Before dawn on the 19th, the bombers took off one after another, and Tan Renhao also came to the tower at this time. The bombers took off at 5:35 a.m., and the group arrived over Kumamoto at about 7:15 a.m., which was exactly the time when the Japanese got up for breakfast and prepared for the day's work. At this time, the Japanese air defense fighters had just taken off, and the bombers were the easiest to break through the interception of the air defense fighters.

Luo Yunchong got up an hour and a half earlier than Tan Renhao, and he personally briefed more than 20 officers of regiments, battalions, and companies, and emphasized one point, that is, it is necessary to enter in a concentrated manner, concentrate on dropping bombs, and stop dropping bombs in a scattered manner. It was only when the bombers began to take off one after another that he came to the tower.

"Hopefully it won't be too bad this time."

Luo Yunchong was still holding half a steamed bun in his hand, "Today, more than 330 bombers participated in the bombing operation, and the bombs dropped will also set a new record. ”

Tan Renhao didn't show much optimism, after several previous bombings, he already understood one thing, that is, the bombing effect may not be as good as imagined, any possibility exists, and what the result will be will only be known after the bomber group returns.

"Let's go rest for a while, the group won't be back until about half past ten."

Luo Yunchong yawned.

"Didn't sleep last night? Then go get some sleep! ”

Tan Renhao glanced at Luo Yunchong, "Wait a minute, I'll go find Hao Dongjue, this kid may have already gotten into the medical room!" ”

Luo Yunchong laughed, there were a few newly assigned nurses in the medical room, and as a result, Hao Dongjue would run there when he had time, often approaching the nurses with some unwarranted minor illnesses.

Tan Renhao glanced at the eastern sky, and then left the tower, he couldn't feel the mood of those pilots on the bomber, but he could know that there would definitely be a lot of people who couldn't come back today. As with every previous return, there will be a group of pilots whose names will be crossed out.

The leader of the group was still Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Shikuan. He was the commander of the 1st Regiment, and behind the 1st Regiment were the bombers of the 2nd Regiment, and the 2nd Regiment was Lieutenant Colonel Mao Tington, an aviation officer from an ethnic minority.

More than 300 bombers of the two regiments were lined up in dense formation, and the distance between the bombers was about 200 meters, which was divided into two layers, with 198 bombers on the upper floor and only 134 bombers on the lower floor. The distance between the two floors is 500 meters. The two fighter squadrons escorting the escort, one on the left and one on the right, were flying at an altitude of 5,500 meters, that is, about 800 meters above the upper bombers.

The flight routes have been adjusted, and the number of "Zero Combat" aircraft deployed by Japan on the island of Kyushu has exceeded 300, and hundreds of observation posts have been established along the coast, as well as on some small islands to the west and southwest of Kyushu. In the absence of radar, these observation posts were the only channels for providing intelligence to Japanese air defense fighters. Therefore, now the bombers did not need to make a detour at all, but directly hit Kumamoto City. Halfway through, you only need to avoid a few cities with a large number of anti-aircraft guns.

When the fleet arrived over the north of Zhongtong Island. For the first time, the navigator on the long-plane "Tou Yan" confirmed the route. There is a small fishing village on the north side of the island. There is also a lighthouse next to it. The lighthouse is the navigation object. The navigator quickly measured the distance between the bomber and the lighthouse, determined the course from this distance, and then the group crossed the island of Zhongtong.

Ten minutes later. That is, at about 6:48, Jiang Shikuan saw the Nagasaki Peninsula in front of him, and at the same time, he also saw the Japanese fighter planes in the sky. The forward squadron of escort fighters had already exchanged fire with the Japanese fighters, and the two squadrons of escort fighters that accompanied the bomber group quickly dispersed, like shepherd dogs protecting the flock, vigilantly watching their surroundings to prevent a sudden attack by wild beasts.

"Brothers, you're about to enter the skies over Kyushu Island, are you ready to slaughter devils?"

Jiang Shikuan called out first.

"Ahh

The pilots all screamed, which was also a signal for battle.

"The 'flock of geese' follows me. Let's go and send the little devils to hell! ”

Jiang Shikuan got the nickname of "Head Goose", so he assigned a number to all the bombers in a regiment, "Yan XX" is the code name of those bombers, and under normal circumstances, the odd number will be on the left side of the group, and the even number will be on the right.

