You must know that in this battle, the anti-alliance fighter units not only had to face the Kwantung Army flying group, but also the Japanese North China Aviation Corps. While ensuring air superiority, they also had to undertake ground support operations, and in many cases also To cope with the pressure from Americans and to visit Japan from time to time, it can be said that I am very busy.
Although the main force of the aviation corps stationed in China has been transferred south, the few combat aircraft remaining in North China and the Japanese Army Air Force urgently transferred from central China still cause a lot of trouble to the Anti-Japanese Alliance. In fact, the Anti-Union fighter force still There is no escape from the situation of fighting on two fronts.
Precisely because of the dilemma of insufficient tactical support aircraft, in the original combat plan of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, these British light bombers, which should have arrived at the end of April 1st, were in a very important position, but because of The British's little calculation, and the actual situation that was only put in place just before the battle was about to start, almost didn't disrupt Yang Zhen's entire combat plan.
Moreover, although these British-made light bombers were gradually put into front-line operations in batches in the later stages of the campaign, the performance of the aviation forces was very poor for such light bombers, which suffered heavy losses due to sneak attacks by a small number of Japanese aviation forces and ground artillery strikes. satisfy.
I think that except for the range and bomb load, this kind of aircraft is almost useless. Not only can it not be compared with the US-made A-20 attack aircraft, but also compared with the Su-2 light bomber, it has no advantages, let alone high altitude. Cannons and fighter jets, even the Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun, can easily shoot them down.
At the beginning, the aviation force was still in urgent need of tactical support aircraft for the front line, but these light bombers shipped from the UK could only be busy with conversion training and temporary modifications in the rear and were unable to participate in the war at the first time. In private, they faced this problem from the British. This kind of behavior harms others and does not benefit oneself, and I am very angry.
But after these aircraft were put into the battlefield, the aviation force discovered that this kind of aircraft, which they had placed great hopes on before, brought no hope. These aircraft were simply a pile of waste. They arrived too late and had to temporarily replace the machine guns. , the huge amount of time wasted can even be described as a blessing in disguise for the aviation force that suffered a huge loss.
Although this British-made light bomber was only put on the battlefield in the second half of the battle, the first batch of only 70 aircraft was put on the battlefield, with a battle damage rate of as high as 90%, and a total of more than 60 aircraft in just a few days. The losses were unacceptable to the aviation force no matter what.
In fact, soon after this kind of aircraft was put into the battlefield, the aviation force did not dare to let this kind of aircraft enter the depths of the Japanese army for bombing without escort. They could only let it operate in the forward positions or over the guerrilla zones of our army in North China. Even if Occasionally, they were dispatched to carry out in-depth bombing of the Japanese troops, and the aviation force also sent fighter jets to escort them. At the same time, the area of activity did not dare to stray far away from our military base in North China.
Even before a ground attack, fighter jets must be used to clear the air defense firepower around the target before the aircraft dares to launch a ground attack. There is no way to use it in forward positions or in the guerrilla zone of the North China Army. Once the aircraft is shot down, the pilot There is still a possibility of being rescued.
However, once a deep bombing mission is carried out in the consolidated occupied areas of the Japanese army, the pilots will basically be lost. The loss of the aircraft is not unacceptable to the aviation force. However, if the loss of pilots is too large, the price will be the developing Anti-Alliance aviation force. In any case It's also unaffordable.
Although this kind of aircraft has the longest range among all the tactical support aircraft of the Anti-Japanese War, the fragile protection capabilities and poor flight performance of this kind of aircraft in battle have made the aviation force dare not let it carry out the most effective control of the Japanese army. The tight Japanese-occupied areas in southern Manchuria, as well as the bombing missions in the Pingjin area in North China.
After the conversion of this kind of aircraft was completed, during the first sortie to cooperate with the Taiyue Military Region troops to bomb the Tongpu Line in the key blockade area in Shanxi, the eighteen aircraft dispatched lost ten of them to the interception of ground firepower. Seven aircraft, the battle damage rate was as high as 99%.
One of them was even wounded by a rifle volley fired by the Japanese troops on the ground when it was being pulled up after dropping the bomb. It crashed after barely struggling to escape from the Japanese controlled area on the ground. It was shot down by three rifle volleys, and this attack The bullets that should have penetrated the strongest troops in the aircraft were fired from the Type 38 rifle.
In the ensuing blockade mission, due to the relatively long range, the first batch of 70 aircraft were specially used to blockade the Tongpu Railway and Jinpu Line. Only five days after entering the war, only three were left. They were reluctantly dispatched, and the remaining ones were either shot down, or were scrapped due to excessive injuries after barely returning home. Their high battle damage rate set a record for the Anti-Alliance Air Force since its establishment.
Fortunately, most of the air crews whose planes were shot down were rescued by the Taiyue Military Region, which was responsible for the ground blockade mission, and the losses were not great. Otherwise, the result would have been even more unacceptable to the Anti-Alliance aviation forces. The battle damage rate of ninety-nine points was the first time this occurred since the formation of the Anti-Alliance Air Force.
Not only is this kind of aircraft unable to be put into large-scale use, it even involves considerable energy from the fighter force. Because without escort, this kind of aircraft has almost no survivability. Not to mention the latest fighter jet of the Japanese Army, which is the old-fashioned Nine Type 7 fighter jets can easily shoot it down.
