In terms of the air force, they would naturally use a more advanced four-aircraft formation. The small team would be the smallest combat formation in the air force. Each team would be composed of two two-aircraft formations, which meant that four fighter planes would form a fighter jet team.
The three squads would form a squadron, and three to four squadrons would form a brigade. Above the brigade would be the wing, and above the wing would be the battle-level organization called the air force. The air force would be directly under the Air Force Command.
Currently, the Red Alert's air force was not very large. The air force was based on the German Air Force, and their four-machine formation was still used in modern warfare.
Fighter planes were usually divided into four units. Each squadron had 12 fighter planes, while a brigade had 36 or 48 fighter planes. This depended on the mission of the fighter group.
The wing could be considered a relatively large organization, with 108 or 144 fighter jets under its jurisdiction.
Each flight brigade would be organized using a single type of aircraft, and the establishment of the wing was not fixed. It could be under the jurisdiction of multiple flight brigades.
The Air Force was the highest combat organization. It was a first-class strategic unit that was responsible for commanding all the Air Force fighters in a certain strategic direction. The organization was not fixed.
Bombers and transport planes were in a three-plane formation, with each team having three bomber or transport planes.
At present, the Red Alert Air Force had a fighter jet brigade, a Stuka dive bomber brigade, a heavy bomber squadron, and a transport aircraft brigade. It was equipped with a total of 48 FF-109 fighter jets, 34 Stuka dive bomber, 9 B-17 heavy bomber, and 34 C-47 transport aircraft.
Previously, there weren't many pilots and ground crew, so they didn't have a bomber. Now, they definitely had to equip a heavy bomber.
Although the B-17 heavy bomber was not as famous as the B-29 heavy transport aircraft in World War II, the real main bomber of the US military was still the B-17, and it completed its first flight on July 28, 1935. Therefore, it was unlocked in the interface of the Red Alert Air Force Command. Just like the C-47 transport aircraft, it completed its first flight in 1935.
The B-17 heavy bomber was equipped with four air-cooled engines with 1200 horsepower. The maximum take-off weight was 25 tons, and the maximum flight speed was 483 kilometers. It was generally used at a cruising speed of 273 kilometers at an altitude of more than 6000 meters.
In this era, an altitude of 6000 meters was considered very safe, and an altitude of 8000 meters was almost absolutely safe, because there were not many fighter jets that could fight normally at an altitude of 6000 meters.
In World War II, the average fighter plane's combat altitude was below 3000 meters. Generally, when it flew above 5000 meters, the control of the fighter plane became very difficult. If it continued to fly upwards, the engine would directly shut down due to insufficient oxygen.
In World War II, only a few fighter jets equipped with supercharged turbine engines had high altitude combat performance, but their performance was also weakened to a certain extent.
The B-17 bomber's maximum operational range was 2960 kilometers. For a heavy bomber, this operational range was a bit short. This was also the reason why Chu Zian was not so satisfied with this fighter. What he needed was a strategic bomber with a long operational range and a large bomb load.
Although its range was a little short, its bomb load was not small. It could carry 8 tons of bombs. It was equipped with 13 machine guns as self-defense firepower. Generally, if multiple bomber formed a combat formation, it still had a certain air defense self-defense ability.
The body of the B17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber was also very sturdy, and its survivability was very high. It was like the small caliber machine gun of the Japanese plane hitting the bomber. As long as it did not hit a fatal spot, it would be fine.
During World War II, B-17 bomber planes often returned to the airport with bullet holes all over their bodies. Many of the planes even had their wings broken, but they still flew back to the airport shakily, which showed how sturdy they were.
Red Alert pilots were very precious. The price of each pilot was as high as 2000 funds, and an elite combat soldier was only 500 funds, which was four times that of ordinary soldiers. If not for the unlimited funds, recruiting pilots was enough to give him a headache.
Every Red Alert pilot had more than 300 hours of flight time. They were all veterans.
In addition to the heavy bomber, they were also equipped with a large transport fleet. Transport aircraft were still very important in Chu Zian's heart. In the complicated terrain of western Sichuan, the traffic conditions were more complicated.
If they wanted to fight a long battle, it would not work to rely on the road to supply supplies. It was not a big deal for the army to be small, so the transport planes would be a good supplement. Therefore, Chu Zian directly equipped a brigade of 34.
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