Chapter 1946: Strategic Adjustment One
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"From now on, we are no longer the invincible air spears of the British Empire. We have to be a shield to block the blows from the air for the enemy's navy and army. Although this is very frustrating, although this transition is very painful and helpless , but now, in order for Great Britain's enemies to achieve a decent outcome in this war, we must do so, and there must be a great price to be paid, but for all this, we can only bear!" - Trench German Marshal
As an excellent air force campaign commander, Trenchard still has a very clear understanding of the situation. If he had to describe the current situation, it would be that the world is changing too fast. The huge British Air Force Prehistoric reptiles are somewhat unable to adapt to the current situation in the case of a sudden change in the environment. Whether it is strategic goals, tactical systems, or equipment, they cannot cope with the current pressure of the Luftwaffe. In this case, Trenchard decisively chose Stay out of the way while the Royal Air Force is reshuffled!
When the German bombers ended their first day of attack, the British counted the losses in the air and on the ground. At least more than 300 aircraft were destroyed, and the crew also killed more than 200 crew members. The ground crew was in a mess. Several important airports that had been fully constructed and prepared at the front were destroyed. This is not just a matter of replacing the airport with a new one. The deployment of materials, equipment, and personnel also needs to be reorganized. It can be said that after this battle, although the British frontline air power has not been destroyed, it has fallen into chaos.
Continuing to fight the Germans at this time is obviously looking for death, so Trenchard decisively withdrew all light bombers and medium bombers from the front-line airports to second-tier or even third-tier airports. On the front line, Trenchard only left 18 brigades of elite fighter units, and their mission was no longer to smash the German bomber units, but to harass and sneak attacks while preserving themselves.
"General Wells, I need you to immediately organize a dedicated technical team to select a suitable model from our current large number of light twin-engine bombers and turn it into an interceptor similar to the German K4M aircraft. In the future , countering the German strategic bombers will be one of our most important tasks, and now, the aircraft in the Royal Air Force are not up to this task, even the excellent aircraft DH9 is not good, the firepower of our fighter jets is too weak " Marshal Trenchard said to Major General Wells, who was in charge of aircraft technology.
"If possible, I hope that our fighters and interceptors can be equipped with weapons similar to the German 20MM machine gun. The 7.7MM machine gun is just a toy, and the French 13.2MM machine gun is not satisfactory." Trenchard came up with his own ideas.
"It's probably difficult. The German fighters are equipped with 20MM cannons because when designing the J4 fighter jets, they have already reserved space for the cannons at the nose position. They even installed the cannons in the engine In the central axis. These are all planned, but what about our fighter? The nose of the Camel fighter is too small to accommodate the 20MM cannon and ammunition. The DH9 nose looks very big, but it is still difficult to fit it in. It’s not easy, and most importantly, we don’t have the ability to mass-produce 20mm machine guns,” Wells said.
"Are you kidding? We have produced tens of thousands of various aircraft, but we don't have the ability to mass-produce cannons?!" Trenchard said it was very difficult to understand.
"It's very simple. The ground air defense forces need a lot of 2-pound guns, and the army combat forces need a lot of Lewis machine guns and Vickers machine guns. The large-caliber machine guns used by our air force are all provided by the French. Good preparation for the production of a small-caliber machine gun.
If we want to arrange a production line, let alone the manpower and material resources consumed, it is too late in terms of time alone. It is impossible for the French 13.2MM machine gun to increase the caliber by expanding the bore. If we make a new artillery and ammunition from scratch, it will take at least 3 months, and the production line will take about 2 months. I guess when our first 20MM machine gun comes out, the war will be over.... ... "Major General Wells said helplessly.
"So, we have to make do with the French until the end of the war?" Trenchard said a little discouraged.
"That's right. At least for now." Major General Wells was also a little helpless. At the beginning, when the German K6 bomber appeared, the major general asked the British Air Force to pay attention to this kind of twin-engine medium bomber with excellent performance, and pointed out , Now the British fighter jets use 7.7MM machine guns, the power is too small. But at that time, such bombers mainly appeared on the Eastern Front, and there were very few Western Fronts. The British seriously underestimated the size of the German bomber fleet, so they did not upgrade their firepower when the industrial capabilities allowed at the time. The 13.2MM Hotchkiss large-caliber machine gun was good, and then I bought a batch. It is barely enough to deal with the K6, but until now, facing hundreds of K8 bombers, the power of the Hotkiss is not enough.
"In addition, I hope you can join me in requesting the Imperial War Department to stop the production of 4-engine large bombers and reduce the number of medium-sized bombers such as 0 by 60%. We need to invest these manpower, resources and engines into single-engine fighters and light fighters. The bomber is in production," Trenchard said. The cost of one FB27 is about equal to three DH9s. The cost of a V1500 is equal to more than 5 DH9s. If it is replaced by a smaller aircraft like a camel, then this number will be even more astonishing. Now Britain's industrial capacity has begun to decline. In the case of the Luftwaffe's soldiers pressing down on the border, the British had to adjust their product structure.
"I'm afraid we have to discuss this with the navy. It's not up to us to decide. But in principle, I agree with your point of view. In addition, we have to pay attention to one more point, that is, I recommend using all air-cooled engines in the 350-horsepower engine category. , especially twin-engine bombers, because the air-cooled engine is more convenient to manufacture and more resistant to damage." Major General Wells said. In fact, Wells even wanted to replace some single-engine fighters with air-cooled engines, but considering that the cross-sectional area of the air-cooled engine is a bit large, it will increase resistance, and the nose may not be able to accommodate it, so he can only give up.
"I think it's okay." Trenchard nodded and said. War has always been about both quality and quantity. Although various liquid-cooled engines are excellent, their complex structures always limit their output.
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