The Type 36 fighter now occupies half of the fighter units of the Daming Air Force, and it is a medium-sized fighter with a single wing and an all-metal fuselage produced by Changyang Aircraft Company.

The theory of air warfare in this era was still being explored, and the Ming army was no exception.

The traditional tactics of "close-quarters grappling" or the "dive-pull-up" energy tactics? The two factions in the Air Force have their own opinions, and neither can convince the other.

Tactics determine weapons, and the quality of the latter actually depends mainly on whether it fits with the former.

When the tender documents were issued in the 34th year of Zhichang, even though the two factions were arguing, some conservatives were in high positions, so the technical indicators finally released by the Air Force to the major government-run and private aircraft companies still focused on traditional grappling tactics.

At that time, the Air Force required it to achieve the performance of "climbing to an altitude of 3,000 meters in four minutes, and at the same time the level flight speed at this altitude is not less than 450 km/h", while "making it as easy to maintain as possible".

The prototype of the Type 36 fighter gave up a certain amount of protection in order to achieve such technical indicators, only a 4mm case-hardened armor steel plate behind the pilot's seat was used as protection, and no self-sealing fuel tank was applied.

The production model was largely identical to the prototype, and pilots praised its nimble maneuverability, saying that flying it was a wonderful pleasure, and that it was extremely clever and did what it wanted.

But correspondingly, there are also many "cowardly" pilots who express concern, believing that their protection is too weak, and even inferior to the old biplane - there are 4mm steel plates behind the seats and on both sides.

"Fortunately", the report of the military expedition to Spain later became a strong argument for the reformists in the Air Force.

After some games and arguments, a series of adjustments, including formation tactics, were carried out - the original three-plane formation was reduced to a more flexible two-plane formation, and the training of energy tactics was strengthened.

If there is an innovation in the guiding ideology, weapons and equipment will naturally have to change accordingly.

As a result, the Type 36 fighter, which focused on grappling performance in its initial design, seems to be eliminated not long after its birth?

Changyang Aircraft Company was naturally not happy - they were preparing for the Air Force to continue to place orders with them, so they reorganized the production line early to expand production capacity.

Therefore, Changyang Company is reasonable, trustworthy, and packaged, claiming that improvements on the basis of the Type 36 fighter can also meet the new technical indicators.

After doing everything possible, they finally reluctantly made the Ming Air Force change their minds.

The Type 36 fighter was unveiled at the beginning of this year, and the design team made considerable improvements both inside and out, significantly increasing the structural strength of the whole aircraft, and applying more new technologies - switching to a three-bladed metal variable-distance propeller, retractable landing gear, reflex sights, and a first-stage two-speed supercharger.

At the same time, 6mm case-hardened armor plates were used behind the pilot's seat, and 4mm steel plates were added on both sides.

The engine is powered by a 950 hp nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, which allows it to reach a maximum level flight speed of 480 km/h at an altitude of 4,000 m, even if the weight is increased considerably.

As far as the overall performance is concerned, the Type 36 fighter B, which has been overhauled in the middle of the way, cannot be better than the fighter that has been redesigned and redesigned in any case.

However, considering the production and cost, the Air Force finally embraced it.

Otherwise, the first flight of the new aircraft to finalization and then mass production may have to wait until the year after tomorrow, but time waits for no one.

Thanks to this, in just half a year, the Type 36 B delivered by Changyang Aircraft Company has allowed several detachments to complete part of the refitting.

The 11th Destroyer Detachment, which was stationed in Fuzhou and guarded the airspace of northern Xinjiang, was one of them.

"Again, don't lose your breath! Keep in formation, turn around, say you, close the margin! The major who led the team said loudly.

The fighter numbered 1147 hurriedly moved its tail slightly, yaw slightly and clinged to the formation.

And it was none other than Zhao Xuwu, who had returned to the team not long ago.

After miraculously returning, he was treated like a hero in the first two days, which can be described as a lot of attention, and even the Cultural and Entertainment Department (Officers and Soldiers Club) gave him a free order, and he was allowed to eat delicious food and wine.

But now when he comes out again, some ridicule from his comrades-in-arms is inevitable.

So Zhao Xuwu pondered that he had to show his skills this time to prove that he was injured last time and had to parachute purely because of bad luck.

In order to achieve the tactical goal, the staff officers of the front command of the Air Force planned a well-planned operation with the intention of delivering another severe blow to the Russian Air Force.

