In April 1944, the air war over the United States began.
This is a tug-of-war between bombing and counter-bombing. Whoever can control the sky will take the initiative in the war. The commanders of China and the United States know this very well.
As for the control of air superiority, the Chinese are undoubtedly more urgent.
They need the sky, they need to drop bombs one after another, and they need to use their ultimate secret weapon to completely end the war.
The same goes for the U.S. Air Force.
They need to protect this country at all costs
Since humans broke away from animals and walked upright and developed thinking, fantasy and pursuit have also emerged. It is this fantasy and pursuit of a better life that promotes the progress and development of human civilization. Although the accumulation of knowledge of our ancestors sometimes remains
It is not that they consciously produced magical inventions, but they have always been good at finding inspiration from imitation of nature. The birth of balloons, airships, and airplanes is a clear example.
September 19, 1783, Place de Versailles, Paris, France.
King Louis XVI of France, accompanied by many civil and military officials, braved the scorching heat of early autumn and sat on the viewing platform of the square. The square was surrounded by more than 100,000 high-spirited Parisians. Today, they will watch the most important moment in human history here.
The first hot air balloon to carry "passengers" on a flight. From the idea of flying to the initial realization of this ideal, how many ups and downs and twists and turns have human beings experienced! How arduous and long this journey has been!
Thousands of years ago, when our poor human ancestors saw the free-flying birds and magpies, they had many beautiful reveries: It would be great if they could get rid of the shackles and fly into the blue sky, soaring freely like a bird! No matter where
In China, India, ancient Babylon and Rome, myths about human flight are very rich and spectacular. For example, Chang'e flew to the moon, Dunhuang flew to the sky, and angels with wings. These widely circulated myths reflect human beings' love for flight.
look forward to.
Although the level of technological development at that time was still unable to meet human expectations for flight, people have never given up the pursuit and exploration of beautiful ideals. Especially the Chinese people, who have a long history of civilization, have contributed to the world's aviation industry with their hard work.
It has made outstanding contributions to the development of the world. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,000 years ago, Lu Ban, the founder of the construction industry, created a wooden kite that could fly. "Mozi? Lu Wen Pian" records: "Ban cut the bamboo to make it a magpie.
It took off and flew for three days." By the Western Han Dynasty, kites that used aerodynamic principles to take off appeared in our country. It is generally believed that kites are the most primitive flying machines and the ancestors of modern aircraft. By the time of Wang Mang, some people imitated the shape of flying birds.
, put on wings made of feathers and jumped down from a high place, tried to fly, and successfully flew hundreds of steps.
With the advancement of civilization, foreigners also proposed the idea of flying and began to make attempts in this area. Around the 5th century AD, a European blacksmith named Weilan made a set of "feather coats" and conducted a series of flights.
The experiment was somewhat successful. Later, Veran also put on a "feather coat" and carried out an act of revenge. He lifted his enemy into the air and threw him to the ground to death. In the 13th century AD, the Russian Chadochnik wrote in a manuscript
There are similar records in the book: someone wearing wings made of silk flew safely down from the top of a very high church.
In 1903, the French LeBaudy brothers built the world's first truly practical airship. The airship flew 61 kilometers in one go on November 12 of the same year.
Since then, the development of balloons and airships has entered its heyday, and has been widely used in the military and transportation fields. In the military aspect, Germany, France, Russia, Britain and other countries have successively established airship troops and introduced airships to the battlefield. For example
In the 1911 U.S.-Turkish War, the United States used three airships for the first time to conduct reconnaissance and bombing of Turkey; on August 5, 1914, Germany used Berlin airships to massively bomb the French fortress city of Liege; a year later, Germany
Five more LZ-38 Zeppelin airships were dispatched across the English Channel to bomb London; seven people were killed and more than 30 were injured, causing a "Zeppelin" panic among the Chinese. In terms of transportation, Germany in 1910
On June 28, a regular airship air route was established between Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. Flying on this route is the LZ-7 Zeppelin airship, which can carry 24 passengers and 12 aircrew.
