If you want to ask, which branch of the army had the shortest survival time during World War II, many people may not be able to answer or subconsciously think it is infantry. After all, in everyone's impression, infantrymen who charge with rifles in the hail of bullets should be the most dangerous.
.
But in fact, everyone is wrong. It may surprise many people. The shortest surviving branch of the military in World War II was actually the pilots of the Air Force. According to post-war statistics, the average life span of pilots during World War II was only 17 days.
Among pilots, the shortest-lived ones were undoubtedly glider pilots, whose average survival time during the war was only 17 seconds.
Yes, you read it right, it’s seventeen seconds. As for why it’s so short, the author won’t explain it, lest you guys say the author is peddling lies.
Followed by dive bomber pilots, the average survival time is 19 minutes, which is shorter than that of fighter pilots.
It is precisely because of the danger of dive bombers that Western countries also gave dive bomber pilots a nickname... Brave.
And now, Xue Shaogong and eleven brave pilots flew Stuka dive bombers to prepare to bomb the Japanese positions.
After giving the order, Xue Shaogong put the flaps to the cruising position, adjusted the elevator and rudder, and adjusted the propeller pitch to the cruising position. Then he turned on the power switch of the altimeter and set the bombing height. This was a guarantee
It is an important instrument for him to escape from a dive before entering a dangerous altitude. It can calculate when the aircraft should drop bombs and pull up. The bomb drop height set by Xue Shaogong on the altimeter is 450 meters, which is the limit height at which he can safely escape from a dive.
, if it is any lower, it will be difficult for the aircraft to ensure that it does not hit the ground before pulling up.
Of course, this height is not the limit for Stuka bombing. It is said that someone in Germany, which designed this aircraft, was able to shorten this height to 350 meters, but Xue Shaogong has not dared to try it yet.
Then Xue Shaogong turned the engine supercharger switch to the automatic gear and then lowered the throttle to the minimum. Then he closed the air inlet of the cooler. After completing these preparations, Xue Shaogong pushed the joystick and the heavy dive bomber
Then he started to rush straight towards the ground.
For a professional dive bomber, flight speed and altitude are not particularly important performance. The longitudinal stability during dive and the solidity of the body are the issues that the pilot should be most concerned about. On this issue, Stuka gave
The pilots gave a satisfactory answer. Its stability during dives is surprisingly high. This is mainly due to the two huge fixed landing gears and the huge dive speed brakes under the wings, which are the so-called "aerodynamic brakes".
function.
The huge landing gear is equivalent to two vertical stabilizers during dive, and the dive speed brake makes this effect more significant. But this also caused another problem. The Stuka's longitudinal stability is really too good.
, so good that it becomes very difficult for it to suddenly make a slightly larger maneuver, and this type of action is often the most common way to avoid attacks from the opponent's fighter jets.
The Stuka's strong fuselage allows it to withstand unimaginable huge torsion compared to other aircraft, allowing it to immediately recover from the dive state after a high-speed dive. During this process, the aircraft body must withstand at least six G's of pressure.
, if it had been an ordinary fighter jet, it would have been shattered into pieces before it even got halfway through the recovery process.
It was this very excellent performance that made the Stuka the best ground support force in the early days of World War II. Its emergence even caused fundamental changes in the German Army's combat model. Some old combat methods in the past were abandoned.
A new close air support tactic was formulated based on the use of this aircraft. It can be said that the development of this tactic created by the German Air Force is far ahead of their counterparts in Europe. Now the Liantai Militia led by Gao Hongming
The pilots of the flying group were using this most advanced tactic to drop bombs on their Japanese allies.
As the Stuka dived, a frightening and sharp siren immediately began to sound in the sky. Waves of sharp sirens spread from mid-air to the ground. When the fighting Jinsui Army and the Japanese army raised their heads,
At that moment, I saw a group of black fighter planes swooping down on the ground at an almost vertical angle.
The sirens that resounded throughout the world suppressed the fierce gunfire for a while, and both sides fighting within a radius of more than ten kilometers turned their eyes to the sky.
A Japanese commander who was nervously directing the Japanese troops to shoot at the Jinsui Army in front of the position stared at the rapidly diving bombers overhead, looked at the familiar blue sky and white sun badge, and shouted in a sharp voice: "Baga... is...
