Chapter 188 Bombing Busan

In Dalniy Air Station, a copy of the Boeing B-52 Superfortress is being fueled and armed by crews of airmen. They just received their very first mission from the High Command.

The pilot of one of the super heavy bombers ‘Aletina’ is Major Petro Franko, a Ukrainian national who graduated from the Ruthenian Air Force Academy with flying colors.

He was just debriefed on his mission, which is bombing the Port of Busan controlled by the Yamato Empire.

He understood the strategic importance of that port to the Yamato Empire. After all, it’s their only way of getting into the Choson Peninsula. And once it is destroyed, the Yamato Empire would be forced to find another spot for landing troops.

Petro may not be aware of what was going to happen after the bombing campaign, but he knew the Ruthenian Empire is not going to let the Yamato Empire land their forces in Choson.

Tying up his boots, Petro looked in the mirror. He combed his hair back to look as professional as possible on this mission.

He then exited the headquarters and run across the huge airstrip towards the parked super heavy bomber Aletina.

Along the way, Petro noticed another man running behind him. He took a cursory glance and immediately recognized the man.

Petro stopped in his tracks and turned to face the man.

The man skidded to a stop a few meters away and looked up to face Petro.

“Wait, I know you…” Petro’s eyes widened in recognition. “You’re… You’re Leonid Lipovsky, aren’t you?” The two men locked eyes.

“Wait…how did you know my name…” Leonid trailed off when he also recognized the man’s face. “Petro? Is that you?”

“Yeah!” Petro beamed. “I didn’t expect to run into you here.” Both men laughed lightly.

Leonid and Petro were in the same unit during their time in the Ruthenian Air Force Academy.

“Yeah, I almost didn’t notice you…so you’re wearing a flight suit huh? You have an assignment?” Leonid asked.

“Yeah, we are bombing the Busan Port. Anyways, what about you? You’re also in your flight suit…which means you also have an assignment.”

“That’s right, we are going to hunt some warships and submarines off the coast of the Choson peninsula. The Navy is also getting into action…oh before I forgot, what service do you serve in?” Leonid asked as they resumed walking.

“I’m in the Air Force. Flying the Aletina. What about you?” Petro returned the question.

“Navy, flying the P-Orion,” Leonid answered. “So yeah, nice meeting you men. How about we grab a vodka sometime? I happen to know a great bar downtown, What do you think? My treat.” Leonid offered.

“Yeah! That sounds like fun, how about after the war?” Petro replied.

“That would be great. Since you’re also stationed here, it’ll be easy for me to find you. So that’s a deal right?” Leonid extended his hand out to Petro.

“Yeah, sure!” Petro happily agreed. He reached over and shook Leonid’s hand. Leonid released Petro’s grip afterward. “Alright see you later then.” Petro waved goodbye and headed straight toward his plane.

***

Arriving at the super heavy bomber Aletina, Petro immediately boarded the plane and hopped into his seat in the cockpit.

His co-pilot, who already started doing the checklist, spoke to him. “You are two minutes late.”

“I happened to run into someone I knew on the way here,” Petro explained simply as he grabbed the manifest and flipped through it. “How are we on the hydraulic systems?”

His co-pilot, Lieutenant Yuri Vasilyevich, glanced over at him and nodded. “Hydraulic systems are green, the engines, and the electronics. You’re the one we are waiting for.”

Petro glanced over his shoulder and saw the aircraft commander, radar navigator, navigator, and electronic warfare officer. staring back at him.

“Let’s get ready.” The commander announced to his crew members. “Our escort is waiting for us in the sky.”

After a few minutes of preflight checks, everyone onboard the Aletina heard the sound of the engines revving up. The aircraft marshall below guided Petro with his light sticks.

In just a span of minutes, the Aletina is now facing the runway, ready for departure. Petro requested permission to take off from the air tower control center to which the air traffic controllers responded with approval.

Petro cracked his knuckles before pushing down the throttle all the way

With a loud groaning roar, the plane gained speed, gaining enough lift to lift the Aletina into the sky. Soon, it’s above the clouds, heading for the sea where it linked up with its eight Wraith jet fighter aircraft escorts.

They flew in V formation for the duration of the flight.

The Wraith’s mission is to keep the plane safe from any enemy aircraft it might meet on the way to Busan’s airspace.

Even though no Yamato Aircraft can reach the altitude of 50,000 feet, the Ruthenian Air Force couldn’t just take their chances of losing the Aletina. Granted it has a speed that can outrun any Yamato aircraft, but its poor maneuverability would make it huge target practice for the Yamato Empire’s aircraft.

One and a half hours later, the super heavy bomber Aletina finally arrived in Busan’s airspace. Petro looked down the window and saw a huge layer of clouds obstructing the view of the ground.

Even though that was the case, the navigator of the Aletina assured them that they’d arrived and are flying over Busan.

“Well, this is it guys, it’s time for us to give the Yamato a taste of hell…” the aircraft commander smirked as he stared through the navigator screen.

“I pity the souls of those who are going to lose their lives today,” Lieutenant Yuri Vasilyevich commented with a sigh. “They are never going to know what hit them. Are there Chosonese down below as well?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” Petro shrugged his shoulders. “Who cares anyway, our mission is to destroy the port and the Ruthenian High Command has taken every consideration before giving us a go-signal,” Petro said.

Petro couldn’t be more right about that. Bombing a port filled with civilians is technically a violation of the Geneva Convention and would receive backlash from the international community. However, if the port is being used for military purposes, such as what the Yamato Empire is doing right now, it will become a valid target. Thus, the Ruthenian Empire can drop their bombs on Busan without facing future repercussions, except for some minor public opinion.

“The target has been pre-sighted, so once you get into each of the points, that’s where we open our bomb bay and drop the payload,” the aircraft commander said. “Navigator, how much longer for point A?”

“We are arriving at point A in less than ten seconds.” the navigator said, she said, her eyes fixed on the monitor screen.

“Opening bomb bay doors.”

In the belly of Aletina, the door opened, revealing 80 bombs each weighing 500 pounds or 226 kilograms.

“Three…two…one…drop!” the navigator signaled and the bomb began dropping from the belly.

“Point B in three…two…one…drop!”

another wave of bombs was released from the bomb bay.

***

In the port of Busan, a bustling activity can be seen. People went about their daily lives all the while soldiers from the Yamato Empire walked down the gangway that led to the docks.

It was a peaceful scene until a whistling sound came from overhead. As people around the dock were confused by it, the soldiers who were familiar with the sound started shouting.

“RUUUUUN!”

80 pieces of a 500-pound bomb crashed into the port, creating a small earthquake in the area. The shockwave traveled hundreds of meters in the air spreading throughout Busan.

Within seconds after the initial bomb drop, another round of massive explosions erupted from the docks near the port area where most warships and merchant ships are anchored. Flames rose in all directions and smoke obscured the entire port.

Two thousand people were in the port that day, the majority of them being civilians. And out of two thousand people, none survived the explosions.

“Sir, the target has been destroyed,” the navigator announced.

“Good, let’s return to base.”