Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 287: Preparation (Part 1)

The tactical concept of strategic bombing has emerged at this time, but it has not been tested as much as in history. The previous devastating German bombing of British coastal towns during the Battle of England was perhaps the first time that strategic bombing was presented to the public intuitively.

The previous German bombings of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France were not considered strategic bombings, even if the scale of the bombings was quite large. As the name suggests, strategic bombing is an act of war based on strategic purposes, and the lack of this basic condition can only be classified as tactical operations.

The target towns bombed off the coast of England were of little tactical value, but the destruction of these towns directly caused chaos on the entire eastern coast of England.

If it is said that destroying an important military unit on the battlefield can determine the outcome of a battle, then destroying a strategic target will likely reverse the course of a war.

The German army has now acquired a bomber capable of meeting the initial strategic bombing requirements and a fighter jet capable of escorting. But just having equipment is not enough. There are still many difficulties facing Xu Jun. He must establish a military system that can support strategic bombing operations before the outbreak of the Eastern Front War.

Each Lancaster bomber needs to be equipped with seven crew members. According to their status on the aircraft, they are divided into a pilot and captain, an aviation mechanic and co-pilot, a navigator, and A bomber and nose gunner, a radio operator, a back gunner and a tail gunner.

Except for the tail and back gunners that exist like aviation consumables, the rest of the pilots need to obtain at least two professional certificates and have more than half a year of professional training before they are eligible to participate in strategic bombing operations. .

Even cannon-fodder gunners must be trained by professional aerial machine gunners, technically verified and obtain a machine gunner certificate before they are allowed to be assigned to serve on bombers. Those who do not meet the technical requirements can only be assigned to other units of the Air Force to undertake tedious and tiring ground duties.

The salary and benefits of pilots in the Royal Air Force far exceed those of ground sergeants, so applicants who know this job is extremely dangerous are still in droves. Of course, there are also passionate young people who really want to selflessly contribute to the country, but these people will soon be obliterated by the cruel reality. It can be said that war is a magic mirror that allows humans to recognize their essence.

Although the physical requirements of the Royal Air Force bomber crew are not as strict as fighter pilots, they are much higher-end than the army’s recruitment of large-headed soldiers. For example, there can be no airsickness and seasickness. The turbulence of an aircraft after encountering high air currents is more serious than that of a ship There are many, and the cabin is not airtight. They need to fly with oxygen masks for most of the bombing. Once airsick and vomiting occur, the scene will become very bad.

In addition to the physical examination standards, they also have to conduct simple intelligence and psychological tests. The Air Force does not want to take a fool to go to the sky, nor does it want to be a lunatic man with weapons. In fact, many of the British crew members who had experienced air combat on the Western Front had serious psychological problems, but this was a change after joining the army. Before joining the army, they were all sane and normal people.

The Luftwaffe’s selection of bomber crews is even stricter than the British. The Nazis implemented a policy of elite soldiers when they began to rebuild the air force. German pilots first need to go through A-level and B-level aviation school training before they can enter the advanced bomber flight school to learn more advanced subjects.

The crew members of German bombers, in addition to entering a special training school, usually have to master some professional skills other than their duties, so that the commander can freely transfer them to various positions.

It can be said that every German bomber crew at the beginning of the war was composed of a group of talented people, and every crew member lost in the British air battle was the essence of the Air Force’s hard work for many years. It made the bomber wing captains feel heartbroken, and even refused to send their troops to carry out the mission that was obviously to die.

Although in this time and space, the loss of the German bomber force was relatively minor, those veterans who had been trained for many years were lucky enough to survive. However, these people received training from Heinkel and Junkers bombers. It is obviously a matter of half the effort to get these people to learn to drive a new type of bomber again. Xu Jun worried that not only the new troops will not be formed quickly. The combat effectiveness, on the contrary, also weakened the original strength of the bomber force.

So the crew members of the German strategic bomber force will start recruiting and training from recruits, but if the current number of students in the German aviation school is used, there is still a considerable gap in between. According to Xu Jun's tentative plan, the German army will form a strategic bomber force with at least one thousand heavy bombers before the end of 41. This means that the Luftwaffe needs to train 1,000 technically qualified pilots and 6,000 crew members who meet the training standards. This does not include backup and rotation crews. This number must reach at least half of the total force.

At the same time, the Luftwaffe also needs to establish a new command system for the strategic air force, which requires a group of commanders and administrative officers with rich command experience at all levels, as well as staff and logistics officers with outstanding capabilities.

At the same time, Germany will also build new airports and bases for the newly-built bomber wing, as well as assign air teams and aviation military districts to which they belong.

The Air Force is the largest organization of the Luftwaffe, and the Aviation Military District is a high-level logistics and administrative unit that supports air force operations. Its main job is to be responsible for the administrative management of the subordinate units, logistics supplies, and the management of each airport in the jurisdiction. Daily maintenance.

Almost every wing of the Luftwaffe has its own airfields and bases directly under it, but because of the rapid expansion of the air force, these bases are already full of aircraft and it is unlikely to accommodate these newly formed bomber wing.

Heavy bombers have very high requirements for take-off and landing runways. Not only do they have special standards for the smoothness and firmness of the ground, but the length of the runway alone can eliminate more than half of the German air force bases.

At this time, although the facilities of the bases in Germany are not outdated ~ IndoMTL.com~, many local airports are really only suitable for small and medium aviation units such as take-off and landing fighters.

Although the rapid construction of the field airport is very convenient, it is only a temporary emergency product. The Air Force said that if it wants to use it for a long time, it is best to build a semi-permanent regular air base.

A strategic bomber base that meets specifications requires not only the construction of several runways that can be used for rapid take-off and landing of heavy bombers, but also the construction of a hangar for these expensive big guys to shelter from the wind and rain. Maintenance factories for simple parts processing and maintenance, aviation oil depots with large capacity to feed these vultures for a long time, and ammunition depots for storing massive amounts of aviation ammunition and other explosives.

In addition to these basic buildings, dormitories for pilots and ground crews, as well as places for recreation and entertainment, a fully functional military hospital, a remote communication and command center, and a ground guard and air defense The barracks where the troops live. At the same time, among the above buildings, some core units must have certain bulletproof capabilities to withstand retaliatory bombing by enemy air forces.

The above is only one of the many bases in Xu Jun’s plan. According to the calculations of the High Command, Germany has to build at least six such large bombing bases in central and eastern Germany, as well as in Poland, Romania and Finland. Within the territory, a series of forward and alternate airports are built. These forward airports do not need to be as high as domestic bases, but they must also have minimal maintenance and service capabilities.

The accounting department of the Luftwaffe made a preliminary calculation that the amount of funds required for the initial stage of the project alone would be enough to cause a small bank's board of directors to suffer a collective heart attack.

PS: Thank you everyone. The cold is a little better today. After the code, continue to take medicine and rest.