The flight speed is as high as more than 70 kilometers per hour. In 1912, a Zeppelin airship completed the first human flight around the world in 20 days.
During the period when airships were booming, the airplane, a more important and meaningful invention in the history of flight development, was born, and its inspiration was the Wright brothers of the United States!
After the advent of the airplane, human civilization took a big step forward, but the disasters brought by war also escalated... April 6, 2017.
A sea and air war broke out between China and the United States.
27 "Falcon 21" torpedo attack aircraft and 60 "Tempest" dive bombers, covered by 18 "Falcon 19" fighter jets, swooped toward the US "Lexington" aircraft carrier in lightning speed
Come.
At 8:55, the Chinese aircraft fleet came over the US fleet. The 12 torpedo aircraft of the 1st torpedo aircraft squadron of China braved the fierce anti-aircraft fire of the US fleet and concentrated on attacking the "Lexington". When they were preparing to attack the "Lexington" from the "
After being blocked from carrying out a torpedo attack on both sides of the USS Lexington, it immediately circled back to the rear of the U.S. fleet, broke through the interception of the U.S. fleet's anti-aircraft fire, and launched a torpedo attack from the starboard side.
When the Lexington saw that its plane was unable to take off, it began to circle around like a duck in a barrel that had been shot with a gun.
Among the 12 torpedoes that fell one after another, three torpedoes directly hit the "Lexington", and the ship immediately burst into flames.
Facing the sudden attack, the US aircraft carrier, which was already ill-prepared, was in chaos, and the two carrier-based aircraft that took off in a hurry were immediately swallowed up by the US "Falcon 19".
A few minutes later, 12 torpedo attack aircraft of China's 7th Torpedo Squadron also rushed towards the Lexington. The captain led the fleet to start releasing torpedoes only 500 meters away from the Lexington.
Four torpedoes were hit. At that time, the "Lexington" was already bombarded with 13 500-kilogram bombs.
At the same time, 36 "Tempest" dive bombers continued to attack the "Lexington". In this way, in less than 10 minutes, the "Lexington" hit 13 heavy bombs.
pound bombs and 7 torpedoes. This large aircraft carrier was almost blown to pieces. The desperate radio operator just sent out "We are under attack" and then the ship sank to the bottom of the sea. This was the fastest time an aircraft carrier was sunk during the entire war.
Of the 2,122 officers and men on the ship, 1,836 sank with the Lexington. The Chinese lost 3 bombers.
Almost at the same time that the Lexington was sunk, the Americans also received an urgent message from a reconnaissance plane: "Discovered Chinese aircraft carrier task force, 160 nautical miles south."
At this time, Admiral Chester Nimitz, who had been severely damaged by the squadron before, was impatient with waiting and immediately ordered the plane to take off.
In an instant, with a roar on the deck of the aircraft carrier, 78 aircraft roared into the sky from the "Saratoga" and "**". Under the leadership of flight captain Rear Admiral John Sage,
Pounced straight towards the Chinese aircraft carrier task force.
The battle has shown terrible cruelty
At this time, strong winds were blowing on the sea, dark clouds covered the sky, and the visibility on the sea was so low that almost nothing could be seen, which made the search by the US aircraft extremely difficult. As a result, contrary to expectations, the US aircraft not only failed to find the US aircraft carrier, but actually encountered it.
The "Falcon" combat patrol aircraft on the Chinese "President" encountered. After a fierce aerial battle, I saw the fighter planes of both sides rising in the air, flying, chasing, and firing. In an instant, there were 8
A "Devastator" torpedo attack aircraft and two "Dauntless" dive bombers were beaten into the sky. The remaining American aircraft did not dare to fight and fled quickly.
At this time, it was completely dark. The vast sea seemed to be held up by the bottom of a huge black pot... Sheboygan.
