A C69 fast transport plane with a beautiful streamlined appearance roared under the escort of four 61 fighters, and before the army's "Bay 10" airfield near Valparaiso Bay, the ground crew of the airport ignited the gasoline in the trenches on both sides of the runway, and two straight fire snakes appeared in the darkness, which was very eye-catching.
C69 in the sky quickly spotted the fire below to guide the plane's landing, circled and began to descend, and a few minutes later, the plane's downing gear slammed into the hard runway.
The C69 is a military version of the 049 Constellation passenger aircraft developed by Lockheed from 1939.
Not only does it have a huge range of 7,405 km, but it also has a top speed of 531 km/h and can carry up to 93 passengers.
Such outstanding performance makes this C69 the best personnel transport aircraft in the hands of the US military.
Although the total amount of equipment is small because of the high price, it is only important people who are transported.
Whenever there is a place near the front line, there must be an important person to inspect it.
On the tarmac of the "bay" airport, Brigadier General Albert Weidemeyer, chief of staff of the 10th Army of the US Army, was already waiting there with a respectful expression, and the attachés who followed him were all standing with the highest standards.
Watching the plane slowly slide to the tarmac illuminated by the searchlights, the fuselage slowly stopped, and then the hatch opened, and the escalator was quickly lowered.
In the miserable white light, I saw a big bald Admiral Eisenhower walking down with a very serious expression.
He was followed by staff officers of the Allied South American Theater Command and, of course, General Eisenhower's staff.
The four-star general of the U.S.
Army now serves as commander-in-chief of the Allied South American Command, with full responsibility for the South American continent with the exception of Venezuela, Guyana and Colombia.
He was now rushing from his headquarters in Panama to Valparaiso Bay, which was on the front line, precisely to urge the 10th Army to liberate Santiago, the capital of Chile, as soon as possible.
Eisenhower, who was walking towards the plane, glanced around on the tarmac, and did not see Lieutenant General Bradley, the commander of the 10th Army, so he asked Brigadier General Weidemeyer, who was saluting him: "Albert, what about Omar, is it now organizing the siege of the 14th Air Force outside San Diego, is it that Lieutenant General Chennault of the 14th Air Force has violated my orders and piloted the plane to bomb Buenos Aires?"
The night bombardment of Buenos Aires has been going on for almost a month, with 100,200 American planes delivering nearly 200 tons of bombs to Juan Perón every night.
However, the losses of the Americans themselves were not small, they lost nearly 500 fighters in just one month, and many senior officials of the 14th Air Force disappeared when they personally led the team on the expedition, in order to avoid the loss of senior officers, Eisenhower ordered that officers above the lieutenant colonel level of the 14th Air Force should be prohibited from flying planes in person, but Lieutenant General Chennault often violated this order.
Brigadier General Weidemeyer led Eisenhower towards the car waiting outside the airport, and replied: "Lieutenant General Bradley has gone to the front line in San Diego to inspect the situation, the situation on the front line is not very good, the casualties of all the troops are heavy, and the morale is also a little low.
Not only did they encounter stubborn resistance from the German army and the New Asbanian army at the front, but from time to time they were attacked by partisans, and the situation in the Valparaiso region was also unstable, and there were few adherents of the government of Free Chile, without which it was impossible to establish rule anywhere. ” "How could the Chileans not support us," Eisenhower wondered.
Weidemeyer smiled bitterly: "General, Valparaiso is an area inhabited by European immigrants, and most of the residents are descendants of German and French immigrants. ” "It's Germans who are making trouble," Eisenhower shook his head, "It's hateful" Of course, it is the Germans here in Chile who do not love democracy and freedom, not the Germans like Eisenhower and Weidemeyer who are fighting for the freedom and liberation of the Chilean people.
However, Eisenhower only said that it was hateful, and he would not give the order to take drastic measures against Chilean Germans, which was a serious war crime, and now it seems that the United States is not the side that will win, so it is better to be careful.
The two were about to get into the car when they heard a roar overhead.
Above the night sky swept by searchlights from time to time, dozens of planes flew in neat formations from the east.
These were the B14 and 17 of the 61st Air Force of the US Army, having completed the bombing of Buenos Aires, flew back to their base in Valparaiso Bay.
