When returning home, Liu Cuigang thought about defeating the Luftwaffe and avenging the sacrifice of Li Zhen. So after stopping the celebration, he immediately drove to the Royal Air Force Command on the outskirts of London. With the outbreak of air warfare, the atmosphere in the British Air Force command was extremely tense, and the telephone line pinched together the six radars, sound wave interceptors, and early warning warships along the coast to form a tight air defense network. From the point of view of deployment, the British air defense network is quite tight, but the stubbornness and conservatism of the British are well known, so it is difficult to imagine that the air force will take the initiative to cross the channel before the Germans have a large-scale air attack. So the person he was looking for this time was one of the few officers in the British Air Force who supported the initiative to cross the Channel to attack the German forward bases. Lieutenant General Portal.

"General."

"Major, it's a pleasure to meet you. I heard about your record, and it was amazing to shoot down two BF109s in half an hour. Charles was a very kind officer, but privately everyone knew that he was actually the soul of the Royal Air Force, and even the commander of the bomber force, Field Marshal Arthur Harris, respected his opinion very much.

Charles warmly shook Liu Cuigang's hand and praised him and the air crew, as if shooting down four BF109s was a great record. In fact, Liu Cuigang knew in his heart that he deliberately put a halo on himself, because behind the halo is often the two big words "cannon fodder". But Liu Cuigang didn't care, he knew before coming to the UK that the air service regiment was cannon fodder! It's a group of cannon fodder who sacrifices in exchange for the alliance, and he just doesn't want to be the worthless cannon fodder, so he quickly explains the details of the air battle.

Hearing that the BF109 actually strafed the pilot who had already parachuted, Charles's face gradually became solemn: "Is this true?" ”

"Of course, not only my comrades-in-arms saw it, but rescuers on the sea could also testify for me."

"No, no, Mr. Major. I don't doubt your words, I'm just angry. Charles looked very serious, because the Luftwaffe was very insidious. Once the loss of pilots is too great, how can British airspace be protected? "I need to report immediately, Major, you can come with me." So he picked up his hat and prepared to go to the staff to report on this new situation.

Seeing that he was leaving, Liu Cuigang hurriedly stopped: "General, I came to hope that you would allow us to cross the strait." ”

"What?" Charles was taken aback. He did not expect that this major of the Chinese Air Force would want to cross the strait and take the initiative to attack. Thinking of the Chinese pilot who died, I understand something. But he did not like to be reckless: "Major, I am very sad for the sacrifice of your pilots, but. ”

"General! If we continue to be entangled like this, our chances of winning are not good! Liu Cui just took a step forward. Looking into Charles's eyes, his tone was firm: "You should know that the BF109 fighter has a short range, so Germany built the field airfield on the Calais line." The threat from these airports is great, so I was allowed to lead a team to sweep the airfields. As long as the forward airfields are destroyed, there will be a lot fewer fighters able to get here, and we will be less stressed! Furthermore. I suggest attacking Hamburg at the same time and telling the Nazis that we are not finished yet! ”

Charles was really stunned, if Liu Cuigang was ready to attack the German forward airfield in Calais was acceptable. Then the attack on Hamburg was simply beyond his imagination! Hamburg is 650 kilometers from London, and it must also go deep into German airspace! But he also had to admit that if he could send a plane to go around even a circle over Hamburg, it would be a great morale boost. It would also reverse the current situation in which the air force was passively beaten, and at the same time make the Luftwaffe have to divide its forces to protect its own cities and airfields. But the risk of doing so is too great. In the event of a German retaliation, the bomb will most likely fall on London. So he didn't dare to decide, and asked, "Major, are you sure you want to do this?" What if I say no? ”

"General, my responsibility is to stay here for half a year. In this half a year, we will stop the Nazi landing together! Although this is not my country, it is my duty! Of course, I will obey orders, but if I give up taking the initiative, I can't guarantee that I will live until half a year later. Liu Cui straightened his waist and raised his head slightly.

It only took ten minutes for Charles to be impressed. Because he didn't expect that the cannon fodder flying team that he had always thought was sent by China for the alliance would have such a tough guy. "Okay, I'll try." He decided to accompany him crazy, so he picked up the phone and reported to the staff in front of Liu Cuigang. After some arguments, he slowly put down the phone: "Mr. Major, I will send two brigades to meet you on the middle line of the strait, but I can't send bombers." ”

Liu Cuigang understood that Britain was worried that the bombing of Hamburg would trigger a strong retaliation from Germany, after all, it would not be much harm for the fighter to go around in a circle, and it would be more like a rectification operation. So he nodded: "Don't worry, I'm just going to tell the Germans that it's not just them who will attack!" ”

"You're smart." Charles smiled slightly: "Okay, please tell me, what do you need?" Leaving in a few days? ”

"Four navigators, we'll leave this evening."

