Chapter 67: Chen Nade's Top Gun
"You bunch of rookies! What is the wingman's job? Protecting the lead's six! Not attacking! How many times have I said it?! Keep formation! Keep formation!" Commander Chen Nade yelled at a group of pilots with their heads hung low. This was Baishi Airport, where the 4th Squadron used to be stationed before being replaced by the Soviet Volunteer Air Force at Guangyangba Airport. Now, this place is specifically used for special training classes, and newly graduated pilots from flight school will receive a 3-week course here. In later generations, this course would become world-renowned, known as Top Gun. The main purpose of the course is to teach new pilots combat experience through simulated real-war scenarios.
This course emerged because after two batches of pilots went to the UK to participate in the volunteer air force, a large number of vacancies appeared in the 4th Flying Group. A batch of new pilots was urgently allocated from the flight school. After these fresh blood were supplemented, the combat effectiveness of the 4th Flying Group dropped sharply, and even basic tactical coordination could not be achieved.
Other squadrons of the Fourth Fighter Group had also received flight school graduates, but at that time there were fierce air battles every day, and new pilots gradually matured in combat. Since the Japanese stopped bombing Chongqing on September 9th, fighter pilots no longer had the same way to gain combat experience, which was a test for the entire Chinese Air Force.
He Juncai saw that several Zero fighters in his flight team were gradually idle, and suddenly he had an idea, thinking of the famous course of the US military in the future - Top Gun. In the future, there is a film called "Top Gun" in English, which is also called "Top Gun". This course helps pilots who have just graduated from aviation school to quickly gain experience through simulated air combat, which is exactly what the Chinese Air Force needs now. So Baishi Airport was quickly vacated for the teaching of this course, and Chen Nade was again caught by He Juncai.
There is no one more suitable for this position than Chennault, who not only is an experienced pilot with extensive research on air combat tactics but also has taught flying techniques in the US and China for many years. In particular, since the beginning of the war against Japan, he has been serving as a consultant to the Air Force and is very familiar with Japanese tactics. Therefore, He Juncai directly persuaded Chennault to join the Chinese Air Force with the rank of Colonel and position of Senior Staff Officer of the 4th Flying Group, but his main task was to organize and teach the Top Gun curriculum.
The lean American, Chen Nade, was very diligent and insisted on training with the students every day. At night, he would review and plan the next day's training. In contrast to Chen Nade, who was busy and had a head full of white hair, the Baishi Airport became a paradise for the old bird pilots of the Fourth Flying Team who were still in the country, as they could openly bully the "菜鸟" (rookie pilots). The main purpose of the Top Gun course was to familiarize pilots with the performance and combat modes of enemy aircraft. In the past, the US had used its own fighter jets to simulate Soviet fighters, but China did not need to do so. China had captured almost all of Japan's main fighter jets from the Hankou Airport, including the Zero Fighter, 96 Fighter, and 96 Land Attack Aircraft. The six Zero Fighters that were originally scattered among the four squadrons of the Fourth Flying Team were now collected and placed at the Top Gun school. The 96 Fighters were originally allocated to other flying teams, but He Junci managed to exchange them for six I-16s. The 96 Land Attack Aircraft was originally assigned to the Twelfth Squadron, so it was easy to allocate a few of them to the Top Gun school. With these aircraft, the equipment of the Top Gun school was quickly assembled. Of course, He Junci also made some modifications to the aircraft, which made Chen Nade admire and respect him, and he willingly took on the task of teaching the Top Gun course.
Actually, this modification is not difficult. It's just that each aircraft at the Top Gun school was equipped with laser designators and receivers, which were removed from the original J-8 fighter jets on the floating base. The original duty of the floating base was to simulate air combat, so these devices and courses are all available. This not only shortened the preparation time for the Top Gun course but also made this air combat method closer to real combat, more realistic, and the results were more intuitive.
So today, Chen Nade saw all the students wiped out again, and Wang Yuanbo led the old bird pilots to perform various flight performances in the air with Zero fighters to celebrate. He couldn't help but scold these stupid birds loudly, letting Chen Xiangmei from the Central Communications Agency see the fierce side of this powerful general. The splashing saliva wetted the notebooks of the students in the front row, but those students didn't dare to dodge or have any opinions. During training, Colonel Chen Nade was a lion. It wasn't until half an hour later that Chen Nade stopped venting. He followed the students' gaze and saw Chen Xiangmei covering her mouth and laughing secretly at the teacher's door. Feeling that he should be more polite in front of the lady, he changed to a gentle tone and said to the students: "Since so, let everyone run three laps around the airport to help you remember." Immediately, there was a chorus of wailing from below, running three laps around the airport, at least ten kilometers or so. It seems that tonight is going to be a good night.
