But despite the simple structure and rough manufacturing process of these landmines, the power of these landmines, which are huge in number and there was no final exact number for many years after the war, is beyond everyone's expectation. Especially the landmines are all over Japan.
The minefields in agricultural areas are even more powerful than the mines dropped by the so-called starvation tactics adopted by the US military.
Moreover, some landmines whose production technology is not very rough have a lifespan far exceeding the design. After all, each carpenter has a different level of craftsmanship, and the quality of the things he makes is also different. Things made by excellent carpenters can last for more than ten years.
Insects are born, and so are the mines created.
In fact, the harm of these landmines continued for many years after the war. The U.S. troops who landed in Japan also suffered greatly from these landmines, killing and injuring many people. These were all over Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
, and even the minefields in Hokkaido have made the Japanese talk about it for more than ten years.
By the time of the autumn harvest in 2003, quite a few places in the main grain-producing areas of Japan's Honshu Island had reached the point where farmers were so bombed that they did not dare to go to the fields, and could only watch the mature crops in the fields rotting in the ground.
.Directly led to widespread grain harvest failure throughout Japan in 1943.
Countless wooden anti-infantry mines with ineffective detectors were just one of the hardships suffered by the Japanese in this war. As the war progressed, not only bombs fell on the Japanese, but also unknown things under their feet.
The landmines that exploded at that time and a large number of chemical reagents that could destroy the Japanese rice harvest were constantly spread into the Japanese farmland.
However, it was not until the second half of 1943 that the Anti-Japanese Alliance bombed Japan with increasing intensity. However, due to the production of explosives and the fact that the focus of the military industry was still on the production of urgently needed domestic equipment and ammunition, the bombing of Japan did not continue.
Although it cannot be said to be intermittent, the intervals between bombings are still very large.
Basically, there is an interval of three to five days between every two bombings. Intervals of one week or half a month are not uncommon. Moreover, the focus of bombing is still concentrated on major cities with a large number of arsenals.
For other places in mainland Japan, the main methods are to drop landmines and block traffic and major food-producing areas.
In terms of the number of bombings and the intensity of the bombers dispatched, the Japanese had absolutely no rules to follow. Once, due to conflicts with the United States and Britain, the Anti-Japanese Alliance did not conduct any bombings for a month and a half.
That is to say, within this month and a half, the Anti-Japanese Alliance did not dispatch a single bomber. The Japanese, who had mobilized more than 300 fighter jets, waited in vain for a month and a half, wasting a lot of precious resources for the Japanese at the time.
troops.
While bombing tactics were constantly being adjusted, under Yang Zhen's personal leadership, in order to reduce the permanent losses of pilots, the Anti-Japanese Alliance also improved its original rescue tactics. Although the three interception lines deployed by the Japanese army over the Sea of Japan were
There was a lack of early warning radar and backward communications, as well as a lack of night fighters.
Moreover, facing the thick-skinned American and British strategic bombers, the Japanese Army fighter jets, which only had two 12mm machine guns and even a 7.7mm machine gun, were obviously struggling to deal with it. Although the Japanese continued to improve their airborne weapons and add more
Equipped with a twenty millimeter cannon.
But these prototypes are very sophisticated, but in theory they always fail to hit when used. They are too particular about lightweight modified cannons because they are too extreme. The weight has been reduced, and the reliability has also been greatly reduced.
The machine gun that always jammed as it descended was far less effective than the Japanese expected.
Most of the time, the Japanese pilots who took off to intercept either fired all their shells and failed to hit a single shot. Or because the cannon jammed, they could only watch the anti-Union bombers slip away from their eyes and were helpless. Or they could only watch helplessly.
The bomber, which was riddled with holes from airborne machine gun bullets but was unscathed, turned around and withdrew after dropping the bomb.
Due to the lack of powerful airborne weapons, the imported or self-developed cannons either have poor reliability or extremely poor performance. In order to shoot down these thick-skinned bombers, the Japanese Army even modified the Taisho Ten used by the army.
The Type 1 year flat-firing cannon and the Type 94 20mm automatic cannon were all mounted on the aircraft.
However, the interception effect of Japanese interceptor fighters was not good because they lacked sufficient airborne firepower. However, the Japanese ground anti-aircraft artillery firepower was extremely fierce. It was basically impossible not to pay a price when bombing the Japanese mainland.
.More or less in every operation, bombers were shot down.
In the case of intercepting fighter jets due to low efficiency of airborne weapons, the Japanese Army, which prefers to go to extremes, simply focused its main energy on increasing ground anti-aircraft weapons. It not only accelerated the production of a 75mm anti-aircraft gun
, the Type 105 anti-aircraft gun of the 14th year of Taisho, the Type 99 88mm anti-aircraft gun, and the Type 3 120 large-caliber anti-aircraft gun was also developed.
At the same time, although Japanese fighter jets lack interceptor firepower, their combat posture is quite fierce. Especially the life-threatening spirit of Japanese pilots is unmatched by other countries. The machine guns are helpless, and the limited shells of the cannons are used up and they rarely hit a single one.
The Japanese pilots went crazy and simply flew their planes to adopt ramming tactics.
Therefore, the Japanese ground-to-air firepower still poses a considerable threat to the resistance bomber group. How to rescue the air crews on the battle-damaged bombers as much as possible when the foundation is still very weak?
It is a severe test for the Anti-League.
