According to the original plan of the headquarters, corresponding medals were to be awarded to the pilots who performed outstandingly in the air battle at Licheng and the soldiers who fought bravely.
Among them, the pilot who shot down the first Japanese fighter plane was awarded a special medal to the Eighth Route Army pilot who shot down the Japanese fighter plane for the first time.
No one expected this.
I thought this medal would fall into the hands of a US military pilot.
After all, compared to the pilots of the Eighth Route Army, they have richer combat experience, and have even carried out missions such as bombing Tokyo that shocked the world.
However, during the air battle in Licheng, a secretly built aviation force took action.
The first ones to shoot down Japanese fighter jets were not the Falcon Fighter Formation and Zhong Kui Squadron of US military pilots - these two elite fighter squadrons, which everyone had high hopes for, were equipped with the most advanced fighter jets.
It was Huo Qugui, the deputy captain of the 97th Fighter Group.
Huo Qugui originally had a native name of Huo Daniu. He later joined the Eighth Route Army and served as a heavy gunner in the New Second Regiment. Because of his bravery in every battle and mounting a heavy machine gun, he could always cause heavy casualties to the Japanese army. Later, he changed his name to Huo Qugui.
The mere mention of the name can scare the little devil into shaking his head.
Although this senior heavy machine gunner from Li Yunlong's New Second Regiment is a novice and this is his first time participating in anti-air combat, his flying skills are experienced, he is very calm, and his aviation machine gun fire is particularly accurate.
Before participating in the Licheng air battle this time, Huo Qugui also studied how to launch fire strikes against enemy aircraft moving at the same high speed while his own fighter planes were moving at high speed.
After all, this point is not mentioned in the militia military training manual compiled by Kong Jie.
It is just a military training manual for militiamen. There is no need to consider the situation of militiamen flying fighter jets to engage enemy aircraft.
In the end, Huo Qugui discussed the experience with Doolittle and his team of experienced US military pilots, and came up with a combat plan using aviation machine guns to launch fire assaults against high-speed enemy aircraft.
For example, how to shoot when chasing the enemy from the rear?
How to fight back when evacuating.
When launching a fire attack from the flanks, how to quickly calculate the distance between each other, and consider the advance of shooting, etc.
In the end, hard work pays off.
During his first encounter with Japanese fighter jets over Licheng, Huo Qugui shot down two Japanese fighter jets in one go.
When he set up the aircraft machine gun and fired, his marksmanship was frighteningly accurate. Several rounds of bullets passed by, and the two leading fighters were directly hit on the fuel tanks.
In the ensuing explosion, the little devil was destroyed.
As a senior aviation machine gunner, Huo Qugui has long memorized the various types of Japanese fighter jets and the locations of the most lethal fuel tanks of each type of fighter jets.
When the two sides started an air battle, Huo Qugui looked at the Japanese fighter jets flying in at a high speed, and he felt as if he was a butler trying to unwind an ox without seeing the entire ox.
The two leading fighters were directly hit by Huo Qugui's fuel tanks. After the crash, the Japanese pilots behind were frightened and quickly diverted the fighters to avoid direct fire.
Huo Qugui operated his machine gun and fired closely. Even though the Japanese fighter jets were flying at high speed and the Eighth Route Army fighter jets were also moving at a relatively high speed, they still hit two Japanese fighter jets that were driving away.
The two Japanese pilots were so frightened that they dragged the fighter plane with its tail flames and fled quickly.
In the end, Huo Qugui not only became the first pilot in the Eighth Route Army aviation unit to shoot down a Japanese fighter plane, but also became the first ace pilot in the history of the Eighth Route Army as he shot down five fighter planes in subsequent battles.
The leader of Yan'an personally awarded him the Ace Pilot Medal.
There is no greater glory than this for a soldier.
On the podium, Huo Qugui said that the fight this time was not enjoyable enough. The little devil ran too fast. Otherwise, he would have won two more medals for the ace pilot.
This statement made everyone laugh.
Then he became more and more impressed by the bravery and superb combat capabilities of Huo Qugui, the ace pilot of the Eighth Route Army.
Even Doolittle, Davis and other US military pilots sincerely said that Huo Qugui was the best aviation gunner they had ever seen.
Davis even jokingly said: "No matter who becomes Huo's enemy, it will be his greatest sorrow. I have to be glad that I am not a Japanese soldier. Otherwise, once I meet a crazy guy like Huo, it will be terrible."
It’s completely over!”
