War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1325: Being beaten down for the second time

On the dimly lit runway, a Wellington bomber began to roll and accelerate under the control of Weifang.

When the airspeed indicator needle skipped 80 miles per hour, as he gently pulled the control column, the nose of the bomber also began to rise, and then bid farewell to the slightly bumpy runway.

After successfully taking off, Weiyan raised the altitude while staring at the airspeed meter. He familiarly retracted the landing gear when the airspeed exceeded 120 miles.

It wasn't until he finished adjusting the propeller pitch and throttle and retracted the flaps at an altitude of 600 feet that the navigator Phil at his feet turned on the lights and began his work on the inline channel.

Under Phil's guidance, Wei Yan piloted the plane and after climbing to a predetermined altitude, it joined the other bombers that had taken off.

"New here, is this your first time participating in bombing?"

In the intercom channel, radio operator Nick asked, and immediately stood up from his "seat", leaned over and handed Wei Ran two cigars, and pointed to the navigator next to him.

Just as Wei Ran took the cigar, the navigator Phil next to him also said, "I have experienced two emergency landings, and I was the only one lucky enough to survive the last time."

“Good luck”

As Wei Ran spoke, he handed one of the cigars to Phil, who responded enthusiastically with a thank you and used rich body language.

"So where did the last pilot of this plane go?"

Seeing that Wei Ran didn't seem to have a lighter, Phil generously took out a lighter from his pocket and handed it to Wei Ran, along with a cigar cutter.

"One leg is in the English Channel, and it may be in the belly of the fish now."

Just as Weiran turned on the autopilot of the plane and was busy serving the cigar he was given, Connor in the nose machine gun tower helped explain in the inline communication with a great sense of humor, "The other part is in In the hospital, the unfortunate guy lost a leg, but at least he survived."

"Thanks to our flying cigar, she is strong enough and can always bring us back alive every time." Nick, the radio operator, lit the thick cigar in his hand as he spoke.

"I would also like to thank Captain Victor." Allen from the stern machine gun tower also joined the conversation, "Of course, I would also like to thank Nick for the cigars. Speaking of which, Nick, where did you get these cigars?"

"stolen"

Nick said proudly, "My new girlfriend is on an ATA charter flight. When I went to find her, I helped her carry some parcels. These cigars were sent from Dublin."

"I finally know why the packages my wife sent me always disappear inexplicably." Phil said as if he had a sudden realization, and as expected, he attracted the approval of the machine gunners at the front and rear.

"Phil, are you married?" Nick, the radio operator, asked on the topic.

"certainly"

Phil took the cigar cutter and lighter from Wei Ran and explained nonchalantly, "She is a nurse from the Princess Mary Nursing Service."

"Did you meet at the field hospital?" Machine Gunner Allen asked curiously.

"No, no, no, we've known each other for a long time."

Phil said proudly, "We were married before the war. If it hadn't been for this war, we would have been ready to have a child."

"Phil, if one day I am injured and sent to the hospital, can you ask your wife to introduce me to a beautiful single nurse?" Nose gunner Connor said expectantly.

"And me, I need it too." Nick, the radio operator who was sitting behind Wei Ran with only half a partition between them, also joined in the fun.

"I can't help with this kind of thing"

There was a trace of helplessness in Phil's tone, "In fact, we haven't seen each other for almost a month. Captain, the northeast wind has caused us to deviate a little from the course, 5 degrees to the port side."

"receive"

Wei Ran, who had been smoking a cigar and listening to their chat, responded slowly and slightly moved the joystick to correct the course.

After the course was corrected, the intranet communication continued to talk about women as expected. In particular, Nick, the radio operator sitting behind Wei Ran, described with great emotion how he and his new girlfriend were together early this morning. Love in the hangar.

Hearing that there was no valuable information, Wei Ran, who was not planning to join the conversation for the time being, took a moment to observe the Irving flight suit he was wearing.

There is nothing special about this standard flight suit. Instead, there is a Webley revolver and a flare gun fixed on the left and right sides of the two calves.

Before he could continue to observe the outfit, he heard Machine Gunner Connor ask, "Phil, where are you from?"

"Winchester, where are you?" Phil asked in a puff of smoke.

"I'm from London"

Radio operator Nick replied like a substitute, "Captain Victor and I are both from London, Connor is from Coventry and Alan is from Dublin."

"Is there no one from Brighton?" Wei Ran muttered to himself, but did not ask rashly.

At this time, the sky outside the window was getting darker and darker, and the fleet of low-flying bombers was getting larger and larger. At the same time, Wei Ran also noticed that there was a wave of waves just 400 feet directly below them. on the sea surface, and in the distance, there is a thick fog.

