly attack ships, they can't bomb without dive.

Therefore, carrier-based bombers not only developed earlier, but can also be called real dive bombers, which can easily achieve vertical dives of more than 80 degrees and close to 90 degrees. As for the likes of "Stuka", compared to it, at best, they are only "bombers capable of diving".

Xiang Xiaoqiang sat down again and asked Xiuxiu:

"What model? What about the performance? How many are there? ”

Xiuxiu reported without blinking:

"Osprey carrier-based bomber, 850 horsepower engine, wingspan 12.5 meters, length 9.7 meters, height 4 meters, empty weight 2,760 kg, take-off weight 4,700 kg, maximum horizontal speed 315 kilometers per hour, ceiling 7,872 meters, range 1,210 kilometers, three 7.9 mm machine guns, two forward, one backward, 450 kilograms. …… Well, there are 120 on our four aircraft carriers now, and 60 more in the vault. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't care about the "traditional skills" of the amazing Xiuxiu, and asked directly:

"What do you think of using this 'Osprey' bomber to support land combat?"

Xiuxiu had already vaguely guessed that he wanted to do this, but still hesitated:

"This ...... Xiang, those pilots must not have been trained in ground attack...... Moreover, they are only trained to dodge carrier-based fighters, and if they are to face land-based fighters......"

That's right, Xiang Xiaoqiang understands that carrier-based aircraft must meet the logistics of ship-based take-off and landing, firm and reliable, and low requirements, so all parts are designed to be relatively heavy and solid, and their flexibility and range are not as good as that of land-based aircraft. As far as fighters are concerned, the fighting capabilities of carrier-based aircraft and land-based aircraft are not of the same level.

There will definitely be problems, but Xiang Xiaoqiang thinks it's not a reason not to do it. Carrier-based bombers have not been trained to attack ground attacks, so how can those land-based fighters have been trained to attack dive bombers? How could those Qing troops have ever trained to evade dive bombers? …… Besides, it's not like we don't send fighter jets to escort us.

The benefits will far outweigh the disadvantages.

Xiang Xiaoqiang thought about it briefly again, and thought it was feasible, so he got into the command car, drove Qiu Yu out, and then told several of his officers about this idea.

Several people had mixed reactions, and Gao Dayi thought it was not feasible. But Rommel thought it was well worth a try. He thinks the same as Xiang Xiaoqiang, thinking that this is certainly risky, but if it is feasible, the gain will be too great. It is not an exaggeration to say that we can win the battle to defend Nanjing today.

Li Gensheng is cautiously supportive. After all, he was born in the Army Aviation Commando and also belonged to the Army Aviation, so he knew a little bit about aircraft. He thinks it's okay to try, but don't bet your hopes on it.

At this time, Tang Yunsheng, chief of the army general staff, called back, took the microphone from Xiaoqiang, greeted him very humbly, and then carefully asked if the army could send planes to support ground operations.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while, and he said to ask the commander of the army aviation. Xiang Xiaoqiang prayed quietly, hoping that the old man opposite would not say no.

After a while, Tang Yunsheng came back and said:

"To my lord, it is said that the current visibility is basically satisfying the aircraft battle. But what kind of support do you want? Do you want to use a bomber in a zoo of several square kilometers? ”

"Well, that's not it," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "I wanted to ask if the Army Airlines could send fighter jets to escort the ship." ”

"For whom?"

"For ...... Escort for Hainan Airlines' aircraft. ”

……

Five minutes later, Xiang Xiaoqiang excitedly put down the phone and said to Xiuxiu:

"Are you the main weapon of the Ming Dynasty, and you can memorize the data?"

Xiuxiu faintly showed the excitement of anticipation and said:

"Uh...... There are also foreign ...... But I don't understand ...... if it's too remote."

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded excitedly and said approvingly:

"Okay, you Nizi! Have you practiced it specifically? ”

Xiuxiu nodded, smiling.

Xiang Xiaoqiang remembered that she was on the plane, in a semi-comatose state, reciting all the information of the shell, and thundered down a plane man. Thinking of her Dongchang identity, guessing that she may have received relevant training and was used as some kind of special "weapon"?

Anyway, this "weapon" will be used first! There is a chance to judge her slowly!

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"Okay, you've now been appointed as my temporary advisor. Let's go, come with me to a meeting in the fortress! ”

Half an hour later, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu appeared at the feasibility study meeting urgently held by the Purple Mountain Fortress and the Command.

