After suffering a loss from an American strategic bomber, the German High Seas Fleet quickly figured out a way to deal with it. Since then, the Americans have never succeeded. Therefore, Wegener did not take it too seriously before this battle.
Worried. However, when the Americans really tried their old tricks this time, Wegener quickly discovered that the situation was very different from what he expected...
The U.S. B-24 strategic bombers that were shot down in large numbers by German anti-aircraft fire and carrier-based fighter jets have been replaced by the more advanced and powerful B-29 "Flying Fortress" strategic bomber. The B-29 not only has a larger bomb load than the B-24
It's much larger, and more importantly, it has terrible battery life.
Although the maximum range of the b-24 in the data is close to 6,000 kilometers, that is the data without bombs. When it is equipped with 3,200 kilograms of bombs, its combat radius is only more than 600 kilometers, so it originally sailed into the Atlantic Ocean
When attacking the German High Seas Fleet from deep, the B-24 bombers not only have to reduce the number of bombs they can carry, but also often have to rush up to the target and throw away the bombs after finding the target.
Then seize the time to return home, and do not dare to waste too much time in the middle, otherwise you may run out of fuel and fall into the sea on the way back. Wegener was thinking of this problem at the beginning, and used the fleet's targeted maneuvers to make the U.S. military
Strategic bombers from different airports could not coordinate and attack at the same time. They could only attack the first to arrive first. As a result, they resorted to a refueling tactic and were destroyed in large numbers by the German army at a limited cost.
Even if the b-29 is equipped with more than 9 tons of bombs, its range is more than 5,000 kilometers. And its transition range is more than 9,000 kilometers. Such an amazing combat radius makes it not care about wasting more than ten minutes, or even
more than half an hour, and can
Patiently complete the assembly in the air and form a numerical advantage before launching an attack. After the US military has early warning aircraft, it does not have to worry about the enemy slipping away. Anyway, no matter how fast the warships are, they will never be able to compare with the aircraft, even if they are given a few hours.
Even if you run away, you can catch up easily.
Although the unit price of the b-29 is more than three times that of the b-24, its bomb load is also close to three times that of the b-24. More importantly, the b-29 can mount super heavy bombs that the b-24 cannot carry.
.In fact, this time the US military not only wanted to kill the German aircraft carriers, but also did not want to let go of the German battleships. However, the incredibly strong anti-sinkability of the German battleships gave the Americans a headache. Originally, torpedoes were supposed to deal with large water bodies.
The first choice for surface ships, but the attack method of torpedo planes is almost the same as a suicide attack. It is too wasteful to let the B-29 bomber, which costs close to 1 million US dollars, to do this kind of work. Moreover, the huge size of the B-29
It is not suitable for such ultra-low-altitude bombing missions. On the one hand, it is prone to flight accidents. On the other hand, with such a large target, it is probably more difficult for the German close-in defense artillery to miss than to hit...
To this end, scientists from allied countries developed a super bomb "Goblet" weighing nearly 6 tons based on the principle of earth-penetrating bombs. It is more terrifying than the bomb of the same name in history. It can penetrate 5 meters when dropped from an altitude of 5,000 meters.
The thick concrete layer can easily penetrate the horizontal armor of any warship in the world and penetrate deep into the hull to explode, causing a fatal blow to it.
However, although this super bomb is powerful, it cannot be produced on an assembly line, making it very expensive. In order to meet the high precision of casting and machining, most parts are hand-carved by experienced senior craftsmen.
For example, in order to improve penetration, goblet bullets
The head shell is made of high-strength steel that has been specially hardened. The warhead is required to be highly symmetrical during the machining stage to ensure the best aerodynamic effect. You can understand this just by thinking about the United States, which has the world's highest labor price.
The cost of the stemware would be astonishing...
In fact, scientists from allied countries also developed an enhanced version of the Goblet - the 10-ton "Grand Slam" bomb. However, because it was too heavy, although the B-29 could be carried after modification, it would cause serious damage.
It affects the range, so this ultra-long-range air strike mission cannot be used. But having said that, even for the "Goblet", the United States has only made less than a hundred pieces so far. If it chooses to mainly produce it, it will be even more difficult to manufacture.
The number of "Grand Slams" is even smaller.
The super bomb is indeed terrifying, but even if it carries ordinary bombs, the quantity makes up for the lack of power of a single bomb. The B-29 can carry more than 9 tons of bombs, which is still enough to make people frightened.
Moreover, the b-29 not only has an amazing bomb load, but its own defense is equally formidable. The solid body structure, thickened armor, and larger size that are the same as the b-24 make it more difficult to shoot down than any other aircraft in the world.
The powerful self-defense firepower of 12 12.7mm aviation machine guns and 1 20mm aircraft cannon can easily tear apart any aircraft that dares to fly.
For enemy aircraft approaching to attack, especially when hundreds of B-29s form a dense formation, although the German fighter jets have now been equipped with 30mm cannons with a longer range, the larger the caliber, the more ammunition they have to prepare.
That's less, and the farther the distance is, the hit rate will be greatly reduced. In this case, even if the German fighter jets run out of ammunition, how many can they kill?
If it were on the Western European continent, land-based fighter jets would still have a numerical advantage, but in the vast depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the German carrier-based aircraft force had no reinforcements at all. In addition, more than half of them had been lost in previous battles, making it even more difficult to stop them.
There are more than 300 B-29s that are like flying fortresses...
Moreover, the b-29 does not fight alone like the original b-24, with a maximum range of more than 5,000 kilometers (it must be noted that the maximum range of a fighter jet is real, unless it is carrying bombs or rockets to perform bombing missions.)
The finalization of the -51d fighter jet into service means that the US military's strategic bombers now have reliable bodyguards. Even the B-29 "Flying Fortress" with the longest range, this new type of fighter jet can follow it throughout the journey.
And the P51D fighter is not just a long-range fighter. The reason why this classic fighter model is known as the strongest fighter during World War II in history is because its various performances are excellent, without any obvious shortcomings, and the most
Several key performances such as speed, acceleration, climb, and dive are all top-notch. Therefore, when competing with almost all other types of fighter jets in the world, the pilot of the P51D will have the right to decide whether to fight or not. This is
The significance cannot be overestimated.
And it is worth mentioning that the P51D fighter is very friendly to novices. Even new pilots with poor skills can fly this new type of fighter relatively easily after training. This largely makes up for the loss of the US military.
The gap between pilots and the German army, especially those of their counterparts in the German Navy... (To be continued...)