Chapter 45: The Aviation Team Sets Out to Aid England

  After signing the Sino-British aviation technical cooperation agreement, Guo Taiqi and Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin were leisurely drinking tea. The reason why Bevin felt so relaxed was that Ambassador Guo had brought another good news, the Chinese Volunteer Air Force to aid Britain had set off and was expected to arrive in London within 5 days. Because in the previous confrontation, Britain lost a large number of pilots, and its colonial and American pilots who came to assist were not enough to make up for it, so they had to recruit volunteers everywhere. Churchill remembered that Ambassador Guo had made a promise before, so he let Bevin find Ambassador Guo, and Ambassador Guo agreed immediately. Although I don't know whether the Chinese aircrew and ground crew can fight against the German army, having more people is always good.

  The strategy of aiding the British was formulated long ago, because the Battle of Britain is the highest level of air warfare in this era. On the Chinese battlefield, a space with hundreds of aircraft is already a rare large-scale one, but almost every day in the skies above Britain, a thousand-machine battle erupts. Some tactics and methods are matured in the Battle of Britain, so why not use the British equipment to hone the elite?

  The Chinese air force has received a telegram from the Japanese headquarters, canceling the 101 combat plan. Japan has abandoned its strategic bombing of Chinese cities and large-scale air battles will subside for a while. This is the best time to send aid to Britain. As early as August, the Air Force Command began selecting personnel. The first batch of pilots sent to aid Britain were led by Liu Zhaosheng and Zheng Songting of the 11th Squadron, because the planes flown by the 11th Squadron had similar performance to British planes and had been using advanced double-team tactics for several months. Among these pilots, half were old pilots and half were new pilots who had just graduated from flight school. The old pilots would serve as lead aircraft and the new pilots would serve as wingmen, paired together to go into battle, ensuring that elite pilots could be quickly tempered in a low-loss situation.

  Ambassador Kung's statement made Foreign Secretary Eden feel very embarrassed, and he somewhat awkwardly brought up the Burma Road issue again, which was actually something Eden had also worked hard on. Now that the Japanese have invaded northern Indochina, they have revealed their wolfish ambitions, so Churchill has already shown some flexibility, but now a face-saving measure is needed to preserve the dignity of the British Empire.

  "This matter requires more consideration from your country. Currently, a large number of resources are piling up at the port of Rangoon, while our domestic supplies are in short supply. Even the fuel for the 32 aircrew and nearly two hundred ground crew members of this volunteer air squadron flying from Kunming to Rangoon is difficult to scrape together." Guo Taiqi began to cry poor, but in fact, the Yumen oil field had already begun to increase production, and fuel was basically self-sufficient. Moreover, a secret telegram had already informed that on September 9th, Germany, Italy, and Japan would sign an alliance agreement, at which time Britain should take this opportunity to announce the reopening of the Burma Road, because Britain needed China's help to resist Japan's looting of its colonies, and in this regard, the two countries were on the same front line. Therefore, Guo Taiqi was not anxious about this matter.

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  Liu Zesheng watched with interest as the morning light bathed the tropical rainforest, where this strange base was located. Last night, the air and ground crews who had come to aid England had comfortably transported the floating base from Chongqing to a secret base on the outskirts of Yangon Port in less than 6 hours.

  After the floating base landed and unloaded its passengers, the personnel began to busily operate various mechanical equipment to load substances, weapons, fuel, etc. covered with rain cloths in the warehouse and on the ground onto the floating base, like a group of worker ants. It seems that the interruption of the Yunnan-Burma Highway should not have much impact on China, Liu Zhesen thought secretly.

  At this moment, a hand was placed on Liu Zhes's shoulder. Liu Zhes turned his head to see that it was He Junci, the commander of the Fourth Flying Brigade and his direct superior, Major General He Junci, so he hurriedly saluted.