Originally, Xiang Xiaoqiang was the protagonist of this meeting, but the "Ryukyu Princess" behind him was too eye-catching. Some of the high-ranking generals present attended the ball, and those who did not read the newspapers. When Xiaoqiang was introduced to Xiuxiu as his adjutant, everyone thought that he was bringing showmanship:

Ryukyu princess, how's that? Golden Branches and Jade Leaves, I will call someone to be an adjutant! …… Awesome, right? Pull the wind, right?

However, during the discussion, when the army chief of staff, the commander of the army aviation, the chief of staff of the navy, the commander of the navy and others kept instructing the staff officers to check the information, Xiang Xiaoqiang just asked Xiuxiu lightly, and Xiuxiu reported the corresponding performance data. Those staff officers checked the information for a long time, and repeatedly confirmed that she had a good back.

At this time, those old men realized that Xiang Xiaoqiang brought this girl here, not to "pull the wind". It's really convenient! …… As a result, no one was allowed to check the information at the meeting, and Xiuxiu took on the task of "database", and the efficiency of the meeting was greatly increased.

The people in the headquarters were going to discuss how to use dive bombers to attack the Qing troops in Nanjing. However, from the very beginning, Xiang Xiaoqiang put forward a more ruthless and "desperate" goal: to dispatch more than 100 dive bombers to penetrate deep into the Qing territory and bomb the airfield, targeting the planes parked by the Qing army at the airport.

Then, the second round of all-out attacks on Pukou was aimed at the Qing troops who had massed in large numbers at Pukou and were waiting to cross the river on boats.

In the end, it was the thousands of Qing troops in the city of Nanjing who were cut off from the back road. That's the end of the story.

There was silence for a while. The old men in the room were stunned by the bold idea. A general suddenly asks the question:

"We will have air strikes, and the Qing army will also have air strikes. They have more planes than us, what if they do it? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang replied:

"First, the technical training of our pilots is better than that of the Qing army. Second, our main fighters are better than those of the Qing army. Thirdly, and most importantly, the Qing army did not have aircraft carriers, so there were no carrier-based aircraft, and there were no dive bombers. This dictates that only we can dive bomb with precision, and they can't. ”

Soon the discussion was renewed.

Basically, there are two kinds of objections, one is that Xiang Xiaoqiang has worried that the pilots of carrier-based aircraft have not been trained in ground attack, and the effect is unpredictable. But the rebuttal to this argument is also powerful: we have not trained to attack, and the enemy has not trained to defend. Whether it was anti-aircraft guns or fighter jets, they had never seen hundreds of bombers that swooped down almost vertically.

The second objection is that the four aircraft carriers of the East China Sea Fleet are guarding against Japan. The removal of four aircraft carriers' bombers is equivalent to the removal of four aircraft carriers.

But this reason is relatively weak and can be easily refuted. First, it is very unlikely that Japan will attack the Ming Dynasty now; second, even if the Ming Dynasty was attacked, it would be mainly a decisive battle of the fleet, not an air battle (the opinion of the Artillery Club); Thirdly, even if it is an air battle, the distance between the two sides is close enough, land-based aircraft will do, and aircraft carriers will not be used.

Finally, someone asked:

"So far, we have not had a large-scale air battle with the Qing. This time we are setting a precedent, and in the future, it is very likely that the Qing captives will learn from the example and often send a large number of planes to bomb them, and our planes are not as numerous as the Qing captives. This matter is too big, who is responsible? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang thought for a moment, stood up and said:

"I'll take responsibility."

"Xiao Xiang sits down with you," Marshal Zhang Zhaoxian, chief of the general staff of the General Headquarters, stood up and said, "I will take responsibility." Although the plan was proposed by you, you are not to defend yourself, but to defend Nanjing and the Ming Dynasty. So, I'll take responsibility. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang bowed deeply to Zhang Zhaoxian and sat down.

The order was sent to the East China Sea Fleet. All carrier-based dive bombers were ordered to fly to several airfields near Nanjing to stand by, except for those under repair. There are 175 in total.

Then, the spy network of the Ming air force in the Qing Dynasty was mobilized, and the aircraft were closely collected at all military airports within 200 kilometers north of Nanjing. In the past, the materials and photographs stored in Dongchang and Jinyiwei and the various airports of the Qing army were secretly sent, copied and developed, and prepared to be sent to each pilot.

The Army and HNA are working closely together to develop an action plan. The reason why it was set at a depth of 200 kilometers was to take into account the range of the main fighters of the Ming army. The whole round trip escort, plus the possible dogfight, 200 kilometers is a more suitable distance.

If we are lucky enough to get rid of hundreds of planes of the Qing army this time, we will be able to roughly level the number of existing planes in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In the end, the command adopted the code name given to Xiaoqiang - Man Jianghong.