I asked you to escape, but you became a soldier in World War II

Chapter 143 The Industrial Heart of the Empire

When this group of grassroots officers were called to a meeting, there was still a commotion at the scene.

"The Ruhr Industrial Zone is known as the industrial heart of the Third Reich. If it is severely damaged, the impact on the German army will undoubtedly be huge, and it will also greatly accelerate the progress of the war. Our bombing target is the German fighter production factory!"

The mission was explained personally by Brigadier General Curtis LeMay (promoted in September 1943), a believer and practitioner of American strategic bombing thought and known as the "Eagle of the Cold War."

General LeMay had very high requirements for bombing, and it can be said that he single-handedly created the bombing tactics of the US Strategic Air Force.

"I know that everyone is very scared about this mission. This is because this is the German army's key defense area, almost all of the German army's ace fighter teams are nearby, and there are also dense anti-aircraft guns!" Li Mei glanced at everyone, took a deep puff of his cigar, and then slowly exhaled two smoke rings.

"But someone has to go. If you don't go and I don't go, then that damn industrial zone will just keep producing fighter planes and Tiger tanks! More people will die. Is that what you want to see?"

The young pilot officers below shook their heads solemnly.

"Our mission is to deliver a devastating bombing to the heart of the German army! We must make it begin to lose its blood-forming ability and completely destroy it!"

Li Mei's voice suddenly rose, which was very morale-boosting.

"Of course, many of us may not come back, but I can guarantee one thing, everything you do today, when you are old and sitting in a wheelchair, you will be extremely proud of your military experience, and your children will be proud of you!"

"Let's teach them a lesson!"

The emotions at the scene exploded at once, and Lin Chen was also very moved. These guys' adventurous spirit is really innate!

Through the decomposition and implementation of tasks by each squadron, Lin Chen finally knew the exact situation. This time, the bombers of the 150st Squadron of the Eighth Air Force could be said to have come out in full force, with a powerful air fleet consisting of about 17 Bs.

In addition, there were two fighter squadrons providing escort, one was the P47 fighter, and the other was the 342 Fighter Squadron in which Lin Chen had just participated in the battle.

Due to the serious reduction in the number of personnel in the bomber unit, Lin Chen was asked to fly a B17 bomber and serve as the deputy leader of Major Carl.

The next morning, the entire airport became busy. Ground crews got up early to refuel and load the fighter planes, and raced against time to conduct the final inspection of the fighter planes before takeoff.

Although they do not go to the front line, it is precisely because of their presence that all pilots can fly their planes away with peace of mind.

To be honest, Lin Chen was not very optimistic about the B17 bomber, because in his opinion, strategic bombing became easy only after the B29 Super Fortress was put into actual combat.

Not only is there a generation gap between the two, but they also have epoch-making progressive significance.

The B29 bomber has a longer range, faster speed, larger bomb load, and its defensive firepower has reached the pinnacle. Once hundreds of bombers are dispatched at the same time, it will be extremely difficult for enemy fighters to get close.

This was also the most important reason why Japan suffered so much in the later period.

However, what puzzled Lin Chen was that during World War II, the B29 never came to the British mainland to participate in the combat. Apart from the fact that this advanced fighter was unwilling to be revealed to the British, he could not think of a more reasonable explanation.

As the fighter planes took off one after another, the "Black Widow" bomber piloted by Lin Chen slowly drove out of the apron and began to "walk like an elephant" with the large fleet.

The scene was still spectacular.

The previous captain of his bomber was seriously injured, but he still managed to fly it back.

Even Major Karl praised him for being a great guy.

When he took over, the cockpit was full of blood. It was hard to imagine what kind of pain the captain had endured.

So after Lin Chen succeeded as captain, he not only did not have any complaints about the transfer from the fighter unit to the bomber unit, but was full of respect.

In war, any soldier who fights bravely deserves respect.

"Brothers! I will lead you out and will also bring you back!" Lin Chen said loudly to his crew members through the walkie-talkie. This was actually what he said to himself as well.