  "We're not superior and subordinate anymore, are we?" He Juncai said with a smile as he pulled down Liu Zesheng's hand. He gazed at this air swordsman who was several years younger than himself. At this time, Liu Zesheng had already shot down 10 Japanese military aircraft, most of which were large bombers, and had become the first "double ace" in the Chinese Air Force, earning him the Nine-Star Medal and the Medal of Rejuvenation.

  "Squad leader, I'm counting on you to keep the 11th squadron's position open for me. I've been craving to pilot a J-11, British planes just don't cut it." Liu Zhe Sheng had already been stationed at the floating base for over two months and had become quite familiar with He Jun Cai, who had even taught him some advanced flying techniques and tactics from the future, which he found very beneficial. In fact, He Jun Cai had personally instructed Liu Zhe Sheng on how to pilot a J-11, so the two maintained a mentor-student relationship.

  "This time in England, do you understand what you should pay attention to?" He Juncai asked. Liu Zesheng was the captain of the first batch of aviation teams to go to England and also the leader.

  "Familiar with large-scale air battles and new tactics, train new pilots!" Liu Zhe Sheng replied without hesitation.

  "Partially correct. You must remember that it's extremely difficult for China to cultivate a pilot, we're not here to help the British bleed, so preserving our own strength is most important, you must be mindful of this! He Juncai's theory was that the loss rate in battle must be kept around 5%, only then can the team effectively grow."

  "Got it, Captain! Don't worry, I'll definitely bring everyone back safely!" Liu Zhe Sheng replied.

  "It's time, we need to take off before dawn, everything that follows will depend on you, ask Ambassador Guo for his opinion and discuss with him more." He Juncai finally reminded.

  "Yes, Captain!"

  Liu Zhe sent off the floating base's takeoff, although he had been stationed on the floating base for more than two months, but still hadn't seen this behemoth take to the skies in a well-lit situation. The scene was magnificent, and many birds in the forest were also startled by this behemoth, flying up one after another. Under the rising sun on the horizon, it had a very postmodern feel.

  After the floating base took off, this tropical rainforest base fell into silence again. The vast base was left with only the shadows of the guards. The warehouses that were originally piled up high were now empty, and the grounds where supplies were moved away from also looked more desolate. This base seemed to have returned to its appearance several months ago when the Equipment Department's overseas branch purchased it.

  "We should also set off." Liu Zhe Sheng waved to everyone, the next road was by car and ferry, not so comfortable. Sitting in the car provided by the overseas branch of the equipment department, more than 100 people arrived at Rangoon Port in batches, where they took a British warship through the Persian Gulf to Britain.

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  On September 12, after several days of flight, the Chinese aviation team finally arrived in the UK and rushed to an air force base on the outskirts of London. Ambassador Guo Taiqi had already arrived there in advance to welcome them.

  "Hello, Ambassador Guo." As soon as Liu Zhe Sheng got off the car, he saw Guo Tai Qi standing at the entrance of the hall to greet them. Although he had never met him before, Liu Zhe Sheng still recognized him at a glance. Chinese people were so conspicuous on this British soil.

  "Hello everyone!" Guo Taiqi looked at this group of dusty but spirited air force officers, his eyes warming up. He remembered that in 1932 when he left the country, China didn't have a decent air force. Now, not only had the Chinese air force effectively repelled the Japanese bombing, but it could also send its officers abroad on missions for the first time. How could this not excite an old diplomat who had been expecting China's rise? Even if he had his own little calculations in mind, Chinese people are first and foremost Chinese, and they all have a dream of a strong nation.

  "It's good that you've arrived, it was a tough journey." To say the least, this journey wasn't exactly smooth sailing. When they passed through the Mediterranean, they even encountered an attack by German submarines, and one transport ship was sunk. Luckily, Liu Zhe and his comrades were all on the cruiser. "This place will be where you'll be fighting for the next few months. The British have already handed over this base to us, and you'll form a squadron, Squadron 55, under the command of General Park's 11th Wing." Guo Taiji briefed them on the basic situation, and from today on, they would wear British Air Force uniforms to defend the skies of a foreign land.