The Chinese fighter planes are about to bomb! Hurry and take cover!"
The Stuka piloted by Xue Shaogong had already entered the attack state. The nose of the aircraft sank sharply, and the Stuka instantly entered the dive state. The flight safety control system was activated by the linkage mechanism, and the dive recovery system was now activated. The two
A small red marking rod protrudes from the upper surface of the wing. This is a hydraulic auxiliary mechanism that will start working the moment the aircraft drops bombs. It can limit the angle of the aircraft when it is pulled up, preventing
Because the machine is pulled up too steeply, the overload gravity that the machine body cannot withstand may cause damage to the machine body or permanent damage.
Xue Shaogong pushed the control stick slowly and steadily, and the corner of his eye kept scanning the windshield on the right front. A series of lines were carved on the glass. These lines were an effective tool to help the pilot judge the dive angle.
Each line represents a dive angle, starting from 30 degrees and continuing to 90 degrees, because the pilot's psychological perception of the dive angle is much steeper than the actual dive angle during the dive. In the past, the dive angle was often insufficient, which affected the hit rate.
The accuracy is high, and now you only need to look at which line is parallel to the ground to know at what angle the Stuka is diving.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This time Xue Shaogong conducted dive bombing at a large angle of 80 degrees. Although such a dive angle does not require the Stuka to turn the aircraft's
The performance was maximized, but it was already very difficult for Xue Shaogong, who had less than 400 flight hours. He nervously controlled the aircraft while observing the wingman behind him in the rearview mirror.
For dive bomber pilots, the most important thing is always a test of skill and courage. Xue Shaogong still clearly remembers that Gao Hongming told them in a meeting that only the bravest pilots are qualified to fly the best dive bomber.
Bombers, if you don't have the guts, you should switch to ground service or fly a transport aircraft as soon as possible.
Fortunately, Xue Shaogong could clearly see from the rearview mirror that his wingman was following him closely as if tied by a rope. The same was true for other Stukas. They used it as a knife.
The sharp point is like a dagger stabbing the enemy tightly.
At this time, the aerodynamic bagpipe installed at the engine air inlet began to emit a shrill whistling sound, which indicated that the speed of the aircraft had reached and exceeded 400 kilometers per hour. This terrifying whistling sound was its shrill and soul-stirring sound.
, for the enemy on the ground, the pressure it causes on people's psychology is even more than the bombs hanging on the wings.
The Stuka, which made a shrill and strange cry, was like a strange bird from the region falling from the sky. At this time, the driver must concentrate and keep an eye on the dial and not relax for a moment, otherwise if he hesitates even a little bit, the machine will be destroyed and everyone will be killed.
In fact, it was not just Xue Shaogong. The eleven and two pilots following him were also covered in sweat. Watching the thick earth quickly rush toward the cockpit, this kind of sensory stimulation is not something ordinary people can imagine.
As a result, their bodies began to secrete a large amount of adrenaline hormones.
Xue Shaogong stared at the dial closely. The time between life and death made him feel that his sensitivity and strength were many times greater than usual. The plane continued to dive. Without looking at the speedometer, he knew that the speed of the plane must have exceeded 500 per hour.
Fifty kilometers away, the plane was already less than 1,200 meters away from the ground. Xue Shaogong could already see the Japanese soldiers running around in panic on the ground and the machine gun tracer bullets fired at him.
He worked hard to control the fighter plane and aimed it at an artillery position on the ground, waiting for the moment to drop bombs.
"Dangdangdang..."
A string of bullets hit the Stuka's engine located under the nose. However, the bullets from the Japanese light machine gun were not even scratching the eight-millimetre-thick engine casing. These bullets only left a trail of sparks and then disappeared.
There was no trace.
The speed of the Stuka was getting faster and faster. Xue Shaogong, who was sitting in the cockpit, only felt that the thick earth was rushing toward him like a thick wall. At this time, the red light in front of him suddenly turned on. This was the aircraft's reminder.
It's time to drop bombs.
Xue Shaogong firmly pressed the bomb release button on the joystick, and a 250-kilogram bomb escaped from the belly hook and fell rapidly toward the ground. After doing all this, Xue Shaogong immediately pressed the automatic leveling control button on the side.
