"Very well, Louie, and finally we have a sideways dive bombardment. ”

The flight instructor's instructions came from behind him, and after Louis determined the current altitude and speed, he adjusted the control stick to turn the plane sideways, and after the wings were at a ninety degree angle to the ground, he stepped on the pedal to adjust the direction, and gradually changed from level flight to almost vertical rushing to the ground.

"Pay attention to speed and altitude. ”

The sound of a reminder came from behind him at the right time, and Louis looked at the sight from time to time to make sure that he was always locked onto the target, and he could only slightly adjust the direction to ensure that the target did not get out of his 'lock', and he also paid attention to the instructor's prompt voice from time to time behind him: "Three thousand feet!"

When the signal "1,800 feet (about 548 meters)" came from behind him, Louis immediately began to drop the bomb and pulled up the plane from a dive state to horizontal flight.

"Very good!" The instructor looked back at where the training bomb fell: "Congratulations on hitting the target and you can return." ”

"Yes, instructor!"

Louis re-ascended from a low altitude and operated the biplane dive bomber, drawing an arc in the air and flying towards the landing site.

At this time, the entire assessment was basically over, and the instructor behind him was even in the mood to chat with Louie about trivial matters: "Do you know? Louie, after teaching students like you, I'm afraid I can't stand those stupid people anymore." ”

"Instructor, I just spent more time studying. ”

"You're right, you're spending more time studying than they do...... However, those who are far inferior to you are using those hours to drink and play cards. The instructor's voice behind him seemed to be depressed: "If they are willing to spend a little more time, how can it be difficult to even graduate?"

In the midst of the instructor's complaints, Louis parked the plane steadily, climbed out of the cockpit of the plane with the instructor, and returned to the instructor on the ground, writing something on the board with a pen.

"You've done all the training and passed the exams, or you're going to be out of here soon. The instructor patted Louis on the shoulder, such worry-free and excellent students are actually rare, maybe not one in several batches: "Congratulations, although you didn't catch up with the course adjustment, you will soon become an active second lieutenant pilot." ”

In October 1939, Congress and the Navy made changes to the training curriculum: the curriculum was streamlined and the cumulative flight hours were reduced from 300 to 200 hours.

If Louis had come later and had finished the theory course just in time for the condensed version of the flight course, he would not have had to go through five squadrons of training: the new course was reduced to three, and in the end he did not need to produce all-round pilots capable of flying three types of aircraft (fighter, torpedo, dive bomber) as in the old course, but chose one of them to learn.

It's a pity that at the time of the adjustment, Louie had already begun to learn flying courses, and the base did not think that it was a good thing to change the course temporarily, so Louie's group of students was the last batch of graduates to complete the flight course according to the old curriculum.

"I've had a great time here. Louis did not feel that he was unlucky, on the contrary, he felt that it was his own luck, and the sufficient training time allowed him to accumulate more flying knowledge, familiarize himself with various types of aircraft, and also provide a basis for him to board aircraft carriers and fly other types of aircraft in the future.

The biggest benefit for Louis is that all flight cadets who currently graduate from Pensacola will receive the status of ensign in the active navy.

This identity is the reason why Louis signed up and trained for almost two and a half years, and there is a hidden benefit in addition to this.

Prior to the introduction of this streamlined curriculum, Pensacola had trained pilots to be 'all-round pilots', meaning that these pilots could fly all types of aircraft currently owned by the Navy, and their positions were not determined by themselves, but were assigned by the Naval Personnel Department after graduation.

There is a great deal of uncertainty involved, and it is even possible that they will be assigned to fly land-based aircraft at an island base.

After the course has been adjusted, because the trainees independently choose the type of aircraft they want to learn, the Navy Personnel Bureau must take into account the flying skills mastered by these pilots when assigning them, so as to ensure that carrier-based torpedo pilots will not be sent to a certain base to fly bombers.

Because of this situation, Louie could not be sure which unit he would serve, but he could be sure that he would not be assigned to fly torpedo planes.

It's not that he looks down on torpedo planes, it's that torpedo pilots are too difficult to do, especially the American torpedo pilots in the early days of the war. That's not going to war, it's simply going to die!

At the beginning of the war, the casualties of American torpedo planes were very heavy, almost flying out and dying, and only a few people were able to successfully return.

And this heavy casualty was rewarded with zero results: no results.

Even Louie, who didn't know much about military affairs, had heard of how powerful American torpedoes were during World War II: they refused to explode even if they were hit head-on.

