Iron Cross

This jaw-dropping result of 77:4 was the answer submitted by the super aces. They used their world-unparalleled combat technology and world-dominating fighter performance to teach the four-engine heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force a vivid lesson.

In this battle known as the "Berlin Bombing", the total number of aircraft that finally returned to the UK alive, including those that returned early due to mechanical failures, drifting and other reasons, totaled 293. LeMay led the team The total number of aircraft that entered the North Sea was as high as 1,417, and the battle damage rate exceeded 80%. Even of the nearly 300 aircraft that returned alive, more than 40 were seriously damaged and basically scrapped.

After paying such a heavy price, the US military fleet achieved pitiful results: the nearest bomb to the Brandenburg Gate was more than 70 meters away, and very few shrapnel hit this famous building; 2 bombs hit the courtyard of the Chancellery. , blasting two large craters and destroying a lot of greenery; some of the other bombs deviated from the direction and entered residential areas, causing about 70 casualties; the only commendable result was to destroy the small dome on the left side of the Berlin Cathedral. It collapsed and four priests died.

Jeshunek in the air defense tower was originally very happy about the outcome of the battle, but when he heard that the Prime Minister's Office was hit by a bomb, his smiling face immediately fell down and he roared: "Quick, hurry up and rescue!"

Then he dialed the phone with trembling hands, and soon heard Hoffman's laughter: "The air raid is over? How was the fight?"

"The enemy aircraft suffered heavy losses, but it seems that the Berlin Cathedral and the Chancellery were hit by bombs."

"Berlin Cathedral?" Hoffman couldn't help but frown, "The Prime Minister's Office shouldn't be a big problem. I barely feel it."

That evening, Hoffman received a complete battle report:

86 Fw-190s were lost, 14 pilots were killed in action, the rest successfully parachuted and were rescued, 3 were injured after parachuting;

Me-262 lost 74 aircraft, 9 pilots were killed in action, the rest successfully parachuted, and basically no one was injured.

"Did Storm Bird lose any instructors?"

"Six were shot down and two were lost due to malfunction, but all were successfully parachuted and rescued."

"The jet's loss is not small, nearly 30%." Hoffman was a little surprised by this.

"There are many factors." Garland reported, "About 47 aircraft were shot down in the battle, and 27 were abandoned voluntarily due to injuries, malfunctions, or students who were not sure of landing successfully; among the 47 shot down, there were There are several situations, one is actually being shot down by machine gun fire, especially when launching rockets for the first time. Because of the high speed, some students wanted to observe the results of the battle more after launching, but ended up rushing into the enemy's effective range and were shot down. Shot down; one is due to mechanical failure during the battle, the enemy machine gun bullets and metal fragments left after the on-site explosion are inhaled by the jet engine and cause a malfunction and the aircraft has to be abandoned; the last is a plane that crashes due to pure mechanical failure, but Most of them are type B who are immature, and type C is much better.”

Jeshunek added: "Jets are epoch-making products, and the failure rate is indeed higher than that of piston fighters. In the past four months, more than 50 aircraft have crashed during training. If they were piston aircraft, they would have been grounded long ago, but jets It’s a new product and everyone understands it.”

"Then you can practice parachuting?"

Jeshunek and Garland looked at each other and said sheepishly: "That's true. The first lesson for every student is to strengthen parachuting training, and then to keep the queue in order. As for fighting skills..."

"It's really bad." Garland added humorously, "One of the reasons is that the aircraft is too fast to maneuver. The training priorities are clearly stipulated in the training syllabus. The jet's primary target is the enemy's heavy bomber. To deal with fighter jets, It is not their mission, and the instructors do not have strict requirements for combat skills. Success is considered successful if they can successfully launch rockets, use up all the cannon ammunition and safely escape - aiming and firing at a high speed of 800-900 kilometers is much more difficult than firing at 600 kilometers. , these children may be completely transformed after 4-5 injections.”

"Do you think the time is ripe for large-scale equipment?"

Several senior executives nodded unanimously. The results of the jet today are obvious to all. If 200 novices flew piston fighters to attack today, the losses might not be so great, but the results would certainly not be so great. If calculated from an economic perspective, today's results are absolutely cost-effective - although the Me-262 is much more expensive than the Fw-190, it is still much cheaper than the B-17, not to mention that the jet is still in pre-production and amortizing R\u0026D costs. In the high-cost stage, Fw-190 has long entered the low-cost area of ​​mass production. Fw-1109 was much more expensive at first, but now the price is basically the same.

"Very good, since you have unanimously agreed to expand mass production in July, you can prepare on a scale of four fighter wings." Hoffman smiled, "If the rapid training method for jet pilots becomes possible, it will be possible in the future Build 40 jet fighter wings and see how many heavy bombers the Americans can build to fight us!”

