The first batch of bombers left the factory only 2oo aircraft, and as a result, 2o of which were allocated to training units (too many pilots needed to be trained), and the remaining 18o "wolf doves" formed five battalions, which was the first regiment of the strategic strike force.

"The second batch of bombers with 25o aircraft manufactured by Shen Fei will be completed at the end of next month, and then we will build two regiments on this basis, and then form the first division."

Luo Yunchong gave a general introduction to the situation: "At that time, we will also have enough pilots who have completed training to fly these bombers. ”

"Have you chosen your target?" … bsp; These training work was arranged by Luo Yunchong, and Tan Renhao didn't care very much, he just wanted to know which Japanese city would be the first to be unlucky.

"We have tentatively selected five targets, and which targets to bomb will be determined mainly according to the weather conditions at the time."

Luo Yunchong has marked five cities on the map of Japan's island of Kyushu, and the names of all five cities are red: "Fukuoka, Oita, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima." ”

"The situation in these cities must be different, isn't it?"

"The only thing these cities have in common is that they are all ports."

Luo Yunchong naturally took into account the destructive effect of the bombing when choosing a target. "Fukuoka was the main departure point of the Japanese invasion of Korea, and most of the war materials sent to Korea were sent from here. Oita is the main ship assembly center in the Japanese Inland Sea, and it is still responsible for the maintenance of warships, and according to the information we have now, there are about three docks here that can repair 10,000-ton heavy cruisers. Nagasaki has long been an important military port on the Japanese island of Kyushu, and although there is no Japanese fleet stationed there, it is now the main home port for Japanese submarines operating in the Yellow and East China Seas. Kumamoto is an industrialized port and one of the most important industrial cities on the island of Kyushu. Kagoshima is home to a modest fleet and is the most fortified port in the south of Kyushu Island, with a number of Japanese airfields nearby. ”

Tan Renhao climbed on the table here. After looking at it for a while, he asked, "What about your priorities?" ”

"I made two arrangements. If you consider the whole situation, Fukuoka was bombed first, followed by Nagasaki, and then Oita Kumamoto Kagoshima. ”

Luo Yunchong sat down, "And the other set of order is Otomi." Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Fukuoka. ”

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood. The first order is to take care of the entire battle situation, while the second order is dominated by the navy.

"Of course, it depends on the weather."

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "And what about the air defense of these targets?"

"The hardest to blow up is probably Kagoshima, followed by Nagasaki and Fukuoka, and then Oita. The easiest to bomb is Kumamoto. ”

Luo Yunchong did his work very carefully and thoroughly. "The Japanese army is now mainly protecting military targets. I've also seen the bombing record of the 6th airline, which can be rated as a mess. Dozens of bombers were dispatched to drop dozens of tons of bombs at a time. What effect does this have? Moreover, the main thing of the bombing of the 6th Air Force is military facilities, so the Japanese side attaches great importance to the air defense of military facilities, but does not pay much attention to the protection of industrial targets! ”

Tan Renhao fell silent, and the strategic bombing of Japan by the 6th Air Force can be described as shit. Tan Renhao had also read the bombing report of the 6th Air Force for a long time, and it had been bombed for a year, but it didn't even blow up a fart, and it lost nearly 1,000 bombers, and thousands of excellent pilots were also finished. This is simply a waste of the Empire's precious war resources.

"Renhao, how do you say we should fight?"

Tan Renhao was stunned when he raised his head. Only now Hao Dongjue had walked in.

"I sent someone to call Dong Jue, and he was originally at the airport in Pyoseon-ri."

Luo Yunchong pulled a chair and let Hao Dongjue sit down, it seemed that Hao Dongjue and Luo Yunchong had established a brotherly relationship like comrades-in-arms during this time.

"I'm thinking about a question."

