Just after Christmas, on December 27, Ron embarked on a voyage to England with a few assistants. They made a stop in Iceland that night and flew straight to England at dawn the next day. In the afternoon, the planes landed at a military airfield in Moresworth, where their first stop, the 303rd Bomber Group of the Eighth Air Force.

Not long after landing, Ron just had time to meet with the commander of the 303 Bomber Group, he arranged a temporary office for Ron, and before the two of them could have a few words of home, the bomber group returning from the mission returned.

Although it was known that the bomber unit suffered heavy losses under the attack of the enemy, if you don't see it with your own eyes, you really don't know how serious this so-called seriousness is. Right now, the B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the 303 Bomber Group are landing one after another, and even without binoculars, Ron can clearly see the scars on those planes.

"How much have you lost?" Ron asked.

"There were six planes that didn't come back, and one of them lost control after crossing the center line of the strait, and the pilots all parachuted, so they should all be rescued. And then there were some heavily damaged planes, like this one—" said a lieutenant colonel officer, pointing to a landing bomber, "and I guess I'll have to disassemble them to provide spare parts." ”

Ron held up his binoculars and looked over at the bomber that was about to land. Two of the plane's four engines were *one* and the *read* was small* that the YBDU was damaged, as can be seen from the propeller that had stopped turning. There was also a big hole in the wing on one side, and the top of the vertical tail had been cut off by a large chunk.

The plane staggered towards the runway, and the damage to the vertical tail made its stability so great that it became difficult to align something as simple as the runway. The damage to one wing also causes the aircraft to automatically tilt to the other side. Like a clumsy duck, the huge plane staggered closer to the runway, and the landing gear hit the ground - apparently, the captain was of a very high level and well controlled - and the wheels of the main landing gear on both sides landed on the runway almost simultaneously. Then the plane jolted slightly on the runway, and then began to taxi smoothly.

"Miller is so good!" The lieutenant colonel next to him was waving his fist excitedly!

The plane stopped at the end of the runway. This is the last bomber to land today. Several cars - fire trucks, ambulances - drove towards the plane.

"Let's go check it out, too." Ron said to the lieutenant colonel.

"Okay, get in my car."

The lieutenant colonel approached in his Willis jeep. Stopped at the place where the plane was not in time. The people on board the bomber were leaving the plane one by one, and several people on the plane were almost all wounded, the captain Miller was already unconscious, and the co-pilot was not much better, a shell broke his calf. The telegraph operator was killed, and two machine gunners were killed on the gun emplacement. Only one machine gunner was unharmed. You know, the easiest thing to kill on a bomber is the machine gunner. In the case of the plane being beaten like this, he was still unharmed, and it cannot be said that his luck was really good.

"I don't have to check, I don't have any injuries on my body." The Heavy said to the Medic, "Really, if there's still a mission, I'll be able to go out and fight the Germans on a different plane!" ”

The most mobile of the bomber crew members is the machine gunner. Because they have the highest casualty rate. After a mission, there will always be a lot of planes that are short of machine gunners, and some crews that can no longer fly will be broken up and assigned to other crews.

The machine gun looked familiar to Ron, but for a moment he couldn't remember where he had seen him. He said to the lieutenant colonel, "Let him come to my office tomorrow." I have something I want to know from him. ”

Generally speaking, the machine gunner can see the process of enemy aircraft attack most clearly. And this bomber was so badly damaged that it is believed that it received more than one blow. By asking the machine gunner on this plane, you are sure to know a lot.

The ambulances left, the fire trucks left, and the crew, who were not injured, left. The tractor began to pull the plane aside.

After dinner together, Ron said to the lieutenant colonel:

"I want to go to the hangar and see for myself how each plane is attacked, can I?" Ron asked.

"Ah, you can do it yourself, I have other things, so I can't accompany you."

The hangar is now very busy, and many of the aircraft damaged during the day are repaired here. Ron was the first to board the most damaged B-17.

There is a large hole in the wing, shaped in the shape of a long bar, about 80 centimeters wide and nearly two meters long, which looks like a peanut when viewed from above.

"Could it be that the damage was caused by MK101? But if I'm not mistaken, this thing should have been mounted on the ME110, could it be that it was beaten like this by this kind of fighter that needs to be escorted? "Judging from the shooting, it must have been the result of an attack from a high dive.

Walking into the cabin, you can see a lot of holes through the light, and the outside light shines through these small holes, shining one spot after another on the floor. If you look closely, there are both 20mm guns and 13mm machine guns.

Ron then took a closer look at the other planes, and saw a lot of scars from the 20mm guns and 13mm machine guns, but the horrible wounds on the wings of the planes were gone.

Guess who's that machine gunner? As a reminder, he was a celebrity at the time, and Hitler admired him.

The next morning, just after breakfast, Ron began to talk in his office with some of the crew members who had been on strike yesterday. He needed to understand from them the usual means of interception of the Germans.