The Chinese bomber group quickly set its sights here.
At this time, Sheboygan was filled with soaring flames and violent explosions. The formerly quiet and tidy military port was now in a mess. Some ships were swaying this way and that, while others had only their masts hanging out of the water, as if they were emitting an explosion.
S.O.S.
A large number of aircraft passed through the rain of bullets and flew over the breakwater. They originally planned to attack the heavy cruiser "Astoria", but the distance was too far. When they saw the "Minnea Bosley" shot down the Chinese
After the plane, they came towards the "Minnea Bosley" with revenge. A large hole was blown by a torpedo behind the bow turret of the "Minnea Bosley", and sea water surged in. A huge
The huge creature soon sank slowly.
Three aircraft of the second flight group entered the port from the northwest. The three aircraft dived at a large angle and flew horizontally around the northern end of the balloon obstacle. Under the bright light of the slowly landing flares, the Chinese aircraft headed towards the "Vincents"
The No. 1 launched a torpedo, and his observers saw with their own eyes a silver-white track piercing through like a sharp sword, hitting the target with a "boom".
Two other planes also followed, and there were two loud "boom" and "boom" noises. The heavy cruiser was severely damaged in this way.
At the same time, four bombers bombed the ships in the inner harbor as planned. At 23:06, the bomber group flew towards the inner harbor from an altitude of 2,500 meters. The target was surrounded by thick smoke from enemy anti-aircraft fire. Bomber No. 109 identified
After reaching the target, they dived and bombed. Unfortunately, none of the six bombs dropped hit.
Since Bomber No. 109 did not find the intended attack target in the inner harbor, it attacked the seaplane hangar and slipway. With the rumbling explosions, the hangar ignited thick smoke and fire. Bomber No. 120 faced the parked
A row of warships in the inner harbor dropped bombs, one fell on the destroyer "Liberio", and the explosion sounded again
Sheboygan was in chaos like an overturned hornet's nest.
The US military commander here was at a loss. A plane screamed and flew past his command building at low altitude. Apparently he ignored it and went straight to the fleet in the harbor. A storm last week.
60 of the 90 anti-aircraft balloons were destroyed. The bold Chinese pilots dared to shuttle between the steel cables of the balloons.
Although the 21 anti-aircraft artillery batteries on the ground opened fire, most of the soldiers had not been trained in night combat and could not even capture the target. Whether they could hit the target or not depended on luck. What made Todes even more angry was that China
After the first wave of aircraft withdrew, anti-aircraft artillery fire continued to fire hard.
Todes thought the attack was over. He picked up the phone and reported to the Navy's high command. At this moment, the alarm sounded for the fourth time. The second attack began. Sheboygan became a sea of fire again.
The second assault B9 plane took off at 21:20. This time it was not smooth. The two planes collided on both wings on the flight deck. Fortunately, there was no damage. 20 minutes after takeoff, another plane was forced to return due to malfunction.
.So only eight planes flew to Sheboygan as scheduled to carry out the attack.
This time, the Americans became a little smarter. Battleships, cruisers and land artillery groups no longer fought independently, but formed a dense cross-fire network. When 8 "Tempest" aircraft broke through, 1 aircraft
was shot down. The observer reported: "The enemy spotted us and opened fire on us. There were flashes of artillery fire everywhere. And one after another, we were surrounded by flashes of light coming from all directions. They were raining down on us with all the weapons at their disposal."
Fire."
The five "Tempest" aircraft carrying torpedoes repeated their old tricks, once again lowering their altitude and flying across the water, directly approaching the enemy ships. One aircraft's wheels hit the water and slid on the top of the waves as if it were floating on water. Captain Sutton
After staring at the injured battleship "Vincents", when the distance was 700 yards, I pressed the mine button, but nothing happened! What happened? Try it again! Still no response! At this time, the Central African pilots couldn't help but become nervous.