These people are the leftovers from the previous crew, and there are also temporary additions, but overall it can be considered a veteran crew.

They also knew that Lin Chen was a very skilled pilot, despite his very short flying experience.

But what does it matter? Many of them have never even seen an airplane before, but now they have all become machine gunners and bombardiers, right?
"Lieutenant Rick, hurry up and check the status of the plane one last time before it leaves the ground!" Lin Chen gave the order to his deputy.

"Okay, sir!" Rick actually had some ideas in his mind. He had a great hope of being promoted to captain. He was a graduate of a serious air force academy. However, a "self-taught" guy like Lin Chen became his superior and blocked the captain position that should have belonged to him.

It's a bit depressing really.

However, he still checked everything responsibly, "All instruments and equipment show normal conditions!"

The plane had undergone a major overhaul, so he did not dare to take it lightly, but he only checked the instruments, because many problems only began to slowly reveal themselves once the plane was in the sky, which was also very helpless.

"Okay, I hope this old friend can perform at its best and help us complete this mission."

"Guys, hold on tight!"

With a loud shout, he began to increase the power, the four huge engines of the B17 began to roar, and the speed of the plane suddenly increased.

The speed was getting faster and faster, and finally, it left the ground and climbed upwards.

The B17 has greater power and payload, but it also makes more noise. However, in such a life-threatening battle, the key is to be able to successfully complete the mission.

Its protection and firepower are both highly praised by the US Air Force.

"The clouds are very thick, sir!" Rick still felt a little innately panicked when he saw the thick fog around him.

"Don't worry, as long as we maintain our heading and airspeed, there will be no problem. The tower on the ground will guide us to complete the assembly."

Although Lin Chen was comforting him, he was actually a little nervous. People's fear of the unknown is often extremely strong.

"Command Center, this is the Black Widow. The clouds are quite thick. Please help us find the way!"

"'Black Widow', there's no problem. There are no planes ahead of you, just fly boldly!" From the command center's point of view, isn't it normal to have some clouds?
Lin Chen smiled bitterly, feeling that his question was a bit amateurish.

As the altitude continued to rise, the fog began to thin, and more and more bombers began to gather.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation.

"Damn it!" Because above their heads, a shadow of a B17 appeared. "Oh, God, we're going to collide!" Rick screamed in fear.

"Shut up!" Lin Chen urgently pressed down the joystick, which saved the plane from danger.

Fortunately, he had this early warning instinct, otherwise he would have died before he could accomplish his mission.

"Is that the Big Bird? Why is it flying so low?" Rick was still frightened.

"Maybe we are flying too fast. Never mind. We will soon fly out of the clouds and get ready to meet up with the main force and form a formation." Lin Chen did not want to blame the friendly aircraft. It was difficult to say who was responsible for such a thing.

"Okay, sir."

"Don't be so jumpy next time. This is not good. You are an officer and you should set an example!" Lin Chen criticized Rick a few words. He didn't want his co-pilot to be a fool.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again next time!" Rick also felt a little ashamed.

Fortunately, the rest of the flight went relatively smoothly. After more than 20 minutes, the huge group of B17 bombers finally formed a formation and flew towards the northern coastline of the Netherlands.

The distance between the channels is not far, but since the destination is the Ruhr industrial area, they chose to take a detour via the Netherlands, which would make the time in the air a little longer.

More than twenty minutes later, the escorting fighter group finally arrived. Lin Chen roughly counted and found that there were about 50 fighters, including more than 20 "Mustang" fighters. This should be the maximum number that his squadron could dispatch.

Many people flew around him and greeted him, which was considered a high recognition of his achievements.

After another forty minutes, the coastline of continental Europe came into sight.

Since the German army had begun to guard against the Allies opening up a second front in the coastal areas of France, many military facilities had begun to be built. However, in the Netherlands, since there were no conditions for a large-scale landing, the defense facilities were still relatively weak.

When the large fleet of planes passed by, the German anti-aircraft posts on the ground immediately discovered the enemy situation.

