Chapter 681

When the plan was finally sent to the U.S. Army Aviation command in the Middle East, everyone was stunned by the genius plan. Yes, totally stunned. The whole bombing plan of air raid on Romanian oil fields can be said to be seamless, and even can be called a perfect plan.

In this time and space, Doolittle, the air force commander who planned the bombing of Tokyo, did not shine in his original position, but appeared in the plan of a big air raid that did not exist when the United States was eager to change the situation in the Middle East. He gave full play to his imagination and made a bombing plan for the United States with a high success rate.

The whole plan is divided into two parts, which are carried out at the same time and complement each other. First of all, the first part is that the United States divides its bomber forces into two parts. One part is a huge bomber formation composed of 160 bombers. Under the cover of fighter planes, the United States suddenly makes a gesture of crossing Turkey's airspace. Doolittle thinks that such a gesture is enough for the Turks to immediately send early warning to the German air force.

The size of 160 aircraft is enough to attract the attention of the German army. At least the German army will respond to the invasion of the US aircraft. Even the assessment of the US Army Air Force itself is convinced that Germany will aim the anti-aircraft gun position at the main direction of attack, and launch a large number of fighters to intercept the US Army Air Force bomber.

At the same time, on the other side, the remaining 150 US bombers will take off from the territory of the Soviet Union and form a formation to enter Romania's airspace directly from the crimson region via the Black Sea. They will bomb the oil fields there with the shortest distance and completely destroy the main oil producing areas in Germany. The US B-17 bombers, which took off from the back of the Soviet Union's Crimson Peninsula, were the real "killing tactics" that the Americans stabbed this time.

At the same time, taking off from the territory of the Soviet Union has a more advantageous advantage, that is, the distance is not long, and the P-40 aircraft can be used to escort the whole journey. Even if it is intercepted and interfered by German aircraft, the loss will not be as huge as the bombing without escort only relying on bombers. In this way, as long as half of the bombers are sacrificed, the mission can be successfully completed. Compared with any previous plan, Doolittle's plan is more detailed, comprehensive and feasible.

"Now there is only one problem left, that is, how to get the Soviets to cooperate with us and provide us with the airport." A general of the U.S. Army Air Force took a look at major Doolittle, who had deliberately arrived from the United States in the Middle East, who is now dozing in his chair to relieve jet lag fatigue caused by long-distance travel.

Major Doolittle, who was asked, opened his eyes, grinned shyly, and then said, "it's a very simple thing. I flew from Washington to Las Vegas, then refueled and flew to the Soviet Union, and then to Moscow. After negotiating with Stalin, I flew here again. The Soviet Union has no problem. They promised us to use airports and facilities, and even aviation fuel is ready. "

Stalin was very happy about this. After all, the Soviet Union is now preparing for the crucial winter war from top to bottom. If the Americans can make some trouble for the German in oil supply before the winter war begins, the process of the Soviet Union seizing the initiative in the battlefield will be more smooth. Even if only tens of thousands of barrels of fuel were lost, it was also a huge support for the Soviet troops on the eastern front, wasn't it?

Therefore, Stalin and Zhukov both welcomed the bombing of Romania by US troops, and even expressed their willingness to send out 100 Soviet twin engine bombers to accompany us planes to intensify the destruction of Romanian oil fields. However, because of the difference in flight speed between the two sides' bomber formations, this cooperative operation plan has become a dead end. It has become that Soviet bombers follow American bombers and conduct the second bombing of oil fields when the US military returns.

Although the United States and the Soviet Union jointly bombed each other, in any case, Doolittle's plan of action for bombing Romania has paved the way completely and made preparations for the early stage. The only thing left is to carry out such a plan. So the Americans began to take action. On November 19, 155 American B-17 bombers were full of bombs and fuel. After they were ready, they set out from the Middle East and flew to the territory of Pro Soviet Kazakhstan. After that, they flew to several Soviet field airports near the Black Sea.

