A fortuitous factor made Luo Yunchong decide to start immediately on the afternoon of the 17th, and everyone, including Luo Yunchong, did not expect that they had to take action without adequate preparation.

In the early morning of 17 July, the Mexican government forces and the internal affairs department directing the government forces smashed a US spy organization lurking in Gutierrez, and arrested two American spies of Mexican descent during the operation. After harsh interrogation, the two spies confessed what they knew. At the same time, the Mexican intelligence agencies found a document related to the expeditionary force in some of the seized materials, and sent this document to Gu Xunlei at noon on the 17th, along with the information confessed by the two spies. After getting this document, Gu Xunlei immediately flew directly to the airport in San Pedro Sula and found Luo Yunchong.

In this document there are several photos of the "Peng" bomber, and in one of them there is even a "barrel" bomb. According to the information provided by the two spies, they already knew about the bomber units secretly deployed in San Pedro Sula, and knew about the bombs carried by these bombers, but fortunately, the two spies did not have time to send this information out, and they were arrested by the Mexican secret police.

At that time, neither Gu Xunlei nor Luo Yunchong could be sure whether the US local intelligence personnel had obtained the same information through other channels. At the same time, the two spy officers who explained the situation were not telling the truth. In other words, the U.S. military may already know the situation of this bomber force, or will know about it. In this way, it was easy for American intelligence to judge that the target of this bomber force was the barrage dam in New Orleans. Because the United States also has the history of the British operation to destroy the Ruhr dam. As long as the American intelligence officers see the photo of the "barrel" bomb, then there is no secret about this operation. In other words, the U.S. military will certainly quickly strengthen its defense of the New Orleans barrage dam, especially the air defense force, and if it launches another attack after that, it will be impossible for the 12 bombers to complete it, and the losses will be quite heavy. It is impossible to achieve the goal by canceling the action. Gu Xunlei had to face the influx of U.S. ground troops on the battlefield in Mexico. Therefore, Luo Yunchong had no other choice but to start acting immediately to destroy the dam before the Americans could organize a tighter defense!

After the two discussed, Luo Yunchong went to organize the pilots and prepare to deploy combat operations. Thankfully, it is. At that time, the relevant preparations were basically in place. The battle plan was almost ready-made, and the British helped a lot. These 12 "Peng" bombers were all used for testing and training. At the factory, the aircraft had reserved interfaces for mounting various equipment, and before leaving Oahu, bombing sights similar to those used by the British had been installed. Pilot training has also been going on for a long time, and Wu Linchan and his group of pilots have basically mastered all kinds of difficult flying and bombing techniques. Ammunition was also prepared, and a spare ground bomb was also carried. At that time, only three preparations were not in place, one was that the pilots were not yet familiar with the route to New Orleans, and the other was that the specific combat time was not determined. Third, it is still unknown whether the new bombs will be able to blow up the barrage.

After Wu Linyan and the others completed their flight training in the afternoon and landed at the airport in the evening, they received the order, and then went to the pilot's rest center, where Luo Yunchong was already waiting for them. The pre-war meeting began immediately, and for the 108 members of the twelve crews at that time, as well as Luo Yunchong, they were still not too sure whether the operation would succeed. Luo Yunchong first introduced the mission to these pilots who were about to depart, and then asked them to raise the questions in their hearts.

"The route shouldn't be a big problem, it's basically flying on the sea. It's not much different from what we're training for. A major captain first asked the question, "There is one thing that has a big impact on us. That's the weather in the Gulf, and if there's a storm, we're going to have to find a way around the storm zone. ”

"I have already arranged this, the weather reconnaissance plane has already set off before you return, and the weather forecast will be sent back soon, and when the time comes, I will personally determine the specific route." Luo Yunchong quickly answered this question, and then asked the others with his eyes.

"When are we moving?" Another captain asked a question.

"Now I have a preliminary opinion that it would be most appropriate for the bomber group to arrive before dawn." Luo Yunchong leaned on the table behind him, "Dawn is the time when people are most tired, and the U.S. military will strengthen its defenses at night. According to the information we have obtained, the shift change time of the American troops is around 7 o'clock, and before that, the officers and men on duty are very tired or are deserting, and our bomber group is trying to enter between 6:15 and 6:30, that is, to drop bombs when it is dark. In this way, when returning home, you can also avoid being intercepted by the US military. ”

"Well, then, we'll have to leave in the wee hours of the morning."

"The specific departure time has not yet been determined, and I will tell you the departure time after I have designed the route."

"So, how do we drop the bomb?" Wu Linfang asked a key question.

"That's the toughest problem for us." Luo Yunchong has also been waiting for the pilot to ask this question. "We didn't test the new bomb, and no one was sure it would blow up the barrage dam in New Orleans. In addition, the barrage dam in New Orleans is a gravity dam, not a stress dam that the British blew up. You have all learned basic mechanics and should know the difference between gravity dam and stress dam. Prior to this, there had not been a single case of a successful blow up of a gravity dam. Right now, all we have is the calculations of the engineers. ”

The pilot's expression became serious, the meaning of Luo Yunchong's words was already very clear, they could only rely on the results of theoretical calculations to act, and before dropping the bomb, no one knew whether the operation was successful or not. At this time, Luo Yunchong also asked his assistant to pull the blackboard over, on which a schematic diagram of the New Orleans barrage was drawn. By theoretical calculations, we have to ensure that at least two bombs hit the same point

's interval time to hit the same point consecutively. Plus, we only need to be in the first gap to have the sea water pouring into New Orleans. Luo Yunchong marked three points on the schematic diagram of the dam, "Therefore, our bombers were divided into three batches of four. That is, the bombers entered in four batches, each of which dropped bombs on the same aiming point. In this way, as long as one of these three groups is capable of three bombers dropping bombs on the same point, the destruction of the dam can be ensured. Probability-wise, we only need to guarantee a 1 in 4 success rate to be able to destroy the dam. And from your previous training, the bomb hit rate is more than 1 in 2, which means that as long as the bomb is dropped at the level of training, then we will definitely succeed. ”

Everyone laughed, but they all laughed a little bitterly. During the training, there will be no US anti-aircraft guns on both sides of the channel, and there will never be US fighter jets in the sky. What's more, when training, pilots do not need to be afraid of being shot down, and in battle, anyone can become a victim.

