At half past five o'clock in the afternoon of April 17, 1942, the afterglow of the setting sun still stayed on the Yongbei Airport of the Qilu Military Region.

Spitfires passing by in the sky from time to time, tirelessly scouting back and forth between base and coastline.

The ground support groups gathered around the communication hall in the three circles inside and outside the three circles indicated that the Eighth Route Army would have an important operation today.

Inside, every communications soldier cheered up 120,000 spirits, waiting intently for the movement that might come from the headphones.

Just when he was extremely anxious, the comrade sitting in the middle suddenly raised his left hand and motioned to his nearby colleagues to be quiet.

"Dididi"

In an instant, the hall became audible with falling pins.

Everyone took off their headphones and held their breath, their eyes brushing in unison on each other's undulating right hands.

As an experienced soldier, the basic skills of that communications soldier are naturally very solid. He quickly finished the interpretation work, and then said excitedly:

"It's back! Comrades of the Air Force are about to return home! ”

"Quick! Hurry up and notify General Lin and Chief of Staff Liu, and then let the command tower sound the alarm, and make preparations for receiving the 1st and 3rd Air Divisions! ”

After the words, everyone performed their duties, and the entire airport came alive in an instant.

With the sound of screeching signals, a large number of fire trucks and ambulances, converted from Japanese trucks, drove to the grass or open fields near the various runways to stand by.

In the rest area, almost all ground crews started to move at the same time. They sat on the Beetle and rushed to the standby location.

Even Lin, Luo, and Liu were not idle, and the three of them put down their work the moment they heard the signal, and led several senior commanders straight to the tower.

"It's coming, it's coming!"

"Quick! Pass my orders! Flare in the air! ”

The first Lancaster appeared in the field of view of the telescope, and Chief of Staff Liu immediately turned his head and commanded the soldiers who were on standby behind him.

Receiving an order from their superiors, two red flares glowed brightly in mid-air.

This means that the ground is ready, and the injured bombarders in the fleet can land first.

The roar of the piston engines came from far and near, and everyone held their breath and looked towards the sky, and invariably began to count the number of returning planes.

"1, 2,314, I only see 14 on my side, and the troops are still advancing."

"Fuck! A total of 20 planes were dispatched, and 1 plane turned back halfway, which is enough for 5 fighters to not come back! Carrying out a strategic bombing mission now, sure enough, is still a bit reluctant! ”

The "losses" far exceeded the pre-war expectations, which made Chief of Staff Liu's brows furrow. He clenched his fists and slammed them against the guardrail, his face full of chagrin.

It's not that the 103 distressed plane, if that thing is broken, it will indeed affect the combat effectiveness of the troops.

However, its own rear has the ability to produce, and it is only a matter of time before the bombers are replenished, and the loss of 5 aircraft is simply not enough to break the muscles and bones.

What really hurt his heart was the crew on the Lancaster.

After all, for the current Eighth Route Army, high-end talents who can control various types of advanced equipment are the real baby bumps.

"LYL, calm down. As a commander, it is taboo to mess with oneself. ”

"Maybe the bombers who didn't return were just temporarily following the other squadrons to other airfields. Before it's all clear, you kid have to hold your breath! ”

In fact, the situation of the tiger in the forest is not much better now.

Although the expression on his face was still calm, as if everything was under control, the deep worry in his eyes could not be hidden.

After a while, Political Commissar Luo opened his mouth to ease the atmosphere, he patted the shoulders of the two colleagues and said:

"Let's go, let's go to the tarmac and have a look, we can't be absent from this kind of scene. YL, don't cry and manage your expressions. ”

"Good!"

While the three of them were talking, the heavily damaged crew of the bomber formation landed first and began to taxi and slow down on the runway that had been arranged in advance.

This was followed by the low squadron, the pilot squadron, and the high squadron.

Thankfully, there weren't any moths during the whole landing. Except for one Lancaster, which almost failed to lower the landing gear in time, the rest of the fighters landed smoothly.

The moment the first batch of damaged fighters opened the hatch, the entire ground crew began to cheer loudly and send their blessings to the heroes.

At the same time, paramedics rushed forward and, in coordination with the crew, carried the wounded fighters onto stretchers.

The hospital near the airport has the best surgeons and equipment in Jeollo Province. With the exception of some comrades who suffered from particularly severe frostbite, they were able to deal with the vast majority of injuries.

Of course, the busiest is always the ground crew.

Skilled men need to repair and maintain the fighter as quickly as possible, and adjust all the onboard weapons.

It is impossible for paper to encapsulate fire.

Although the devils were temporarily blinded by the model of the fighters, sooner or later they would discover one thing, that is, the planes that carried out strategic bombing missions were all from the Eighth Route Army Air Force.

At that time, the other party will definitely not give up.

Whether it is for the safety of the rear or for the sake of venting the evil anger in his heart, the enemy will inevitably retaliate against the Qilu Military Region.

What's more, no one can guarantee that the navy of the book will not be forced to abandon its previous suspicions and launch a joint operation with the Kwantung Army of the army red deer.

With that in mind, it's a good idea to keep your gear in tip-top shape.

Only then will the Air Force be able to cope with the intensity of the fierce war.

······

After the wounded were pulled away by the ambulance and made sure that their group would not delay the rescue work at the scene, the three commanders 01, 02, and 03 walked out of the crowd.

Stroking the bullet-riddled pilot plane, a trace of guilt flashed in Chief of Staff Liu's eyes. He took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his emotions.

"Comrades! Welcome home! Great work, everyone! ”

"I'm so proud of you! Each and every one of you is a national hero! ”

"For today's celebration banquet, I specially found a local famous Lu cuisine chef to show off his skills, everyone must eat with an open belly!"

