In the midst of intense production, the time came to the end of April.

At present, both the Military Industry Bureau of the border region and the logistics department of the Eighth Route Army in southeastern Shanxi Province are making every effort to produce mortars and artillery shells of various calibers.

All this is to strive to equip the front-line troops with more support weapons before the next stage of the major battle begins, so as to ensure that there is sufficient artillery support in the operation.

From February of this year to the present, the situation has suddenly become tense.

The first thing to bear the brunt of this is that the book and the north side signed a neutrality treaty for a period of five years. This treaty is different from the previous 39-year armistice agreement, and it is very bad in nature.

The two sides trade things that do not belong to them, and this kind of consistent trick of harming others and benefiting themselves has been strongly protested by both the preserved fruit and the border areas.

After the treaty was established, part of the Kwantung Army of the devils was liberated at once.

Xiao Ri immediately sent the 32nd and 83rd Flying Teams, and the main force of the 3rd Flying Group to support the North China Battlefield.

The enemy further blockaded the coastal areas and at the same time carried out relatively flexible operations on the frontal battlefield. In addition, all kinds of rumors were created, and the offensive deployment of Nakajo Mountain was gradually completed.

The second is that Xiaori is constantly putting pressure on the ugly country, and they are trying to get the other side to lift the embargo. After all, island countries have limited resources, and if they can't buy scrap steel and oil, they will be dragged down sooner or later.

The content of this so-called understanding plan is extremely dirty, and the ugly country betrayed its allies behind the scenes, but the effect is actually no different from Zhang's toilet paper.

From then on, the war gradually entered its most difficult period, and everyone's trust in the north fell to the bottom.

·····

April 30, 1941, the base of the 1st Air Division in the border area.

Today, we are going to conduct an exercise here, which is also a big test for all the flight cadets, and by the way, we will show the bigwigs the combat capability of new weapons.

All this is because the devil launched a tentative attack on the periphery of Nakajo Mountain.

With the 36th Division of the First Army as the main force, Xiaori launched a surprise attack on the 27th Army assembled in the Lingchuan area of southeast Shanxi Province, under the command of division commander Jing Guan Cheng and chief of staff Hua Guzheng.

At the same time, Iwamatsu Yoshio also commanded the 37th and 41st Divisions, and attacked the 15th Army, which had broken away from the main force, in the area south of Yicheng and east of Jiangxian County.

Under the cold of lips and teeth, the Eighth Route Army had to make preparations for response.

From its formation to the present, the 1st Air Division has only been training for a total of five and a half months.

It has only been more than 20 days since the new Hurricane fighter was equipped with the troops, and the pilots can only be said to be familiar with the basic operation of the fighter.

As soon as it became an establishment, it was necessary to go to the battlefield and fight with the devil Lu Hang, which can be said to be quite a big challenge.

At present, there are less than 300 fighters of various types, but fortunately, the simple structure of the Hurricane makes production very easy, so that the second department, which has a complete production line, can also help.

Although this number is increasing every day, there is not much left for the cadets except for the part that the battle heroes and instructors have to use.

The specific pilots who have just graduated will be sent to participate in the battle will depend on today's big assessment and their performance.

Principal Chang personally gave the order to take off, and the first batch of four Hurricane fighters started their piston engines at the same time.

It is worth mentioning that the hurricanes supplied by the system are of the MKIIB type.

It is armed with 12 7.62mm Browning machine guns, which fully illustrate what it means to kill people with more small water pipes, and can even add up to 2 227 kg bombs and 6 rockets.

With a buzzing sound, the propellers of the four fighters began to turn slowly and quickly.

Immediately after that, the pilots controlled their respective fighters, and under the guidance of the ground crew, slowly drove to the runway.

After receiving the signal to depart, the propeller turned faster and faster, and after a while, the optical illusion of visual persistence appeared, which looked as if it was rotating counterclockwise.

The four Hurricanes accelerated to the end of the runway, this time in a live-fire exercise, with all the fighters loaded with weapons under their wings.

The pilots not only had to complete the assigned maneuvers, but also bombed in the air, and even demonstrated new weapons. That is to say, the soldiers have to complete three different project assessments in one sortie mission.