"Today?!" ——

On the evening of August 1, the cumulonimbus clouds gradually thickened over London. In the Harlow Field Airfield to the northeast, one hundred and seventy-two thunderbolts were ready. One hundred and twenty of them had a 1,000-gallon drop fuel tank and some bomblets on it, and the remaining sixty-two carried two drop fuel tanks. "Take off in fifteen minutes, and notify friendly forces to set sail in forty minutes." Liu Cui just looked at his watch, and then looked up at the sky. He is not a reckless person, and his choice to fight back immediately is actually well thought out. Because whoever it is, if it is discovered that a new fighter plane has appeared in the enemy, it will definitely need to report to the higher authorities and postpone the attack. In this case, most of the German fighters will return to the airfield to rest, and the British Air Force has not crossed the channel for half a month, which can ensure suddenness. What's more, in the elite troops, if there is no enemy for half a month, he will slacken, and the combination of these factors made him make the decision to counterattack immediately.

After determining the raid tactics with the vice-captain Liu Mingchang and others again, Liu Cuigang boarded the fighter. Fifteen minutes later, fifty-two Thunderbolts took off first and headed for Great Yarmouth in the north, from where the warplanes would enter the sea and then go directly up the Elbe from the Golan Bay. Twenty minutes later the main formation took off, and they were to sail from Hastings to the south. It then lowered its altitude and entered France from the weakly defended north of Amiens, and then immediately lowered its altitude and took a deep stance, making a midway turn to attack the forward airfields near Calais and Dunkirk.

The former has a range of 1,400 km, the latter 870 km.

"Maintain altitude, dense formation, cruising speed." After the main formation climbed to 4,000 meters, Liu Mingchang gave the first order. As an ace pilot, Liu Mingchang usually speaks little. But his love for flying is even more fiery than Liu Cuigang. Maybe the talent is not as good as the latter, but when it comes to who loves planes like life in the Air Force, then he is definitely on the list. Because his point of view is simple, for a pilot, the plane is his body. The more he knew, the better he drove, so he hasn't stopped flying for a day since he officially flew solo.

He was very envious of Liu Cuigang, who had the opportunity to go around Germany, although the British stubbornly didn't even allow bombs to be brought, but as long as they could fly around Hamburg, it would be a victory. "The second squadron rose to 6000 meters. Before the attack, it was responsible for diverting anti-aircraft artillery fire. The rest of the group followed me down to the heights, and the pilot, paying attention to its surroundings, entered the radio silence. After the plane went to sea, Liu Mingchang gave a second consecutive order. Twenty-four Thunderbolts acting as cover began to climb. Heading towards Calais, the remaining eagles descended rapidly. Anyone would be surprised to see it, because the entire fleet is at 500 meters above sea level.

It should be said that Liu Cuigang's prediction was very accurate, and the appearance of thunder and lightning made the Luftwaffe realize that the new opponent was not simple. So the provocation in the afternoon was canceled. So much so that at dusk, not a single German fighter was visible along the entire coast. Only two small French freighters sailed south along the coastline. The whizzing warhawk formation attracted the attention of the ground, but after entering France, the formation maintained a speed of five hundred kilometers per hour, so many French people who saw the group could not tell whose plane it was. When the fighter formation arrived north of Amiens, Liu Mingchang checked his fighter again, pressed the throat intercom, broke the silence and issued the third order: "Course 130, drop to 400 meters, slow down to 350 kilometers, and prepare in fifteen minutes." ”

Soon after the order was given, the roar of anti-aircraft artillery was heard in the Calais direction. German 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, deployed in several field airfields, discovered the high-altitude cover squadron and began to fire in the direction of the sea. The German pilots who were having dinner at the airport also threw down their rice bowls and shouted and cursed and rushed to their fighters. "Enemy attack!" Just as the two BF109s were preparing to take off, the airport observation tower finally found the main group of thunderbolts flying from the southeast at high speed and low altitude, and several BF109s that were ready to take off to the high altitude immediately started and flew head-on to Liu Mingchang first.

"Three squadrons, stop them! Take advantage of your speed and climbs, and be careful not to lose altitude! "In the group of lightning turbines divided into four waves, twenty lightning units quickly rushed out to meet the BF109, and the remaining lightning continued to maintain a low-altitude and high-speed state, accelerating towards the target." Knock knock. "The German anti-aircraft artillery fired, and a large number of artillery flares appeared around the group in an instant, and fine metal fragments shuttled and collided in the void, forming a terrible metal layer. However, for the most threatening 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, the 400-meter altitude was so low that the delayed fuse was not properly adjusted. As for the remaining 37mm anti-aircraft guns, although they seem to be dense, in fact, their fragmentation lethality is not enough to ensure the destruction of the thunderbolt, so as long as the thunderbolt with thick skin and thick flesh is not fatally wounded, it can remain in full formation. "Leave! Get out of here and fly, fly fast! The sudden attack from the low altitude in the southeast exceeded the expectations of the Germans, so when the first lightning flew over the airfield, many pilots had to jump down again to dodge, just after they were seated in the cabin.

"Boom, boom." Although the Thunderbolt is not a bomber, the fifty kilogram bombs it carries are specially designed against light targets such as aircraft. And due to the large number of them, they still hit the German group on the ground without interruption. After dropping the bomb, Raiden's six machine guns began to fire. The 12.7mm armor-piercing incendiary bombs were enough to defeat most targets, whether it was anti-aircraft artillery positions, scurrying BF109s, or He111 bombers neatly parked in corners.