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The National Revolutionary Air Force Mid-War
The National Revolutionary Air Force Mid-War
"...The opening salvo of the China Reunifcation War and the subsequent eruption of what was a regional conflict into the Second Great War had shown the limits of what a purely ground support focused air force could do. Following the entry of Great Britain and France on the Japanese side (The Entente) and the entry of Italy and Germany into the Chinese side (The Axis) - the conflict took on a global dimension which means that the nascent National Revolutionary Air Force had to adapt - or get left behind..."
"The main challenge that the National Revolutionary Air Force faced was to protect Chinese industry, Chinese forces and Chinese cities from the now daily air raids being conducted. Air Marshall Feng Ru had to do this while updating the equipment, doctrines and techniques of the NRAF from one focussed on ground support to one focused on air defense and interdiction.
The equipment of the NRAF was most desperately in need of updating. The FR V was too slow to chase bombers and perhaps more relevant - unable to even climb to the altitudes most of the British bombers operated in. Trials had already begun in 1937 of the German plane Messerschmidt B.F 109 aircraft. Feng Ru and Chiang accelerated this process and the FR VI (as the licensed copy of the BF 109 was known in China) started entering mass production in early 1939 with front-line units being equipped with the new fighter from mid-1939 (contrary to some other sources that say that the FR VI entered service in 1938 - this was impossible as teething problems with the German DB 601 engine meant that it did not become available until 1939) The FR V would be modified and continued to be produced as a ground attack aircraft, but the FR VI would be the NRAF's frontline fighter from here on until the end of the war. The FR VI-a1 was the early model fighter which was equipped with 4 7.92mm machine-guns (two in the wing, two in the nose.) After some field experience with British bombers and Japanese zeros, the armament was upgraded to 3 x 20mm MG/FF cannon (two in the wings, 1 in the nose) and 2 x 7.92mm machine guns in the cowl in the updated FR VI-a2 which began to appear in numbers in late 1939. The FRVI-a2 would remain the NRAF fighter of choice until late 1942 when the FRVI-bs would make their appearance in large numbers (although the FRVI-a2 would get small upgrades for performance, the changes were never listed as a variant)
The strategic doctrine of the NRAF was modified to reflect the new priority of air defence. Although technically already independent of the National Revolutionary Army, the Air Force was organizationally embedded in the NRA, with it's squadrons being attached to Army Corps. Feng Ru decided to copy elements of the Luftwaffe's structure by re-organizing the NRAF into geographical districts called "Air Armies." These Air Armies would be headed by Air-Generals and have further subdivisions called Air Corps which would be headed by an Air-Colonel. These Air Corps would have responsibility for specific geographic areas within the area. The Air Corps would then be divided into Air Brigades, commanded by a Major with each airfield typically hosting one Air Brigade. Finally, these Air Brigades would consist of 5-10 squadrons which 5-10 planes each, typically commanded by a Lieutenant or Captain. This Air Squadron formed the basis of an air combat unit.
The final innovation that needed to be done was the air technique. The air acadamy curriculum was re-written to De-emphasize ground attack and focus on dog-fighting and air interdiction. This was intended to counter the phenomenon of NRAF pilots myopically ignoring air combat to focus on ground attack. While this was appreciated by the army who developed a saying "The Feng Rus will always get through," this caused high casualty rates on pilots. The lack of emphasis on air combat also meant that there were relatively few Chinese aces pre-1939.
The Air War:
Manchurian schoolgirls wave goodbye to a Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" fighter using cherry blossoms provided by Japan in a propaganda photo.
China vs Japan
The NRAF was used to fighting Japan. The new FR VI-a1s and a2s were more than a match for Japanese Zeros and Hayabusa's it fought from the 1939-1941 period. While less manouverable than Zeros and Hayabusas, it was more heavily armed, could climb and cruise faster and retained energy better. Although initially, Japan claimed many victories due to the inexperienced Chinese pilots who attempted to turn-fight, once Chinese pilots adapted to Japanese tactics, they found scoring victories much easier and managed a roughly even fight. NRAF fighters could hack Japanese bombers out the sky relatively easily too without fighter escort.