The first person to come to Ron's office was the Heavy from yesterday who was a little familiar to Ron. Yesterday he was wearing a flight cap and had a lot of blood and oil on his face, so Ron didn't recognize him. But today, he no longer wears the half-obscured flight cap on his head like yesterday, and his face is clean and unobstructed, with that trademark bad smile. So Ron recognized him at once, he was Clark?? Gable, Hollywood's most popular male movie star.

To be honest, Ron has not been that kind of fanatical fan in his life and in his previous life, he has been fighting all his life, and there are really not many opportunities to watch movies, as for his previous life, although he has seen some movies, there are not many movies that really left a deep impression on him. And there is Clark in these few films?? Gable starred in the old movie that was a little faded - "Gone with the Wind".

The first time I saw this movie was not in the cinema, but when I was in college. At that time, a certain brother who slept on his top bunk caught a mermaid in the foreign language department, and he was so busy all day that he was dizzy. One day, he suddenly told Gao Tianxiang that the whole week's classes in the foreign language department were to watch original English movies, and they could mix together to watch free movies.

"Lao Gao, go together, go together." It's great to be able to watch movies and strengthen communication with MM from the Department of Foreign Languages. So they went together. The movie shown in the Department of Foreign Languages that day was "Gone with the Wind". When the movie is put on Clark?? When Gable's Rhett stands at the bottom of the stairs and gives Scarlett a charming, wicked smile, there is a coquettish cry in the classroom:

"Wow, that's handsome!"

"It's so manly!"

"I like him so much!"

A girl next to her even said to her female companion: "If anyone can smile at me like this, I don't want anything immediately, and I will follow him with all my heart." ”

But more exaggerated things are yet to come.

Later, that buddy of his actually went to buy a pair of Clark?? Gable's picture, giggling all day long. When asked, he said: "Girlfriend's will." "The whole system is a joke.

With this story, if you still don't recognize Clark?? Gable, Ron's piloting credentials are about to be questioned - what eyes, to be a pilot?

To say that during World War II, Hollywood movie stars joined the U.S. military, and it was not only Clark who fought on the front line?? Gable one. "The Philadelphia Story" star James?? Stewart also served in the U.S. Army, and was also in the Eighth Air Force. However, he is much better than Gable in terms of military affairs, and this guy was already a brigadier general when he finally retired from the U.S. Army.

"Second Lieutenant Gable, please be seated." Although he is facing a big star, Ron has never been a star chaser, although he was surprised, although he also prepared a pen and notebook, he would not immediately jump up and say: "Brother Idol, give me an autograph." ”

Seeing Gable sit down, Ron began to ask formal questions, "Ensign, can you tell me about your attack yesterday?" ”

"Sir, yesterday morning we set out on our mission, escorted us by a detachment of Spitfires from the British. …… When we were about to reach the target, we were intercepted, and the Germans calculated well, knowing that the Spitfire had a limited range and could not escort us all the way,...... The German fighters first pounced on us from the front and fired fiercely at us head-on, and several planes were hit at this time, and our formation was so dense that the No. 22 aircraft accidentally collided with the No. 31 while dodging the enemy planes...... But we didn't let them get too good, when they did, the attack of those BF109 and FXSTXTM guns couldn't take us down immediately, the FW190 was more powerful, but it couldn't kill us in one hit. Our engine number one was hit and soon out of action, but it didn't catch fire. The group continued to advance against the attacks of the BF109, only the formation began to loosen under the repeated onslaught of the enemy......

Just as our planes began to enter the bombing course, preparing to strike at the target, a new attacker appeared. First of all, anti-aircraft guns on the ground, but we flew very high, and only large-caliber anti-aircraft guns could reach us. And the large-caliber anti-aircraft guns," Gable said with his trademark smile, "are too slow to hit us." The trouble is a bunch of guys who appear in the back.

A group of BF110s swooped down from a height and fired heavily at us. It fires more powerful shells, and it is also stronger than the BF09, and under its attack, the entire formation is scattered...... But we still dropped bombs on the target...... We began to return, the planes of the Germans were still attacking us, our formations had already broken up, the Germans were approaching from our shooting dead ends, constantly firing at us, all kinds of bullets were flying around the cabin, many people died, engine No. 4 was also broken. A BF110 rushed in from below 6 o'clock and fired at us with a huge aerial gun, the big hole in the left flank that was left by that gun. …… Just when we were about to despair, the British Spitfire appeared, and the Germans left at once, and then we looked into the Channel......"

Ron listened silently, jotting down something in his notebook. When Gable finished, Ron treated him to another cup of coffee, and then asked again:

"You just mentioned that the BF110 has a powerful cannon on it, how about the rate of fire of that cannon?"

"Sir, that cannon doesn't have a high rate of fire, about 4 shots per second."

4 guns per second, then about 250 rounds per minute, it seems that it must be Mk101. This thing has a limited rate of fire, and it is not easy to hit (that) plane, the Germans have always used it to sweep the floor (attack ground targets), and now they use this on interceptors, it seems that the Germans are very dissatisfied with the firepower of their fighters.