The night bombing of Buenos Aires is now on track, with around 200 warplanes, including B17, B24 and 61, going to bomb the capital of the New Commonwealth of Asbania every night, weather permitting.
However, such bombing was not easy, and the American planes would encounter interception by a group of HE219 and S91 interceptors in the sky west of Buenos Aires, as well as anti-aircraft artillery and a "mysterious rocket weapon" over Buenos Aires, with an average loss rate of 15 For night bombing, the loss rate of 15 buildings is astronomical "Admiral," Weidemeyer told Eisenhower, "Lieutenant General Chennault may have returned, and he had gone tonight to see for himself the rocket weapons of the Germans."
He suspected it was a radar-guided surface-to-air missile."
"Surface-to-air missiles," Eisenhower took a breath, "then let's wait for Lieutenant General Chennault." ” Lieutenant General Chennault did not go to Buenos Aires in a B17, but in a Type 61F radar alert plane equipped with the S-band of the ANAS 20 radar to Buenos Aires, and the role of this aircraft is similar to that of the German BV138E, but it is not that the Americans copied the German design, but the model developed by the Americans themselves.
In addition to the Type 61F radar alert aircraft owned by the Army Aviation, the US Naval Aviation also has a TB3W radar alert aircraft with similar performance.
Lieutenant General Chennault, who was flying on the 61F, circled over Buenos Aires for more than an hour and witnessed a fierce air battle.
Compared to the Japanese planes that Chennault encountered over the Palembang, Brunei and Balikpapan oil refineries, the skies over Buenos Aires were a hell of fire. 91, and there are much more anti-aircraft guns, and there are also radio proximity fuse shells.
But what frightened American pilots the most was the kind of rocket weapons that seemed to have eyes.
This weapon is not only particularly accurate, basically 24 pieces can be replaced by a B17, but also very powerful, hit by it is a plane crash and death, there is no chance to parachute at all.
"Admiral," Chennault reported to Eisenhower immediately after meeting him about the German surface-to-air missiles, "and according to my observations, the Germans do possess a guided rocket weapon.
There should be 68 launchers in the city of Buenos Aires, and they can fire 68 rockets at a time, an average of 3 to shoot down a B17 or B24, and they are so powerful that it is almost impossible for the crew members of the hit aircraft to survive. ” At the headquarters of the Army's 14th Air Force near the "bay" airfield, Chennault told Eisenhower everything he had seen that evening.
"If you were to launch a daytime bombardment of 1,000 planes, would it be possible for this guided rocket to cause great damage?"
Eisenhower asked.
"A thousand planes bombing during the day" Chennault gasped, is this going to be desperate Eisenhower nodded, "The Air Force is going to launch a thousand-plane bombing, and the 10th Army is going to attack San Diego, and if all goes well, it may be able to bring a decent peace to the United States." ” He looked at a rough face with a surprised expression, "Claire, there's no problem with the 14th Air Force."
"No problem."
"The Germans deployed a limited number of guided rockets in Buenos Aires to shoot many planes," Chennault said.
And the number of their daytime fighters is not very large, and it is estimated that the loss rate of a daytime bombing of a thousand planes will not exceed 15. ” The loss rate of 15 is not low, but if a decent peace can really be blown up, the price is acceptable.
Seeing that Chennault's brow was still wrinkled, Eisenhower asked, "How can the loss rate of 15 be unbearable?"
"No," said Chennault, shaking his head, "Admiral, I fear that the Germans will put their guided rockets in Buenos Aires on warships.
Then our situation in the Atlantic will be even more unfavorable. ” At present, the United States relies on the numerical superiority of shore-based aircraft in the Atlantic, and in the waters near the most critical island of Trinidad, the Americans have concentrated more than 4,000 shore-based aircraft.
However, the German naval aviation can concentrate only 1,500 carrier-based aircraft, and even if you count the long-range shore-based aircraft, the air force that can be invested is only more than 2,000, and the strength is obviously at a disadvantage.
Free novels bring you joy and joy ---> storyskyline.net
But if the Germans install 100,200 missile launchers on surface ships, then the numerical superiority of the United States in aircraft will immediately be greatly reduced Eisenhower was silent for a while, then nodded and said, "Claire, you write a report and send it to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I think we can always find a way to deal with it."
In addition, the 14th Air Force should prepare for a daytime bombardment of Buenos Aires as soon as possible, preferably in December. ” t1706231537: