Even the British may not have openly broken with China and stuffed these people into their heavy bomber force, which suffered heavy losses, to partially solve the idea that the number of qualified pilots was always insufficient due to the high casualty rate of their long-range bomber pilots.
Anyway, in the eyes of the British, the Chinese are thousands of miles away from Britain, and there are no British colonies around Manchuria. They cannot threaten any interests of the British. As long as there is no threat from the Japanese, the British will not care about China. According to people's thinking, for the British, all this is just a waste of aviation gasoline, and it is almost a cost-free transaction.
It's just that the British's new calculation was very precise, but they didn't know that they were destined to have a considerable amount of equipment. It could only be symbolic assistance. What Yang Zhen valued most was the long-range bombing that the British Air Force now only has. capabilities, especially the unique transoceanic bombing capability of an island nation.
When the Germans bombed Britain, they took off directly from France, the Netherlands and Belgium. The combat radius was not too far. It could be said that they crossed the English Channel, which was not very wide, and reached the British mainland. But if the British wanted to air attack Germany, they needed to Fly over the entire North Sea and most of the Baltic Sea, or fly over most of Western Europe.
The British bombed Germany throughout the entire voyage, far beyond the Germans. Compared with the Germans, the requirements for navigation and flight technology were higher, and whether it was navigation technology or the long-range bombing capabilities that the British now possess, Experience is what is most urgently needed and what is most lacking in the entire Anti-League strategy.
The current bombing carried out by the Anti-Japanese Alliance is basically tactical bombing. Even aircraft like the IL-4, which can barely be used as strategic bombers, are used for tactical bombing. Strategic bombing is almost never carried out. There is no way. The targets of strategic bombing are all Chinese cities. If you want to bomb them, this is really a taboo.
Except for an air raid on the Japanese naval base in Lushun in the first half of the year, and several air raids on the Chongjin Steel Base in North Korea in the first half of the year, no matter how ambitious the anti-alliance aviation forces were, they could only temporarily restrain themselves. There was no way. If a large-scale air strike is really carried out, let alone whether the current resources can sustain it, if only one bomb goes down, more Chinese will die.
The Japanese can bomb Chinese cities indiscriminately and according to their strategic needs. Naturally, they don't care how many Chinese people die, and they can only be more happy. However, the Chinese themselves cannot be indiscriminate and bombard themselves. Our compatriots are also targeted for bombing.
Because in that case, I'm afraid the Japanese will be happier. The main role of strategic bombing, in addition to destroying the enemy's war resources and the potential to sustain the war, is to psychologically destroy the war morale of the enemy's people. , completely destroying the determination of its citizens to maintain the war.
Even though the Japanese have occupied Northeast China for ten years, they know very well that the vast majority of Chinese people are not of the same mind as them. The current submission is just a posture under high pressure. The Chinese people have never been of the same mind as them. If we leave the protection of the Kwantung Army's bayonets today, tomorrow the Manchurian Imperial Government will fall.
The Manchukuo established under the bayonet was just a clump of duckweed floating on the water. It had no root system. When a wave came, everything would be in vain. If the Chinese bombing could disintegrate this resistance mentality, For the Kwantung Army, it was naturally the best choice.
As for how many Chinese people were killed or injured during the bombing, it has nothing to do with them, and it will not affect the Japanese's determination to fight on. They will not waver in the slightest because of the number of Chinese deaths, and for the Japanese Said, the more deaths in China, the better.
If the Anti-Japanese Alliance also targets cities in Manchuria, it will not only fail to disintegrate local morale, but will chill the hearts of the Chinese themselves and more easily arouse internal disputes among the Chinese themselves. In contrast to this, Even if the bombing of the industrial base in South Manchuria would have certain benefits in weakening the Kwantung Army's combat potential, the greater counter-effects would make this benefit insignificant.
In the first half of the year, the aviation force dispatched Il-4 bombers to carry out several air raids on Anshan Showa Steel Plant, Benxi Lake Steel Plant, Fengtian Arsenal, and Fushun Petroleum Refinery. All of them were severely criticized by Yang Zhen. The steelmaking and ordnance production there were The Chinese among the workers are a priceless treasure for the future of China. The Japanese may not feel sorry for them, but the Chinese themselves cannot but feel sorry for them.
If you drop this bomb, you can guarantee that all the Japanese will be killed. If a skilled worker is accidentally injured, it will be a huge irreparable loss. If it is not a strategic need, and it is temporarily out of reach, as long as there is a slight possibility, Yang Zhen wished he could bring all these workers over and allow them to carry out indiscriminate bombing.
After such a rigorous training, the aviation force was even more constrained when formulating plans and executing them. When formulating bombing targets, of course, as long as they were Chinese, they did not dare to include them in the plan. The anger they had on the 1st was so long. Time has passed, but the memory of the aviation soldier is still fresh.
As for the air strikes against North Korea, after all, there are not many valuable strategic targets there. Therefore, the strategic air strike capabilities of the Anti-Alliance Air Force are not as fast as the tactical combat capabilities. They have been rapidly improved under the training of actual combat, although they cannot be regarded as non-existent. But it is also blank in too many aspects, and the long-range navigation capability is currently the biggest weakness of the Anti-League.