However, due to the thick cloud layer and the fact that the B17 was flying too high, the German anti-aircraft firepower was minimal.

Maybe the German army didn't want to waste their precious ammunition, because everyone entered the airspace of the German-occupied area smoothly.

The scenery in the Netherlands is very beautiful. If there were no war, it would definitely be a great place to travel. But now it has become a vassal under the iron hoof of the German army, and it is said that the people cannot even get enough food.

"Attention, there are enemy planes at 3 o'clock! All crews, pay attention, maintain a tight formation and do not separate!" Carl reminded loudly on the walkie-talkie.

The P47 fighter squadron immediately rushed forward, and the "Mustang" fighter squadron, carrying auxiliary fuel tanks, still looked around vigilantly.

The fighter planes of both sides engaged in a fierce battle in the air. It was obvious that the German fighter unit that came over was experienced. They formed formations in groups and fully utilized the flexibility and high speed advantages of the BF109 fighter planes.

The P47 fighter planes were obviously unable to keep up, but thanks to their desperate fighting style, they were able to fight the Germans on equal terms.

Fighter planes from both sides were constantly shot down, and generally speaking, the American fighter planes suffered greater losses. When a small number of German fighter planes broke through the defense circle and entered the firing range of the B17, the machine guns on the B17 bomber quickly opened fire.

A dense network of fire covered the area and was quickly beaten back.

Seeing that it was difficult to gain an advantage, the German fighter planes gave up fighting and quickly left the battlefield.

The bomber group only lost two planes, which is pretty good.

As we flew further into the heart of Germany, the anti-aircraft fire on the ground became noticeably more intense, with black fireworks exploding one after another beside the bomber.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a B17 was hit in the nose, and the plane lost its cockpit and began to plummet.

"Hurry up and jump out of the sky!" Everyone's heart was in their throat.

But the bomber obviously lost its balance, rolled in the air, and soon turned into a fireball and rushed straight to the ground.

No one skydived, sadly.

"In such a situation, people will lose consciousness very quickly and won't have time to react." Jamie, the bomb dropper behind him, is a veteran who has flown 20 missions.

"Attention, all crews! We are about to fly to the west of the Ruhr Industrial Zone. This is the area with the most dense anti-aircraft fire. Everyone, please pray to God!"

Fuck, it turns out that was just an appetizer?
Everyone also looked at each other.

Soon, the German firepower became obviously more intensive than before.

The shrapnel flew around the plane and hit the fuselage, making a clanging sound, which was like a death note.

"Boom!" A B17 was hit on its right wing. After the wing broke, the plane quickly spiraled down.

While everyone was still observing whether anyone would parachute, the bomber in front of the "Black Widow" was hit in the oil line and quickly caught fire. A desperate cry for help was heard over the intercom.

"Oh my god, it's all fire, hurry up and get the fire extinguisher. Ah it's over, we're done, oh my god, I don't want to die! Ah!"

"Boom!" A violent explosion was heard, and some fragments hit Lin Chen and his bomber. By the way, a piece of human intestine also flew over, and bright red blood slid mercilessly on the cockpit glass.

These were very shocking to Lin Chen. This was completely different from fighting on the ground. It was simply hell!

He turned on the windshield wipers and scraped away the intestines, but the blood was still there, as if reminding everyone that this was their fate.

The surrounding bombers were constantly being hit, accompanied by desperate shouts and cries, which repeatedly ravaged everyone's tense nerves. This is the most heart-wrenching aspect of strategic bombing.

You don’t even know if you are “next”; everything depends on God’s will.

Rick, the co-pilot sitting next to Lin Chen, was obviously very frightened and kept muttering to himself. Needless to say, he must have prayed to all the gods and demons he knew, hoping that they would show mercy and lend him a helping hand despite their busy schedule.

I turned my head and looked back, and found that everyone was the same, holding the cross on their chests tightly and praying devoutly.

Those who did not have a cross also silently took out photos of their loved ones and expressed their final thoughts and feelings.

Although Lin Chen understood, they also understood that all this was in vain.

(End of this chapter)