"Thank you, Second Lieutenant Gable, your answer has helped me a lot, thank you." Ron stood up and shook Gable's hand, "Oh, by the way, can you sign me?" My two nieces are your fans. Ron suddenly pulled another notebook out of his pocket.

Clarke?? Gable expertly signed his name in his notebook and said with a smile, "Sir, it's been a long time since I've signed someone's name. ”

"This shouldn't be, I heard that Hitler is also a fan of yours, he must need your autograph, it is better to sign his name on the bomb and throw it at him."

"Sir, that's a good idea. But we have too many bombs here. ”

After sending Gable away, Ron had another conversation with the others. Finally, when all the conversations were over, Ron wrote the following lines in his notebook:

1. With the formation intact, the bomber group was not at a disadvantage most of the time in the engagement with the German fighters.

2. Most of the losses were caused by the scattering of the formations.

3. Many times the formation is broken up because the bombers are trying to dodge the enemy's attack.

4. The Germans are trying to increase their firepower.

In the afternoon, Ron went to the nearby RAF fighter unit to learn about the German fighters. In fact, for Ron, who came from later generations, he was quite familiar with the situation of World War II fighters, but it was quite beneficial to listen to the statements of guys who participated in the battles themselves.

After dinner that day, Ron left Moresworth and headed for the 305 Bomber Group. The commander of this bomber unit was Li Mei, the ghost animal general who later made a big splash because of the burning of Tokyo. But at this time, Li Mei was still a school official. But he has now made a name for himself as a tactical master, and the day after tomorrow, Lemay's 305th Bomber Group will bomb a submarine base in France. Ron plans to take his bomber to the scene to experience it.

When Ron arrived, it wasn't too late. In the war room, Ron meets the legendary man who came from an ordinary working family and eventually became commander-in-chief of the Strategic Air Force, Li Mei.

Li Mei is actually a small man, but his face is very wide, especially his chin is extraordinarily wide, coupled with the strong bite muscles, people can feel his strong inner strength at a glance.

"We already know what you're here for, welcome Ron." Li Mei let Ron into the war room, "We are studying the actions of the day after tomorrow, I know that you are an expert in fighter jets, let's study it together." ”

There was a huge sand table in the war room, and several staff officers were planting small flags marking the strength of troops on the sand table. Li Mei personally took the baton and gave instructions to Ron.

"According to intelligence, the Germans had an anti-aircraft artillery position here, armed with quite a few 88mm anti-aircraft guns, and perhaps a small number of 127mm anti-aircraft guns. Here, and here, there are similar anti-aircraft artillery positions. This is the military airfield of the Germans, and the Germans are here, and here, there are probably more than 60 fighters deployed, about half of which are new FW190s, and in addition, at this airfield, there are about 20 BF110s, and they may also attack us after we leave the protective circle of the Spitfire. ”

Li Mei put down her baton and said to Ron, "Lieutenant Colonel, you are a fighter expert. I've heard that you successfully intercepted Japanese bombers many times when you were on Kuah Island. He also created a miracle of relying on 20 fighters to destroy a comparable number of Japanese bombers, but he did not lose anything. Lieutenant Colonel, if you were the commander of the Germans, how would you plan to intercept our bomber group. ”

What's going on? Ron thought, how can there be a problem like this when they meet? If it weren't for seeing Li Mei's candid and sincere gaze, Ron would almost have thought he was deliberately provoking. However, whether he meant it or not, Ron had to come out with something now, or he would be looked down upon by the room.

Mentally recalling some of the successful practices of the German army in history, Ron spoke:

"Intercepting the B-17 is completely different from intercepting Japanese bombers, which are extremely vulnerable and are even inferior to our fighters in terms of strike resistance. And our fighters are specially modified, and their firepower is far more powerful than that of the enemy. One of our attacks can even directly disintegrate a Japanese bomber. And here the B-17 is much stronger than any German fighter, which is far inferior in firepower to ours. Therefore, as long as the B-17s can maintain a dense formation and cover each other's shooting corners, it will be difficult for German fighters to gain the upper hand in such a battle. Therefore, the first starting point of all interception tactics is to break up the formation of bombers. “

"In our 305 Bomber Group, there is an iron discipline, that is, when under any attack, you must not dodge." Li Mei added proudly.

"It was a wise decision." Ron complimented first. In fact, this sentence is not a compliment, because after the adoption of such tactics, the losses of the 305 bomber group have always been the smallest in the Eighth Air Force.

"However, such a dense formation is not impossible to deal with." Ron added, "If I were a German commander, I would have the planes carry a large number of rockets and attack the bomber formations head-on from beyond the range of bomber fire." This is not technically difficult, but it can certainly inflict huge losses on bombers in dense formations. I believe that if I can launch a few rounds of such rocket attacks, I will definitely be able to break up the dense formation of the bomber group. ”

When Ron first said that he had a way to deal with the bomber formation, many people looked skeptical, but as Ron unveiled his cards, everyone fell silent.

In the end, it was Li Mei who spoke first:

"Thank God, Lieutenant Colonel Ron, you're an American."