His eyes seemed to be filled with the huge shadow of the enemy ship, and he frantically pressed the torpedo button. Finally, at the last moment, the torpedo was dropped, and it rushed towards the towering side of the Vincennes without any error.
Immediately afterwards, the other aircraft dropped mines and hit the heavy cruisers "New Orleans" and "Pensacola" which were not injured. After dropping the mines, the seven aircraft skillfully evaded maneuvers and passed through the dense barrage and billowing smoke.
, and walked away.
In the evening, the pale moon had just risen from the eastern sea level. The aircraft carrier "President", escorted by 4 cruisers and 4 destroyers, quietly appeared in the waters 250 nautical miles southeast of the United States. The commander stood on a table paved with charts.
In front of the command podium, the course was corrected from time to time. The course arrow pointed to the already well-known place - Sheboygan.
The scheduled attack area is approaching, and the commander's heartstrings are tightening. His expression is very excited about the upcoming assault. Yes! This day has finally arrived.
A moonlit night is beneficial for pilots to find targets, and also facilitates attack and evacuation.
The original plan was to dispatch 30 Tempest aircraft, which would be carried by the aircraft carriers USS Grand President and USS Assault.
The 21 aircraft were divided into two attack aircraft. The first aircraft had 12 aircraft, including 6 torpedo aircraft, 4 bombers, and 2 lighting aircraft. The second assault aircraft had 9 aircraft, including 5 torpedo aircraft, 2 bombers, and lighting aircraft.
2 machines.
Chinese commanders have specially studied methods to deal with arresting balloons. The distance between the balloons is about 270 meters, and the aircraft can fly through the middle of the mooring steel cables. However, in the dark night, the situation is completely different when the aircraft flies in darkness at a speed of 130 knots.
It was impossible to see the steel cables simply by moonlight. To this end, several "Tempests" were modified to mount flares and bombs, and flares were dropped on the east coast of the port to illuminate the targets, allowing the torpedo-carrying "Tempests" to fly from the southwest and northwest.
After launching an attack and throwing flares, these aircraft then went to bomb the port facilities.
When only 200 nautical miles away from Sheboygan, the "Grand President" began to slow down and adjust to a windward course. The headwind was conducive to the aircraft gaining lift. The four cruisers and four destroyers spread out in four directions like loyal guards to
Be prepared for the unexpected.
The pilots finished their dinner and smoked cigarettes one after another in the waiting room. The elevator was busy lifting the No. 1 aircraft one by one from the hangar to the stern deck.
The sea surface undulated slightly, and the moonlight fell quietly, coating the ship's stern track with a layer of silvery light. The 12 "Tempest" aircraft were arranged majestically on the flight deck like warriors ready to go.
The commander standing by the control tower said nothing. As usual, he patted the squadron leader on the shoulder vigorously. The squadron leader understood, turned around and ran towards his plane.
The loudspeaker gave the order to prepare for takeoff. The pilot and navigator tightened the parachute straps. They made a final check of the instruments and then started the engine. The wheel blocker lay on the deck and inserted the wheel blocks into the aircraft. The propeller rotated rapidly.
, flashing with a dazzling halo. Amidst the roar, the flight deck lights were turned on. At 20:35, a light green beam of light emitted from the signal platform above the bridge. The flight commander ordered the wheel blocks to be removed, and the squadron leader stepped in
Throttle hard. The plane rumbled across the flight deck, took off with the wind, and disappeared into the vast night.
Within a few minutes, 12 aircraft took off one after another. Nine of them climbed to an altitude of 2,300 meters, forming three "V" shaped groups. The remaining three were blocked by clouds and were unable to join the formation, so they had to fly alone.
