afterglow

Chapter 643: An uproar; Zhu Lingjing's desire for revenge

A few months ago, the German news agency German News Agency learned general intelligence about the US long-range bombers and alerted the Ming Embassy.

The Air Force then dispatched nine independent anti-aircraft artillery battalions and one fighter squadron to the Kuwu Island oil production area, and also upgraded the local radar facilities from the early Type 9 early warning radar to the Type Yuan early warning radar.

The Sakhalin Oilfield has huge reserves, which were later proven to be 70 billion tons, even more than the Daqing Oilfield. However, it is not currently being developed because it is difficult to exploit. The OP-11 oil well drilled by Russia here was 1.2 meters deep.

Before the war, the annual output of the Kuwu Island Oilfield was about 31 tons. In recent years, through the efforts of the Ming National Oil and Gas Company to expand production, it produced 42 tons last year.

"…Sight angle 28 degrees, 4,100 meters, level flight. All gun positions ready!"

Before, when the fighter planes took off to fight, the anti-aircraft artillery soldiers had already rushed to their respective positions, removed the tarpaulins, and opened the ammunition boxes.

Now, the firing director has been aimed at the aircraft group in the sky. The internal mechanical relay computer is running rapidly, solving the firing parameters according to the target's altitude, speed, and slant range.

Following an order, the Type 30 anti-aircraft guns pointed obliquely toward the mirror-like blue sky, spewing out orange-red muzzle flames.

The large-caliber anti-aircraft guns equipped by the Ming army's ground formations were mostly Type 80, with a caliber of 9500mm and an effective firing height of m. This product, which was produced more than a decade ago, is now relatively outdated.

In order to deal with aircraft that were flying faster and higher, the Type 96 three-inch (㎜) anti-aircraft gun came into being. This new type of anti-aircraft gun, which is now being mass-produced, has good performance but is expensive.

It is 64 calibers, with a muzzle velocity of 890m/s, a general effective firing height of 12000m, a total weight of 8.6 tons, and a purchase price of 4.7 yen.

If this gun is converted into the German caliber measurement method, it will be more than seventy times the caliber, which can also be regarded as a fishing rod.

The slender barrel brought good performance, but it also made processing and manufacturing very difficult, with a high scrap rate. In order to increase production to meet demand, the Ming military industry department also launched a castrated version - reduced to 54 times the caliber, the effective firing height was reduced to 10000m, and the manufacturing time and purchase price were significantly reduced.

Most of the new anti-aircraft guns were shipped overseas first and deployed to places where they were more needed - the Western Front, the Southern Front, and the Eastern Front. More than a hundred of them were lost during sea transportation.

Near the oil production area of ​​Kuwu Island, the Ming Air Force deployed a total of 15 heavy anti-aircraft artillery battalions, 4 light anti-aircraft artillery battalions, and 3 large searchlight battalions, with a total of hundreds of anti-aircraft guns of various calibers.

Except for the fact that some individual units were slow to respond and failed to arrive in time, it can be said that the overall response of the army was quite quick.

Amidst the continuous roar, a large number of anti-aircraft fragmentation shells flew upward at high speed, and countless black and gray smoke clouds filled the blue sky in an instant.

The U.S. military crew members only felt that the plane was shaking continuously. The feeling was like the violent bumps on a bus, and it never ended.

The flying high-speed fragments penetrated the bomber's fragile aluminum alloy skin, leaving the silver-shining super air fortress riddled with holes.

The US military aircraft flew through the thick smoke of the explosion, trying to maintain formation and fly towards the target.

After being besieged by fighter planes for a while, and now being hit by anti-aircraft guns, you can imagine how difficult the situation is.

The 444th Bomber Group, which was carrying out its first mission, did not take advantage of the XB-29's high altitude limit. They could have flown at high altitudes, but the Ming army fighters could not fly that high, and the interference effect of the anti-aircraft guns would be greatly reduced.

At an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, there were less than 20 American bomber formations approaching the target. Under the order of Lieutenant Colonel Hall, they were divided into two, half to bomb the oil wells and the other half to bomb the refinery.

Subsequently, these super fortresses began to aim and prepare to drop bombs, and the control of the aircraft was temporarily taken away from the pilots.

The bomb bay doors slowly opened, and each bomber dropped the four 4-pound conventional bombs and eight 250-pound incendiary bombs it was carrying.

"The bomb has been dropped! The bombardier calls the pilot, it's your turn to take control."

Nearly a hundred bombs fell down, quickly turning into smaller and smaller black dots, and finally bursting into a noticeable flash of light.

Lieutenant Colonel Hall tilted his head to look at the scene below, and saw thick smoke and flames rising into the sky.

"Alas!"

“It looks like Christmas.”

"It seems to have exploded?"