"In order to assist our operation, the expeditionary force, as well as the HNA will take action half an hour to an hour in advance." Luo Yunchong asked people to remove the blackboard, "HNA will bomb US military targets on the Greater Andres Islands between five and half past five in the morning, and the heavy bombers of the Navy's Strategic Strike Force will also carry out harassing bombing of some important targets on the US mainland at the same time." At the same time, General Gu Xunlei's expeditionary force air force will also carry out large-scale tactical bombing of US troops on the battlefield in Mexico. These actions will distract the attention of the US military. Effectively cover our movements. ”

"General, what if we are shot down?" One captain asked a question that everyone else didn't want to ask, but had to ask. After all, in the opinion of the pilots. The three words "shot down" are the most unlucky.

Luo Yunchong hesitated for a moment and said: "Then you have to fly south as much as possible, the navy has submarines operating in the Gulf of Mexico, you have to try to report back the forced landing site, of course, if there is really no way, try to stay on the sea." I'll arrange for submarines as soon as possible, and dispatch long-range seaplanes to rescue you. ”

"But what if we can't fly to the open sea?" Someone asked again.

"This ......" Luo Yunchong was very embarrassed. If it were me, I'd try to lurk and ask for help. If it is discovered by the US military. I'm not going to rebel blindly, at least for now. The U.S. military still did not persecute the prisoners, as long as you dropped the bombs, the mission was already completed, and there was no need to fight for your life anymore. ”

The pilots were silent, that is, if they had made a forced landing on the American mainland, then they would most likely have spent time in a prisoner of war camp before the end of the war.

"Any other questions?" Luo Yunchong stood up straight, if there was a choice. He would not let these top pilots take risks, you know, they were the best heavy bomber pilots in the Imperial Army Air Force, maybe in a few years, ten years, they would all become the generals of the newly established Air Force of the Empire.

"If there's no other problem, then let's stop here." Luo Yunchong breathed a long sigh of relief, "You all hurry up and rest, about six hours later." I'll send someone to wake you up, when the time comes. Specific routes and combat missions will be arranged, and before that, your mission is to keep your spirits up and not to doze off halfway! ”

The pilots smiled rarely, and after the meeting ended, they all went back to their dormitories to sleep.

Luo Yunchong did not relax, if it were not for the danger of intelligence leakage, he would not be in a hurry to launch this operation, after all, the pilots did not even adapt to the environment in the Americas. What made him feel a little headache was that a lot of things hadn't been arranged yet, and he had to be ready for the next few hours.

When the ground crew began to inspect the bombers, Luo Yunchong and several senior staff officers who came with him began to design the flight route. This is one of the most important jobs, and the straight-line distance from San Pedro Sula to New Orleans is 1,550 kilometers, and that's itHowever, the bombers could not fly in a straight line, and had to modify their routes along the way, such as trying to pass through several desert islands that were deserted to determine whether they were on the right track, and they had to try to avoid areas monitored by the U.S. military, as well as U.S. ships and warships that might appear in the Gulf of Mexico. As they approached New Orleans, the group had to reduce their altitude and maneuver over a wide range of areas to avoid premature detection. These need to be determined when designing the route, which is a very meticulous work.

The work of designing the route was specifically taken care of by those staff officers, and Luo Yunchong mainly determined the final bombing site. Located between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain to the north, the city of New Orleans is only 1.5 meters above sea level, and most of the city is below the level of the Mississippi River, and the >+ is built on the banks of the Mississippi River with a 200-kilometer barrage. In addition, there are dozens of pumping machines in the city, which bring water to Lake Pontchartrain. These pumps can only play a supporting role, and if the dam is blown up, it is impossible to completely pump out the rushing river. The point is that where to drop the bomb is most likely to destroy the dam, and to allow the influx of water to cause the most damage, it is also necessary to make the bombing less difficult and avoid the pilots taking more risks.

After careful consideration, Luo Yunchong finally decided to divide the bombers into three columns and concentrate on attacking the dam located in the southwest of the city. In this way, the bomber group could enter directly from the southwest, flying over the sparsely populated swamps, while the pilots could also precisely control the course according to the terrain along the way. In addition, the river on this side is also several kilometers wide, giving the bombers enough level flight distance, reducing the difficulty of dropping bombs, and thus increasing the hit rate of bombs. As long as the bombers quickly enter the airspace over the river, they will be able to avoid being hit by antiaircraft fire, especially small-caliber antiaircraft guns. After the bombing, it was also possible to withdraw along the river to avoid passing over the city, which also allowed the bomber to avoid passing through the area where the American anti-aircraft guns were most concentrated.

After it was determined, Luo Yunchong probably knew it in his heart, and the rest was up to the pilots to complete the bombing mission.