A group of rookie pilots wearing flight jackets were running around the airport when Wang Yuanbo and other imaginary enemy instructors were celebrating in the pilot's dormitory. The imaginary enemy had established a reward mechanism, where each instructor would be awarded points for every plane shot down, which could be exchanged for flying medals. Of course, if an instructor was shot down by a rookie, they would not only be ridiculed by their peers but also lose points. Fortunately, this did not happen today. Today, 6 Zero fighters and 6 96 fighters defeated 16 I-16 fighters, annihilating them without suffering any losses themselves. Now these evil instructors were celebrating together.
"Ah, it's really refreshing today. When there are no Japanese to fight, it's great to bully these rookies!" Yan Lei himself was also very young, but those who survived the cruel war were all elites.
"Yes, today the captain accumulated 3 points and is only one point away from exchanging for a flight medal." Wang Yuke said.
"Actually, our team leader arranged for us to come here also to fly more, to practice more, and to maintain our state. I estimate that this period of calm between us and the Japanese will soon pass, and we will be fighting again soon, so everyone should rely on these confrontations to practice new tactics. Today's tactics were very good, a departure from the traditional tail-biting attack method, crossing in from an angle, and in one move, those students who flew according to textbook methods were taught a lesson. Wang Yuanbo is not only the commander of the 4th squadron but also the leader of these flight instructors. He has a nimble mind and is well-versed in national studies. From the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams, he seems to have grasped a complex pattern of changes in air force formations. Today, it was precisely by relying on this changing formation that he defeated the student teams flying in pairs with ease."
"That's not it, the Japanese have not forgotten their grudge. Recently, Germany, Italy and Japan signed a military alliance treaty again, and their tails are still high in the sky. I think we should take the initiative to attack and give them a good show." said Yan Lei.
"Now our air force can't be said to be the same as before. As an old man in the air force, I almost feel the changes of the air force every day. Not to mention all sorts of new planes and equipment, just look at the fuel, it's now abundant, not only can support various combat missions but also provide such perfect training opportunities, which was unimaginable for us before. It seems that the logistics department no longer needs to worry about fuel, this is really strange. These are good days!" Wang Yuanbo added. He thought of the air force's ace pilots Gao Zhihang, Zhao Zhidong, Liu Cuigang and later Liang Tiancheng, these four great kings if they were still alive would be proud of the current situation of the Chinese air force which is changing every day. Thinking of those former squadron leaders, comrades and good brothers, Wang Yuanbo's tears flowed down, "Cheers! For the departed comrades. Cheers! For China!"
"Cheers!"
It is precisely because of this group of lovely and respectable pilots that China's blue sky can be so peaceful.
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Chennault listened to the commotion coming from the pilots' dormitory and couldn't help but shake his head. The Japanese side had quieted down, but this group of pilots found it hard to calm down for a while. After all, they used to face life-and-death tests every day, and each takeoff was made with a determination to sacrifice themselves. Now, without the task of fighting, they could only indulge in simulated air battles at most. However, as a high-ranking figure in the Air Force, Chennault knew that these leisurely days wouldn't last long. Sure enough, the 4th Flying Group had already issued an order: the first batch of 32 top gun students would complete their course this week and be officially assigned to their respective squadrons, while the second batch of students was about to arrive.
Chennault was arranging the training courses while thinking that perhaps in another week, the air force would again be thrown into combat. After all, after this period of training, the air force had regained its strength. Now was the time when the army was strong and the horses were sturdy. Although Chiang Kai-shek did not want to fight, the air force was eager to strike.
When it comes to the curriculum of these training sessions, Chennault was very impressed by his superior officer, General He Juncai, and wondered where he had found those air force tactics. Chennault eliminated some of the tactics that did not conform to the current aircraft performance, which seemed to require the aircraft to maneuver at high speeds in high altitudes, which is hard to imagine nowadays. There were also some maneuvers, such as the "Spectacle Snake" maneuver, which Chennault doubted could be flown by existing propeller-driven fighter planes unless they had a pusher configuration. However, most of the other maneuvers and tactical formations made Chennault's eyes light up, and this air force tactics master keenly realized the value of these materials. Nowadays, he tries to add some new subjects to his training every day, and at night, he organizes what he has gained, and the more he writes, the more mature the Chinese Air Force's tactics become. The Top Gun course is almost different every time, so many pilots have attended the Top Gun course not just once, and each course is better than the last. By the end of the war, China's Top Gun course had already become a symbol of world-class standards. Many friendly countries sent pilots to come here for training, and only those who showed their graduation certificates from China's Top Gun course were qualified to enter the Ace Pilots Club.
All of this was the culmination of years of hard work by Chen Nade. Chen Nade, an officer abandoned by the US Naval Aviation, reached the pinnacle of his career in China.
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