Tan Renhao took out a cigarette and scattered one for each of them: "If we want to defeat Japan, then how can we blow it up to achieve its goal in the shortest possible time?" ”

Luo Yunchong and Hao Dongjue were silent. This is a very broad issue, and it has a direct bearing on the direction of the strategic bombing of Japan. In fact, this kind of problem should be thought about by Tan Renhao, Liao Hanxiang, and even Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng, rather than by Luo Yunchong and Hao Dongjue, who are on a mission. But now there are a lot of things in the Navy Command, Nie Renfeng and Gan Yongxing are so busy that they still have the heart to take care of this matter. And Liao Hanxiang was busy producing bombers and organizing new troops all day long. Tan Renhao was busy with the work of the Second Task Force some time ago, as well as the affairs of the theater staff (anti-submarine personnel arrangements and logistics scheduling, these are all matters that he is in charge of), and as a result, only Luo Yunchong and Hao Dongjue have time to think about this issue.

"If it's a war, then we should bomb mainly military targets!"

Hearing Hao Dongjue's words, Tan Renhao did not speak.

"I think so too, after all, we have to defeat Japan first."

Luo Yunchong hesitated for a moment: "But if we want to only bomb military targets, I'm afraid it will not be easy to bring Japan to its knees." At that time, our fleet entered Tokyo Bay and shelled Tokyo for so long, and the Japanese did not surrender, knowing that our 6th team boarded 6 in Tokyo Bay and killed all the way to the Imperial Palace, which forced Japan to surrender. If we only hit Japan's military targets, it would be really difficult to get Japan to surrender. What's more, these military targets are well protected, and the loss rate of bombers is sure to be high. ”

"You mean bombing civilian targets in Japan?"

Hao Dongjue glanced at Luo Yunchong.

Luo Yunchong didn't rush to speak, but used his eyes to ask for Tan Renhao's opinion.

"Luo Yunchong's words are not wrong, if you bomb Japanese military targets, your own losses will be large, not to mention, and you may not be able to make Japan surrender."

Tan Renhao glanced at the two of them: "Ignoring the matter of bombing civilian targets for the time being, I think the main bombing targets at this stage are those industrial facilities that can provide great help to the army, such as steel docks, aircraft factories, tank factories, ammunition factories, chemical plants, and so on." If we can destroy Japan's heavy industry. So what did the Japanese army take to continue fighting? ”

Tan Renhao's words hit the nail on the head, and both of them agreed.

The first large-scale strategic bombing of Japan was scheduled for 4 February, and Tan Renhao's selection of the number one target was Kumamoto City, the secondary target was Oita, and finally Nagasaki, and the other two targets were eliminated. And the specific situation still depends on the weather.

In the days leading up to the bombing, the pilots underwent extremely intense training. In charge of the training was Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Shikuan, who is now the official commander of the 1st Regiment. And it was promoted by one level. In addition, the battalion commander of each battalion is a veteran pilot, and the company commander is a newly promoted pilot. According to Luo Yunchong's arrangement, the bombing was still carried out in battalions, with 36 bombers in each camp flying in a concentrated manner, and then dropping bombs in a concentrated manner to bomb a large area, so as to make up for the shortcomings of the lack of accuracy in dropping bombs at high altitudes. Drop hundreds of bombs at a time, as long as a few bombs hit. It is enough to destroy the target.

Number 3. Two squadrons of fighters escorting the bomber group arrived at Seogwipo airfield. Because there were less than 26o nautical miles from Jeju Island to Oita (the farthest target), within the combat radius of the "Vultures", the bombers would have been covered by fighters. That's why I chose the target on Kyushu Island first. If we were to bomb targets on Japan's main island, especially in the Osaka area, the bomber group would not be able to get full cover from fighters, and would be easily intercepted by Japanese fighters, and the losses would be very huge.

Bomber Group 4 and escort fighter group conducted a large-scale test exercise in the Yellow Sea northwest of Jeju Island. The group flew in full accordance with the bombing plan that had been drawn up, and simulated bomb dropping training was carried out in the predetermined sea area. The escort fighters were responsible for providing cover for the bombers throughout the whole process, and a group of fighters who took off from the mainland of the empire also played the role of "Japanese planes" and engaged in dogfights with the escort fighters, attacking the bomber group. This is actually a close combat exercise.

