Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 43



Only Noblemtl

#043

With the manpower problem resolved, the establishment of the Manila Aviation School, which would become the foundation for the creation of the Philippine Air Force, began to gain traction.

The training that was previously provided to a small number of people by the US military’s aviation units can now be provided to a larger number of people in a more systematic way.

In particular, among the Koreans who joined this time, there were quite a few pilots with outstanding skills.

“That’s strange. They’re different from Filipinos.”

The Philippines, which has long been influenced by and accepting of European culture, also has many intellectuals with a Western mindset.

But at the same time, most ordinary Filipinos have a basic, laid-back attitude that is characteristic of Southeast Asians.

But the Koreans···.

“Why are you so hasty?”

“No matter where you go, you won’t starve to death.”

“The learning speed is very···.”

Aren’t Koreans the kind of people who are impatient and second best at work in the world?

Moreover, what kind of people are gathered here in the Philippines right now?

Aren’t they people who barely survived on the brink of death, filled with the passion that they can’t live like this or that they will definitely hit the Japanese before they die?

So, you have no choice but to be more passionate and enthusiastic than anyone else.

Thanks to this, the evaluation of Koreans was quite good not only among Filipinos but also among American soldiers.

Above all, Mitchell was particularly pleased with the solution to the manpower problem that had been a headache.

“Skill is one thing, but work ethic is truly amazing!”

But solving the manpower problem was not the end of it.

“I think we need to buy more aircraft.”

“If we could at least build an assembly plant here···.”

“Isn’t it also important to train mechanics?”

As the stories poured out, I looked at Mitchell standing next to me and grumbled.

“I took care of the personnel problem, and now you want me to take care of the rest? Then what are you going to do, Brigadier General?”

“Education. Isn’t that something that only I can do that you can’t?”

What annoyed me more than anything was that I couldn’t say no to Mitchell’s words.

The pilots trained at this Manila flight school are not just people who know how to fly airplanes.

“Flying an airplane and fighting on it are two different things, right?”

And among the instructors here, only a handful, including Mitchell, were capable of teaching combat flying.

“But is it really okay to teach this to Koreans?”

The curriculum that Koreans and others could enroll in did not include combat flying.

However, since we shared a single classroom, most of the curriculum, except for combat flight, overlapped.

“Officially, they don’t have combat flight lessons, but aren’t they actually learning step by step?”

“They are the ones who will fight the Japanese later.”

Mitchell nodded at the mention of these men fighting at the forefront of the fight against Japan and shedding blood on behalf of our American soldiers.

“I mean, the Charles couple you saw earlier. Their goal was to drop a bomb on Tokyo.”

“Oh.”

“I wonder if I’ll end up hearing people say that I raised a criminal.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Mitchell’s joke.

‘A criminal? He is our strong comrade.’

In about twenty years, there will be a lot of Stone Age enthusiasts in our US military who want to turn Tokyo into a sea of ​​fire, so don’t worry about it.

On the way back, leaving my meeting with Mitchell behind.

Squeak.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay?”

Bradley and I were startled by the sudden stop.

“I’m fine. How about you?”

“it’s okay.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

As you can see, we weren’t the only ones who stopped in surprise.

Looking at the vehicle on the right,

“Are you crazy? What are you going to do if you interfere without even looking….”

The driver of the other vehicle, who had been yelling, looked at me and Bradley’s rank insignia and quietly shut his mouth.

“Thank goodness no one got hurt. But···”

I looked at the intersection where the car had stopped and soon frowned.

It was because something that should have been there was missing.

I’m talking about that thing with the shiny convex mirror on the orange plastic that’s always installed at intersections where there’s a blind spot in your field of vision.

“Why isn’t it there?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, a reflector.”

“A reflector? What is that?”

For a moment, I was even more surprised by Bradley’s question.

‘Damn, I was hoping for too much when there wasn’t even a traffic light.’

“Excuse me, Lieutenant General?”

I shook my head slightly at Bradley’s voice calling me while I was lost in my own thoughts.

“Do you know about convex mirrors?”

“Oh, yes. Of course.”

“Here, how about if we put a convex mirror around here?”

Bradley and the driver tilted their heads with a puzzled expression at my question.

At narrow intersections, road reflectors made of convex mirrors were very familiar tools to me as a modern person, but not to people today.

It looks like the convex mirror itself has been used for a very long time…

Well, isn’t it just now that traffic lights are running in downtown Manila?

Anyway, when I explained to him the shape, size, and purpose of the road reflectors that I remembered, he nodded as if he finally understood what they were.

“Isn’t this a really groundbreaking idea?”

“yes?”

However, unlike the conversation that day, it was not easy to make a road reflector with a convex mirror.

Contrary to what I had thought, it was as simple as attaching a round convex mirror to a stick and hanging it.

“You may need to adjust the mirror size or convex angle to get the right field of view.”

Surprisingly, there were quite a few variables to consider.

“Really? Then should I make several and experiment with them? Or is it possible to do it with calculations?”

As I was wondering which one would be better, I soon realized that I didn’t need to worry about this.

“Wasn’t your original subject at West Point mathematics?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then you can calculate it first and make a suitable prototype.”

Bradley’s face darkened a bit when I said that Mitchell could calculate the sinking of a warship, so it shouldn’t be that simple, but whatever.

If you feel wronged, you should get promoted quickly.

Still, Bradley, who had been a mathematics professor at West Point, quickly came up with a plausible prototype.

“Calculating, I think this angle would be enough···.”

“Let’s just try it out. Why don’t we try it out and then find out what needs to be fixed?”

So we started installing reflectors around the roads I frequent, including the intersection where the accident had previously occurred.

