In order to avoid the Japanese fighter-bombers, the group flew south and then east, killing the Japanese island of Kyushu. At 9:24 a.m., the navigator aboard the "Tou Yan" (the code name of Jiang Shikuan's landline was given by someone else) over the Men's and Female Islands determined the course for the first time.

Because the bomber had been flying at sea before, he could only rely on the gyroscope to determine the course, and the navigator determined the flight distance by the degree time of the aircraft, etc. From this point of view, navigators (especially navigators with long planes) are as important as anyone else. Without a good navigator, the bomber, after flying hundreds or thousands of kilometers, is quite likely to deviate from the course and miss the target. This is also the reason why a heavy bomber should have a separate navigator on board.

The Men and Women Islands were the first course checkpoint for bomber groups, and on the sea, they could only rely on these distinctly characteristic islands to determine whether they had deviated. The group then turned again towards Amakusa and then entered the entrance to the Ariake Sea (the bay between Nagasaki and Kumamoto).

At ten o'clock and five o'clock, Jiang Shikuan saw the 6 places in front of him, which were the 6 places on the south shore of the bay mouth. By this time, the squadron of escort fighters at the front had already encountered Japanese air defense fighters.

"The battalions are moving forward separately, keep the formation, don't scatter!"

Jiang Shikuan turned on the intercom at this time: "Brothers, goodbye!" ”

"Have a nice trip!"

As the battalion commanders of each battalion answered, the aircraft began to disperse, breaking through the interception net of Japanese fighters in battalions. This is the tactic formulated by Luo Yunchong, and his main consideration is the success rate of the breakthrough. If a large group of aircraft is still active, it is easy to be intercepted by superior Japanese fighters, then it will become very difficult to break through, and if some groups are intercepted, it will be able to ensure that other groups can reach the target and drop bombs.

At this time, fighters above the bomber group were also put into battle. 36 "Vultures" were divided into three squads. Meet the incoming Japanese fighters. These escort fighters were fighting desperately to prevent the Japanese fighters from approaching the bomber group. Japanese fighters were also desperately rushing inward to deal with the more threatening bombers. There was chaos in the sky.

"The first battalion of the first battalion keep the formation and follow me!"

As soon as the group entered the 6th ground, the anti-aircraft guns on the ground rang out, and shells exploded in the middle of the group from time to time. At this time, only large-caliber anti-aircraft guns were able to threaten bombers flying at an altitude of 45oo meters. All small-caliber anti-aircraft guns are powerless.

At 10:12, a battalion led by Chiang Shikuan lost its first bomber. A large-caliber shell hit the back of the "wolf dove" bomb bay, and the three machine gunners here were all blown away, and then the bomber's fuel tank was ignited, and it continued to fly for less than half a minute, and then fell head first.

"Follow me, don't get scattered!"

Jiang Shikuan shouted over the radio, and he took one last look at the downed bomber. Biting and holding on to flying.

Ten thirteen. The first Japanese fighter was hit by a machine gun from a bomber. The Heavy must have been screaming. Half and a half minutes later, the outboard of the left wing of the "Wolf Dove" on the far left of the formation was hit, and a fire broke out.

"Motor No. 4 caught fire. Put out the fire! ”

"No, the fire extinguisher is broken, now start diving!" ……

The pilots were doing their best to save the bombers, and they were also saving their lives, telling the dive to extinguish the fire with the motive ground, but the result was that they fell into the blows of the anti-aircraft guns.

"Skydive, skydive, skydive!"

The captain of another plane shouted.

"Commander, that's Xiaohu's landline!"

Jiang Shikuan had already seen the number of the plane. "Don't worry about so much, now it's all concentrated flying. Don't be scattered, don't be scattered! ”

At 10:15 the group entered the skies over the Ariake Sea. The anti-aircraft fire on the ground could no longer reach them, and the first Japanese fighters who came to intercept were dispersed by the escort fighters. The "vultures" that returned to the sky over the bomber formations were only 29, and at the beginning of the brutal battle, 7 escort fighters were shot down.

"In front of the head of the regiment is Kumamoto City!"

"The second battalion is here, and there is still the third battalion."

