A C-69 fast transport plane with a beautiful streamlined appearance roared in under the escort of four P61 fighter jets, and before the army's "Bay 10" airfield near Valparaiso Bay, the ground crew of the airport ignited the gasoline in the trenches on both sides of the runway, and two straight fire snakes appeared in the darkness, which was very eye-catching. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 The C-69 in the sky quickly spotted the fire below that was used to guide the plane's landing, circled and began to descend, and a few minutes later, the plane's downing gear slammed into the hard runway.

The C-69 is a military version of the L-049 Constellation, a passenger aircraft developed by Lockheed from 1939. Not only does it have a huge range of 7,405 km, but it also has a top speed of 531 km/h and can carry up to 93 passengers. Such outstanding performance makes this C-69 the best personnel transport aircraft in the hands of the US military. Although the total amount of equipment is small (because of the high price), it is all important people who are transported. Whenever there is a place near the front line, there must be an important person to inspect it.

On the tarmac of the "Gulf" airfield, there was already the chief of staff of the 10th Army of the US Army, Albert Brown. Brigadier General Weidemeyer waited there with a respectful expression, and the attachés who followed him were all standing upright with the highest standards. Watching the plane slowly slide to the tarmac illuminated by the searchlights, the fuselage slowly stopped, and then the hatch opened, and the escalator was quickly lowered. In the miserable white light, I saw a big bald Admiral Eisenhower walking down with a very serious expression. He was followed by staff officers of the Allied South American Theater Command and, of course, General Eisenhower's staff.

The four-star general of the U.S. Army now serves as commander-in-chief of the Allied South American Command, with full responsibility for the South American continent with the exception of Venezuela, Guyana and Colombia. He was now rushing from his headquarters in Panama to Valparaiso Bay, which was on the front line, precisely to urge the 10th Army to liberate Santiago, the capital of Chile, as soon as possible.

Eisenhower, who was walking towards the plane, glanced around on the tarmac, and did not see Lieutenant General Bradley, the commander of the 10th Army, so he asked Brigadier General Weidemeyer, who was saluting him: "Albert, where is Omar?" Is it now organizing a siege outside of San Diego? And what about Lieutenant General Chennault of the 14th Air Force? Did you go against my orders again and fly a plane to bomb Buenos Aires? ”

The night bombing of Buenos Aires has been going on for almost a month, with 100-200 American planes coming to Juan every night. Perón sent almost 200 tons of bombs. However, the losses of the Americans themselves are not small, they lost nearly 500 fighters in just one month! In order to avoid the loss of senior officers, Eisenhower ordered that officers of the 14th Air Force and above above be forbidden to fly planes in person, but Lieutenant General Chennault often violated this order.

Brigadier General Weidemeyer led Eisenhower towards the car waiting outside the airport, and replied: "Lieutenant General Bradley has gone to the San Diego front line to inspect it, and the situation at the front line is not very good!" The casualties of the troops were heavy and the morale was somewhat low. Not only did they encounter stubborn resistance from the Germans and the New Asbanian army at the front, but from time to time they were attacked by partisans...... The situation in Valparaiso is also unstable, with few adherents of the government of Free Chile, and without our army it is impossible to establish rule anywhere. ”

"How could the Chileans not support us?" Eisenhower felt something strange.

Weidemeyer smiled bitterly: "General, Valparaiso is an area inhabited by European immigrants, and most of the residents are descendants of German and French immigrants. ”

"Is it the Germans who are playing tricks?" Eisenhower shook his head, "What a hate! ”

Of course, it is the Germans here in Chile who do not love democracy and freedom, not the Germans like Eisenhower and Weidemeyer who are fighting for the freedom and liberation of the Chilean people. However, Eisenhower only paid lip service to hateful orders, and he would not give orders to take drastic measures against Chilean Germans...... That's a serious war crime! Now it seems that the United States is not the side that will win, so it is better to be careful.

The two were about to get into the car when they heard a roar overhead. Above the night sky swept by searchlights from time to time, dozens of planes flew in neat formations from the east. These were the B-14 and P-17 of the US Army's 61st Air Force, having completed the bombing of Buenos Aires, flew back to their base in Valparaiso Bay.

The night bombing of Buenos Aires is now on track, with around 200 warplanes (including B-17s, B-24s and P-61s) bombing the capital of the New Commonwealth of Asbania every night as long as the weather permits.