The situation in Japan is the same as that of the United Kingdom. They are both island countries surrounded by seas. You need to fly across the sea to get in and out. Although compared to the English Channel, which is not very wide, the Northeast to Japan needs to fly through the entire Sea of Japan route. On the sea The distance is much wider, but after all, the British have much more experience in this area.
Moreover, although the British are not the originators of strategic bombing, their emphasis on strategic bombing is far beyond what other countries can compare with, and they also have their own uniqueness in the study of strategic bombing. Brother Douhet's Theoretically, their research is quite profound.
Even though they are now almost unable to fight back after being beaten by the Germans on the ground, in the air, apart from the fact that at the beginning of the war, the British suffered some losses due to some conservative ideas, after the Battle of Britain began, there was no It has suffered too many losses. Since the outbreak of war in Western Europe, the bombing of Germany has not stopped since the beginning of the Battle of Britain.
The research and development of its heavy bombers is currently the most important among all the countries participating in the war, and it is also developing the fastest. Compared with Germany, Italy and Japan, which pay more attention to the research and development of medium bombers and tactical bombers, or do not have the ability to manufacture similar bombers. , the British bombers are the real strategic bombers.
The Halifax bomber that entered service last year, the Stirling bomber that entered service at the beginning of this year, and the Lancaster bomber that has begun mass production are all strategic bombers with excellent performance, especially the Halifax bomber and the Lancaster bomber. The Stur bomber was the main force in strategic bombing of Germany throughout the war.
Although the Stirling bomber is slightly insufficient in terms of large-range bomb load, but that is compared to who else. Compared with other heavy bombers of the British and US military, it is a little worse, but at a distance of 1,500 kilometers At the combat radius, the bomb load of 1,500 kilograms could only dwarf all Japanese bombers.
Moreover, although this bomber is slightly inferior to other British bombers in terms of long-range bomb load, especially due to structural reasons, it cannot carry large aerial bombs or some special bombs, but its strength is It is also second to none, and among all the strategic bombers of the British Army in World War II, it is the strongest and has the best elasticity.
The British's vision in developing tactical aircraft was indeed somewhat conservative. Until the full-scale war in Western Europe broke out, they were still using bulky two-seat fighter jets. However, their vision in developing strategic aircraft can still be said to be quite first-rate. Within a short period of time, they developed three A strategic bomber with excellent performance.
Coupled with the strong aviation industry, electronics and communications industry foundation, the real comprehensive level of the British Air Force is actually higher than that of the Americans. It can be said to be the best performing air force in the entire World War II, regardless of the German Air Force. It has always performed extremely well, but in some aspects it still lags behind the British.
Compared with the British, the Germans can only be regarded as a tactical air force. For Yang Zhen, he has always believed that the British Air Force was the best performing air force in the entire World War II and was a true strategic air force. Although his tactical air force was not The most outstanding, but the strategic air force is absolutely superb.
As for the Asian battlefield, compared with the British bombers, the so-called heavy bombers of the Japanese Army and Navy are nothing. Except for some bombers that can compare in terms of range, the rest are not only protective capabilities, but also The bomb load capacity is very different. The maximum bomb load capacity is only one ton. Compared with the British bombers, it is the standard of a medium bomber.
The Japanese naval aviation is indeed of first-class quality, but its excessive reliance on elite tactics has destined this aviation to be unable to withstand the high-intensity consumption of war. The tactical use of their naval aviation is more suitable for dealing with local wars rather than a world war.
In addition, since the outbreak of the war in Western Europe, the British have developed a number of excellent navigation equipment based on their strong electronics industry, as well as navigation talents trained through the war, and a series of effective strategies and tactics. Not only the Germans It's incomparable, not even to Americans.
As for the British experience, strategies, and tactics, they have begun to prepare for air strikes against Japan. However, in addition to the lack of corresponding bombers and resources that can support long-term bombing against Japan, the most lacking thing is long-range bombing experience. And the corresponding navigation technology is most urgently needed.
If these experiences can be obtained, it will lay a good foundation for the Anti-Japanese Alliance to launch a comprehensive strategic bombing campaign against Japan in the near future, cultivate its own navigation talents for the Anti-Japanese Alliance, and provide a basis for self-developed certain aspects of missiles. Special equipment, provides a pretty good platform and saves a lot of time.
For Yang Zhen, who has made up his mind to launch a bombing campaign against Japan, he does not care much about the British bombers. The issue of the source of the bombers and the resources to support the bombing campaign against Japan, as the day gets closer and closer, will be solved in a short time. It can be solved.
Although it is a matter of sharing food with others, it is not impossible to solve after all. However, the navigation technology urgently needed for strategic bombing against Japan, as well as the experience of strategic long-range bombing, are difficult to obtain by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, and the Anti-Japanese Alliance does not have the Americans. That abundant capital can be exchanged for equipment for experience.
What's more, the strategic bombing of the United States in World War II itself relied on the experience of the British. Although the British's suggestion, although Yang Zhen, who had always been wary of the British and even surpassed the Soviets, seemed to have ulterior motives, it was Undoubtedly, this British suggestion solved the most urgent strategic shortcomings of the Anti-Japanese Alliance.