"Phil, tell me the heading." Wei Ran's question interrupted the chat among the others in the inline communication.

"What's wrong with 6 degrees east by south?" Phil asked curiously. These data can be seen at a glance from Weiran.

"Nothing," Wei Ran responded casually, without explaining.

Hearing this, Phil and others didn't think much about it, and soon started chatting again under Nick's guidance.

After nearly an hour of low-altitude flight, Nick was the first to interrupt the conversation, "Gentlemen, we are about to begin."

"Pull up! Prepare to enter the bombing route," Phil said immediately.

After receiving the signal, Weiran immediately turned off the automatic navigation, pulled the joystick and began to climb altitude along with the surrounding bomber cluster.

At this moment, dazzling beams of light were also shot out from the ground, and at the same time, the surrounding area was smeared with death smoke balls from anti-aircraft guns.

What Wei Ran himself found difficult to understand was that a strange sense came up in his heart at this time - the density of firepower was much worse than that in London!

"Enter bombing route!"

Phil's shouting disrupted his random thoughts. From now until the bomb is dropped, the command rights of the plane have been temporarily handed over from him, the captain, to the navigator Phil.

"Stand to starboard!" Phil yelled over the intercom.

Just when the satellite was moving the joystick, the radio operator Nick also shouted a reminder, "Connor, pay attention! The Germans are coming!"

"give it to me!"

"Keep the course and speed!" While Phil shouted, Weiyan also straightened the control stick and opened the door of the bombing bay.

Before Phil could drop the bomb, Connor had already controlled the machine gun tower on the nose of the aircraft to fire out a dense barrage.

"Attention! 4!" Phil shouted as a reminder, and Wei Ran also tightened his grip on the joystick.

"3!" Phil immediately shouted the next number.

"2!"

When this number was shouted out, a German fighter jet roared past their heads, and the guard could even clearly see that the port wing skin was hit by the opponent's aircraft cannon.

"1!"

When Phil shouted out this number, he had already pressed the bomb switch.

"Get out!"

Almost as soon as Phil yelled out this set of words, Weiyan had already pulled the joystick to the left and pulled it slightly back, allowing the slightly bulky bomber to leave the route and climb up again.

"We've been stung!"

Allen from the stern machine gun tower shouted a reminder in the internal communication. When the words reached the ears of the others, they were also mixed with the sound of machine gun fire.

Wei Ran was not in the mood to chat. He was trying hard to complete the "turn" of the aircraft that was frantically testing on the edge of stall.

However, before the plane returned to level flight, he pressed down on the control stick slightly, and at the same time raised the tail of the plane slightly, narrowly escaping the fighter jet that bit them behind. A barrage of bullets was fired.

Not only that, but with this rare opportunity, Allen at the tail also obtained the shooting range in advance and pulled the trigger to cover the fighter jet that was diving towards them.

"Tail solved!"

The moment he shouted these words, Wei Ran had already pulled the joystick and continued to climb desperately - lowering the altitude is dangerous. The lower the altitude, the higher the probability of being targeted by anti-aircraft guns!

"Phil! Go to the astronomical window!" Wei Ran shouted and reminded.

"Copy that!" Upon hearing this, Phil immediately got up, took off his seat belt and internal data cable, and ran back.

This so-called observatory is a hemispherical skylight located on the back of the bomber. Just like its name, this thing is used for observing astronomy.

The purpose of observing astronomy is to use astronomical information for navigation. But Phil understood that Wei Ran asked him to go to the astronomical window at this time not for navigation, but to use the excellent field of vision there to observe whether there were any enemy planes around!

It was night after all, and the surrounding night was not only the best cover for them, but it was also an obstacle to discovering enemy planes.

At this time, for Wei Ran, he was actually not too worried about the enemy planes. It was night after all, and it was difficult for them to find the enemy planes. The same was true for the Germans. In contrast, the biggest threat at this time was anti-aircraft artillery.

They did not dare to continue flying along the fixed course. After Phil was in place, Weiran immediately tilted the fuselage to the right to change positions, and at the same time continued to raise the altitude, but even so, there was a beam of light that caught up with them!

For a moment, dense explosions came from the surroundings, almost covering up the roar of the engine!

"The cabin skin is on fire!"

Just when Phil reported the situation, Wei Yan and Nick behind him felt the sudden drop in temperature in the cabin, and even the speed of the plane was slightly affected.

Without any need for Weiran to respond, the radio operator Nick had already picked up the fire extinguisher at hand, quickly ran to the rear, hung up his seat belt and started to put out the fire.

