The frenzied bombing of the Japanese army did not destroy the will of the officers and men of the Tang Imperial Navy, but only the bodies of those crazy Japanese pilots. After being attacked by Japanese suicide planes and "flying bombs" on 19 July, the two task forces were attacked by Japanese planes on 21 and 24 July. It's just that compared with the first large-scale attack, the Japanese suicide planes and those "flying bombs" that rushed to kill this time were much less. The officers and men of the Imperial Fleet were no longer afraid, and all the officers and men firmly believed that the Japanese had reached the end of their rope and had to use these extremely inhumane weapons to wage war!

Tan Renhao received information from the Navy Headquarters on 25 July. This is a piece of information provided by the Emperor's ** Affairs Bureau, and he also knew at this time that the "flying bomb" is called "Sakura", a very beautiful name, and it is also a name full of blood and beast-like cruelty. This information was accompanied by a list of bombing targets drawn up by the Naval Staff.

"It seems that Chief of Staff Gan Yongxing treats us as a panacea!"

Tan Renhao shook his head when he saw the long list of bombing targets, and laughed: "Now we don't know what the bombing will be, and General Gan hurriedly gave us a task, it seems that this time we can only succeed, not fail!" ”

Luo Yunchong leaned against the edge of the table and lit a cigarette. "At least that's much better than we don't know what to bomb!"

"Since General Gan has set a goal for us, then we don't have to worry about this."

Tan Renhao took the cigarette handed by Luo Yunchong, "In the first two days, we still concentrated on bombing Tokyo and bombing indiscriminately, anyway, the Japanese don't want to die, so we will give them a ride." Then, according to the list drawn up by General Gan, these goals were erased one by one! ”

"Looks like your faith is still very strong!"

Luo Yunchong sat down. "Even I don't know what the outcome of this bombing will be."

"What we need now is more than just that confidence, I have always believed that the empire will be the final victor, and that Japan is just an opponent who is not even qualified to come to power."

Tan Renhao knocked on the table: "Confidence doesn't play any role for us, it's to encourage those staff officers and pilots. We have to know something. As long as we find the right direction and do our best, then the victory will be ours! ”

Luo Yunchong nodded slightly, and through this period of cooperation, he already felt the difference between himself and Tan Renhao. In terms of knowledge and theory of aviation operations, especially in strategic strikes, none of the ten talks about Renhao can stand up to Luo Yunchong, but Luo Yunchong is only an expert in this field, not a leader. As a leader, you have to be contagious. Able to make subordinates. Let everyone around you feel the charisma of the leader and the strong and firm will. This is something that Luo Yunchong does not have, but it is clearly reflected in Tan Renhao.

"How's the plan to bomb Tokyo?"

Tan Renhao glanced at the silent Luoyun. "When is that kid coming over? The bombing campaign on Jeju Island should have begun, right? ”

"Yes, there will probably be a first round of bombardment tomorrow night."

Luo Yunchong was startled for a moment, then nodded with a smile at Tan Renhao: "I've already sent the telegram, now Dongjue should have left, Seogwipo is about to arrive in Naha, probably tomorrow morning." ”

"When he comes, let him take charge of the bombing, he's the best at it."

Tan Renhao is well aware of Hao Dongjue's ability, "We should report the bombing plan tonight." It's been delaying for days. ”

"I'm ready."

Luo Yunchong then remembered the purpose of his coming to Tan Renhao, he took out a plan and put it on the table in front of him, "This is where I got it out in the past few days, and I also discussed it with a group of staff officers." The route is basically set, and if the plan is approved, tomorrow we do the final round of training and then let the pilots rest. On the night of the 28th, the first round of bombing was carried out on Tokyo. ”

Tan Renhao opened the plan, which was the same as the plan Luo Yunchong had made before. Very detailed and complete.

"We have a lot of problems this time."

