Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Contrary to many people's stereotypes, the Japanese army's recruitment requirements for pilots have never been strict. As early as the first half of 1934, they began to recruit aviation talents in line with the old Western powers.

Thanks to this relatively enlightened policy, the IJA had no shortage of pilots throughout World War II.

Even in the Battle of Nomonhan, when the Kwantung Army Aviation and the VVS destroyed more than half of the Manchurian air force in a bayonet fight, the Japanese were able to regroup in the shortest possible time.

Of course, recruiting soldiers widely despite insufficient resources will inevitably come at a certain price.

The "kamikaze agents" who inexplicably break away from the formation on the battlefield are one of the problems exposed under this system.

"Baga, pull the nose of the plane up quickly, what the hell are you doing, you idiots! Keep your eyes on the instrument panel and fly based on the parameters indicated by the instrument. Don't blindly trust your eyes and perception."

"Hurry up and think about the remedy plan I talked about in the manipulation class. Come back quickly!"

"Pull up!"

Seeing his trainee and subordinate flying a fighter jet at a 45-degree angle diving straight toward the ground, the captain of the Japanese Army Aviation squadron supporting the force suddenly panicked.

The old devil quickly picked up the communicator and yelled loudly in the all-combat channel. He kept emphasizing the technical essentials and tried to save the lives of the students through on-site guidance.

It’s a pity that the accident happened so quickly and suddenly.

The series of emergency plans he had drawn up before leaving had no room for implementation.

"Boom! Boom!"

Following a series of violent explosions and bright flames that illuminated half the night sky, the Type 97 fighter planes that had been misoperated turned into fragments all over the sky, scattered on the Jinpu Railway like Broadsword mines.

Several unskilled Japanese pilots even went to meet Tianhuang on the spot.

This mysterious operation once stunned the comrades of the Second Air Division. In ancient times, Zhang Fei broke the Dangyang Bridge with his drink. Could it be that they could also scare the Japanese to death with the majestic appearance of the Storm fighter?
After a brief moment of confusion, Fang Ziyi, who had more combat experience, finally saw through everything. He decisively picked up the communicator and ordered the confused soldiers:

"Spatial disorientation, the pilot of the Japanese fighter plane encountered spatial disorientation! Even with someone guiding them, they still made a serious mistake, and even before they died, they didn't even take any remedial measures. The enemy's support squadron must have a large number of novices."

"While he is sick, he will die!"

"Everyone, follow me and pick on the weak! We should try to completely break up the Japanese Army Aviation's battle formation in the first wave of attack."

"Roger that!"

Spatial disorientation, to put it simply, is the confusion in pilots' sense of space when flying through clouds or at night.

This kind of loss of sense of direction, or even difficulty in judging one's own pitch angle, is not uncommon, and it happens from time to time even in air combat games and simulators.

Human perception is sometimes so unreliable.

There are many reasons for the above-mentioned air crashes, but the main culprit is the mental fatigue caused by continuous combat.

In order to deal with the almost endless and horrific air raids by the 2nd Air Division, the pilots of the Japanese Army Aviation were on standby almost 24 hours a day, ready to take off and attack at the first sign of trouble.

After struggling for nearly ten days, their physical strength and energy had reached their limits.

Driving while fatigued can lead to frequent accidents, let alone flying a fighter jet.

In addition to mental fatigue, obstructed vision was also one of the causes. The Japanese crashed before dawn, and there was no stable reference target in the airspace or on the ground.

In a dark and unfamiliar environment, as a rookie pilot and driving under fatigue, to be honest, with so many negative conditions stacked on top of each other, it would be difficult for even the toughest person to survive.

"Climb, keep climbing, the current height is not high enough."

"We don't have the advantage in numbers, so we shouldn't rush to test Baofeng's mid- and low-altitude combat capabilities. Our first priority is to kill the enemy's manpower."

After the order to attack was given, Fang Ziyi and his wingman took the lead and attacked decisively.

Both of them were elite soldiers, and their ability to seize opportunities was unique. They took advantage of the moment when the enemy was in disarray, converted the speed advantage of their fighter planes into an altitude advantage, and then converted potential energy into kinetic energy.

Life and death are in an instant.

Even though some of the Japanese soldiers maneuvered and evaded in time after being reminded by their squadron leaders, two Type 97 fighter planes did not react fast enough and were hit in mid-air and turned into sparks.

After the dive attack, the two Storm fighters immediately left the battlefield at full speed, then climbed again to prepare for the next raid.

"Team! If I can shoot down one more enemy plane, I'll officially become an ace pilot!"

"Hurry, hurry, let's continue the attack. This is the first time I've seen such a soft persimmon that doesn't fight back since I joined the army."

Hearing the excited cheers of his wingman pilot, Fang Ziyi couldn't help but smile. In fact, his current mentality was very similar to those hardcore players in later generations who were addicted to Mount & Blade.

In this mission, the comrades who bombed the 23rd Division of the Japanese Army with him were like the senior soldiers at the top of the list of the Mounted and Bladed troops.