The group began to accelerate, and the Japanese air defense fighters also killed, and the escort fighters frantically intercepted the Japanese fighters who went to attack the bombers, and the gunners (machine gunners) on the bombers were also vigilant in the surrounding sky, firing at the Japanese fighters who were attacking.

After entering the sky over land. Japanese anti-aircraft artillery also fired. The sky seemed to be on fire. From time to time, shells exploded in the swarm. It is as if there are many invisible "thunderstorms" buried in the sky, and these "thunderstorms" may explode at any time, and they may blow up the bomber at any time and take the life of the pilot on the ground of the bomber.

"Commander, 'Yan 23' has been hit!"

Jiang Shikuan quickly looked to the left of the group, and a fire broke out at the root of the wing of a bomber, which was the key part of the fuel tank of the bomber's wing, and the bomber was definitely finished.

"'Wild Goose 23' Jump, Jump......"

The pilot of another bomber shouted.

The bomber, numbered "Yan 23", certainly could not hold on, and when several pilots jumped out of the plane, the plane broke away from the formation, began to dive, and then disintegrated and exploded.

"Damn, follow me!"

Jiang Shikuan gritted his teeth, this was the 89th bomber lost by the first regiment!

Suddenly, the plane shook violently, Jiang Shikuan was shocked, he knew that his landline had been shot.

"Commander, we've been shot!"

"I know, report the bullet part, the damage!"

Jiang Shikuan felt that the reaction force on the operating lever was much greater.

"It's the tail cabin, the tail turret has been knocked out, damn it, Ah Hong is finished, Ah Hong is sacrificed!"

"Don't panic, seal the tail compartment immediately!"

Jiang Shikuan simply did not have time to grieve for his fallen comrades.

"Regiment commander, you withdraw from the battle, I will guide the bombing!"

The commander of a battalion shouted over the radio.

"It's okay, I can still hold on, even if I want to die, I will drop the bomb and die again!"

Jiang Shikuan hesitated for a moment, and he connected the channel to the bomber's internal communication, "Brothers, I'm afraid we won't be able to go back." Do you regret it? ”

"Captain, don't fucking joke about you, can we regret it?"

"Regrets? It is little Japan that should regret it, Lao Tzu swears, if I go back alive this time, I will come to the sky over Japan a hundred times and drop at least 500 tons of bombs on little Japan! ”

The bombardier's words were even more agitated.

"Commander, we'll all do it with you!"

"yes. Kill the shit! ”

Hearing the words of the crew members, Jiang Shikuan suddenly felt that his eyes were a little moist. He glanced at the co-pilot next to him, then quickly wiped his eyes and pulled down his goggles. "That's good, brothers, even if we go to the underworld, when we cross the Nai He Bridge, before drinking Meng Po soup, we will meet again, and we will be brothers in the next life!"

The sky was burning violently. The bomber group flew about 20 kilometers north of Nagasaki City. Soon it entered the Ariake Sea and was out of the range of the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery. Only four bombers of the two regiments were shot down, and the Japanese fighters who intercepted the bombers did not play much role at all. Japan already has a serious shortage of good pilots. The performance of the "Zero Battle" is not much better than that of the "Vulture", and it is not an opponent of escort fighters at all.

At 7:14, the group again reached the skies over land. This time, the bomber group entered from the northwest of Kumamoto City, whereas it had been coming from the southwest until now. As a result, Japan did not deploy much anti-aircraft artillery to the north and northwest of the city, and those "Zero Battles" had been dispersed by the "vultures" and were being overtaken by the "vultures".

"It's time for us to break up."

Jiang Shikuan laughed, "Help me tell General Tan and General Luo when I go back." I, Jiang Shikuan, will drop the bomb! ”

"Lao Jiang, don't mess around, you have to say, you go back and say it yourself, I won't bring you a message!"

"Then it depends on whether my life is hard or not, I hope the cat in my previous life will change!"

Jiang Shikuan laughed loudly, "Lao Mao, see you later, I wish you all a smooth journey!" ”

"So are you. Bon voyage! ”

The bombers of the two regiments quickly separated. The first regiment bombarded the steel plant east of Kumamoto City, which had to cross the entire urban area, where there were two anti-aircraft artillery positions. The second regiment bombed a chemical plant southwest of Kumamoto City, and only had to cross an anti-aircraft position. When assigning tasks, Luo Yunchong assigned the more difficult targets to the first regiment and the easy targets to the second regiment.

