Shulka was pulling out the stops and making Novikov's argument untenable, so naturally the results he derived were also untenable.
Khrushchev immediately became excited: "Yes, Comrade Novikov! We can use ground troops as bait. Then the Germans will not only have the problem of fighter jets protecting the bombers, but also the problem of insufficient ammunition!"
Zhukov also interjected: "If the Air Force is still worried about not being able to win under this situation, then I don't think their existence has any meaning, because I believe that after several years of growth, they will still not be the opponent of the Germans!
"
This is a rough statement, because in this way the Soviet Air Force can have a great advantage. If the Air Force still does not dare to participate in the war, then the gap is too big, or it may be a psychological problem at all, just like Helu
Xiao Fu often said: coward.
"But what's the point of doing this?" Novikov's rebuttal was a bit weak: "I mean, the ground troops advanced under the enemy's bombing, and by the time they penetrated Karachi, they were already a remnant army! At the same time, some places were unable to
Avoid, such as the logistics supply force!"
"This is what we need to think about, Comrade Novikov!" Zhukov replied: "In fact, the infantry has always fought in such an environment. I don't think that previous battles with the enemy, including the Battle of Kharkov,
, or maybe the attack on Kotluban received strong support from the air force!"
Zhukov was expressing his protest to Novikov in another way, because a large part of the reason why the previous large-scale offensive was easily repelled by the German army was due to insufficient air support.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Novikov said: "If we don't have strong air support and are just passive or use ground troops as bait, the probability of our victory is very slim!"
So, this has entered into an endless cycle of mutual reluctance.
"We can also use deception tactics!" Shulka said.
"Deception tactics?" Novikov looked at Shulka in confusion.
"Yes!" Shulka replied: "I didn't say that the infantry would use real tanks and real cars as bait!"
"Yes!" Khrushchev responded: "We can use fake tanks, fake cars, and fake anti-aircraft gun positions!"
Novikov was silent for a while, and finally said helplessly: "Comrades, you may not know that the Air Force is undergoing reforms. I might as well tell you that they don't even have a normal establishment!"
"I know this!" Khrushchev replied: "But we have planes and pilots, don't we? Will it take a long time to organize them?"
"Yes, it will take a long time!" Novikov replied: "It may take several months, or even longer, because we are not sure which solution is correct!"
Khrushchev and Zhukov couldn't help but look at each other. They seemed to understand what Novikov meant.
Shulka also understands that the reform and organization of the Air Force is not as simple as that of the Army. The Army only needs to organize these people and equipment into a team and then build a top-down command system and then pull them out for practice and training.
That's almost it.
But the Air Force, especially the Soviet Air Force in this era, almost has to start over and adopt a more scientific, more reasonable, and more combat-effective organization, which requires reasoning, verification, training, etc., and even steals from the German Air Force.
division.
In fact, Novikov did exactly this. After all, Germany was the opponent of the Soviet army. The German air force was able to knock down the Soviet air force so quickly and forcefully and grind it to the ground. This proved that their theory, organization and tactics were perfect.
correct.
Just like the method usually adopted by the Germans, if you encounter the enemy's new tactics and don't know how to deal with them, it is very simple to use the same tactics as the enemy.
The same was true for the Soviet Air Force at this time, so Novikov was doing a job, which was to collect information from pilots who had participated in the battle, or to use reconnaissance aircraft to observe the formation and tactics of German fighter planes, and after integration, these would be
It became the theoretical basis for the reform of the Soviet Air Force.
For example, Novikov is famous for his pioneering use of the German two-plane formation tactic in Leningrad...
Prior to this, the Soviet army had continued to use the three-machine formation from the First World War.
The three-plane formation may be suitable for World War I, because the fighter jets in World War I had weak firepower and slow speed. When facing the enemy head-on, the three-plane formation can attack the target from three directions at the same time, so the probability of achieving victory in the first attack is very high.
However, as the industry advances and fighter jets become faster and faster, the shortcomings of the three-plane formation are amplified: the three-plane formation has one lead plane in front and two wingmen behind it. There is no problem when flying in a straight line, but as long as it turns,
Especially for large-angle turns, there will inevitably be a situation where the inner wingman's angle is too large and he must slow down, while the outer wingman's distance is lengthened and he must accelerate to maintain the formation. Even the lead aircraft cannot make a larger-angle turn at will because the inner wingman
Unable to turn the aircraft head in place.
In actual combat, it is necessary for fighter jets to turn at large angles. It is a normal means to avoid enemy pursuit.
As a result, the lead aircraft and the wingman in the three-aircraft formation were constrained by each other. During the battle, the pilots spent a lot of energy keeping up with their comrades' aircraft instead of the enemy's. At the same time, their flight trajectories were also traceable and they were not flexible enough in the air battle.
You will definitely suffer losses.
Novikov made a prompt decision and ordered to change the three-plane formation into a two-plane formation during the air battle over Leningrad... There is no problem of inside or outside in a two-plane formation. The wingman can follow the same angle directly behind the lead plane.
and speed maneuvers.
This made Novikov famous in the first battle, and he was soon promoted to Deputy People's Commissar of Defense in charge of the Air Force. After completing the reform of the Air Force, he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force.
"Like I said, we need a few months!" Novikov changed his attitude: "If we can wait until then, I agree with this combat plan. But if before the air force reform..."
As he spoke, Novikov shook his head helplessly: "It's not that I'm unwilling, it's not that we're not brave enough, or the pilots don't work hard, it's that we have to face reality... At this time, our air force is like a piece of loose sand.
We cannot hope that they can help our troops achieve victory in this state!"
What he said was reasonable and well-founded, and Khrushchev had nothing to say.
"We can't wait a few months!" Zhukov said: "To be precise, Stalingrad can't wait a few months!"
"That's unfortunate!" Novikov spread his hands: "Like I said, this plan won't work!"
"Why don't we talk about the reform of the Air Force?" Shulka said: "Maybe it won't take so long!" (To be continued)