After increasing the oxygen supply speed of the oxygen bottle, Weiran continued to control the aircraft to raise the altitude while constantly adjusting the heading. “Boom!”

After another explosion, Wei Ran also noticed the same vibration coming from the fuselage. I subconsciously looked around. Fortunately, at least the engine was not damaged.

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Phil say, "The stern machine gun tower was damaged."

Hearing this, Wei Ran's heart tightened and he immediately called, "Alan? How is the situation? Alan!"

"He disappeared with the machine gun turret"

It was Nick who ran back to the radio station who responded to Wei Ran, "An anti-aircraft gun hit our stern turret!"

"Victor, one of our elevators appears to be damaged!"

Phil immediately shouted a reminder in the intercom, "What's the height now?"

"8600 feet!" Weiran responded immediately.

"Let's see if we can lift it to 10000 feet!"

When Phil gave his advice, Weiyan was already pulling the control column. As expected, the aircraft's subsequent climb became extremely difficult.

"Level and correct course!"

Phil immediately shouted, "The searchlight has left us! It's 30 degrees to port! We need to return as soon as possible!"

Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately started to move the control stick, but immediately after, he heard Phil yelling at the top of his lungs, "An enemy plane has discovered us again! Behind us!"

Hey!

Wei Ran cursed secretly. There was no machine gun tower behind them at this time. In other words, they had no ability to fight back at all, especially when there was a problem with their elevator.

Without any time to think, Weiran controlled the sturdy but somewhat bulky aircraft and began to roll left and right again, trying hard to avoid the barrages that came from behind from time to time.

"Get closer! Get closer!" Phil, who was still holding on to the astronomical window, shouted a reminder.

"Connor!"

While Wei Ran shouted, he pulled the joystick back as hard as he could. At the same time, Connor, who had already cocked the machine gun to the highest angle, immediately pulled the trigger.

However, the German fighter jet was much more flexible than them after all. It flew past them in just a blink of an eye and began to climb rapidly.

At this time, Weiran was busy adjusting the flight attitude of the bomber with a damaged elevator - it began to become less obedient than before.

Almost at the same time that Weiyan was trying to stabilize the plane, Phil shouted again to remind, "Connor! Starboard! Below the horizontal line!"

"Look at me!"

While Connor on the nose responded, he had already manipulated the machine gun tower to quickly complete the turn, and the Weifan immediately swung the fuselage to the right, trying hard to create a momentary opportunity for Connor to fire!

Amid the intense strafing, Wei Ran, who had been staring at the level gauge, hurriedly straightened the fuselage before a stall could occur. Then, he heard Connor's cheers.

But what followed the cheers was Phil's exclamation!

"Oh!"

Without waiting for Phil to explain what happened, everyone in the cabin heard a muffled sound, and Weiyan could see it clearly, because before he could fully return to the right position, the upturned left wing and the plane that had just been Connor hit and lost control, and the fighter plane, which also had no time to climb, had a real collision.

The collision at this moment not only affected the flight attitude, but even broke off half of the left wing!

While struggling to control the plane in the violent turbulence, Weiyan shouted and asked, "Report the damage!"

"There's nothing wrong with the nose!" Connor was the first to respond.

"The left wing was damaged and the fuel tank in front of the wing leaked! But the engine was not affected!" Phil, who had the best view, shouted and replied.

Hearing this, Wei Ran subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the fuel gauge on the rear right side, but then, he saw that the radio operator Nick had already slumped on the chair. He was only suspended by the seat belt to prevent him from falling. Go down.

"Nick? Nick! How are you doing?"

Weiran shouted and asked in the inline communication, while trying his best to control the aircraft with half a wing missing and half of the elevator broken to maintain a normal flying attitude.

"He was hit by a machine gun." It was Phil who responded to Wei Ran. "The bullet passed through the skin and hit his back. He is dead."

Gritting his teeth, Wei Ran looked out the window and shouted a new command, "Phil, find a route!"

"Hold on!"

Phil responded to the order from the satellite, unplugged the communication line and returned to the astronomical window again. After some calculations, he said, "The correct course is 15 degrees to starboard! Can our altitude still climb?"

"I'll try my best," Wei Ran responded while gently turning the joystick to adjust the course.

After the fierce battle just now, they finally left the bombed target far behind.

But the condition of the aircraft itself, as well as the loss of lift that was almost considered a downwind flight at this time, made the bomber that completed the mission likely to be extinguished at any time like a candle in the strong wind.

"Victor! Another enemy plane is catching up!!"

