"Damn, what on earth did these people do? If it weren't for the yellow-skinned faces all around, I would have thought I was at an air force base in the country."
"Richard, what happened?"
Doolittle was very surprised to see his deputy, Richard Kerr, looking so angry.
Seeing Doolittle, Richard pointed angrily at the tarmac behind him and said feebly: "Sir, take a look for yourself. General Gao has got a new fighter jet."
Looking in the direction pointed by Richard, Doolittle always had good eyesight and could clearly see the plane on the tarmac a few hundred meters away without being reminded.
"Richard, what are you doing? This is not a Hellcat... No..." Doolittle's eyes widened instantly, "This is not a Hellcat, but they look similar."
As a veteran who used to rub fighter jets with his hands, Doolittle can proudly say that no matter what kind of aircraft it is, he can tell the exact same thing as long as he takes a look at it. But today's aircraft made him a little confused.
Confused.
At first glance, this thing looked a bit like a Hellcat, but there were many differences. Doolittle soon became sure that this was a new type of aircraft that he had never seen before.
Doolittle didn't waste any time and went directly to the fighter planes on the tarmac. After observing them for a while, he said in a positive tone:
"Although this is the first time I have seen this thing, I am certain that it was definitely made by Grumman. Only Grumman's engineers can design a fighter jet of this style. By the way, Charlie, you
Have you ever driven this thing?”
"No." Richard shook his head, "General Gao had these sent just yesterday. There are 72 in total, all of which have been assigned to the newly established Fifth Group."
"The Fifth Group?" Doolittle looked at Richard in confusion, "If I remember correctly, the Seventh Group are all rookies. Why would General Gao give them the latest fighter jets?"
"Who knows?" Richard shrugged, "I heard Captain Huang say that the Hellcats and Thunderbolts equipped by other groups are enough to deal with almost all Japanese aircraft models, so let's leave the best aircraft to those rookies.
, this way their chance of survival will at least be greater."
"Well, I hope what Captain Huang said is right." Although he was a little puzzled by Huang Huaimin's order, Doolittle didn't say anything. After all, this was their internal affairs, and he, an outsider monk, had better not talk too much.
.
While the two were talking, a group of pilots wearing yellow flight suits strode over in a neat line, and at the same time bursts of singing rang out from their ranks.
"A good man dies on the battlefield. Don't waste time. He dies on the battlefield for the glory of the country. He dies on the bed of illness in vain. He can't bear to miss his family. He generously shows his heart to serve his country and goes to the battlefield to fight for his country."
"Sir, what are they singing?"
Although Richard had been in China for several months and he understood some superficial conversations such as "eating and sleeping", he could not understand the more profound Chinese at all.
But Doolittle is different. This top student who graduated from MIT with a doctorate degree is quite proficient in Chinese.
After hearing what Richard said, Doolittle said: "This should be a Chinese war song. The lyrics say that warriors should die on the battlefield. It is shameful to die in bed after dying of illness. That's probably what it means."
Richard exclaimed: "God, this is incredible. Isn't it normal to lie in bed when you are old and die with the blessings of your relatives? Why should you die on the battlefield? This is too terrible."
Doolittle shrugged his shoulders: "Who knows, maybe this is the value of Eastern people."
While the two were talking, Huang Huaimin walked up to them from a short distance away and said, "General Doolittle, Lieutenant Richard, I was just looking for you."
After these few months of getting along, Doolittle and Huang Huaimin formed a good personal relationship. After hearing this, he said displeasedly: "Huang, I said, you don't need to call me general, but call me Jimmy."
."
"Okay Jimmy." Huang Huaimin smiled and pointed at the person walking past them: "Did you see them and the plane next to them? I hope you can become familiar with this plane as soon as possible, and then within a month you will know
Teach those young men your flying skills?”
"Huang, can you tell me why?" Doolittle couldn't help but ask: "As far as I know, when rookies from any country first join the army, they start flying with low-level fighters that are easier to master.
Shouldn’t planes be assigned to the most elite pilots?”
"Because our commander wants these young men to have a better chance of survival."
Huang Huaimin looked at Doolittle meaningfully, "Jimmy, you don't know that your government has officially made a request to us, hoping that we will send a group of troops to Guadalcanal to fight for you, right?"
Doolittle said doubtfully: "Of course I know this, but if I remember correctly, we only asked you to send ground troops, not the air force, right? And our country has the most powerful air force in the world, so we don't need you at all.
Send your own plane."
Huang Huaimin then asked: "Jimmy, please tell me now, can we completely trust you, and can your air force be on call at any time?"
"this……"
Doolittle was speechless.
Regional discrimination exists all over the world, and he cannot guarantee that the US military commander responsible for commanding the Guadalcanal Campaign will treat an army from China the same as his own troops.
Seeing that Doolittle remained silent, Huang Huaimin said: "Although we are allies, we cannot put all our hopes in the hands of others. Although our commander won the battle and sent 5,000 troops to reinforce Guadalcanal, he still hopes
We can send another air force group to go together as a backup support force."
"That's it."
Doolittle thought for a while, and the American officials would not object to this proposal. After all, those generals would not want to have as many subordinates as possible. They would be happy to have an additional air force equipped with the latest fighter jets.
It's too late, who would be stupid enough to object.
But the more he looked at the planes on the lawn, the more familiar they seemed, and finally couldn't help but ask: "Huang, I'm sure I have seen these planes before, but the more I look at them, the more familiar they look, and now I can even more
They must be closely related to Grumman, can you tell me their origins?"
"How do I know this?" Huang Huaimin spread his hands, "If you want to know, just go and check it yourself. Anyway, there is an operation manual on the plane, and it is all in English."