Everyone laughed, and the haze that had been shrouded in British and American strategic air strikes began to gradually dissipate.

When leaving, Jeshunek took out a pair of "dog tags" from his briefcase and handed them to Hoffman: "This was found on a corpse at the scene. After identification by the prisoner, it was believed to be Brigadier General Curtis LeMay. He is the supreme commander of this bombing operation and serves as the bomber wing commander of the Eighth Air Force.”

"LeMay?" Hoffman was stunned for a moment, thinking: This guy seems to be unable to bomb Japan, I wonder who will take his place in the future.

"Put all these nameplates away and register them properly, Minister Goebbels will use them."

Just as the German side was celebrating happily, Lieutenant General Karl-Andrew Spaatz, commander of the Eighth Air Force, was crying and sobbing in the headquarters. Several staff officers and adjutants were afraid that he would be unable to think straight for a while, so they not only took away his gun, but also took away all the dangerous things in the office, such as table knives, fruit knives, razors, ropes, etc.

Before this operation, Lieutenant General Spaatz knew that the task of air raiding Berlin was not easy to complete, but Arnold said that the president was under great pressure. After the failure of chasing the Axis aircraft carrier formation, the retaliatory bombing of Berlin was almost the only life-saving straw, so the task must be completed-even if it suffered higher losses.

To this end, Lieutenant General Spaatz not only mobilized troops and escort fighters to the greatest extent possible, but also ordered LeMay to design an air raid route that would break through the North Sea, bypass the periphery of the Netherlands and then enter Germany, in order to reduce the number of air raids intercepted by enemy aircraft. Given that the Eighth Air Force's losses were concentrated at around 15% each time, he quietly raised the loss rate of this operation to 20% in his mind.

In the afternoon, after he received a telegram from LeMay that was almost like a farewell telegram, he was so anxious that he was at a loss. He wanted to send a telegram to inform LeMay to give up the action several times, but he hesitated again when he saw the telegram from Arnold on the table, and finally did not issue an order to retreat.

In the evening, he asked all officers to enter the telecommunications room to make calls, and asked medical soldiers, fire trucks, rescue aircraft, etc. to be on the scene, but the response was very few. It was not until 9 o'clock in the evening that the number of aircraft that successfully returned did not exceed 300.

The anxious lieutenant general caught people at the scene and asked: "What's going on?"

Everyone was dejected: "The enemy sent out strange planes, and we suffered heavy losses. God, it was almost a hell..."

"Did you see General LeMay's plane?"

Some people answered no, or the scene was chaotic and unclear. Only one person answered that he seemed to see the command plane being hit.

The lieutenant general's heart sank to the bottom of the valley, and he waited at the airport with the last bit of luck - he didn't dare to go back to the camp, he was afraid to see the empty dormitory and a pair of helpless eyes. In the middle of the night, the maximum time that the B-17 fuel could theoretically last passed, but no miracle came...

After Berlin fell asleep, Washington, which had a 6-hour time difference, was staging a fierce questioning. This was the second congressional questioning in a short period of time.

Hundreds of congressmen gathered together, staring at the man in the wheelchair with bright eyes. He had given people confidence when the United States was on the verge of collapse. He led the United States on the road of sustainable development. He had the foresight to expand the army in advance and made the greatest possible preparations for the United States for war.

Now, the United States is facing an unprecedented crisis, and everyone, no matter which party he belongs to, hopes that the president can turn the tide and come up with a response.

"Was there a problem of poor command and improper response in the Panama Campaign? Did General Fletcher lose a battle in which we had an advantage and the upper hand?"

"Our national strength far exceeds the sum of the Axis powers, but the war situation has been unfavorable in the past year, or to be exact, in the past 9 months. Who do you think should bear the main responsibility?"

"We have tried our best to support Britain and Russia, but so far we have not seen any results from them in resisting and containing German aggression. Should we continue to adhere to this policy?"

"Mr. President, did we receive an early warning before New York was bombed? Were the relevant air defense measures sufficient and reasonable? Was there a problem of improper command?"

"Excuse me, Your Excellency, in the face of the current unfavorable situation that the East Coast may be further attacked by German air forces, How should we respond to this situation? "

"The Germans have repeatedly expressed their willingness to reconcile with us. Can we temporarily cease fire and prioritize solving the Japanese problem? Can we prioritize allocating resources to the Far East and the Pacific battlefields? "

"We have been working hard to promote air strikes against the Axis Group, but from the actual situation, the enemy does not seem to have been effectively harmed, and the output of major weapons and equipment has steadily increased. Is this strategy completely futile? "

"What is the response strategy for the German attack on Madagascar and the threat to South Africa? "

"What should the United States do in the future? "

"Everyone, please be quiet. Before answering these questions, I would like to ask Director Edgar Hoover to make a special report. "

The excited meeting hall was silent, and all eyes were focused on Hoover.