“You’re putting mirrors at intersections?”

Among them, there was one near the flight school.

Pilots including Mitchell came out to watch with interest the work being done at the intersection in front of the main gate of the flight school.

“It’s just a convex mirror.”

“Yes. Captain Bradley made it after calculating the curvature to some great extent.”

“okay?”

Mitchell, who had a disappointed expression on his face as he looked at the mirror, perhaps expecting something great, soon began to move back and forth, checking the mirror.

“Oh, oh. I can really see left and right without having to turn my head.”

“I can see the brigadier general clearly from where I am standing.”

And then soon,

“Reflecting in a mirror… Mirror, mirror”

Suddenly, I stood in the middle of the road and got lost in my own world. Then,

“Mirror, bring me a big mirror.”

“yes?”

Suddenly, he started making a fuss and told his adjutant to bring him a large mirror.

“Why on earth are you doing that?”

“When you’re being nice, accidents keep happening.”

“Goodness?”

This time it was my turn to tilt my head. Why did kindness suddenly pop out when I was looking at the road mirror?

“I’m talking about aircraft carriers. Every time those seals do something good, accidents keep happening.”

On October 26, 1922, Commander Godfrey Chevalier made the first landing on America’s first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley.

It was already several years ago.

Since then, Naval Air Force pilots have continued to practice takeoffs and landings from Langley’s flight deck.

And from the beginning until now.

The biggest headache for navies operating aircraft carriers was none other than courtesy.

Aren’t the most dangerous moments in a flight the ones immediately after takeoff and landing?

If it were land, even if the landing route were messed up, it would only be a bit awkward and would just end up crashing or slipping a bit, but if that happens on an aircraft carrier…

“Don’t just crash into the sea.”

In particular, in this case, the aircraft that hit the sea often broke apart, and because the accident happened so quickly, it was not easy for the pilot to escape.

Especially since it didn’t have an ejector cockpit like in the 21st century.

“No, I know it’s hard to be kind.”

“Oh, really?”

By the way, this guy,

“Have you been in constant contact with the Navy?”

“What are you doing? I just hear the news.”

It was only natural, considering that it was no exaggeration to say that he was the father of American pilots, even though he was practically banished to the Philippines.

But Mitchell’s next words were enough to surprise me.

“I think I have found a solution to the problem of poor seal pups drowning in the sea before they can even land.”

“yes?”

Currently, landing guidance on aircraft carriers is done by a control officer standing in the middle of the deck, observing aircraft and receiving signals.

Of course, it was a dangerous method for both of them.

This is because there have been many accidents where aircraft that failed to take off skidded and hit control officers.

Anyway, in response to my question of what that had to do with a mirror, Mitchell picked up a branch and began drawing on the floor.

“A mirror like this is installed at the end of the deck, and the controller stands here and looks.”

When Mitchell sat down, I had no choice but to sit next to him.

As the two generals were doing this, the others around them also looked at each other and sat down awkwardly.

To others it seemed a very comical sight.

Regardless, Mitchell continued explaining in a very excited voice.

“If you fly in the right direction, the controller will be able to see the plane, but if you fly in the wrong direction, you won’t be able to see the plane at all. Since the controller is at the end of the runway, not the exact center, it’ll be easy to dodge in case of an emergency…”

I couldn’t even understand half of what he was saying, but the pilots next to me were wide-eyed and surprised…

“Oh, that would be true.”

“So how big should the mirror be?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t we try an experiment here and find out?”

“Is it a flat mirror? Or is it convex?”

“Let’s try everything.”

I shook my head at the sight of the pilots chatting excitedly among themselves and then rushing off to prepare for the experiment.

“I don’t know what it is, but I have a feeling something great is going to come out.”

Mitchell chuckled at my words and patted my shoulder.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“yes?”

“It’s thanks to you that I remembered it thanks to you installing it.”

“no···.”

Before Mitchell could even finish asking what that meant, he too ran into the hangar, following the pilots.

I shook my head as I watched Mitchell’s back, and Bradley, who was left with me, muttered with a similar expression.

“By the way, Brigadier General Mitchell is also amazing.”

“Do you think so too?”

“Yes. Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn’t even want to look at those seals.”

I nodded at Bradley’s words that these were the people who betrayed us when we first joined forces to establish an air force, only to fall for the offer of a mere promise to create an aviation bureau.

“That’s why people follow him even though he causes so many accidents and is said to have a bad temper.”

“Like the Brigadier General?”

“Me? Where else can you find someone as superior as me?”

“Ike said he would kill me if I didn’t bring him to the Brigadier General’s office today?”

“uh?”

So while I was working with Governor Wood to meet with our Filipino friends, including Manuel, and to work with Mitchell to establish a flight school and so on, it was Eisenhower who was actually in command of the 23rd Infantry Brigade that I was in charge of.

To be exact, I was handling various paperwork that I was supposed to do as a brigade commander.

Of course, as expected of a future president, Eisenhower did his job perfectly, to the point where I didn’t feel the absence.

“No news is good news. If I don’t hear from you, doesn’t that mean Ike is doing well? I don’t think he needs to come to work…”

“Well, Ike might come after us with a gun.”

“me?”

“I don’t know about you, Lieutenant, but I feel like you’re really going to shoot me. I don’t want to die.”

Five days later, at Bradley’s urging, I went to the office and was met by Eisenhower calling me with a gloomy expression.

“Brigadier General.”

And that Eisenhower’s head…

“Uh, I’m sorry.”

It looked like an apple would pop out on its own.

I couldn’t say anything to Eisenhower’s quick apology, so I sat down quietly at my desk and started looking at the papers.

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20th century version of Korean Wave(?)