However, such bombing was not easy, and the American planes would encounter interception by a group of interceptors with He219 and SM.91 as the main force in the sky west of Buenos Aires, and would also be attacked by anti-aircraft guns and a "mysterious rocket weapon" in the sky over Buenos Aires, with an average loss rate of up to 15%!

For night bombing, a 15% loss rate is astronomical!

"Admiral," Weidemeyer told Eisenhower, "Lieutenant General Chennault may have returned, and he had gone tonight to see for himself the rocket weapons of the Germans." He suspected that it was a radar-guided surface-to-air missile! ”

"Surface-to-air missiles?" Eisenhower took a breath, "Then let's wait for Lieutenant General Chennault." ”

Lieutenant General Chennault did not go to Buenos Aires in a B-17, but in a P-61F radar alert plane equipped with an AN/APS-20 radar (S-band) -- this aircraft acts similarly to the German Bv138E, but the Americans did not copy the German design, but the Americans developed it themselves. In addition to the P-61F radar alert aircraft owned by the Army Aviation, the US Naval Aviation also has a similar TBM-3W radar alert aircraft.

Lieutenant General Chennault, who was flying on a P-61F, circled over Buenos Aires for more than an hour and also witnessed a fierce air battle. Compared to the Japanese planes that Chennault encountered over the Palembang, Brunei and Balikpapan oil refineries, the skies over Buenos Aires were a hell of fire. Not only were there He61 and SM.219 with performance comparable to the P-91, but there were also much more anti-aircraft guns, and there were also radio proximity fuse shells.

But what frightened American pilots the most was the kind of rocket weapons that seemed to have eyes. This weapon is not only particularly accurate, basically 2-4 can be replaced by a B-17, but also very powerful, hit by it is a plane crash and death, there is no chance of parachuting at all.

"Admiral," Chennault reported to Eisenhower immediately after meeting him about the German surface-to-air missiles, "and according to my observations, the Germans do possess a guided rocket weapon. There should be 6-8 launchers in the city of Buenos Aires, which can fire 6-8 rockets at a time, and an average of 3 can shoot down a B-17 or B-24, and the power is so amazing that it is almost impossible for the crew members of the hit aircraft to survive. ”

At the headquarters of the Army's 14th Air Force near the "bay" airfield, Chennault told Eisenhower everything he had seen that evening.

"If you want to launch a thousand-plane bombardment during the day, is it possible that this guided rocket will cause great damage?" Eisenhower asked.

"Thousand-plane bombardment during the day?" Chennault gasped, is this going to be desperate?

Eisenhower nodded, "The Air Force is going to launch a thousand-plane bombing, and the 10th Army is going to attack San Diego...... If all goes well, it may bring a decent peace to the United States. ”

He looked at a rough face with a surprised expression, "Claire, there's no problem with the 14th Air Force, right?" ”

"I didn't ...... No problem. "The Germans had a limited number of guided rockets deployed in Buenos Aires, and they couldn't shoot many planes. And the number of their daytime fighters is not very large, and it is estimated that the loss rate of a daytime bombing of 1,000 planes will not exceed 15%. ”

A 15% loss rate is not low! But if a decent peace can really be blown up, the price is acceptable.

Seeing that Chennault's brow was still wrinkled, Eisenhower asked, "What?" Is a 15% loss rate unbearable? ”

"No," said Chennault, shaking his head, "Admiral, I fear that the Germans will put their guided rockets in Buenos Aires on warships. Then our situation in the Atlantic will be even more unfavorable. ”

At present, the United States relies on the numerical superiority of shore-based aircraft in the Atlantic, and in the waters near the most critical island of Trinidad, the Americans have concentrated more than 4,000 shore-based aircraft. However, the German naval aviation can concentrate only 1,500 carrier-based aircraft, and even if you count the long-range shore-based aircraft, the air force that can be invested is only more than 2,000, and the strength is obviously at a disadvantage. But if the Germans install 100-200 missile launchers on surface ships, then the numerical superiority of the United States in aircraft will be greatly reduced!

Eisenhower was silent for a while, then nodded and said, "Claire, you write a report and submit it to the Joint Chiefs of Staff...... I think we'll always find a way to deal with it. In addition, the 14th Air Force should prepare for a daytime bombardment of Buenos Aires as soon as possible, preferably in December. ”