The first bombing target Wang Xuexin chose was Linfen Railway Station.
The reason why we chose the train station is because it is a place where supplies are relatively concentrated, and there may be ammunition there. If it hits, it may cause great damage to the enemy.
The most important thing is...the train station is large, and air-launched rockets with poor accuracy have to be launched especially at night. If you don't choose such a large target, there is basically no possibility of hitting it.
Like blowing up a bridge.
Or blow up the railroad tracks.
Or blow up a certain warehouse?
In order for these things to hit, they must be fired during the day and at close range.
The railway station is different, and Linfen Railway Station is still a large station. For several miles around, there are either transfer warehouses or railway tracks, locomotives, and mountains of coal... The trains in this era are all coal-fired, and the railway station must store a lot of coal.
To supplement the train arriving at the station.
There are still ten fighter planes carrying rockets.
There is no increase because of training needs... There are only 29 newly arrived fighter planes, and only 20 pilots need to be trained. If the fighter planes are stuck just right, that is, 20 people will fly 20 fighter planes for training. If one of the planes breaks down, it will be necessary.
Repairs or maintenance will undoubtedly affect the training plan.
During this period, training was more important than actual combat, because Wang Xuexin did not increase the number of ground fighter sorties.
When the fighter planes were dispatched, there were 30 fighter planes flying in formation, 10 of which were equipped with rockets and 20 of which were used for air combat.
They first flew several times over Wanxian Airport, and then went straight to Linfen Railway Station.
In the end, only 10 of them went to bomb Linfen Railway Station, and the other 20 returned and climbed high for training before reaching Luliang Mountain.
The reason why we have to climb higher is because it is night. There is no certain height to accidentally fall to the ground or hit the mountain. A certain height means that the pilot has more reaction time.
Wang Xuexin is not concerned about the bombing effect of 10 rocket-propelled fighter jets. He is more concerned about the training effect, especially the training effect of Chinese pilots.
Because the Chinese pilots had just learned to fly this kind of aircraft not long ago, and now they had to conduct combat training, and it was still at night... Although these 10 people were selected from the Chinese pilots, they were also the tallest among the short ones.
On the contrary, the Eagle Sauce pilot is different.
These ten Yingjiang pilots all have sufficient flight time and even have combat training. Alec has actual combat experience and is even an elite among pilots.
Therefore, Alec undoubtedly became the frontline commander.
But the fact was beyond Wang Xuexin's expectation. Alec reported: "You won't believe it, Wang! I think the training effect of Chinese pilots is better, much better than that of Yingjiang pilots!"
"Really?" Wang Xuexin was surprised and happy, and looked at Wu Guozhi beside him in confusion.
Wu Guozhi was also surprised by this. He thought for a while and replied: "Our people made a lot of preparations before training, but the Yingjiang pilots think it doesn't matter and don't take this training seriously!"
Wang Xuexin thought about it and felt that this might be the reason.
Because training like this is nothing to Yingjiang pilots, they usually have the opportunity to fly, so they did not think carefully or analyze it carefully before training.
The Chinese pilots are different. They cherish these training opportunities very much. They know that these opportunities are hard-won and they are only practiced once. They may not be able to practice a few times before the war, so they made the most adequate preparations and used the greatest strength.
Focus and be in the best mental state to train.
So, this is actually a matter of mentality.
There is a saying that goes, "From simple to extravagant, easy, from extravagant to simple." The Yingjiang pilot has not yet changed from the luxurious status of Yingjiang.
Later, Wang Xuexin heard that Wu Guozhi and other Chinese pilots had rehearsed countless times on the ground before training:
Every two people form a group, calculate the matching speed in advance and memorize it.
For example, if the front aircraft is traveling at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour, and a fighter jet is tail-biting in waves, it must use a high speed and a high "amplitude" to ensure that it can avoid losing track and still be able to shoot tail-biting.
Then, with one person in front and one behind, several people pushed the simulated cabin of the fighter plane and shouted for the drill.
Then practice the previous substitutions in turn.
After practicing back and forth a few times, I have almost mastered this tactic and the appropriate speed on the ground. After taking off, I only need to get familiar with it for a while and I will immediately be able to do it in a decent manner.
It's like I've practiced before.
On the contrary, the Yingjiang pilots did not make these preparations. They relied more on feeling during the long flight. As a result, either one situation or another situation occurred, or they lost the pursuit and could not find the person, or they were in a hurry.
Forgetting to use the wave to bite the tail... This actually cannot be said to be unprepared, but a habit that has become natural. The training they usually receive has always told them to keep the speed with the target and bite the tail to pursue, so it is difficult to become a habit.
Change it over.
The Chinese pilots are a blank sheet of paper. They don't need to change their habits like the Yingjiang pilots. Instead, they directly use new tactics as soon as they come up, but there is no such problem.
The most serious one is that the two planes almost collided... This situation is indeed very likely to occur in wave tail biting tactics, because the rear plane is faster, has poor amplitude control, and is close to the target. If you are not careful, it will happen.
Accidents, this is one of the reasons why many people know this tactic but cannot use it.
Alec couldn't help but frown as he looked at the training situation, and secretly wondered whether these Chinese pilots were born to be suitable for air combat? This would bring shame to the Yingjiang pilots who claim to be teachers and instructors!
Therefore, Alec did not even plan to report the situation to Eagle Sauce in detail. He believed that this was not what General Doolittle would like to see.
Soon, news came from 10 rocket-propelled fighter planes commanded by Major Doug: "We have fired rockets in the direction of the train station and are returning!"
"Have you found any enemy interceptors?" Wang Xuexin asked.
Major Doug looked into the moonlit night sky and replied: "If there is no enemy interception, the enemy may not have brought in the night fighters yet!"
Major Doug is right.
In fact, the Japanese knew about the Eighth Route Army's fighter planes as soon as they took off.
The Japanese are using 98 light explosives to conduct reconnaissance around Wanxian Airport, and at this stage they are conducting full-time reconnaissance, that is, 24 hours a day. At least one 98 light explosives must be in the sky above Wanxian Airport.
But because the Japanese did not have night fighters, they could not react even if they saw fighter planes taking off in the dark.
At the same time, because the 98 light explosion speed is slow and only has a top speed of 423 kilometers per hour, it cannot keep up with the Hawker 81 fleet. It only knows that they took off and went straight to Linfen, but does not know where they went or what they did next.