Just as Phil finished his reminder, a fighter jet swooped down from the clouds, roared and bit them, and fired a dense barrage.

Amidst the clanging sound of the impact, the already damaged tail was hit by intensive firepower. The aircraft also pulled a barrage, cutting diagonally across the tail and the bomber's intact right wing.

"Phil!"

Weiran shouted amidst the sirens. In the series of strafing shots just now, the most significant damage was the fuel tank on the right wing. But in addition to the fuel tank, Weiran also discovered that the aircraft's elevator seemed to have completely failed!

"I'm fine!"

Phil responded to Wei Ran's call with fear. At the same time, he couldn't help but look at another series of dense bullet holes that appeared on the canvas skin less than twenty centimeters outside the astronomical window.

"Victor! He's here again! Starboard!"

Connor on the nose of the plane reminded Wei Ran at the top of his lungs, and at the same time, he was also controlling the machine gun tower to turn around as quickly as possible, preparing to fire at the diving fighter!

"Our plane is out of control!" Wei Ran shouted and reminded, "Skydive! Skydive quickly!"

But while he was roaring, Connor was already controlling the machine gun to fire out the barrage.

"Hurry up and skydive!"

Wei Ran urged while trying hard to control the plane to turn to the right, assisting Connor in pursuing the goal that was destined to be missed.

When the plane roared over their heads and climbed rapidly, Weiran immediately called Connor and Phil to parachute.

"See you at sea!" Connor climbed out of the machine gun as quickly as possible and said goodbye in advance.

"Hurry up!"

Wei Ran shouted and urged, and then he saw Phil coming down from the astronomical window.

When Connor opened the hatch at his feet and jumped out, Phil also jumped out quickly.

Seeing the fighter jet flying over again, Weiran immediately turned on the autopilot, then rolled and crawled to the hatch and jumped down.

Almost as he left the bomber, an open umbrella flower appeared at his feet.

But what made him grit his teeth was that the roaring fighter jet actually fired a series of barrages at the umbrella flower!

Fuck you uncle!

Wei Ran did not forget to curse while opening the emergency oxygen bottle. At the same time, he watched helplessly as the umbrella flower that had just unfolded turned into a piece of rags, and the person falling under the umbrella flower looked like a meteor. , disappeared into the thick mist underfoot!

Not daring to open the parachute in a hurry, Wei Ran forced himself to calm down, anxiously waiting for himself to enter the fog that was still high from the sea, and then immediately opened the parachute!

Fortunately, until the umbrella flower was completely swollen, the fighter jet did not fly back, nor did it take the risk of flying into the thick sea fog.

Looking around again and again, he finally saw a flash of light in the thick fog.

Almost subconsciously, he pulled the strap on his shoulder and tried his best to float in the direction of the flash of light just now.

Unplug the air tube connecting the emergency oxygen bottle and the breathing mask, pull out the mouthpiece of the life jacket's air bladder at the collar, put the two together, and inflate it before falling into the sea.

Before he could close the tank, his sight passed through the thick sea fog, and when his feet hit the water, he saw the surging waves.

Subconsciously tightening his feet, Wei Ran pulled off his breathing mask as quickly as possible and took a deep breath, before his head was submerged by the cold sea water.

"Wow!"

When he emerged from the water again, he had pulled the quick-release tab to remove the heavy outer lining of his skydiving suit and the dangerous parachute on it.

After swimming forward across the waves for a distance to avoid the parachute, he had time to turn off the valve of the emergency oxygen bottle fixed on his thigh, and by the way, he pulled out the flare gun from his calf and pressed down the hammer.

However, before he could fire off the signal flare, a conspicuous signal flare had already been raised in front of him to the right!

Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately pointed the muzzle of the signal gun in the direction of the raised signal flare, and fired the signal flare at a 45-degree angle!

He casually put the flare gun into his arms, kicked off his heavy boots underwater, and swam in the direction of the first flare before the cold water took away all the warmth from his body.

However, he didn't know that he was definitely not the one who noticed the flare, and Phil, who had just put away the flare gun, was definitely not the only one who noticed the flare he fired in response.

"Quick, let's go there, to the direction where the flares are rising."

At least two nautical miles away from the flare, a man lying on a black inflatable rubber raft raised his hand and pointed at the hazy but extremely conspicuous light group in the sea fog, and urged weakly.

At the tail end of the inflatable rubber raft, a woman in a diving suit gritted her teeth, supported her tired body, and tried hard to swing the flippers on her feet, pushing the rubber raft, which could only accommodate two people, to swim hard.

(End of this chapter)