Volume 1 Chapter 57: The Grand Aviation Fleet Sets Off for England

  Since the sorties on September 16 and 17, the 55th Squadron led by Ryuusei has not received any combat missions. During the idle days, the mechanics have completed the modification of all Hurricanes, which were originally equipped with 8 machine guns, into a fire-breathing monster equipped with 2 head machine guns and 4 wing machine guns. After test flights, pilots liked this powerful fighter plane, but the aircraft's ammunition capacity has decreased, so they need to be careful not to make long bursts of fire.

  Although not dispatched, Liu Zesheng still led the pilots to insist on training every day. Why not take advantage of the British fuel and ammunition? Even the person in charge of the airport, Major Pike, was convinced by the Chinese people's rigorous attitude, and once again used his internal connections to supplement the 55th squadron with several new Spitfire fighter jets. It is worth knowing that this type of fighter jet is a hot commodity, and if Major Pike were not the son of General Park, commander of the 11th Fighter Squadron, he would have had difficulty obtaining these resources.

  Of course, today is not a task to be used, today, that is, September 20. Liu Zhaosheng and Guo Taiqi, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, rushed to the airport together to prepare for the arrival of the second batch of Chinese aid to the UK aviation team members. The second batch has more than 60 pilots and more than 200 ground crew members who will arrive at the airport today.

  In the distance, Liu Zhe Sheng and Guo Tai Qi saw a convoy heading towards the airport and quickly called out all the Chinese people to prepare to welcome their compatriots.

  With a screech, the motorcade stopped in front of the auditorium. Two people jumped down from the lead jeep, and Liu Zhesong saw that they were none other than Huang Xinrui and Xu Huan-sheng, who had originally belonged to the Fourth Flying Regiment. These two men were celebrities among pilots, with Huang Xinrui being a returned overseas Chinese who had previously served as the commander of the Fifth Squadron, while Xu Huansheng was a hero of paper bombing who had previously served as the commander of the Twelfth Squadron. These two key personnel had also been sent to Britain by He Junci, in the hope that they would experience large-scale air battles.

  "Captain Huang, Captain Xu, you've worked hard!" Liu Zhe Sheng was the first to walk up and tightly hugged his two comrades. They all belonged to the Fourth Flying Squadron and had established a deep friendship.

  "It's really tough on this road, you don't know, that week at sea. This bombing hero actually threw up a mess." Huang Xinrui pointed at Xu Huan and joked. He was originally an overseas Chinese, naturally accustomed to life at sea, and driving a fighter plane was much more demanding on the body than a warship. He just didn't expect that a bomber pilot would get seasick, and so thoroughly at that.

  "Alas, let's not talk about it. I've been vomiting even my gallbladder water all the way here. As a northerner, the only time I took a boat was at Nanjing's Xuanwu Lake, and that's where I experienced such a grand scene." No wonder Xu Huan Sheng now has a pale face.

  "Haha, it seems you can only choose to go back by plane or land. Come on, let me introduce our ambassador to the two of you." Liu Zhe-sheng introduced Guo Tai-qi, who was wearing a suit and glasses behind him, to his two comrades.

  "Welcome, everyone, to the UK!" Ambassador Guo, with a Confucian demeanor, stretched out his hands and said to the crowd who had already gotten off the bus. The rest of the staff hastily led these people, who had been rushing about for over a week, into the reception hall, where a welcoming banquet was prepared for them.

  "What arrangements will the Royal Air Force make for us?" Huang Xinrui asked Major Pack, the airport commander.

  "You will form a fighter squadron - the 56th Squadron and a night fighter squadron - the 57th Squadron. This period is mainly to deal with the air raids of the German Air Force." Major Pike waved his hand, in fact he hoped that his airport had a bomber squadron, so as to have offensive power and accumulate military merit, not always relying on his father's relationship.

  "What about the equipment? Can it also be equipped with the 55th squadron's Flame?" Huang Xinrui had seen the neatly parked Flame on both sides of the runway when he got off the car, and his heart was full of envy. It turned out that Huang Xinrui drove a modified I-16 in the fifth large team, this fighter even had an open cockpit.

  "Oh, brother. I don't dare guarantee that. You know the aircraft factory was bombed recently and production has decreased. If it weren't for American aid, things would be even worse. And the manufacturing process of Spitfires is very complicated. As for Hurricanes, I can get some. The 55 Squadron's Spitfire was only obtained through my internal connections." Major Pike felt a headache about the aircraft situation despite being happy to see so many pilots at the airport.

  "Hurricane, this plane is okay for dealing with bombers, but not so great for dealing with German air force fighters. What about the equipment of our night fighter squadron?" Xu Huan Sheng was originally a bomber pilot, now in Britain to switch to flying night fighters, so he was even more concerned about the planes he would be equipped with.

  "The night fighter squadron is settled, the Fighter Command has allocated 25 night fighters to our airport in advance. You will be equipped with 'Handsome Warrior' heavy fighter, a new product of Bristol company, I believe you will like it." Major Pike felt quite proud that he could settle a night fighter squadron.