An audio listening station in the distant sea reported that it heard the sound of an airplane. Todes ordered an alarm, and the whole city of Sheboygan suddenly went dark. Citizens hurried into the air raid shelters under the command of the military police, and the ships in the harbor immediately prepared
Preparations were made for lifting anchor and evacuating. The anti-aircraft gun on the east hill of the harbor may have lost control due to excessive tension, and a string of tracer bullets shot into the night sky. But everything soon calmed down. After 10 minutes, the alarm was lifted.
59 minutes later, the alarm sounded again, but calm returned again.
The residents were numb, and the vigilant soldiers were tired. Only Todes remained at his command post, and he secretly prayed: I hope it will always be a misunderstanding.
At 11 o'clock in the night, the sleeping residents and soldiers were awakened by the third alarm. While people were still cursing this prank again and again, the sound of aircraft engines in the southeast had gradually increased from low to high, and the anti-aircraft guns on duty were the first to spit out tongues of flame.
At this time, the squadron leader was still 50 nautical miles away and was encountering a strong slipstream. The plane was bumping violently and irregularly. The three small groups were also bumping around like a school of fish that turned around.
After finally breaking out of the slipstream, the squadron leader immediately adjusted his formation and accelerated towards the target.
The squadron leader's observer was a captain. He was the first to see the orange ballistic trajectory in the leaden night sky ahead, and immediately reminded the squadron leader:
"That's Sheboygan."
"Well, they seem to know that we are coming and are setting off fireworks to welcome us," the squadron leader said lightly.
"Maybe three planes that didn't climb reached Sheboygan early!" the captain explained immediately.
At 23:02, the fleet flew over Sheboygan. At this time, 21 companies of US anti-aircraft guns held their heads high and were firing vigorously. Two Chinese aircraft dropped illumination bombs outside the blocking balloon barrier.
The flare was suspended by a small parachute and set to burn at an altitude of 1,370 meters, illuminating the entire military port as bright as day. This was also the signal to order the "Tempest" aircraft to start diving.
7,000 feet, 5,000 feet, the surrounding artillery shells exploded to form huge fireballs, and the fireballs were connected to form a three-dimensional fire net like a volcanic eruption. The aircraft quickly shuttled through the net, and the strong light of the searchlight made the pilots unable to open their eyes.
.2000 foot dive, dive!
The squadron leader pressed the nose of the plane and flew with his wingman from the west toward the center of the harbor. The huge hull of the USS Minneapolis battleship 5,000 meters away was already vaguely visible. He flew the plane in a high-speed dive at a small angle.
A string of red and blue fireballs flashed under the fuselage and flew above the plane in an instant. Suddenly, two blocking balloons appeared in front of him. He quickly swung the fuselage and passed through them, almost hitting the right side of the plane.
The one scared him so much that he broke into a cold sweat. When the plane dived to 30 feet above the sea, he pulled up the plane and flew over the breakwater. The plane flew close to the water. The sea water was like a huge mirror, reflecting the entire sky.
The fire ball exploded by the sky cannonball seemed like there was another world under the sea.
The unique superstructure of the battleship "Minnea Bosley" gradually became clear. The naval guns joined the ranks of the shore guns and fired furiously at the torpedo planes.
The "Minnea Bosley" and the two destroyers apparently discovered his threat and turned their guns to aim at his aircraft. Sparks from the muzzles were seen, blazing and dazzling. He aimed desperately at the "Minnea Bosley"
"Bosley" rushed straight over, and the ship's shadow in the aiming ring instantly expanded, like a castle lying in front of him. When the plane was about to hit the battleship, he immediately pressed the button and dropped the torpedo.
Due to the sudden release of weight, the nose of the machine suddenly lifted up.
The squadron leader pulled the control stick with his hand and pedaled the helm, trying to make the plane tilt and turn to the right. However, the tail of the plane shook. The squadron leader felt something bad. The tail of the plane was hit, and the plane immediately lost control and went straight.
Rushed into the sea.
At this moment, he heard a huge explosion, which was the torpedo hitting the "Minnea Bosley"! (To be continued...rq!.