Chapter 215: Eight Rules of Air Combat
Chapter 3 is late, sorry!
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Carter was obviously the most nervous.
While Gallieni was busy looking for the whereabouts of the plane, Carter asked Charles with a pale face: "Major, if the plane falls into the hands of the enemy, will they learn this technology quickly?"
Charles nodded slightly. The "machine gun firing coordinator" is not some high-tech device. The Germans can understand the principle just by looking at its appearance, and it is not difficult to copy it.
Carter sighed and blamed himself: "This is simply a disaster. If the enemy's planes are also equipped with machine guns, it will threaten the entire sky and the lives of pilots..."
Carter saw it as his responsibility.
"It has nothing to do with you, Captain!" Charles consoled him. "This day will come. It will happen as long as we are on duty."
"I know, Major!" Carter replied uneasily, "The problem is that we are far from ready. Last time you asked us to conduct an air combat exercise, many people did not take it seriously, and even if they did, they did not know how to practice. In addition, there are many tasks that follow, so..."
Ciel nodded in understanding.
The pilots did not take the drill seriously because they had a "die of comfort" mentality:
The 1st Flying Squadron had absolute superiority in the air. They had machine guns while the enemy did not. In this absolutely safe state, they did not have any pressure, and a mere verbal order was not enough to attract their attention.
Some pilots are willing to practice, but that is just practice. It is difficult for them to enter a life-and-death war situation.
It's normal to not be able to find the training direction.
After thinking for a while, Charles said slowly: "First, observe the position of the sun and try to keep your back to the sun!"
Carter, who had been looking down with a depressed look on his face, was stunned when he heard this, and looked up at Charles in disbelief.
He had several years of flying experience and had been studying air combat during this period, so he certainly understood what Charles was talking about.
The position of the sun is very important. If you face the sun directly, you will be unable to open your eyes due to the brightness and can only vaguely see the backs of enemy planes, while the enemy can comfortably see the planes under the sunlight.
Is this the principle of air combat?
"Wait a minute, Major!" Realizing this, Carter stood up and ran to the desk, took a notebook and pencil, ran back, and wrote the word "sunshine" on the paper.
Charles continued slowly, "Second rule, once you enter a battle, you must attack firmly, and don't have any thoughts of retreating or escaping!"
Carter agrees.
Air combat is different from other battles. Retreating and escaping in air combat often means being bitten by the enemy, which will put yourself in a dangerous situation!
So, there is no turning back, we can only fight to the end.
"Third rule!" Charles continued, "only shoot at close range!"
Carter quickly wrote the word "distance".
There is no doubt about this, a closer distance means a higher hit rate.
Bullets in the air are very precious. The two machine guns only have 500 bullets in total. In principle, all the bullets can be used up in 30 seconds. If you fire indiscriminately without considering the hit rate, it almost means handing over the chance of success and your own life to the opponent.
"The fourth rule is to always keep a close eye on enemy aircraft and predict their feints!"
Carter hesitated. It was not that he had any objection to this, but that it was difficult.
However, Carter immediately realized that this was the focus of training, which required a lot of training or experience gained in actual combat.
Then the fifth, sixth, and seventh...
Charles listed eight points in one breath. Carter wrote them down in his notebook and looked at Charles in surprise. He couldn't believe that these valuable experiences were summarized by a man who couldn't fly a plane and had never participated in an air combat.
Each of these is a golden saying that cannot be violated, otherwise there will be a high probability that there will be no next opportunity to fight.
Finally, Charles said, "You can let the soldiers train according to these eight rules!"
"Yes, Major!" Carter nodded heavily: "I will let them remember these rules..."
"It's not about remembering it." Charles interrupted Carter: "It's about making it a habit."
Carter understood instantly and answered, "Yes, Major! It's not about remembering it, it's about making it a habit!"
It's like swimming. There's no point memorizing the movements. You'll still make the same mistakes once you're in the water.
The only way to learn it is to practice in the water, experience it over and over again, and slowly correct it until it becomes a habitual action.
The same is true in air combat. When an enemy plane dives down on you and sprays bullets, you will forget everything in your mind once you get nervous, and it may be too late when you realize you made a mistake.
Only by turning them into habits through constant practice will you be able to make correct responses like conditioned reflexes in combat.
Carter held the notebook in his hand as if it were a treasure, and then looked at Charles curiously: "Major, you came up with these completely... relying on your imagination?"
"Most of them," Charles answered without missing a beat. "Some came from watching planes in combat, and some came from sitting on a plane."
Charles was referring to the air battles he had seen in Antwerp, where he had commanded aircraft and had escaped by plane, and these experiences had become the perfect excuse for him.
Carter had no doubts. He exclaimed, "It's obvious that you have such a talent, Major!"
In fact, this is not a talent, but the "Eight Rules of Air Combat" summarized by the German ace pilot Polk.
Polk shot down 40 enemy planes in air battles. During the combat, he summarized and concluded these tactics, some of which are still of great reference value today.
Charles couldn't help but wonder: Is it ironic to use German tactics to fight the Germans?
At this time, Polk was not yet famous. What would he think when he saw the "Eight Rules of Air Combat" summarized by Charles one day?
He would be shocked: This is so strange, they are the same as my thoughts, and Charles actually came up with this conclusion a year ago!
Gallieni probably heard some of what Charles said. He took a break from his busy schedule and jokingly said, "I remember someone said before that he had no experience in air combat command and refused to be the captain of the flying squadron on this basis."
"I did not think of that at the time, General!" replied Charles.
This is the truth. Charles can't even fly a plane, so how could he have thought that he could command a flying squadron.
Now it seems that he can do the job and no one can do it better.
Gallieni smiled and nodded: "Are you trying to say this is your talent? But I admit it!"
Charles was speechless. If it wasn't "talent", what other explanation could there be?
(The picture above shows Oswald Polk, the father of German air force tactics)
(End of this chapter)
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