Only those who are fully qualified will get the opportunity to go to war, and it will be a great test for all.

After a few hundred meters of taxiing, four Hurricane fighters rose one after another under the action of Merlin's V12 piston engine.

Although all the fighters are fully loaded with weapons, their movements are not clumsy at all. On the contrary, because of the beautiful aerodynamic shape, the take-off process is full of industrial beauty.

The moment the new fighter took off into the air, it shocked everyone on the ground.

After all, people outside the aviation school, in addition to the director and Huang He, even the desperate war fox and the army morale master were also observing the hurricane at close range for the first time.

The four fighters climbed at a speed of 14.1 m/s, and they had to complete the formation at an altitude of 2,000 meters, and then undergo various maneuver tests.

Before the assessment officially began, the Army Morale Master gently patted Huang He's shoulder. He looked happy and melancholy, as if he had a stomach to say.

"Even though I saw our planes with my own eyes, I still felt incredible that the air force had been established in the border area."

"From being strafed and bombed by the enemy at low altitudes, to now having more than 200 aircraft, it is really a dreamy feeling."

"But when I think of these newly graduated fighters, who are about to participate in fierce battles, I feel very uncomfortable."

For the words of the army morale master, Huang He was not surprised.

On weekdays, this has always been a soldier like a son, and often mingles with the soldiers. He has a strong affinity in the army, and many fighters regard him as their father.

After thinking for a while, Huang He said with a serious face:

"Our troops have grown up step by step in the flames of war. The fighters have better planes, there are serious and responsible instructors, and I am sure that they will not be worse than the enemy. ”

"The victory in this battle must belong to us."

This sentence made the army morale master nod, he knew how hard the training of the aviation school was, and he had confidence in the soldiers under his command.

While the two were talking, the assessment plane had already reached the designated altitude and area, and the comrades on the ground also took out their binoculars and began to observe.

In order to simulate a relatively realistic battle scenario, four Hurricanes formed in twos and one, and they needed to engage in dog fights in the air. Except for the fact that you can't attack with weapons, everything must be on par with actual combat.

The final result is judged by professionals such as President Chang based on a series of criteria.

In the sky, the various maneuvers and offensive and defensive transitions of the four fighters made the people on the ground exclaim again and again.

The fighters not only have solid basic skills, but also cooperate with the captain and wingman very tacitly.

Even the six battle heroes nodded frequently in such a scene, and they were already very satisfied with being able to do this in just five months of training.

After the assessment of dog fighting and maneuvering, it is time to dive and throw bomb training.

Although the Hurricane was originally designed entirely as a fighter jet, its dive performance was good, which is why its later models could be changed to fighter-bombers.

However, because there is no device that can be automatically pulled up when reaching a certain height, it is dangerous when diving and dropping bombs to attack ground units, which tests the pilot's piloting skills.

Soon, four Hurricanes came to the designated attack area.

On the ground there were white circular targets prepared in advance, and the range of each target was a circle of twenty or thirty meters in diameter.

The results of the assessment are determined by the accuracy of the bomb.

After circling in the air for half a circle, the hurricanes began to attack one after another.

They approach and lock onto the target with a steep dive, then release the bomb at low altitude, which continues to fall along the established dive trajectory to hit the target with precision.

Four hurricanes successively dropped a 227-kilogram aerial bomb each, and even one of them used a cannon to show off its pretty good ground-licking skills.

This kind of operation is allowed, and President Chang informed all the graduates before the start of the assessment that they can show all their skills.

It's just that if you make a mistake, you will not only have to deduct points, but also retake the higher education machine course.

The bombs flew exactly at their respective targets, and with the swinging pylons, they all hit the target in a matter of seconds.

Soon the ground was blasted with flowers, and it looked spectacular.

The fire, smoke, and ground tremors caused by the explosion all indicate that the attack was very damaging.

The pilots who were assessed and the people on the ground breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, when Huang He introduced the dive attack before, he also specifically mentioned the mistakes of thirteen Stuka planes, and no one wanted to see their own valuable pilots lost in a test.

After throwing the bomb, the assessment is not over. The four Hurricanes are back in altitude and will be on their way to their final assessment event.

At the same time, everyone except the aviation school looked at the Yellow River, and everyone's eyes were full of puzzlement.