But... How can we prevent the enemy from avoiding the battle?

The 7th Bomber Detachment was the main force with only half of the bombs on board, and was responsible for luring the enemy; A detachment of the 11th destroyer detachment escorted them.

Since one bomber could not take off due to a mechanical failure, the formation actually consisted of 15 bombers and 4 fighters.

They pretended to be decent, and they went to bomb one of the Russian air force airfields with such a swagger.

At the same time, 16 fighters of the 4th Squadron of the 11th Destroyer Detachment followed behind them, taking cover with the help of clouds.

In this way, the Russians, most likely, because they could not stand the "contempt", organized fighter take-off to intercept it.

If you choose to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, then the airport will have to be bombed again.

The sun rises in the east, and the warm autumn sun spreads on people, which is particularly warm and pleasant.

But the pilots in the cockpit didn't care, because the engine was hot enough to keep the cockpit warm.

The two formations, one in front and one behind, and one in the other, turned to fly in the direction of due north, and then turned to the direction of due west.

In this way, the rising sun in the east is behind the fighter formations in ambush of the Ming army, and the thousands of rays of light and clouds will provide them with excellent cover.

At 7:49 a.m., 92km east of Irkutsk at an altitude of 4000m.

Looking out from the cockpit, the deep blue "sea" in the distance on the left is actually the Beihai Lake, where the white clouds and blue sky meet the water, and the sky is vast.

It is no exaggeration to say that the beautiful scenery here is one of the best even in the north and south of the river, and even though the pilots of the 11th Destroyer Detachment have often seen it during training in the past, they never get tired of seeing it.

How could such a tranquil and beautiful scenery allow the enemy to be defiled?

It is human instinct to protect good things, and it is a duty to defend the firmament of the motherland.

At this time, the Ming army aircraft group crossed the center line of Beihai Lake and officially flew over the airspace.

The commander of the formation sent a telegram back to the forward command: "At 7:51 a.m., the headquarters crossed the line one after another and penetrated deep into the enemy's airspace. The clouds are thick and in good condition."

The formation of bombers acting as decoys in front was at an altitude of three thousand meters, about a few hundred meters below the clouds.

Just a few tens of seconds later, the patrols and air defense observation posts deployed by the Russian army on the border line spotted these menacing Ming bombers.

"Buzz buzz—"

At the Irkutsk-1 airfield, the piercing air defense sirens suddenly sounded, and the officers, who received the early warning report, hurried to the headquarters.

Although it was already three days old, some of the Russian pilots were still sleeping in their rooms, some were participating in briefings in conference rooms, and some were having breakfast in the dining room.

Hearing the air raid siren, they reacted immediately after a brief period of surprise, and one after another rushed towards the runway.

"The observation post reports that they have about fourteen to eighteen twin-engine bombers and four fighters."

"Is there only four fighters to escort it? Why are they so bold?! ”

"Lieutenant Colonel, maybe it's our negative response these days that has made them let their guard down......"

"That's just gathering strength, and they think they've completely defeated us? These Khitans must be taught a lesson! ”

The officers in the war room were all excited without exception - they had been pressed and beaten for days, and this time they must use their fists and kicks well!

"Yes, Commander!" They shouted in unison, then turned around and ran to the runway as they assembled the pilots on standby.

Because it was an emergency lift-off operation, many of the Russian pilots were disheveled.

The treatment of the "air knights" is naturally extraordinary, and many of them still wear scarves, because they have been eating Russian Bollinger bread leisurely.

In contrast, some even wear pajamas. Lieutenant Mikhail was even more unique, because he was used to taking a shower in the morning, so he had just rushed out of the bathroom, wearing only pants on his lower body and a bath towel on his upper body.

He muttered as he climbed into the cockpit: "Why didn't (Ming fighters) move around to suppress us for the past two days?" ”

The ground crews had already warmed up the fighters, they put their hands on the propellers, pulled down sharply, and then quickly took a few steps back, and the propellers spun rapidly.

Later, one after another Yi-16 fighters quickly took off and circled in the sky waiting for formation......

Due to the lack of early warning time, when the formation of Russian fighters going to intercept climbed to an altitude of 3,000 meters, the Ming army's aircraft group had already flown close enough to be able to visually see the runway of the airport in the distance.

Fighters usually attack bombers from behind, either by diving down to attack the wing engines from above, or by taking out the tail self-defense turret from the bottom up.