There is no way to engage in such an exercise. Prior to this, the Imperial Air Force had no actual combat experience in related fields, and it was a blank in command and coordination to dispatch hundreds of fighters carrying hundreds of tons of bombs to bomb a target at a time. It is absolutely necessary to familiarize the pilots with the command and coordination personnel of strategic bombing through the exercises, and this will inevitably allow more pilots to come back alive.

Four days and nights. The pilots were given the right to move freely, and Tan Renhao also asked Hao Dongjue to inform the kitchen to collectively improve the food in the evening. As a result, almost all the pilots stayed in the camp and did not go out. The atmosphere in the camp also seemed a little tense, and Tan Renhao was also a little nervous. This was just as it was when he first commanded a fleet to go to sea, just as he did when he raised the possibility of a surprise attack on the Empire by Japan at the Fifth Fleet. There is a first time for everything, and tomorrow will be the day when the Empire will carry out its first large-scale strategic bombing of Japan!

"Inevitably, everyone is in the same mood!"

Luo Yunchong was also a little nervous, "Maybe none of us will know what the outcome will be until the bomber group comes back tomorrow." ”

Tan Renhao let out a sigh and looked at the stars above the southern sea. "yes, no one knows what the outcome will be."

"Rest early, the bomber group will be out early tomorrow morning!"

Luo Yunchong threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, "I also have to remind those pilots to let them go to bed early, don't be so excited that you miss the time of tomorrow!" ”

Tan Renhao laughed, and after Luo Yun washed away, he sat on the lawn for a while before getting up and going back to his temporary dormitory. He hadn't forgotten to ask Duchenne to wake him up early tomorrow morning.

As soon as the day dawned, Seogwipo Airport was bustling. Aviation crews were the first to start working, checking the condition of the aircraft within an hour and a half, loading bombs, refueling and then assisting pilots on board. Each bomber has a duty squad of eight attendants who are responsible for ensuring that the bomber does not break down when it comes out.

At 6:50 a.m., the pilot was called to get out of bed. After a night's rest, the pilots were refreshed and then went to the cafeteria for breakfast. Tan Renhao also got up at this time, and Du Xing only woke him up five minutes earlier. By the time Tan Renhao came to the officers' cafeteria, most of the officers had already left.

The reconnaissance planes that came out before seven o'clock came to report on the weather conditions over the three targets. The reconnaissance plane was actually just a tactical bomber of the Navy (later, with the expansion of the combat radius, a special heavy bomber would act as a meteorological reconnaissance plane), the main target was that the weather conditions over Kumamoto City were good, and there was no sign that the sky would "change." At 7:10 a.m., the pilots concentrated on listening to the briefing, and at this time, Hao Dongjue (his new position was actually similar to what he had done in the fleet) explained to the pilots the bombing target (the need for secrecy), and stipulated two routes (one main and one time), the position of the escort fighters, and so on.

At 7:25 a.m., the pilots began boarding, and the aviation crew had already loaded the bomb into the bomber's bomb bay, and the three fuel tanks were also filled with fuel. Because of the short combat radius, each bomber carried 24 bombs of 25o kg and took off with the maximum bomb load.

At 7:30 a.m., Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Shikuan's plane first taxied to the runway, and after taxiing for nearly 15 meters, the bomber's wheels (front three-point landing gear) broke off the ground and rose into the sky. Within fifteen minutes, all 72 bombers from Seogwipo airfield took off. At the same time, 1o8 bombers from the other two airfields also took to the skies.

At 7:55 a.m., the "Vulture" fighters, which were on escort duty, began to take off. The "Vulture" is much faster than the "Wolf Dove", so it chooses to take off and then go to the bomber group halfway. The escort fighters were divided into two groups, and a squadron was assigned the forward escort mission, which was responsible for intercepting the Japanese air defense fighters. The other squadron would stay above the bomber group and only engage in air combat after the Japanese fighters had approached.

It wasn't until the last fighter successfully lifted off into the air that Tan Renhao breathed a sigh of relief, and then he felt a little amused by his worries. These planes took off from ground airfields, and not from aircraft carriers, so what should he worry about? And if you have to worry, you should also worry about how many bombers and fighters will be able to fly back!

。 All come to read m.