Even except for the first few times, the aviation force will dispatch fighter jets to escort this aircraft every time it sorties out. If there is no air threat, they will first clear the ground anti-aircraft firepower, but it still cannot significantly reduce the battle losses. The rate was so high that within a short time of entering the war, almost 100% of the first batch of seventy aircraft put into combat was lost.
In this battle, this kind of aircraft was not only the last to participate in the battle, but also achieved the least results. It also suffered the most losses among the aircraft equipped with the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Even though it was responsible for fighting for air supremacy, it also had to find time to work part-time. The losses of ground suppression and fire support fighters were not as great.
At the end of the battle, except for two squadrons that were transferred to Yan'an and used as decorations to demonstrate against certain parties, they took the time to fly several times to Xi'an and the Houtao area to suppress the tempestuous thoughts of some parties and to encourage the people in the rear areas. In addition to losing morale, all frontline activities have basically stopped.
Even while the battle was still in progress, the aviation force, which had been fed up with this kind of aircraft that had almost no survivability on the battlefield, issued a report and requested that all such aircraft be withdrawn from active service. The aircraft that had not yet completed the replacement of equipment could not be replaced. All improvements were stopped.
There is no way for the aviation force to bear such high losses. They would rather leave these aircraft behind and let them slowly rust. The aviation force does not dare to risk high battle losses and continue to destroy these aircraft. The aircraft was put into use in frontline operations.
Yang Zhen, who had never expected that the British would provide such a batch of super garbage to the Anti-Japanese Alliance, couldn't suppress the anger in his heart after receiving the report. In front of Pearson and Ross, he signed directly with a sullen face without hesitation. After saying "agree", he photographed the report in front of these two guys and walked away.
Originally, Yang Zhen had always wondered why the British bomber, which at least seemed to have decent performance on paper, had remained unknown in the history he knew, even though he was considered a "well-informed" person. , and have never heard of it.
Why did the British, who have always been stingy, take out so many aircraft to support the Anti-Japanese War when they also needed a large number of tactical support aircraft in the North African battlefield and Southeast Asia? Why did the Soviet Union go crazy with this batch of aircraft? They would rather continue to use the old SB bombers than seize any of them in accordance with their so-called agreement. Even if the Anti-Japanese Alliance took the initiative to raise it, they would find every excuse not to do so.
It wasn't until he received the report from the aviation force that Yang Zhen realized that these so-called latest light bombers in the British population were basically a group of garbage that he couldn't stand even if they were trying to take advantage of them. The British were fooling themselves, thinking that they They really don’t understand airplanes, so they use a bunch of junk to fool and prevaricate themselves, and to block the mouths of Americans.
Although an established fact has now been created and even getting angry cannot change anything, Yang Zhen also knows that he must take measures to avoid similar things from happening in the future. Yang Zhen can accept what the United States and Britain handed over and use it with themselves. Compared with other equipment, its performance is second-rate.
Because he knows that neither the Americans nor the British will hand over their most advanced things to the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Westerners are no worse than the Chinese in the art of checks and balances, but he cannot accept third-rate, even Fourth-rate equipment is like combat aircraft. Yang Zhen can accept mediocre fighter jets like the P-40, but he cannot accept the even more backward P-35 fighter jets.
This incident made Yang Zhen so angry. It was not just a matter of being deceived, but also the harm to the war situation, the serious irresponsibility to his own troops, and the callousness to the blood and lives of the soldiers. Although Yang Zhen also knew, For the Americans and British, there are not many solutions they can take.
Unlike dealing with the Soviets, they have many means, but the actions that should be taken must be taken. The British fooling themselves with rags must not happen again. Planes are not tanks, and it is really impossible to do so. The crew can just withdraw. Once the plane is in the sky, there will be little chance of escape if it fails.
Yang Zhen directly told Brigadier General Ross that either the British would choose to stop providing all assistance, and the Anti-League would not provide them with any strategic cooperation. Although the Anti-League would not be able to completely drive away the Japanese without the assistance of the United States and Britain, It is possible to leave China but stick to the current control area.
When the Japanese army loses control of the Anti-Japanese Alliance and wants to continue to increase its troops in Southeast Asia and Australia, it will have nothing to do with the Anti-Japanese Alliance. All consequences will be borne by the British themselves, or the British will ensure that similar incidents will not happen again. The Anti-Japanese Alliance and the British side are still allies that can cooperate strategically.
If the British do not respond, or a similar situation occurs again, then he will make a public report directly to the media around the world, so that people all over the world know the so-called true face of the British, even though he also knows , Americans will not allow these news to appear in the American media.
But Yang Zhen believes that Americans cannot silence the mouths of other people around the world, nor can they control the media of neutral countries, nor can they control the mouths of their enemies. By then, the whole world will know the true face of the British who have framed their allies. Look at you British people. How can you win the trust of your other current allies?
Regarding Yang Zhen's protest, Brigadier General Ross, who had been looked down upon for a whole month, did not hesitate. He reported the content of the protest to London word for word, and Pearson also reported Yang Zhen to the United States at the same time. The notification was forwarded back to Washington,