Then, at the commendation meeting, the leaders from the headquarters, including those from Yan'an, strongly commended the US military pilots, mainly Doolittle and Davis, who assisted the Eighth Route Army in this battle and performed extremely bravely.
And medals were awarded to these pilots.
All guests enjoyed themselves.
The atmosphere of this commendation conference has been pushed to a climax.
After the commendation dinner.
Kong Jie applied to the leaders and held a special meeting for the selection of Eighth Route Army fighter jets.
This kind of meeting is quite novel, and the leaders are all interested.
After the meeting started, Kong Jie opened the eyes of all the leaders.
It turns out that in order to maximize profits, Kong Jie also invited aviation experts from the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States to take the stage with information and use a projector to play introductory documentaries about fighter jets, transport aircraft, and bombers.
What are you doing?
To decide which fighter model our Eighth Route Army will eventually introduce.
It's a bit like bidding.
Boss Kong sat down gracefully on the judging panel, and experts from various countries came to the stage in order to introduce their products.
The first person to take the stage was a British aviation expert. He focused on some documentaries about the Mosquito fighter and introduced the various performance advantages of this fighter to Kong Jie and other leaders.
There are even some private goods included, and I recommend the Bristol Bombay bombing and transport aircraft.
The British production of this dual-purpose bombing and transport aircraft was very low, and they did not like to use it. They were so hyped about it that they wanted to trick the Eighth Route Army into buying it.
It would be best to sell the entire production chain to the Eighth Route Army and make a profit from it before going bankrupt.
Kong Jie knew this very well. After listening to the introduction by the British aviation expert, he remained silent and did not make any comments.
Next on the stage was an American aviation expert. He focused on introducing the P38 Lightning fighter jet, but also included private goods.
He knew that the Eighth Route Army did not have its own aviation industry, and not only wanted to buy fighter jets, but also transport aircraft and seaplane production lines, so he directly moved C47, Catalina seaplanes, and even SBD carrier-based dive bombers.
Anyway, they knew through John and Doolittle that the Eighth Route Army had captured a large amount of Japanese hard currency and was very rich!
These aircraft are not considered advanced, and they also have new aircraft ready for service. These not-advanced fighters will be eliminated sooner or later, and they will not be sold unless they are sold for nothing.
As for buying it for Jiang Jun?
Every time I think about this, the US representatives shake their heads.
The Eighth Route Army had just defeated the Japanese army in the May Day raids, and news of successive defeats of Chiang Kai-shek troops came from the Zhejiang and Jiangxi regions.
Even all the airports in the Zhejiang and Jiangxi regions were occupied and destroyed by the Japanese army.
If these fighters were really sold to Jiang Jun, they might be in the hands of the Japanese the next day.
Is this not shooting yourself in the foot?
What's more, the Pacific War is still in full swing, and the rampant Japanese army is fighting against the US military, which is miserable. Selling fighter jets to Chiang Kai-shek at this time is not equivalent to indirectly funding Japan!
As for the Soviets who took the stage last, they kept a much lower profile and gave them La5 fighter jets and Li-2 transport aircraft, which were much cheaper.
The leaders saw it in a novel way, and couldn’t help but feel emotional in their hearts.
As the old saying goes, a weak country has no diplomacy.
Now that the army is stronger and has more money, it can even defeat the Japanese army in a head-on battle.
Now more and more international countries are willing to help the Eighth Route Army and win over the Eighth Route Army.
Watching Kong Jie enthusiastically dragging aviation representatives from various countries to discuss the specific fighter situation.
The leaders consciously couldn't say anything about how to buy an airplane. Which airplane is better? They probably don't know enough about Kong Jieduo.
Then leave it to this guy.
Anyway, this guy never suffers, especially when doing business with these gringos.
Under the stage.
Kong Jie first negotiated with representatives from the British side.
Under Kong Jie's efforts, and with the fact that there were competitors from various countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union, the British representative finally stated that the mosquito fighter supporting production lines could be purchased individually, and the full set of technology could be transferred, and even two squadrons could be sent privately.
Come try it out for free.
But the price is very high!
"These British guys probably don't have such good intentions!"
Afterwards, Li Yunlong cursed.
Kong Jie said with a smile: "That's for sure. They must have more advanced aviation technology and the most advanced fighter planes on hand. As for what they sell to us, they are just goods that are about to be eliminated."
"It's so fucking annoying that we can only pick up junk?"
"What can we do? At present, the aviation industry of our Eighth Route Army has just started. In the early stage, it is not as good as others, but it is worse than nothing.
With these cooperations, if we quickly seize the opportunity to develop and innovate, we may not be unable to catch up, or even surpass it.”