They grew from "farmers" holding "pitchforks" to fearless pioneers wearing scale armor and leading the way with swords and shields. They participated in and witnessed the rise of the Second Air Division from obscurity to the best in Asia.

Fang Ziyi would be extremely distressed if one of these elite soldiers was missing. Therefore, every time he was on a mission, he would repeatedly remind everyone to pay attention to safety and not to underestimate the enemy even if they were weak.

"Okay, we still have enough ammunition, so I will attack with you again. But you must remember that even a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit, so you must never underestimate the enemy."

"You take the lead this time, and I'll be the wingman."

"okay!"

······
At noon that day, Chuncheng.

During the time when the 3rd Flying Division was covering the ground forces' advance southward, the Kwantung Army's aviation leaders were also busy.

At this time, in the operations meeting room of the Second Air Force, Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Suzuki Roedomichi was gathering with a group of senior officers in front of a special air combat map.

"Gentlemen, why are you all silent? Have you all become mute?"

"In the Battle of Nomonhan, the Second Air Group was not afraid of the enemy even though most of its members were killed. Why did everyone show fear before the battle when facing the Eighth Route Army Air Force, which was established less than two years ago?"

"Come on, cheer up. The soldiers on the front line need air support, and Commander-in-Chief Umezu has asked us many times when we will attack. Time waits for no one, so we must all brainstorm."

After experiencing the defeats in two large-scale air battles at Zhongtiao Mountain and Xinkou, Japan's Army Aviation has long since put aside its contempt.

Although the old Japanese were very reluctant, they had to admit that the Eighth Route Army Air Force was truly super-powerful and was growing stronger even faster than their army.

To deal with an enemy of this level, the Third Flying Division of the North China Front Army and their Second Air Force are definitely not enough.

And you can only take it by wits, not by force.

Facts have proved that the method of provoking the enemy officers always has a miraculous effect. When Suzuki Ryumichi scolded his subordinates in a sarcastic tone, the commanders of the two flight groups immediately became anxious.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, you are going too far! We are not afraid of the Eighth Route Army Air Force!"

"Everyone is silent because they are thinking about the most appropriate response plan. If we don't need to consider losses, casualties and threats from the north, the Second Air Force can attack with all its forces."

"But we can't mobilize all our troops."

In early June this year, the Kwantung Army carried out unprecedented strengthening and integration of its air force.

The current Second Air Force consists of the 2nd and 5th Flying Groups, equipped with a total of 1025 combat aircraft of various types.

If the two old Japanese devils, Michiro Umezu and Suzuki Ryumichi, could really make up their minds and go all-in to attack with their entire army in one go.

Those 400 fighter planes plus 410 light and heavy bombers could indeed pose a certain degree of threat to the Eighth Route Army Air Force and the Shandong Provincial Military Region.

But the problem is that they don't have that much power, and the strength of 20 flying squadrons is already the limit for the two of them.

After a period of deep thought, it was finally Teramoto Kumaichi, the commander of the 2nd Flight Group, who broke the silence in the conference room. The lieutenant general cleared his throat and said with a slightly helpless tone:

"Okay, the main force of the Army Aviation this time is our Flight Group, so the final plan will be decided by me."

"I think the best strategy is to use the 3rd Air Division as bait and let those quick-trained recruits disperse the enemy air force's limited strength in Lu Province."

"If the rookies can't fight, they can just run away. Even if there are more than 200 flying pigs, the Eighth Route Army can't catch them all in a day."

"If that doesn't work, then add a few more empty trains. Although these are valuable, our Kwantung Army still has a lot of them in stock. Everything is for victory, and all of the above are inevitable sacrifices."

As soon as these words came out, the Japanese officers in the combat meeting room immediately fell into deep thought. After thinking carefully, they suddenly felt that Teramoto Kumaichi's plan was feasible.

There is no way. If we talk about the quality of individual aircraft and the overall quantity, the Second Flight Group is at a disadvantage.

Only when they could form a situation of outnumbering the enemy in the local battlefield would the Kwantung Army Aviation have a chance to achieve a tactical victory.

Besides, the home base must have had similar ideas. Otherwise, when replenishing the 3rd Air Division, the mainland would not have deliberately missed out on available talents and instead selected a large number of liberal arts students to fill the numbers.

"Okay, I'll send someone to report the plan now. If everything goes well, your 2nd Flight Group can launch the attack tomorrow."

"Don't let those rookies die in vain. You must achieve a score of no less than 1:1, otherwise I won't be able to shut up Neiji Okamura."

"Okay, leave it to me."

······
Meanwhile, Liugong Island.

Compared with more than a month ago, there is basically no major change on the island except for the addition of hundreds of anti-aircraft guns of various calibers.

Even the group of ugly Chinese who were supposed to go to the mountain city at the beginning of this month chose to stay and fight because of the impending attack by the Japanese.

If we must say that there are any changes in the North Sea Fleet, it is probably only the light cruiser La Motte-Pickett, which is docked in the dock for modification. (End of this chapter)