"Goose, follow me, let the puppy taste the bomb again!"

Jiang Shikuan quickly pulled down the oxygen mask, "The group is ready to enter the bombing channel, the bombardier will release the bomb insurance, the navigator, give me the flight parameters." ”

"Turn left two degrees, okay, keep this course and speed."

While the bombardier climbed to the bomb bay to remove the safety bolt from the bomb, the navigator revised the course with the help of the obvious object markers in the city.

"The bomb insurance has been lifted!"

"Two minutes to prepare!"

The navigator gave a signal.

"Wild geese, follow me to drop bombs!"

Jiang Shikuan quickly adjusted the channel, "Bombardier, now you are commanding the flight, we will watch your performance!" ”

"No problem, fuck it!"

The bombardier returned to his position and lay down on the bombardment.

The bomber is mounted under the nose of the aircraft, and there are some scales on the scope above, and the bombardier will adjust the bomber according to the speed and altitude of the aircraft, as well as the wind direction at this time, wind speed, etc., and wait until the red dot on the bomber is pressed on the target, and then drop the bomb. Before the bombing, the reconnaissance plane will hand over some of the photos taken to the bombing force so that the bombardier can familiarize himself with the situation of the target. The bombing sites are generally selected for buildings with obvious external features, which the bombardier can accurately distinguish from high altitudes.

More than 100 bombers formed a neat dense formation and flew rapidly at a distance of less than 100 meters. All the bombers on the bombs have been de-insured, and the bombardiers are watching the long plane ahead, and after the long plane drops the bomb, they will also drop the bomb.

"Thirty seconds, Commander, steady speed and course!"

The navigator shouted, "Open the bomb bay hatch!" ”

Jiang Shikuan let the co-pilot control the speed, and he stuck the operating lever. "30 seconds to drop the bomb and prepare, open the bomb bay hatch!"

Within ten seconds, the hatches of the bomb bays of hundreds of bombers were all opened.

"Ten seconds...... Five-second ...... Dog's Day, New Year's gifts are coming! ”

Bombs spilled from the belly bay of the "head goose" one after another, and then other bombers began to drop bombs as well. 174 bombers dropped all the bombs in 30 seconds. Thousands of bombs fell from an altitude of more than 4,000 meters.

"Commander, the bomber is handed over to you!"

"The fleet is ready to return, the course turns to 277, follow me!"

Jiang Shikuan pressed the lever to the right, and when the bomber turned sideways, he quickly glanced at the ground.

When a bomb explodes on the ground, it's like throwing a firecracker into the mud, and the explosion is like a blooming flower. These "flowers" were short-lived, but thousands of bombs fell one after another, and the steel plant was enveloped in the smoke and smoke from the explosion.

"Commander, we seem to have succeeded!"

"Don't be too happy, it's never too late to be happy when you go back!"

Jiang Shikuan gritted his teeth, he could feel that the bomber was about to hold on.

Before the group left the sky over Kumamoto, the anti-aircraft artillery rang out, and on the way back, they had to pass through the Japanese anti-aircraft positions again and be tested by the anti-aircraft artillery again.

Suddenly, the bomber slammed, and the sound of explosions came, Jiang Shikuan was shocked and shouted: "Where was the bullet?" Quickly report the bombing situation! ”

There was silence in the headset, and the co-pilot quickly glanced back. "Regiment commander, it's the bomb bay, and the bomb bay part has been shot."

Jiang Shikuan was shocked, the bomb bay part is also the center of the load-bearing structure of the bomber, if the structure of the plane is damaged, then they will definitely be finished.

"Regiment Commander, the engine on the left side of the 'Head Goose' is on fire, put out the fire quickly!"

Jiang Shikuan immediately looked at the left wing, and the engine was already burning.

"The fire extinguishing device is out of order...... Commander, we must dive! ”

"Hold on!"

Jiang Shikuan immediately lowered the operating stick, "First battalion commander, you led the group of planes back, and now the first regiment is under your command!" ”

"Commander......"

In front of the officers and men of the First Regiment, Jiang Shikuan's plane began to dive and accelerate, extinguishing the fire on the engine through the strong air flow generated during the dive. And everyone knows that in this case, there is a more than ninety percent chance that the commander's landline will not be able to go back......