"...The opening salvo of the China Reunifcation War and the subsequent eruption of what was a regional conflict into the Second Great War had shown the limits of what a purely ground support focused air force could do. Following the entry of Great Britain and France on the Japanese side (The Entente) and the entry of Italy and Germany into the Chinese side (The Axis) - the conflict took on a global dimension which means that the nascent National Revolutionary Air Force had to adapt - or get left behind..."
"The main challenge that the National Revolutionary Air Force faced was to protect Chinese industry, Chinese forces and Chinese cities from the now daily air raids being conducted. Air Marshall Feng Ru had to do this while updating the equipment, doctrines and techniques of the NRAF from one focussed on ground support to one focused on air defense and interdiction.
The equipment of the NRAF was most desperately in need of updating. The FR V was too slow to chase bombers and perhaps more relevant - unable to even climb to the altitudes most of the British bombers operated in. Trials had already begun in 1937 of the German plane Messerschmidt B.F 109 aircraft. Feng Ru and Chiang accelerated this process and the FR VI (as the licensed copy of the BF 109 was known in China) started entering mass production in early 1939 with front-line units being equipped with the new fighter from mid-1939 (contrary to some other sources that say that the FR VI entered service in 1938 - this was impossible as teething problems with the German DB 601 engine meant that it did not become available until 1939) The FR V would be modified and continued to be produced as a ground attack aircraft, but the FR VI would be the NRAF's frontline fighter from here on until the end of the war. The FR VI-a1 was the early model fighter which was equipped with 4 7.92mm machine-guns (two in the wing, two in the nose.) After some field experience with British bombers and Japanese zeros, the armament was upgraded to 3 x 20mm MG/FF cannon (two in the wings, 1 in the nose) and 2 x 7.92mm machine guns in the cowl in the updated FR VI-a2 which began to appear in numbers in late 1939. The FRVI-a2 would remain the NRAF fighter of choice until late 1942 when the FRVI-bs would make their appearance in large numbers (although the FRVI-a2 would get small upgrades for performance, the changes were never listed as a variant)
The strategic doctrine of the NRAF was modified to reflect the new priority of air defence. Although technically already independent of the National Revolutionary Army, the Air Force was organizationally embedded in the NRA, with it's squadrons being attached to Army Corps. Feng Ru decided to copy elements of the Luftwaffe's structure by re-organizing the NRAF into geographical districts called "Air Armies." These Air Armies would be headed by Air-Generals and have further subdivisions called Air Corps which would be headed by an Air-Colonel. These Air Corps would have responsibility for specific geographic areas within the area. The Air Corps would then be divided into Air Brigades, commanded by a Major with each airfield typically hosting one Air Brigade. Finally, these Air Brigades would consist of 5-10 squadrons which 5-10 planes each, typically commanded by a Lieutenant or Captain. This Air Squadron formed the basis of an air combat unit.
The final innovation that needed to be done was the air technique. The air acadamy curriculum was re-written to De-emphasize ground attack and focus on dog-fighting and air interdiction. This was intended to counter the phenomenon of NRAF pilots myopically ignoring air combat to focus on ground attack. While this was appreciated by the army who developed a saying "The Feng Rus will always get through," this caused high casualty rates on pilots. The lack of emphasis on air combat also meant that there were relatively few Chinese aces pre-1939.
The Air War:
Manchurian schoolgirls wave goodbye to a Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" fighter using cherry blossoms provided by Japan in a propaganda photo.
China vs Japan
The NRAF was used to fighting Japan. The new FR VI-a1s and a2s were more than a match for Japanese Zeros and Hayabusa's it fought from the 1939-1941 period. While less manouverable than Zeros and Hayabusas, it was more heavily armed, could climb and cruise faster and retained energy better. Although initially, Japan claimed many victories due to the inexperienced Chinese pilots who attempted to turn-fight, once Chinese pilots adapted to Japanese tactics, they found scoring victories much easier and managed a roughly even fight. NRAF fighters could hack Japanese bombers out the sky relatively easily too without fighter escort.
- CCA
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