"I am not sure."

Because this mission was more for political purposes, many photographers and reporters were brought along and spread across several planes.

They held their cameras and kept shooting downwards, capturing the billowing smoke and dust rising from the ground on each frame of film.

The hit rate of horizontal bombing was as low as ever, and the interference of anti-aircraft guns also played a significant role. Most of the bombs fell in the wilderness or open space.

A 250-pound aerial bomb hit the staff cafeteria. The violent explosion killed 12 oil workers who were watching the excitement and injured 39 people.

Several 100-pound incendiary bombs also set fire to several houses, 11 trucks in a parking lot were burned, and a nearby construction machinery warehouse also caught fire. People fought the fire until the evening before it was put out.

The Jianyuan refinery was attacked by half of the bombers, but only one twelfth of the bombs hit the factory.

An aerial bomb smashed through the roof of a factory building and hit the beam exactly where it exploded, killing or injuring more than 20 workers inside.

There were also incendiary bombs dropped on a nearby town - actually the residential area for the company's employees and their families, causing several fires, but the fire spread slowly and the casualties were minimal.

The two groups of bombers that completed the mission began to turn around and disengage, rejoined the formation, and then flew northeast while climbing.

The second wave of interception formation of the Ming army had also caught up at this time, and the two sides flew away while fighting fiercely.

The self-defense machine guns of each plane immediately opened fire. In the chaotic battle, two more bombers were damaged and caught fire and fell down...

9月8日的空袭行动总计有30架XB-29出动，去程途中3架因发动机起火坠落、4架被迫返航，返程途中又有4架因各种机械故障而坠落，真正被明军战斗机和高射炮击落的仅5架。

Because of the use of immature exhaust gas turbochargers in pursuit of high-altitude performance, the reliability of the Super Fortress was questionable, and it was plagued by endless overheating and spontaneous combustion problems.

Historically, of the 414 B-29s lost by the Army Air Force during its bombing of Japan, 267 were lost due to various malfunctions.

Kuwu Island was attacked by enemy air strikes! This is not just a rumor!

The next day, the Sun and Moon Society gave a low-key and brief account of the events leading up to and after the air raid, claiming that the loss of life and property caused by the bombing was minimal.

"…In the afternoon of that day, more than 30 enemy planes flew across the ocean to attack our oil fields in the north of Kuwu Island. Our air force bravely attacked and captured ten enemy giant bombers. The anti-aircraft artillery units also fired continuously and shot down many of them…"

Public opinion was uproar.

For propaganda purposes, the imperial court naturally had to exaggerate some of the battle results.

In fact, the local air force unit stationed on Kuwu Island reported a victory of seven aircraft - apparently someone counted the Super Fortress that malfunctioned and crashed as a victory.

Although the situation was calm and it seemed like nothing serious, the air raid still shocked the court officials. The intelligence they had learned before showed that this long-range bomber could fly so far, and everyone was skeptical. Now the facts have proved the authenticity of the intelligence.

What everyone is worried about is not the losses from strategic bombing, because bombing of this level will not have much effect.

However, the U.S. military's long-range bombers have a range of more than 7,000 kilometers, which means there is the possibility of a one-way raid. In that case, most inland state capitals, including the two capitals of the north and the south, are within the attack radius.

How can I bear this?
The cabinet and military leaders hurriedly held a meeting in Wenhua Hall to discuss the new long-range bomber.

"Since the enemy bombers from Alaska were able to return, their bomb-carrying range was obviously 7,000 kilometers. According to investigation, the more than 20 enemy planes that attacked dropped a total of about 20 metric tons of bombs."

"So each plane only carried two thousand kilograms of bombs?"

"Exactly, so the loss is minimal."

Chen Kaicheng, the cabinet minister for personnel affairs, asked: "If the enemy planes do not plan to return, and attack from a single route, where can they fly to?"

"Shaanxi, Gansu, Huguang." The Air Force Commander replied in a deep voice.

"Such a suicidal action is unlikely to deal with those places." Lin Xi pointed to the ground, "Unless they attack the capital."

"How can we allow that to happen?" Chen Kaicheng waved his hand and said, "We must make a foolproof plan and never allow enemy planes to invade the capital!"

"This long-range bomber is said to be able to fly at high altitudes, tens of thousands of meters, making it extremely difficult to intercept."

"That's your Air Force's business. You have to find a way to deal with it no matter what. Don't let a single bomb fall."

"I'm afraid this kind of prevention is not enough. There is always a loophole. It is best to eliminate the root cause thoroughly." Minister of War Li Gangqiao suggested: "We should send planes from Dutch Harbor to destroy the enemy's airport, railways, and warehouses."

"That makes sense, that's how it should be."

