Chapter 63: Flying Tiger Team

  Many Americans came down from the ship, which was a rare sight at that time. Although Shanghai is an international metropolis, it's usually just businessmen who are often seen, and it's not common to see so many foreigners all together.

  Sun Xiang and these students who came to China for support hugged one by one. Now Andy, Eric and three others are teaching flying skills at the Nanchang base and were unable to come to the scene.

  Sun Xiang sighed as he looked at the ten cargo ships, these things were beyond his control, and in the end, he had to inform Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek was overjoyed when he heard that Sun Xiang had brought another batch of planes, and hastily ordered the 14th Army to receive the planes. Because the 18th Army's secret move northward had left Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Chiang's main base, in the hands of Wei Lihuang's 14th Army, so this time the receiving personnel were none other than the "Tiger General" Wei Lihuang.

  Through Noah Sun Xiang learned that this time a total of 86 F4U aircraft, some even just off the production line, Sun Xiang felt Hughes' painstaking efforts.

  The 86 aircraft needed $1.72 million, which was a huge sum at the time. Fortunately, Chiang Kai-shek knew that this batch of planes came from afar and wanted to continue cooperating with the US side, so he had to express his sincerity by paying out $1 million in one breath. The remaining fees were settled within six months. Noah returned to the United States with Sun's drawings and $1 million.

  "Now we can show off our skills, Steve. The F4U, this star plane, is actually serving in China more than in the US, haha!" said Gregory Boyington. This guy had almost made up his mind to join this trip to China as soon as he heard about Sun Xiang recruiting pilots.

  Instructor No. 3, Gade Thomas, chewing gum, asked: "Can Japanese planes take off? We have over 300 people here, does China have enough planes for us to operate?"

  Sun Xiang burst out laughing: "Thomas, don't be too careless, the Japanese 96 carrier-based fighter's performance is slightly better than Italy's CR.32, between the I-15 and I-16. It can be said that this plane, apart from speed, basically has world-class quality, then the problem with the plane will be solved by me, at most next month H.S China branch will produce F4U, it's just that for now bombers have to rely on the Soviet Union, America has provided support."

  Thomas's mouth opened wide: "No way, can the Japanese make such a good plane?"

  Fellow instructor Luo Rui also looked at Sun Xiang in surprise.

  Sun Xiang bitterly smiled: "Now Japan's war potential is being squeezed out bit by bit, due to their industrial level, it has been decided that all of their planes are small, compact, fast, agile, and take this route. When encountering their planes, never compare agility with them, just directly engage in formation fire."

  Bo Ying Dun's face was flushed with excitement!

  General Wei Lihuang met Sun Xiang on the dock, and they warmly greeted each other. Who doesn't know that Sun Xiang is China's number one air force general? If a war breaks out in the future, with such an airborne tiger clearing obstacles for the army, which land army commander wouldn't love him?

  The planes were transported to Shanghai Airport by a large army, and after the ground crew refueled, they took off directly to Nanchang Aviation Base. The remaining 200+ Flying Tigers pilots were escorted by Wei Lihuang himself along the waterway to Nanchang. On the boat, Wei Lihuang let these American soldiers experience the enthusiasm of Chinese people, with all kinds of delicacies and fine wines being served at the table.

  Sun Xiang looked at it with a smile, China's fine wine and cuisine are indeed the best way to bring people closer together. Soon, Chinese soldiers and American soldiers became inseparable, although they didn't speak the same language, but by speaking and gesturing, they were able to communicate enthusiastically.

  The commander of the 14th Army held a cup and toasted everywhere, and the transport ship became a small dinner party. Wei Lihuang was really happy! The air force is a sharp blade hanging over the head of the army, who hopes to hang the blade not on their own head, the free-to-go plane suppresses you with a burst of artillery fire when you are about to win, and Wei Lihuang doesn't want to experience this feeling.

  As a leading general and a general with a mind full of tactics, he paid extra attention to the air force. Especially after Sun Yat-sen returned to China, he tried several times to get to know Sun Xiang but ended up empty-handed. Fortunately, this time the chairman let him be in charge of receiving the aircraft, thank goodness, with this relationship established, he could rely more on Sun Xiang's air force from now on.