No matter what type of American heavy bomber it is, the crew on board is eight to ten. The smallest Stirling bomber has a crew of seven. Once it is shot down, the loss of the aircrew will undoubtedly be huge. The education level is quite worth it.
, even most people are still illiterate. The Chinese do not have the foundation as Americans, and they can train a large number of qualified air crews in a short period of time.
The difficulty of training a bomber pilot is even higher than that of a fighter pilot. A large number of air crews are still quite difficult for the Chinese with weak foundation. The increasingly fierce anti-aircraft firepower of the Japanese has forced the Anti-Japanese Alliance to
Improve the method of rescuing pilots. Otherwise, the Anti-Japanese Alliance, which is still quite weak, cannot afford the war losses like the United States and Britain.
The routes of the Anti-Japanese bomber group are all in the Sea of Japan. Once the aircraft is shot down, especially if it is shot down on the Japanese mainland, it is basically equivalent to a permanent loss. With a weak foundation, how can we make it as possible as possible?
Rescuing the aircrew from the downed aircraft and reducing certain losses became a problem that the Anti-Japanese Alliance had to face after they expanded their bombing campaign against Japan.
Through negotiations, Yang Zhen made certain modifications to seven Sunderland large seaplanes obtained from the British on the basis of several original American-made Catalina seaplanes. The entire cabin was overhauled.
, two fuel tanks equipped with self-sealing and armor protection were installed, and detachable manual refueling equipment was installed.
A five-meter-long seamless steel pipe extending from the tail of the aircraft is used as a hard refueling pipeline. It is specially deployed about 700 kilometers away from the Japanese mainland to be used as a water tanker. If a small search aircraft deployed at the front needs refueling
, then proceed immediately to refuel at the designated meeting point.
Nearly a hundred small Kingfisher, Canard, and Goose seaplanes were acquired from the Americans. Although they had a short range, they were quite light and even had a certain amount of self-defense firepower. They were used as search aircraft to search for parachuting pilots.
The bombing campaign began along the west coast of Japan to rescue parachuting pilots.
Although these light seaplanes have a small load capacity, their own range cannot support a round trip from the base to the west coast of Japan. If these light planes are relied on alone, although they can follow the bomber group, they will not be able to complete the return flight, and each plane can load
The number of people is even more limited.
However, these light seaplanes have a light and flexible body, which can effectively avoid Japanese observation posts, and can fly at ultra-low altitudes to avoid detection by radars that have begun to be deployed. Although their airborne self-defense firepower cannot compete with Japanese fighter jets
Fighting, but not without any room to fight back.
The tactic of using these small seaplanes as first-line rescue and deploying large seaplanes on the second line as contact transfer stations and refueling points is much safer than deploying large seaplanes directly near the west coast of Japan. At least there will be no rescue.
The aircraft needs to be rescued.
The Sunderland seaplane is a large four-engine water transport aircraft made in the UK. It has a range of more than 4,300 kilometers. When fully loaded, the range can reach more than 2,800 kilometers. The body is extremely strong and the self-defense firepower is quite strong.
.The maximum load capacity is three tons, although it is not as good as that of a transport aircraft.
However, the advantage of being able to take off and land at sea level at any time was unmatched by the C-47 transport aircraft, the main transport aircraft of the Anti-Japanese War at that time. In terms of long-range load capacity, it far exceeded the American Catalina seaplane. After
Modified by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, these Sunderland seaplanes can be used to support rescue operations 500 kilometers away from the coast of the Sea of Japan when there are no big waves.
The Sunderland is used as a refueling aircraft for light seaplanes, deployed on the second line as a receiving aircraft, and as a temporary offshore refueling point. The flexible light seaplanes with much smaller targets are used as the main force for first-line rescue. This is the role of the Anti-Japanese Alliance in
During the entire air raid against Japan, in the absence of ships, the main rescue method was adopted.
Putting these light aircraft into a formation of six, and dispatching three to five formations at one time to and from refueling and rescue, the effect is far more than simply using large seaplanes for rescue. At the same time, the large number of aircraft dispatched at one time means that
The scope and density of the search are also much larger.
Each formation uses three Goose aircraft that can carry eight people as the main force for rescue. One canard seaplane serves as a warning and search aircraft. The other Kingfisher seaplane serves as a protection aircraft for the formation.
On the periphery of the search formation, there is also a Catalina seaplane serving as a support and command aircraft.
Even if these light aircraft are captured by Japanese fighter jets, the loss of one being shot down is far less than that of dispatching a large seaplane. Considering the issue of coordination, the radio equipment of all seaplanes has been modified and can be used effectively at any time.
Liaise with second-line connecting aircraft.
Moreover, every time the Anti-Japanese Alliance dispatched, they sent two to five B-17 bombers, carrying only a small number of bombs and flares. They did not go deep into Japanese territory, but only hovered on the west coast of Japan to assist in the search for parachuting pilots. And at all times
Be prepared to attack Japanese warships to ensure the success of the rescue.
At the same time, all crew members of each bomber are equipped with orange-red life vests and flare guns to indicate targets for rescue aircraft. Even a considerable number of pilots are equipped with the largest number of Japanese non-commissioned officer-level binoculars captured on the battlefield.
Cooperate with the air rescue. And repeatedly tell all air crews involved in the battle to insist on parachuting to the west coast as much as possible.