  "This is Major Pack, the airport commander. He will be in charge of the airport's defense, logistics and communication. You will live and fight together." Guo Taiqi introduced the British officer with a hawk nose standing beside him to Liu Zesheng. "Major Pack has one quarter Chinese blood, his grandmother was a Chinese immigrant." It is also because of this reason that Major Pack was chosen as the liaison with the Chinese air force.

  "Go," said Tetsuo Yanagi, holding out his hand. He had studied English for a while when he was learning to fly the Hawk at the Central Aviation School in Kasumigaura.

  "Good luck to Great Britain." Squadron Leader Pike smiled and nodded at Liu Zesheng, although he didn't know what level these Chinese pilots were at, he still expressed his gratitude for their support. For some time now this airport had been close to London, the pilots had gone out on multiple sorties, suffering heavy losses, the remaining pilots had already merged with other squadrons, leaving behind only the gruesome battle scars all over the airport.

  "It's obviously not a good time for tourism, so I'll take advantage of today's good weather to introduce you all to the airport." Major Peck pointed at the sky shrouded in thick fog and said with humor. Now everyone is looking forward to cloudy and foggy days, so that they can have a good rest.

  "I'm afraid to say that there are only 10 'Hurricane' fighter planes that can take off on the entire airport, and it's unlikely that we'll be able to replenish them in the near future," said Squadron Leader Pike, pointing at the 10 brand-new fighter planes lined up neatly. The Hurricane fighters were initially designed and manufactured by civilians, and after being purchased by the air force, they began to be equipped with troops at the end of 1937. It was the first aircraft in the British military to have a retractable landing gear, semi-metal structure, single wing, single seat, and was equipped with a Rolls-Royce Merlin liquid-cooled piston engine, with a maximum output power of 1043 horsepower, three-blade adjustable pitch propeller, maximum speed of 519 km/h, ceiling of 10,000 meters, maximum range of 1,040 kilometers, climb rate of 800 meters/minute, armed with eight 7.62mm machine guns, and had armor protection and bulletproof glass cockpit. Its advantages were simple manufacturing, easy maintenance, simple operation, and was known for its dense firepower, solid fuselage, and agile maneuverability.

  "Maybe we can use these planes for adaptive training for the time being, but when can we be fully equipped and go into battle?" asked Liu Zesheng and other pilots as they carefully examined the British main fighter plane. Although it still uses the traditional metal frame plus canvas structure, its excellent aerodynamic shape has given it a relatively high speed. This fighter is much better than the current Chinese Air Force's main fighter I-16, although it's not currently Britain's best fighter, but pilots from China still can't help but love it.

  "Oh, Liu Zhong School, I think it's hard to predict."

  "What's inside that big house?" Zheng Songting, the deputy captain, pointed to a large warehouse next to the airport with damaged doors and windows.

  "Oh, that's why our airfield is in such a mess," Major Pike said with regret. "On September 3rd, those damned Germans raided our airfield and their damned radar malfunctioned somehow. Bombs came down and destroyed the fighters parked on both sides of the runway, and a bomb hit the pilots' rest room, killing or wounding half of the pilots who were preparing to take off. Now all those damaged planes have been moved into that warehouse, waiting for the repair depot to come and take them away. But judging by how busy the depot is, I doubt they'll be able to make it here before the war ends."

  "That's to say, if we repair these fighter planes, they can be used by our squadron?" Liu Zesheng pointed at the dozens of Hurricanes and Spitfires piled up in disorder in the hangar.

  "Repair? Oh no, no, no. You probably don't understand the extent of the damage, I think maybe only a repair depot can handle it, they're not just simple mechanical failures," Major Pike said in surprise.

  "Maybe we can give it a try, after all, we're idle anyway." Liu Zhe Sheng said with a smile.

  The last working day before the holiday:)