In everyone's cognition, what can be assessed is nothing more than maneuvering and dog fighting, machine guns and aerial bombs. Both of these projects are over, and they really can't think of anything new.

Only the chief of the crowd looked thoughtful, and he seemed to have thought of a word that Huang He had mentioned before.

At this moment, a curious Hunan mouth sounded.

"It seems that Comrade Huang He has prepared a surprise for us again, let's not discuss it, let's read the next assessment with peace of mind!"

With the Lord speaking, everyone stopped talking. Only the director quietly walked to the side of Huang He, and he gently pushed the other party's ribs with his elbow and said:

"Are you kid hanging, why are you researching new weapons so fast? If I'm a doctor, I'm going to cut your brain open. ”

"You are all Chinese, you are different from others." The first section of your Weapons Experiment and Research Bureau is really surprising. ”

After hearing the word "hanging", Huang He almost flashed his waist. After the director has been in contact with him for a long time, he always likes to learn some words that he said unintentionally, and he has a fight with Li Yunlong.

"What's the hanging, it's all a series of weapons. As soon as one study is understood, the rest will be bypassed. ”

"Watch and study hard, the next project is very exciting."

During the conversation between the two, four hurricanes had already reached the sky above the target area.

Since this time was not only an assessment, but also the purpose of showing the power of the new weapon to the bigwigs, Huang He specially asked Principal Chang to prepare a few steel plates.

They are about the same thickness as the Devil's Type 95 Light Tank, and are used to simulate enemy armored units. For actual combat effect, these targets are about the size of the enemy's light tank.

But from a kilometer in the sky, it is a small green dot that even blends in with its surroundings.

Moments later, four Hurricanes began to move in turn. The first one began to hover the descent altitude, while also preparing for the launch.

The observers on the ground stared intently at the fighter plane, only to see that the assessment target began to dive at a small angle, quickly approaching the steel plate.

Suddenly, a flash of fire flashed under the wings of the hurricane. An aviation rocket rushed towards the target with a tail flame, and a sea of fire instantly rose on the ground.

This unexpected attack made the crowd on the ground resound with the local dialect.

As the saying goes, if the rocket hits well, the visual effect is absolutely extraordinary, and it is much more ornamental than the dive bomb.

Even Stuka's Jericho horn is not as powerful as long-range strikes.

Although everyone has heard of the name of aviation rockets, the first time this weapon has appeared in their own air force, the shock it brings is definitely not light.

When the 40's fire was first developed, the army morale master had fired a few shots on the shooting range, and from that day he had a strong interest in this weapon.

"Little Yellow! Is this an upgraded version of a bazooka? It's too powerful, isn't it? With this thing, the means of killing of ground units by fighters have changed dramatically. ”

"Come on, come on, you can introduce us quickly."

Looking at everyone's expectant eyes, Huang He stepped forward and began to say:

"The code name of this aviation rocket is Type 41-1, and I haven't decided on the specific name yet. It is an imitation of the 82mm aviation rocket of the North Side, which is currently only available in a high-explosive version. ”

"But if you fight devils, high-explosive shells are enough for most occasions. He can not only strike at ground units, but also attack enemy aircraft, but it is a test of the pilot's skills. ”

"At present, we are developing a larger caliber 132mm version, which is expected to be ready for the troops this year."

There were people from the north who helped the Yellow River step on the pit, and the First Section of the Weapons Experiment and Research Bureau directly skipped the two design schemes of rifled gun spin and annular tail stabilizer.

Directly in one step, with a dart-shaped tail wing for better stability.

The wingspan of the tail can neither be too large nor too small, if it is too large, the center of gravity of the entire rocket will be shifted back, which will affect stability. If it is too small, its ability to stabilize the rocket will also be drastically reduced.

Affected by the level of materials, the 41-1 type made by the Yellow River uses a 200 mm tail fin.

"Good! What a weapon! With this aviation rocket! I have more confidence in supporting Mt. Nakajo! ”

"Although we have new infantry weapons, in the end we are only catching up with the devils. It's good now! We finally have the equipment we didn't have for a little day! ”

"Rejoice! Rejoice! ”

Comrades, give the Type 41-1 aviation rocket a name

(End of chapter)