As if thinking of something embarrassing, 103 muttered for a few seconds before adding:

"However, we will have to wait a little longer for food and rest, and we will have to go to the intelligence department for a briefing first."

The operational briefing in the mouth of Chief of Staff Liu is a necessary step after every operation of the Air Force, mainly to analyze the bombing effect of the troops and the intelligence along the way.

At the meeting, all returning crews were assigned to a dedicated intelligence officer.

When analyzing intelligence, the bombing effect, the enemy's antiaircraft artillery defense area, and the type and number of devil interceptors are all the focus of intelligence personnel.

The reason why it is so cumbersome is naturally to prepare for the next attack.

After all, suppressing the war potential of an enemy country is never a one-shot deal. Only a foolless plan can reduce the losses of the strategic bombing forces.

Hearing the arrangement of their superiors, the comrades of the First and Third Divisions nodded one after another, and then dragged their tired bodies into the car.

As elites, they certainly know which is more important.

"Yes! Execute the command! ”

Ten minutes later, the group arrived at their destination.

Sitting in comfortable chairs, all the crew members relaxed a lot, but with it came a double exhaustion both physically and mentally.

Continuous driving, fighting, and high concentration for more than ten hours, the total flight range of the mission is more than 4,000 kilometers, even an iron man will not be able to withstand it.

Seeing this, the intelligence officers did not dare to delay the time, and hurriedly pushed out the map that had been prepared long ago.

"A total of 19 bombers participated in this mission. Only 14 have made it back to the sea, does anyone know what happened to the other 5? ”

As soon as these words came out, Chief of Staff Liu, who was originally listening in the hall, immediately pricked up his ears.

Obviously, 103 was more concerned about the casualties of the troops than the effect of the bombing.

The stakes are very high, and Captain Wang Hai did not sell it. He first looked at the captains of the squadrons, then got up and walked towards the tactical board.

"The five heavy bombers that went missing were not shot down by the enemy."

"They abandoned their planes at a distance of xx kilometers from the coastline, but fortunately all the crew members successfully parachuted."

"If all goes well, in a little while the rescue team of the Navy will be able to take the comrades home. However, given the speed of the old ships, there is a high probability that they will miss the celebration. ”

After speaking, the hall fell into a brief silence, followed by cheers that soared into the sky. Rao is Lin, Luo, and Liu were also caught off guard by the sudden good news.

In fact, it is really not to blame Captain Wang Hai for hiding this, he informed the navy of the specific location half an hour ago.

It was only due to the coordination problems between the services that the news of the rescue did not reach the airport for a long time.

After the scene calmed down, Captain Wang Hai looked at the taskbar on the tactical board and took the initiative to add:

"The bombing mission went much smoother than expected. With almost no casualties among the squadrons, they successfully bombed many target factories. ”

"In addition to this, we sank the aircraft carrier Fengxiang, the battleship Nagato, the cruiser Oyodo and two submarines, and severely damaged the battleship Fuso and several destroyers."

"Of course, the devil's Etajima Naval Academy and Kure Port also suffered heavy losses. The former, in particular, has no chance of reopening anytime soon. ”

In the face of Captain Wang Hai, who was talking eloquently, no one in the intelligence hall dared to open his mouth to respond except for the rustling of records.

Without him, just because the record is too dazzling.

If calculated according to the scale of the Benzi Army, the losses caused to the devils by the 1st and 3rd Air Divisions this time will definitely be higher than the value of the North China Front.

After a few moments, the tiger in the forest took a step forward and came to his senses. Although his face was full of shock, the commander calmly asked:

"Captain Wang Hai, it's not that I don't believe in the strength of my comrades. Just considering the follow-up publicity matters, do you have actual evidence to support the above achievements? ”

During World War II, the air force often provided a lot of water in the war reports, which was a common problem faced by the major powers of various countries.

The identification of aircraft ships and the determination of battle results will have to wait for more than ten years to be relatively accurate.

Don't talk about it far away, let's talk about the achievements of the Navy in this book.

But the trend of the war is really what they reported to the locusts. Then the thing that IJN should be thinking about now is definitely how to land on the west coast of the ugly country, not what the Battle of Midway.

It seemed that he had already guessed the problem of the tiger in the forest, and Captain Wang Hai waved to the rear casually, signaling his second-in-command to bring up the gift bag that had been prepared a long time ago.

"Mr. Lin, these devices in front of you store photos and videos of bombing the enemy's rear and sinking surface ships of the United Fleet."

"The shooting effect on our fighter plane is slightly better than that of the high-altitude reconnaissance plane of the same period with Britain. Presumably, they are enough to prove the achievements of the comrades. ”

As soon as these words came out, Political Commissar Luo rushed forward in a few big strides. A ray of essence erupted from his eyes, as if he had seen some peerless treasure.

"Good, good! Good stuff! ”

"Director Liu! Quickly send someone to collect the evidence. After processing, send one copy to the border area, the headquarters and the Suiyuan side first! ”

In the hands of political work experts, these audio-visual materials are not only evidence, but also an unparalleled weapon for the Eighth Route Army to carry out propaganda work.

As long as it is screened a few times in major cities, the morale of the common people and troops of the whole country can definitely rise by more than one grade.

As for the bombing involving the civilians of the book, will it have a bad impact on the troops, and will it be used by the devils to make a fuss about the Geneva Conventions?

Sorry, we don't care.

Let's not talk about whether there are so-called civilians in that piece of broken land, and we haven't signed the Geneva Convention.

Accuse?

No kidding!

As long as I don't lose, no one has the right to judge me, and no one has the right to call me a war criminal!

Who goes to Nuremberg and who goes to Tokyo, we'll see after the war. (End of chapter)