  "By the way, when I was on a mission, I saw several strange fighter planes with Royal Air Force markings, but they were clearly not Spitfires or Hurricanes. What were they?" Liu Zesheng asked, having nearly mistaken them for friendly aircraft several times. "They looked a bit like the Hawks we used to fly, but the nose was different."

  "Oh, I know the one you're talking about. That's the American-made P-40 fighter plane, also known as the Hawk, which is an upgraded version of the P-36. I remember you telling me that you used to fly the Hawk 75, which was the export version of the P-36 for the US, so it must feel quite similar.

  Major Pike was familiar with various models of fighter planes due to his father's influence, but he couldn't become a pilot himself because of his nearsightedness. "The Americans provided us with a batch of these planes after the war began, which we called the Tomahawk. However, the Royal Air Force wasn't satisfied with its firepower, as it was only equipped with two machine guns in the nose and two on the wings, far inferior to the Spitfire and Hurricane."

  "How is this plane's performance?" He heard it was a fighter jet produced by the familiar Curtiss company, and Huang Xiner became interested.

  "Somewhere between a Spitfire and a Hurricane, I'm told it can reach speeds of 574 kilometers per hour without armament." Major Pike continued, "There are over 100 of these fighters scattered around various flight schools serving as trainers. What I must remind you is that these planes apparently haven't completed wartime modifications - pilot armor, bulletproof glass windshields and self-sealing fuel tanks are all missing."

  "We would have liked to get the Firebrand but these fighters are more suitable for us. We had a few years of experience flying Hawker types when we were in China," said Wong Sun Wah.

  "Everyone should hurry up and have dinner. It's been a tiring day after all. Let's consider the equipment and battle matters tomorrow." Ambassador Guo walked over to toast his fellow countrymen who had come from afar. Seeing China's strength growing step by step, he felt extremely proud. Over the past month, he could clearly feel that the attitude of the British Foreign Office towards him had become more courteous, all of which was exchanged for the military achievements of the airmen.

  "Here's to it, then. To China!" Major Pike squeezed in laboriously, "To the British Empire!"

  Tonight, everyone got drunk, and it's a great pleasure to meet old friends in a foreign land, which is one of the three greatest joys in life.

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  The next morning, Huang Xinrui found Liu Zhaosheng and handed him a large package containing letters from the families of the first batch of aid-Britain personnel. As the saying goes, "Letters from home are worth a thousand pieces of gold in times of war." Even the usually carefree Liu Zhaosheng felt his eyes moisten.

  "Captain Huang, since your planes can't be equipped for the time being, let's start training with our squadron's planes. Except for the combat aircraft on standby patrol, everything will be at your disposal." Liu Zhesen said gratefully to Huang Xinrui.

  "That's a great feeling! I won't be polite, I've been wanting to try the feeling of driving a Spitfire for a long time!" Huang Xinrui said excitedly.

  Just as Huang Xinrui and others were test-flying the British Spitfire and Hurricane fighters in the sky, Xu Huan was happily accepting those 25 P-38 Lightning heavy fighters. Before the start of World War II, most countries did not pay much attention to twin-engine heavy multi-purpose fighters, because single-engine fighters could basically handle the tasks assigned to daytime fighters. Only Germany had been developing the heavily armed, long-range twin-engine Bf 110 since the early 1930s. After the Battle of Britain began, the British Royal Air Force discovered that it lacked a heavier fighter with longer range than the "Hurricane" and "Spitfire", capable of performing multiple tasks. Especially in recent night bombing raids, the UK suffered heavy losses.

  The UK also had a small number of Beaufighter fighter jets, which could take on the role of night fighters. However, their performance was poor and they were few in number. The "Beau" served when it was most needed. It was able to enter service in 1940 thanks to Bristol's foresight. In 1938, Bristol predicted that a heavy fighter would be needed in any potential war and decided to develop one at its own expense. It was equipped with two Hercules engines and four 20mm Hispano cannons. This aircraft also carried the most secret night interception radar, thanks to China providing high-power multi-cavity magnetron technology, allowing the UK to miniaturize the radar, especially the antenna, and install it on a heavy fighter. The pilot in the front seat was responsible for flying and attacking, while the pilot in the rear seat was responsible for communication and radar, and two pilots could take on the functions of night combat.

  "Haha, a good horse deserves a good saddle. A handsome warrior deserves a handsome flying machine." Xu Huan Sheng stroked the heavy fighter plane's shell, saying so to himself, causing several ground crew members to stifle their giggles. Actually, Xu Huan Sheng was originally a fighter pilot, but due to insufficient personnel, he was reassigned to learn bomber piloting. His passionate nature always hoped to return to flying fighters and engaging in dogfights, rather than piloting bombers and waiting for others to attack. Moreover, this "Handsome Warrior" fighter plane was fast and had strong firepower, far surpassing the performance of his previous SB-2, TB-3, and Japanese 96 Land Attack Aircraft, so he was a bit beside himself.

  After refueling, Xu Huan Sheng couldn't wait to get into the cockpit and experience the thrill of flying this plane himself. The others from Squadron 57 also boarded their planes and began adapting to the training. For a time, the airport was filled with fighter jets flying up and down, sometimes climbing, sometimes diving, giving Commander Pike a headache.

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