"The second battalion has three less bombers, damn it. All three battalions were there, and none of them were lost. ”

"The fourth battalion is also here, and the fifth battalion is behind us, they don't seem to have much loss, it's too far to see clearly." ……

The pilots in the group screamed again, and after the thrilling battle that began, everyone became excited.

"Let's enter the bombing channel first, and all the bombers will follow me to drop bombs!"

Jiang Shikuan didn't have time to care so much, Kumamoto City was in front of him, and he connected the radio to the regimental channel: "Each battalion follows me into the bombing channel, and the battalion commander will drop bombs first, and the other ......"

"The regiment commander, the second battalion commander sacrificed, his plane was shot down, I looked at ......"

Jiang Shikuan was startled, and then regained his composure. "A company commander will take over the battalions, prepare to drop bombs, and come with me!"

By this time, the bombardier had climbed to the bomb bay and began to unload the bomb, and the navigator would work with him to speed up the readiness of the bomb. In order to be insured, all bombs can only be released before the bomb is dropped, and the safety is only removed by pulling the safety ring on the nose of the bomb.

At 10:28 the bomber group reached the skies over Kumamoto City. On the ground, the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery rang out again, but this time the anti-aircraft shells were obviously much thinner, and the threat to the bomber group was not very great.

"Regiment Commander Japanese Fighter!"

"I saw it, let the escort fighters deal with it!"

Jiang Shikuan connected to the intercom in the plane: "Xiao Gao, now you are commanding the flight." ”

"No problem, the goal is clear, keep the course, keep the course, keep the course!"

Just before Jiang Shikuan stepped on the ground, the machine gunner, who was also a bombardier, was already lying on the bombing sight, and was aiming at the steel plant on the ground, "Go to the left a little bit, ready to drop the bomb!" ”

At 10:31 a.m., the "Touyan" bomber was the first to drop 24 high-explosive bombs, which was also the first batch of bombs dropped by the Tang Empire's strategic bombers on the Japanese mainland. Within five seconds, all 34 bombers of the 1st Battalion were dropping bombs. By 10:35 a.m., bombers from four other battalions had also dropped bombs on their targets.

Suddenly six tons less weight, the "wolf dove" also rose with the trend. The route of return is not the same as the route of entry. In order to avoid the Japanese air defense fighter fleet, the fleet would return directly to the west, and the bombers would fly at an altitude of 75oo meters because of the much lighter weight on the return. At this altitude, the Japanese anti-aircraft guns would be almost no threat, and the performance of the Japanese fighters at this altitude would be much lower.

After getting out of the blow of the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery, Jiang Shikuan breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. By this time he was already sweating profusely, and he hadn't noticed it at first!

"The regimental commander, escort fighters, followed, and we left the skies over Kyushu Island in about fifteen minutes."

The navigator is debriefing.

"Very well, you can decide on the route."

Jiang Shikuan picked up a cigarette he had clipped to his ear: "Each battalion reports the bombing situation and losses!" ”

"Regiment Commander, Japanese fighters, be careful!" ……

At this time on Seogwipo Airport. Tan Renhao, Luo Yunchong, Hao Dongjue, and all the personnel on the airfield were nervously waiting for the news of the bomber group. Because the distance is too far. Moreover, the communication equipment on the bombers is really not very good, so before the bombers return (at least 2oo kilometers away from the base), they have no way of knowing the results of the bombing and the loss of the aircraft group.

Tan Renhao got up again and raised his wrist, he couldn't remember how many times he looked at his watch.

"It's only 10:45, probably before they leave the sky over Kyushu Island!"

Luo Yunchong took out the cigarette, this was the second box of cigarettes, and there were only three left, "If everything goes well, they will probably return at about half past twelve." It's still early. ”

Tan Renhao took the cigarette and lit it, and his own box was already smoked. "Let's hope everything goes well!"

"There shouldn't be a big problem, they have escort fighters this time!"

Hao Dongjue also lit a cigarette: "Those fighter pilots are very good, and the performance of the 'vulture' is no worse than that of the Japanese fighters." ”

Luo Yunchong glanced at Hao Dongjue, now is not the time to talk about technology. Hao Dongjue stuck out his tongue and stopped talking.