, the nose of the plane began to lift rapidly. At this moment, the gravity of six G pressed him firmly into the seat. The plane changed from dive to level flight at a speed of ten degrees per second.
Begins to slowly climb towards the sky.
Only then did Xue Shaogong feel that his forehead was wet. He wiped it and found that his hands were covered with sweat. At this time, he retracted the dive speed brake and adjusted the engine power to the maximum take-off state. Then he opened the cooling plate and
The throttle valve was pushed to the maximum, and the Jumo 211J-1 engine made a crazy roar with a maximum thrust of 2600 rpm, pushing the Stuka's six-ton heavy body towards the sky. At this time, he
Behind him was a ball of scorching flames rising into the sky, followed immediately by another ball of flames...
At the offensive starting position more than 500 meters away from Weijiazhuang, a company commander of the Jinsui Army watched a series of thick smoke accompanied by flames rising into the sky in front of him. Even he could feel the strong shock wave.
Behind him, more than a hundred Jinsui Army soldiers looked at Weijiazhuang, which had been swallowed up by the flames, and their eyes became dull.
For Xue Shaogong and the others, they just dropped a 250-kilogram bomb, but for the Japanese troops on the ground, it seemed like the end of the world. The power of twelve aerial bombs with a total weight of 3,000 kilograms exploding together was
Very amazing.
When these bombs exploded together, the entire Weijiazhuang was enveloped in the scope of the explosion. The bunkers and fortifications carefully built by the Japanese army were all blown into the sky like children's toys. The huge shock wave swept away all the Japanese troops within a radius of more than 200 meters.
He was shocked to death on the spot, and then huge columns of black smoke rose into the sky from the center of the explosion.
Looking at Weijiazhuang, which was almost swallowed up by thick smoke and flames, a soldier swallowed his saliva and murmured: "Um, mother, do we still need to fight this damn place?"
"Company commander...what should we do now?"
"What to do? Of course it's an attack!" The company commander, who recovered from the shock, glared at the soldier, waved the shell gun in his hand, turned around and yelled at the soldiers behind him: "What the hell are you still doing?
, Air Force brothers have helped us blow up Weijiazhuang, now it’s our turn, brothers, let me attack!"
"Come on!"
"Tick-tock-tock..."
With the sound of the charge horn, a soldier from the Shanxi-Sui Army jumped out of the trench and rushed towards the Japanese position.
The results of this attack also made Shi Jinwu, commander of the 215th Brigade, the commander-in-chief of the attack, overjoyed. His troops successfully captured Weijiazhuang in less than an hour after the attack.
"Commander... I'm so happy... I'm so happy, Weijiazhuang has been captured!" Zhang Guangzhong, commander of the 19th Army, rushed to the observation post excitedly and reported to Wang Jingguo, who was observing the battle situation.
"I saw."
Wang Jingguo put down the telescope, looked at him calmly and said: "The bombs dropped by the Liantai militia group have razed Weijiazhuang to the ground. If the 215th Brigade cannot take Weijiazhuang, Shi Jinwu should also go home."
Hold the baby."
"this……"
Zhang Guangzhong scratched his head in embarrassment. He had clearly seen the bombing of the Liantai Flying Group just now. After more than a dozen heavy bombs exploded indiscriminately, the entire Weijiazhuang defense system completely collapsed. The Japanese bunkers and trenches
Almost all were razed to the ground.
Under such bombing, the Japanese troops in Weijiazhuang suffered heavy casualties, and even those who were not killed were stunned by the bombing. The 215th Brigade almost eliminated the remaining Japanese troops without spending much effort.
Wang Jingguo was right. If the 215th Brigade could not seize the Japanese positions even in this way, he would not be worthy of being the brigade commander.
Zhang Guangzhong was indeed convinced by this, "Commander, Commander Yan had the foresight. If he hadn't invited the Liantai Flying Brigade to help, our group army would never have been able to capture Nanhuaihua, Caijiagang and Weijiazhuang so smoothly. Even if
Even if we can take it down, I don’t know how many brothers will die.”
"Well……"
Wang Jingguo nodded. Just as he was about to say flowers, he heard another roar in the sky. He looked up and saw a group of black spots appearing from the south.
"No...the Japanese plane is coming..." the observer responsible for the observation shouted loudly, "Pay attention to air defense!"