In the next sentence, Skinner asked: "I heard that you need anti-aircraft firepower and anti-aircraft guns?"
"Yes!" Wang Xuexin called back and asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"
Skinner was silent for a while, and then called back: "My assistant suggested that you use the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun, Wang! He has worked in the navy. This is an excellent anti-aircraft weapon, and it is quite simple to use!"
Of course Wang Xuexin knows about the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun.
This Swedish-made anti-aircraft gun was widely used by the Allied Forces due to its excellent anti-aircraft performance. A large number of such two- and four-unit anti-aircraft guns were equipped on the Yingjiang warship.
Skinny says it's "simple to use" for a reason.
Forbes is a mid- to short-range anti-aircraft gun, which relies on dense shells to directly hit the target in the air, instead of needing to adjust the shell time before firing like the 52k 85mm anti-aircraft gun assisted by Mao Xiong...
But Wang Xuexin thought about it and felt that Bofors was not suitable for the Eighth Route Army.
The reason is very simple. War is about systems rather than confrontation of single equipment.
The Bofors's anti-aircraft capabilities may be excellent, but equipping it means having to maneuver with and near tanks.
With the Japanese artillery having an absolute advantage, this kind of medium- and short-range anti-aircraft guns had almost no survivability. The Japanese only needed one blast of artillery fire to blow them all up into the sky.
Therefore, Wang Xuexin was very clear from the beginning: The Eighth Route Army should either be equipped with air defense firepower that is easy to maneuver and conceal, such as anti-aircraft machine guns that can fight both air and ground, or it should be equipped with large-caliber anti-aircraft guns with a long range.
Therefore, Wang Xuexin said: "We need an anti-aircraft gun with fast maneuverability and high firing rate, preferably one that can be towed and maneuvered and has a range of more than ten kilometers. I wonder if you have such an anti-aircraft gun?"
A range of more than ten kilometers means that this anti-aircraft gun can provide fire cover for Eighth Route Army tanks beyond the range of the Jiazi 92 infantry gun, otherwise it is meaningless.
"Wait a minute!" Skinner replied: "I need to contact my superiors!"
After more than ten minutes, Skinny replied: "We do have this kind of artillery, with a caliber of 90mm and a range of 19 kilometers, but we have just produced this artillery and have not even equipped the troops in batches!"
"No problem!" Wang Xuexin replied without thinking: "We just want to give you a try on this artillery!"
"Okay!" Skinner said helplessly: "It's 6,800 US dollars per gun and 50 US dollars for each shell. How many do you need?"
Wang Xuexin thought for a moment and then replied: "I need twenty cannons, and each cannon has 2,000 rounds of ammunition!"
Wang Xuexin had a difficult time answering, because this little firepower cost more than two million U.S. dollars, so the war was all about money.
But Wang Xuexin had to buy it, and he had to buy it as soon as possible.
Because if it is too late, the Burma Highway will be blocked by the Japanese, and the price will be even higher if things are scarce.
"I hope it can be shipped to us as soon as possible!" Wang Xuexin added.
"No problem!" Skinner replied.
Later, Wang Xuexin found out that this was Yingjiang’s newly developed m1a1 anti-aircraft gun. It was originally ordered as m1. After the test firing, it was modified and called m1a1. It was not until 1943 that it was equipped with troops in batches... It was actually because the air defense demand of Yingjiang Army was not high, otherwise it would have been early
It was urgently put into use by the troops.
At this time, the Eagle Sauce was sold to the Chinese troops for use before it was used.
Originally, Wang Xuexin thought the matter was settled, but two days later Sun Erwei appeared in front of Wang Xuexin to discuss the matter again.
Wang Xuexin was a little surprised by Sun Erwei's appearance. He thought Sun Erwei had returned to China, but he didn't expect that he would come here.
Looking at Wang Xuexin's puzzled eyes, Sun Erwei explained: "That's it. Although we lost our office in Shanghai, our superiors thought it was necessary to deepen our contact with you, so they sent me to deal with the transaction with your army!"
Later, Wang Xuexin found out that this was because the Eighth Route Army's outstanding performance during this period had changed Yingjiang's attitude towards the Eighth Route Army.
Yingjiang has always valued the stubborn army more. After all, the stubborn army is a regular army with considerable scale, and its equipment, funds, and troop resources are much better than those of the Eighth Route Army... and the Eighth Route Army is not even equipped with rifles at this time.
Of course, the army cannot fall into the eyes of Yingjiang.
Therefore, regardless of whether it was before or after the war, Yingjiang came into contact with China more often from the recalcitrant troops, and assistance also flowed to the recalcitrant troops.
but now……
Through cooperation and transactions with Wang Xuexin, Yingjiang was surprised to find that the Eighth Route Army actually had such strength. Especially after the Eighth Route Army captured Yuncheng, Yingjiang was even more impressed.
You must know that the Eighth Route Army only relied on 60 tanks, and the stubborn army received far more tanks.
However, the tanks of the stubborn army were basically destroyed, captured, or even surrendered by the enemy on the battlefield.
But the Eighth Route Army was able to make full use of these tanks on the battlefield and achieved a good record... The Battle of Yuncheng can indeed be said to be a good record. This was Zhongtiao Mountain that hundreds of thousands of stubborn troops could not hold, and they still suffered a disastrous defeat.
Zhongtiao Mountain was captured by the Eighth Route Army with only tens of thousands of people.
In addition, at this time, the Japanese attacked Yingjiang and dragged him into the war, so Yingjiang had even more needs to aid China.
Under this demand, Eagle Sauce will consider a question:
With so much equipment and assistance, if it is given to the stubborn army, it always loses the battle, but only a small amount of equipment is given to the Eighth Route Army to win the battle... Obviously, aiding the Eighth Route Army is more cost-effective, so why not aid the Eighth Route Army at the same time?
?
This can also put some pressure on the recalcitrant army, lest the recalcitrant army only receive equipment but not fight.
So Yingjiang sent Sun Erwei to Wang Xuexin.
But of course, Yingjiang sent Sun Erweilai to inspect the Eighth Route Army. He wanted to know whether the Eighth Route Army was worthy of support.
When Wang Xuexin learned this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. Does this mean that in the future, Yingjiang's aid to China can be divided into two... Not to mention divided into two, at least part of it should go to the Eighth Route Army instead of all to the stubborn army.
Bar!
And this small portion is like a golden mountain to the Eighth Route Army!
"I'm a little strange, Wang!" Sun Erwei said: "Why did you choose the m1a1 anti-aircraft gun? There are only twenty of them, what can they do? The Japanese have hundreds or even thousands of aircraft. Once your anti-aircraft gun position is exposed,
You will be bombed by the Japanese soon!"
Wang Xuexin thought this was a discussion conducted by Sun Erwei out of consideration for the interests of both parties. After all, the Japanese were the common enemy at this time, and it would also be good for Yingjiang if the Eighth Route Army could play a greater role.
What Wang Xuexin didn't know was that this was actually Yingjiang's first inspection of him.