"Can we try to strike at the northwestern cities of the United States? Fight back in kind." Prime Minister Liao Zihe asked.

"Your Excellency, this is feasible, but the benefits are minimal." The Air Force Commander replied: "Heavy bombers taking off from Dutch Harbor can only carry a few bombs and can barely fly back and forth to Seattle. From a military perspective, it is an absolute loss-making business."

Liao Zihe, who seemed to be thinking about something, said, "That's fine. Let's organize a bombing in the near future to boost the morale of our soldiers and civilians. Remember to make the scene bigger and take lots of photos."

The crowd discussed for a while, mainly discussing

Then, Yu Shenhua, the cabinet minister for foreign affairs who had not expressed much opinion, said, "The U.S. State Department has asked me about the embassy again. It just so happens that you are all here today, so let's discuss this matter."

Lin Xi said with a headache: "It's not impossible to let them go, but..."

"I don't think we can save the National Republican Army just by transporting more supplies." Li Gangqiao said calmly.

"That's right. It's just a delay. It's not very meaningful. There's no need to do such a thing."

"I think so."

"Then refuse it."

The Bering Strait was not frozen in the summer and autumn, and the United States hoped to open a route from east to west to support the Anglo-American Expeditionary Force and the National Republican Army, because the western Arctic route had to pass through the waters north of Norway and would be attacked by German submarines and aircraft, causing considerable losses.

The planned second route starts from Seattle, bypasses the Aleutian Islands, crosses the Bering Strait, sails along the northern coast of the Eurasian continent in the Arctic Ocean, and heads west.

This requires the permission of the Ming Dynasty, so Washington has recently been urging the embassy to give a clear response.

Considering the powerful influence of the German Socialists, the Ming upper class was not optimistic about the British and American attempts to send troops to interfere in Russia, believing that the failure of the expeditionary force and the National Republican Army regime was only a matter of time.

Zhu Lingjing also holds the same view on this matter.

However, her desire for revenge was obviously stronger. Compared with the court officials who only proposed to treat others in their own way, she hoped to directly capture Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.

This would not only completely kill strategic bombing, but would also further undermine American morale.

First, Alaska is only an established territory and not a formal territory in legal terms, so the fear it causes to the people is greater than the fighting spirit it inspires.

Second, Anchorage is a distribution center for a large amount of supplies. Once it is captured, strategic bombing will no longer be able to continue.

Third, Anchorage is close to the sea and is a port city, so there is no need to worry about the bad terrain dragging down the army, and the fleet can march straight into the Cook Inlet.

"Just pass it on and discuss it." She said, looking at the large map.

9月8日的轰炸过后没多久，第444轰炸机大队在9月11日又组织了第二次轰炸。

Poor reliability caused many XB-29s to be unusable, and the attendance rate was worrying. Only 25 aircraft participated in the war this time, and 4 of them suffered serious mechanical failures midway.

Having learned from the previous experience, the US military adopted the method of high-altitude bombing - it didn't matter whether the bomb hit the target or not, as long as it was dropped nearby.

The turbo is both a success and a failure. Although the exhaust gas turbocharger always overheats and catches fire, it also brings excellent high-altitude performance!

These super fortresses flew at an altitude of 30000 feet (9144 m) at a speed of 550 km/h. Because air battles in the Pacific battlefield basically took place at medium and low altitudes, most Ming army fighters were only equipped with a one-stage, one-speed mechanical supercharger, and at this altitude they were not as fast as the XB-29.

This means that the interception window is very short, equivalent to only one attack opportunity.

On that day, a total of 14 Type 31-E and Type -J took off for combat, but the actual results achieved were very few.

What is not officially recorded is that a Genn interceptor actually flew that day, and the pilot was the deputy captain of the 1st Squadron of the 4th Interceptor Squadron of the Air Force.

This unit had just been transferred in the day before and was not yet ready for the attack, so the deputy team leader had to temporarily select an interceptor in the best condition to take off, but it did not return in the end and its whereabouts are unknown.

Like later generations, the Ming Air Force was also very fond of aiming high and putting forward some unrealistic technical indicators, unlike the pragmatic army.

The Yuannian interceptor "Yanxun" is such a product - it has advanced technical indicators and good performance on paper, but...

The Falcon uses a liquid-cooled V12 engine, has a power-to-weight ratio of 0.54, an exhaust gas turbocharger, and four 25.6mm machine guns. However, its reliability is questionable, failures are frequent, and its attendance rate is quite low.

For example, the First Interceptor Squadron deployed in Jiugang to defend the oil fields had only a quarter of its Yuan-style interceptors available for attack for a long time.

[The B-29 was a great deterrent to the Germans, which led to the creation of the Ta-152, a high-altitude specialized fighter with an extremely long wingspan.]

(End of this chapter)