Time passed minute by minute, and they became more and more impatient when they talked about Renhao, until twelve o'clock. The three men also wiped out the cigarettes that another staff officer had bought for them.

"They should have telegraphed back!"

Tan Renhao glanced at his watch, "Damn, why haven't you received the telegram yet?" ”

"I'll send someone to ask!"

Luo Yunchong was also a little unable to sit still, and before he came out, he told Jiang Shikuan that he would come back with news before coming back.

The staff officer who was sent to inquire went for fifteen minutes and did not return, Tan Renhao crumpled the empty cigarette case into a ball and threw it out, and when he was about to go to the tower to inquire about the situation in person, the staff officer ran out.

"General Biaoshanli's radar station has returned bomber group, but we can't contact Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Shikuan now, probably because the radio on his landline has been damaged!"

Tan Renhao and several people were startled at the same time, and then rushed into the tower quickly. In addition to the radio station being damaged, there is another possibility, that is, Jiang Shikuan's landline was shot down.

"The general still can't be contacted!"

"And don't stop in touch!"

Tan Renhao's hands were trembling slightly.

The communications staff officer nodded, and immediately called again.

After a while, an officer of the service unit ran in: "The general bomber group is back!" ”

Tan Renhao immediately looked at his watch, twelve o'clock and twenty-five minutes, five minutes ahead of the previously scheduled time. They also immediately ran out of the tower.

A right-wing outboard engine had been damaged, and the bomber began to land first, and when Tan Renhao and the others saw clearly, it was Jiang Shikuan's landline. And when the plane landed on the runway, Tan Renhao and the others saw that the left tail of the bomber had been knocked off in half! Fortunately, there was no problem with the landing gear of the plane, otherwise it would have had to make a forced landing.

Before the "Tou Yan" could stop steadily, the fire truck rushed up, and the officers and men on duty, who temporarily acted as firefighters, immediately began to sprinkle water on the bomber. When Tan Renhao and the others ran over, Jiang Shikuan had already taken his crew members out of the boarding gate on the belly of the plane. Nine people, none of them were many, and miraculously none of them were injured. It's just that everyone has become like a flower cat, and their faces are full of black gunsmoke.

"Hehe, talk about General Luo, I'm back alive!"

"You kid dare not come back alive for me!"

Luo Yunchong immediately rushed forward.

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded at Jiang Shikuan, he was also relieved at this time, he was not as impulsive as Luo Yunchong.

"Damn, when I came back, I was intercepted by Little Japan, if it wasn't for the evasion in time, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to come back!"

Jiang Shikuan had a feeling of the rest of his life after the catastrophe, "But that *** was also beaten down, I have to find the fighter pilot and thank him!" ”

Everyone laughed, especially the crew members, and they all laughed easily.

Other bombers also landed on 6 June, and in addition to Jiang Shikuan's plane, there were two bombers that returned with injuries. There is a special staff officer who is in charge of recording the number of returning bombers, and Tan Renhao is also paying attention to the fact that when the last bomber returned, only 63 returned, and when it came out, it was 72.

At half past two in the afternoon, the results of the battle damage statistics came out, and the five battalions returned with a total of 168 bombers and a loss of 12 bombers. And the six bombers that were supposed to land at Seogwipo Airport landed at Pyoseon-ri Airport. By standard methodology, the damage rate for this bombing was 6.7 percent, which was much higher than the 5 percent damage rate previously expected.

At half past four, the reconnaissance plane sent back the news that only two of the five bombed targets in Kumamoto City had been seriously damaged, and the other three had only been partially damaged, which was much worse than expected. As a result, everyone was disappointed, even Tan Renhao was the same, in his opinion, hundreds of tons of bombs fell, how could they blow up these five factories.

On the whole, the Tang Empire's first large-scale strategic bombing of Japan was indeed not very effective. It can even be said that it is relatively bad, with a huge loss rate and a bad effect. These are things that neither Tan Renhao nor Luo Yunchong expected. Naturally, there is a problem, and it is a serious problem, which is why this result has been achieved. However, this was the beginning of a large-scale strategic bombing, and more and more bombers would drop more and more bombs on the Japanese mainland!