  After a day of traveling, on June 30th, they arrived at the city of Nanchang. The residents of the city gathered spontaneously at the city gate to welcome the arrival of the volunteer soldiers. Some simple and kind-hearted old people even handed eggs to the American soldiers, putting them in their arms. The children were a bit scared when they saw these tall, blue-eyed foreigners with high eyebrows, but they couldn't help being curious and hid behind their parents to sneak a peek. Roury, who was mischievous, suddenly made a funny face at a little girl, scaring her so much that she retreated backward. Roury was laughed at by the group of soldiers until his face turned bright red, and he kept apologizing to the little girl's family.

  It seems that the F4U flying during the day startled the people of Nanchang, but the Chinese people are the most rational group in the world, they can distinguish in their hearts who is good to them. Seeing the harmonious scene, Sun Xiang felt that his efforts were not in vain.

  At this moment, the Nanchang Air Force base became lively, and the American planes F4U and Hawk-3 became the absolute main force. Sun Xiang felt that the Chinese Air Force was like the Spanish Air Force at that time, but then it was a combination of Soviet-made I-15 and I-16 aircraft, while now it was a combination of two American planes, also with one biplane and one monoplane, but this Chinese combination was obviously more powerful. The F4U had an overwhelming advantage in this era, and was about to shock the world once again.

  30 F4Us roared over the airport, many Chinese pilots gazed enviously at the world's No. 1 fighter in the sky. Which pilot doesn't hope his own plane will be superior?

  Look at their all-metal fuselage, the cold 12.7mm machine gun, and then compare it to our own clumsy bi-winged Hawk-3, which is several levels behind in firepower. Sun Xiang, standing on the airport directing, saw this situation and smiled slightly. Having such envy means that these pilots are eager to defend their country's airspace on the battlefield. As long as they have this mindset, they will strive to learn at a technical level, and becoming an exceptionally skilled pilot is only a matter of time. When we can cultivate a large number of top-notch pilots, little Japan will be nothing to be feared.

  Sun Xiang walked into a group of Chinese pilots. As soon as they saw Sun Xiang, several pilots immediately stood up and saluted respectfully: "Good sir!"

  Sun Xiang waved his hand: "Don't be so formal, many of you are older than me, so relax a bit. Now I'm not the Air Force Commander, just an ordinary pilot."

  Several people stood at attention and saluted: "Yes, sir!"

  Xun Xiang smiled and sat down on the ground with his legs crossed, patted the ground, and several pilots immediately sat down. Xun Xiang asked: "Envy those American pilots?"

  One of the pilots looked envious: "Yeah, that plane is really beautiful."

  Another said: "The firepower is fierce, last time I saw an F4U open fire with six machine guns at the same time, and directly plowed out six small trenches on the ground. If this were in the air and hit a plane, tsk tsk."

  Sun Xiang continued: "When I was in Spain, I used F4U to fight Italian and German planes. Basically, if you hit them, they would fall down, if you really hit them, they would explode or disintegrate. Once, I directly cut off the wing of a plane, the firepower is indeed quite fierce."

  The first person asked: "Commander, I saw reports that you shot down a total of 57 planes. You must have also summed up some habits?"

  "Actually, most pilots have an instinctive reaction when they're under attack, which is to push the throttle and accelerate. So, anticipation is very important at this time, and creating a time difference can easily lead to shooting down the plane. Therefore, when you are attacked, don't panic, first avoid or decelerate, and doing the opposite may achieve the best results."

  These students had a look of being taught, Sun Xiang's words were etched in their hearts, and quite a few people relied on these experiences to increase their achievements or avoid harm in future battles.

  In the evening, American and Chinese pilots gathered together. Chen Nande, Sun Xiang, and Mao Bangchu jointly announced the establishment of the National Revolutionary Army Aviation Corps! The Flying Tigers, consisting of 445 American pilots, 466 Chinese pilots, and over 300 fighter planes, more than 200 bombers, were divided into four large teams. One team was all F4U aircraft, with a total of 110 aircraft, led by Sun Xiang as the team leader. The second team was led by Chen Nande, with a mixed fleet of 110 bombers and fighters. The third team was led by instructor Gede Thomas, with deputy instructor Luo Rui, consisting of 110 light bombers and Hawk-3 aircraft, plus several F4U aircraft. Finally, the fourth team, led by Gao Zhihang, consisted of the remaining Hawk-3s and a small number of I-15 fighter planes, basically a Chinese army corps.

  At this moment, the 'China Air Force American Aviation Volunteer Group' was formally established! Known as the Flying Tigers!