Kong Jie actually knew very well that according to subsequent historical developments, the British had already begun to develop jet fighters during this period.
As for this mosquito aircraft, it can still play some role if left on the Sino-Japanese battlefield.
In the future, the world will be dominated by jet all-metal aircraft.
As for these Mosquito fighters, there is no possibility of subsequent upgrades.
Therefore, the British very generously agreed to transfer even the engine technology.
As for other advanced fighter jets such as the Spitfire and Hurricane, the British themselves don’t have enough of them, and it is impossible to move the aircraft and production lines to China.
And Americans are better at doing business.
They were originally close to the water, first came first, and they were already very close to the National Government. In addition, they were allies, and they had John and Doolittle with the Eighth Route Army.
Naturally, they will not give up the idea of making money from China.
They put together a bundle that included fighters, bombers, transport planes and even amphibious aircraft.
It's no problem if you want a production line. As the world's largest arms manufacturer, the Yankees said that the United States will have as much as they want.
Anyway, most of them are backward production lines, and you can make a fortune in China by the way.
The Americans have a small calculation. The Eighth Route Army is now becoming more and more powerful, and even the Japanese army is tired of dealing with it. If they help the Eighth Route Army build up its aviation power, the Eighth Route Army will use its aviation force to sneak attack on the Japanese army's ports and transportation lines. It will definitely
It can greatly contain the Japanese troops in China.
This will be of great help to their US operations in the Pacific battlefield.
As the old saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!
It's even simpler for the Soviets. They sell all the obsolete products to them, and there are upgraded versions anyway.
As for the Eighth Route Army represented by Kong Jie, the more help the Allied countries have in the aviation field, whether it is free help or paid business, the more the better, and all comers will be welcome.
Kong Jie knows the thoughts of representatives from various countries very well. They are just watching the rise of the Eighth Route Army and want to use the power of the Eighth Route Army to suppress the Japanese army and at the same time seek benefits for their own country.
Now, they can pretend to be a superior industrial power and sell these so-called advanced technologies and fighter jets to China.
On the one hand, it was because the powerful enemy Japanese troops were on their side, and on the other hand, they simply did not believe that the Eighth Route Army could catch up with only a few fighter planes and production lines.
This is exactly the opportunity Kong Jie fought for for the Eighth Route Army.
It is to take advantage of the contempt and carelessness of various countries to vigorously introduce technology and resources into the country. The more the better.
Who knows when, as the Eighth Route Army further grew and aroused the fear of various countries, these foreign devils began to resist China's development.
Of course, in order to fool the representatives from various countries, Kong Jie also asked the leaders to help put on a play.
At the venue.
The leaders of the Eighth Route Army saw so many aircraft models, and they all said that they didn't have much money, so they could only buy some of them. During the heated discussion, they seemed to like them all, but they didn't know which one to buy.
Some people said they should buy from the British, so the Americans and the Soviets immediately became anxious.
Some said they should buy American products, so the British and Soviets followed suit.
Later, the leaders followed the principle of moderation, so let’s buy some!
I just agreed that you have to give us a cheaper price!
The Eighth Route Army is willing to pay for it, and the Allies are willing to sell it and license the technology.
But Captain Kong said again: "Our Eighth Route Army's industrial production level is lagging behind, and we are afraid that we will not be able to produce qualified products in the future. If your sign is smashed again, I will be sorry for you!"
As soon as these words came out, they really frightened the representatives from various countries.
Speaking of which, the bad impression left by the government has frightened Britain and the United States.
During the so-called golden decade of the economy of the Republic of China, these great masters of the Republic of China were very knowledgeable, but they could not even build a car wheel.
Although these foreigners want to make money, they don't want to ruin their sign.
Looking back, if these Eight Route Army really messed up the production, they would go out and promote it, saying that they introduced technology and production lines from the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, but in the end they would not even produce a qualified product.
Wouldn’t it mean that the signboards of Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union were smashed in front of the whole world?
As a result, representatives from various countries have privately stated that they will send the best engineers to help install the production line and help guide production.
Of course, they are actually discounted.
The Soviets sent engineers who were exiled to Siberia.
The United States directly recruits a group of Chinese Americans and volunteers to help.
The UK directly packed up a group of European exiled engineers.
As everyone knows, this is what Kong Jie wants to see. "Such ill-fated scientists can actually help us wholeheartedly. If their countries really send over domestically well-paid talents, we may not dare to use them."
It’s here!”
"Cunning!"
The generals gave Kong Jie a thumbs up and laughed.