The atmosphere among the army aviation pilots left behind is very heavy, because the 160 B-17 bombers left in the Middle East are actually doomed. They are the bait responsible for flying planes to die, and they are the people who died for the future of the United States of America. But they are still calm, because like the fanatical SS, they are willing to die generously for their country.

On a sunny morning on November 24, the alarm sounded over the airport where the army air force was stationed. American bomber pilots who had been ready for a long time began to board their planes with the help of the ground crew. They were asked to parachute when they were hit, and they could also explain their troop number and rank afterwards, The priest with the army kept rowing the cross on one side of the plane, and the atmosphere became very strange for a moment.

"God bless you In the sound of blessing, these American pilots climbed up the narrow suspension ladder, turned into the cabin door, and came to the interior of the bomber they had been flying for a long time. The Gunners on both sides were checking ammunition. The shooter of the machine gun turret under the belly of the plane did not dare to get into his post because of design problems, so he could only sit in the narrow fuselage and talk to the shooter of the machine gun turret on the back of the plane, They must pay attention to the German fighters coming in every direction and try their best to keep them out of the effective range of the opponent's weapons. The remaining planes have reduced the amount of ammunition they carry, because they need to add additional armor plates to the pilots, engines and shooters. Although the thin 5mm iron plate can not enhance the survival ability of the plane, these pilots are determined to add such a layer of iron sheet to comfort their own weak nerves“ Do you think we can succeed in this bombing? It's said that in the previous bombing, no plane was able to return to the base of departure. " A young American gunner, wearing his own parachute, asked his veterans' partner, who were responsible for operating the 12 planes on both sides of the B-17. 7 mm machine gun. The recruits look a little nervous. Their voice is trembling when they speak“ Young man, if there is no war, the undead can win. Just because the previous planes have not come back doesn't mean that we can't come back this time... Of course, just because the previous planes have come back safely doesn't mean that we can come back safely this time. " The veteran beside him, while sorting out the bullet chain on the machine gun, said with a smile: "rely on yourself, try to fly back."“ Red peach 1, the runway has been cleared. You can take off now! Red peach one, got it! Preparing to take off! " In the cockpit of the plane, the pilot is confirming his take-off sequence with the tower. There is a busy scene in several nearby airports. The US Army Aviation forces in the Middle East almost pour out. 152 bombers cooperate with 40 fighters. The formation flying field is absolutely magnificent. Some details of the original plan have been changed. For example, in order to ensure that the number of planes taking off from the Soviet Union can be guaranteed to be 150, the number of B-17 bombers flying away is not 150, but 155. Even if there are mechanical problems, the number of planes taking off can still be guaranteed to be no less than 150. As a result, there are only 155 troops left in the Middle East. In addition to the aircraft with mechanical failures these days, the number of aircraft that can take off is 152, not the original planned number of 160. However, even so, when more than 150 aircraft, together with 40 escort fighters, began to approach the Turkish border, this unprecedented aircraft formation in the Middle East still scared many local residents looking up at the sky. From the time when the Caliph was born, after a long time, people here have not seen such a scene, and they can't imagine that the war has long said goodbye to machetes and horses, and has become this terrible appearance“ This... This is really crazy! How can man resist such terrible weapons of war? Are you sure the German power is more terrible than that? " When I opened my window and saw the American bomber formation that did not pass by the city in the distant sky, a Turkish General asked his adjutant who came to report in horror“ The Germans have so many terrible planes, too The Deputy looked at the horizon and answered with a lingering fear“ What are you waiting for! Tell the German liaison officer what we found! Come on! Remind them to be ready to fight these planes The general ordered loudly“ Do you want to contact the air force? general! There are 30 me-109c fighters from the nearby airport that the German aided us. We... "The adjutant asked. The general saw from the window that the American plane had not bombed his residence and the city. He took a long breath, then turned back, waved his hand and said, "forget it! It's true to retain strength. It's better for the Germans to deal with such a terrible opponent! "