Luo Yunchong lit another cigarette: "The situation here is very different from that on Jeju Island. The lack of adequate infrastructure can be overcome, but the point is that the flight route is too long, which has a great impact on the bombing. ”

Tan Renhao didn't open his mouth, this question is actually the most serious problem. On Jeju Island, because it was only a few hundred kilometers away from the target, the bomber was able to choose many routes when it was fully loaded with ammunition, for example, in order to avoid the Japanese air defense position, the bomber could make a detour without worrying about fuel. And now the bomber group is deployed on Iwo Jima, which is about 12oo kilometers from Tokyo. The design index of the "wolf dove" is a range of 24oo kilometers at full bomb load, and a range of 45oo kilometers when half bomb load is fully fueled. And this is only the parameters of the design, in the actual use of Ren Hao, they have long been able to see, even if only 3 tons of bombs are loaded, the maximum range of the "wolf dove" is only about 35oo kilometers, and because of the influence of some practical factors, its actual combat radius is only 12oo kilometers. In other words, if the "wolf dove" took off from Iwo Jima with three tons of bombs, it would have to fly in a straight line, drop the bomb over Tokyo, and then immediately return home, without any accidents on the way. In real combat, no commander would do this, at least leave the bomber with surplus fuel that can fly 2oo to 3oo kilometers (usually 25o kilometers). Therefore, it is practically impossible for the "wolf dove" to bomb Tokyo with 3 tons of bombs.

"I've calculated a maximum of two tons of bombs."

Luo Yunchong also saw Tan Renhao's thoughts: "There are not too many problems in the technical aspects of hanging a few auxiliary fuel tanks in the bomb bay, and the service has been arranged." This made it possible to increase the combat radius of the bomber to about 15oo km. If we are to bomb targets outside of Tokyo, this combat radius must be guaranteed. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "Now let's think about bombing Tokyo first, a bomber can hold 2 tons of bombs, which is a lot."

"yes, at least we have eight hundred bombers, enough to *** drop a few pieces of meat."

Luo Yunchong helped Tan Renhao turn the plan to the fifth page, and this page was a map: "This is the route I chose, there are two in total." The entry route was not the same as the return route, which made it possible to avoid the Japanese air defense fighters. Of course, the threat of Japanese fighters during night bombing was very small, if ......"

Tan Renhao suddenly looked up at Luo Yunchong, and then laughed.

"What's the problem?"

Luo Yunchong was a little puzzled.

"No, I thought about it a little."

Tan Renhao closed the plan: "Since Japan does not have night fighters. So why should we let the bombers carry weapons of self-defense? ”

Luo Yunchong furrowed his eyebrows, which he didn't expect.

"Without the threat of fighters, bombers do not need to carry weapons for self-defense."

Tan Renhao took out a cigarette, "Those machine guns, shells, and crew members add up to hundreds of kilograms." All the weapons of self-defense were removed, and the gunners were left with only the necessary members. Wouldn't that be able to carry more bombs? ”

"It's a bit risky......"

"Anyway, the self-defense weapons on the fighters can't deal with the anti-aircraft guns on the ground, so we mainly bomb them at night. Bombers take a high-altitude entry. After reaching the sky over Tokyo Bay, they fly low and drop bombs at low altitudes. Even if there is a threat from fighters, you can use the degree of bombers. As well as the cover of the night to get rid of the fighters. ”

Tan Renhao lit a cigarette: "A bomber has an extra few hundred kilograms of bombs, and eight hundred bombs are hundreds of tons of bombs!" ”

Luo Yunchong laughed. "Then I'll go to the orderly immediately, and the 'wolf dove' should have a maximum take-off weight limit, which is a cut higher than the rated maximum take-off weight, maybe we can let the bomber carry an extra ton of bombs!"

"But it's only a few days now......

"No problem, as long as you can make *** suffer a little more, I believe those service personnel will be very positive."

Luo Yunchong stood up. "And those pilots, they definitely won't miss this show, anyway, after tomorrow's training, they will have to rest, just take this opportunity to let them exercise!"