However, because they were too hasty, the Russian pilots had no choice but to attack head-on.

This makes their attack window very short - the two sides fly face to face, and the range of a few hundred meters passes in one fell swoop.

"Wow-"

The new ShKAS 7.62mm aviation machine gun has a theoretical rate of fire of up to 1,800 rounds per minute, and the shots are no longer clearly spaced, but become strange noises that are mixed together.

As the long plane fired, the two wingmen on the left and right also opened fire, and the red-hot bullets mixed with tracer bullets were pumped head-on like fire whips towards the Ming bombers flying smoothly.

The latter maintained maximum calm, which is also an essential quality for a bomber pilot - no matter what, you must not panic, you must unite to fend off the fighter, and a bomber who fights alone is meat on the chopping block!

More than 20 Russian fighters were divided into eight traditional three-plane formations, and after firing one after another, they quickly pulled up and swept over the oncoming Ming planes.

Immediately afterward, they began to turn around, intending to continue the tailgating attack, and one plane after another drew a graceful arc in the sky.

The I-16s, who were part of the 107th Fighter Regiment, wore a paint suit commonly used by air units in the Far East, dark green on the top and blue-gray on the bottom.

In this way, it is easy to confuse them with the ground when looking down from the sky; Vice versa.

"Da-da-da-"

The bomber machine gunners also operated the 32 12.8mm aviation machine gun to fire fiercely at the incoming Russian fighters!

Historically, the Heavy's death rate in the tail turret was extremely high, as fighters often preferred to take them out first so they could attack their engines with peace of mind.

"Boom!"

The crackling sound and cacophony of crumbling were terrifying, and the heavy on the tail of the bomber, numbered 711, looked in horror at the scarred, white-cracked bulletproof glass in front of him—it had blocked at least ten bullets.

However, as soon as he came back to his senses, an I-16 followed by also came close to shoot, and hundreds of 7.62×54mm machine gun rounds were poured out in just a few seconds!

Seven or eight of these bullets finally broke the camel's back, and the machine gunner pulled the trigger and opened fire, which was immediately knocked down by the bullet-proof glass bullets.

At this time, from the perspective of the fighter formation located in the sky behind, the formation of more than ten bombers was very close, and the self-defense machine guns opened fire fiercely, intertwining into a fire net.

"Team leader, team leader! The six left of the crutch started the fire! The left hair is on fire! ”

"Turn off the oil valve! Close the oil valve...... Turning hole two, turning hole two, slow down, you're about to rush out of formation! ”

"! Where's the destroyer?! ”

"The dog is still watching the show, and when Lao Tzu goes back, he picks their skins!"

It's okay to act as bait, but what about the trust between colleagues?!

At this moment, the commander of the fighter formation finally calmly gave the order.

"Cave 3, Cave 4, you two take the lead. Fifteen seconds later, the left yaw was thirty degrees in preparation for the attack. Each machine prepares. ”

"Three orders in the cave!"

After a long time of coming out, after watching from the wall for so long, the fighter formation is finally about to attack.

This so-called "praying mantis catches cicadas, yellow finches are behind" also.

Aircraft No. 1103, located in front of the left side of the formation, launched a dive attack sideways on time, and its wingman No. 1104 also made the same maneuver with great tacit understanding, almost identical.

Then came the other fighters, two after the other......

Although Tsarist Russia does not have the saying that "the left eye jumps for fortune and the right eye jumps for disaster", Lieutenant Mikhail's right eyelid has jumped several times since he took off.

At this moment, he rubbed his eyes and shook his head, only to see something strange from the diagonal back.

Shocked, he only felt that his soul had flown - God, I finally know why I was so restless today!

Since there was no on-board radio, he could only ignore the front shooting of 3721 and open fire, hoping to attract the attention of others.

The pilots were a little confused, and subconsciously looked back, thinking that some overly nervous fool accidentally pressed the shooting button.

But then they ......

【It was that moment that he knew，he fucked up.】

But they found out too late, and by this point, everything was sealed.

Several dazzling whips of fire descended from above, as if lightning had struck an airplane.

The 12.8mm large-caliber machine gun bullet fired by the Type 32 aviation machine gun was much more powerful than the 7.62mm bullet, and Lieutenant Mikhail saw that an I-16 in front of him on the left almost disintegrated in the air, and fragments were scattered everywhere!

(End of chapter)