In addition to the famous iron rod, it is related to the way the torpedo machine itself fought. Even if he didn't understand the torpedo problem, he still wouldn't choose a torpedo machine.

The torpedo machine had to rush straight to the target at a low altitude and at a low speed close to a stall, and the gunner on the opposite side even had time to light a cigarette to catch his breath before aiming at the live targets and shooting them down.

In comparison, it is much safer for a dive bomber to rush straight down from a high altitude, because the angle of attack chosen by the dive bomber is a dead angle for many air defense weapons, unlike a torpedo machine that can almost be attacked by all kinds of protective fire.

Moreover, he remembered that the air defense capability of Japanese warships during World War II had always been criticized? Perhaps it was precisely because of these factors that the dive bombers in the Pacific theater achieved so many amazing results.

In short, Louis could be sure that he would become a dive bomber pilot, and after completing all his training and successfully graduating, he would stay at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola and wait for the assignment of the Naval Personnel Directorate before he knew which unit he was going to serve.

Because of his excellent grades, and the fact that many instructors here admired Louie, they all knew that Louie's first choice was to board an aircraft carrier.

The first choice was Enterprise, followed by Yorktown and Bumblebee. I learned about these things from Louis himself during the usual conversations. Some people are curious to know why these aircraft carriers were chosen? Louis said, "I want to serve on these 'advanced' aircraft carriers." And he got past these questions.

Maybe it was the good relationship between Louie and the instructors that really worked, or maybe it was the Seal of the Brave that exerted mysterious powers? In short, Louie was successfully assigned to the USS Enterprise and joined the 6th Bomber Squadron as a dive bomber pilot.

"Congratulations, Second Lieutenant Hunt! You are now a glorious United States Navy pilot!"

New uniforms, papers, and assignments were delivered to Louie, and he could no longer stay in Pensacola, but had to go to the San Diego Naval Base on the West Coast on his own, and then sail to Pearl Harbor, where he boarded the Enterprise, where he was to be served.

Of course, the Navy was not going to let Louis cross the whole of North America out of his own pocket. He said he was going on his own, but in fact the military would provide Louis with various conveniences, such as the fact that he could take any military transportation to the San Diego Naval Base without spending a penny.

Even so, the journey was not comfortable, whether it was a train or a plane in this era, it was a painful torture, and when he arrived at the San Diego Military Port, the person in charge did not give Louis any time to rest, and immediately arranged for him to board a destroyer that was about to go to Pearl Harbor, and 'piggybacked' him along the way.

This rush is much more tossing than when he and Elena traveled around the world, if it weren't for his strong physical fitness, it would be difficult for ordinary people to recover in two or three days.

When he arrived at Pearl Harbor, Louis knew why the San Diego Naval Base was in a hurry to send him over, because the Enterprise would soon enter Pearl Harbor for rest, and as long as he arrived at Pearl Harbor as scheduled, he would not need to be on standby at the Pearl Harbor base at all, and he could directly board the USS Enterprise and officially start service.

Upon his arrival at Pearl Harbor, he quickly met with his boss, Richard Halsey Best, Deputy Captain of the 6th Bomber Squadron of the USS Enterprise.

"My name is Dick Best, and I'm the deputy leader of the 6th Bombardment Squadron, which is your immediate commander, and welcome aboard the Enterprise, rookie. ”

Dick Best gives people a tugging feeling, even if they say welcome, but they give people the feeling of looking down on you, simply put, this person does not make a good first impression on Louie.

"It's a pleasure to be on board the Enterprise, sir. ”

Dick Best nodded, and the words that came out of his mouth were still not very pleasant: "For the next period of time, you will serve as my wingman, let me see if you are qualified to join the Sixth Bombardment Squadron." ”

"I promise not to disappoint you, sir. ”

Under Dick Best's leadership, Louis officially boarded the Enterprise and joined the 6th Bomber Squadron, which happened to be in August 1940, when the Enterprise had just returned to Pearl Harbor to recuperate, and most of the officers and men on board were on vacation.

At the same time, there will be some personnel changes on the Enterprise, which is why Deputy Squadron Leader Dick Best will be in charge of greeting Louie, and the commander of the 6th Flying Formation will be changed.

However, those transfers have nothing to do with Dick Best, who has already confirmed that he will not be promoted to squadron leader, and Louis feels that this is the reason why Dick's vice-captain is in a bad mood.

And the day after completing all kinds of formalities, Deputy Captain Dick suddenly found Louie, who was resting in the base: "Rookie, are you interested in flying a dreadnought? You shouldn't have touched this new model yet!"