"Okay, I'll go back to the battle plan as soon as I'm done."

Tan Renhao also stood up: "After the training is over tomorrow, organize all the manpower." Let's have a big game of modified bombers! ”

That night, Tan Renhao returned the battle plan to the naval headquarters, and Gan Yongxing probably approved the bombing plan without reading it carefully, and sent a telegram asking Tan Renhao to report the battle back as soon as they achieved the results.

On 26 July, more than 800 bombers of the five regiments that were to take part in the bombing of Tokyo all took part in the last training. The focus of the training remains on pilotage and low-altitude flight. According to the Luo Yun Chongdi plan, the bomber group will fly at high altitude and be guided by navigation equipment on the way to the Japanese mainland. After entering Tokyo Bay, the fleet will be lowered to an altitude of about 36o meters above the sea surface to avoid being detected by the Japanese in the vicinity. Before reaching Tokyo, the fleet will again lower its altitude, fly at an altitude of 2oo meters, and concentrate on dropping bombs. Therefore, low-altitude flight training is the most important, especially in sea-skimming flights at night, which is simply a test of the pilot's nerves.

Tan Renhao was also in a very good mood that day, and after reading the night battle report sent by Lei Shaoqing on the 25th, he went to the tower of the airport and watched the bombers take off. The training was conducted during the day, and most of the veteran pilots had experience flying at low altitude at night, and the training was mainly aimed at newly incorporated crews. Of course, during the bombing, the old qualified pilot will lead the way, and the new pilot will only need to fly with the bomber in front.

As soon as the bomber group left, a transport plane flew over from the west, and then aimed at the runway and began to land.

"Sir, that's Colonel Hao Dongjue's landline!"

Tan Renhao looked at the transport plane, and when the plane stopped, Hao Dongjue jumped out of the cabin and ran directly towards the tower. Tan Renhao shook his head with a smile and walked off the tower.

"Ren Hao, but as soon as I received the order, I rushed over Lao Luo non-stop?"

Hao Dongjue was very excited.

"Pilot training is being organized, don't bother him."

Tan Renhao took Hao Dongjue and walked towards the tower.

"I heard that Tokyo is about to be bombed?"

Hao Dongjue hurriedly followed, "Damn, I'm finally going to *** to cut my head." ”

"Don't be too happy, I'm not here to make you happy."

Tan Renhao didn't stop until he walked outside the terrace on the third floor of the tower, "There are still many things that we need to do, and a lot of preparation work is not in place. Luo Yunchong couldn't be busy alone, so he asked you to come over to help. After lunch, you go to him and he will give you a task. ”

"No problem, or I'll go now."

"Looks like you're very positive!"

Tan Renhao looked at Hao Dongjue and smiled: "Familiarize yourself with the environment here first, let's go in the afternoon." The bombing time is set for the night after tomorrow, and you won't miss this opportunity. ”

Hao Dongjue smiled and nodded, but at noon, he went to find Luo Yunchong and asked Luo Yunchong to arrange a task for him.

The bomber group returned home at about two p.m. Then the aviation crew got busy, and according to Luo Yunchong's new arrangement, all the self-defense weapons on the bomber (only the tail gun was retained) were removed, and some improvements were made to the cabin. Some pilots also volunteered to help the service personnel modify their own bombers. However, the removal of the self-defense weapons from the bombers made many pilots uneasy, after all, this was the only way for bombers to deal with fighters, and what if they encountered Japanese fighters?

On the morning of 27 July, Luo Yunchong had a modified bomber carrying three tons of incendiary bombs and all the fuel crew members to make a test flight, proving that the bomber could take off normally with a load of about 3oo kilograms. By the morning of 28 July, with the joint efforts of more than 20,000 service personnel and bomber crews, all 800 bombers had been refitted.

The pilots were ordered to rest at noon, and the assembly time was set at half past seven. After the sun sets again, Tokyo will have a sleepless night!