Chapter 1186: First Strike
Just as the Luftwaffe was preparing for the final blow on Naples, Grim of the Lancers was preparing for the plan that was about to come out. Just when the Kaiser was thinking about how to knock the Entente at the negotiating table once after winning the war, what the Allies did not expect was that the strategic air force of the Entente that had been hidden was finally dispatched!
In the morning light, from various airports in Sicily and Naples, one plane after another flew into the air in the morning light, and after all the planes were in place, they formed a huge formation and flew towards the target area, and one bomber squadron after another joined this complex formation, making the whole group appear even larger. And when they flew over the Naples area, they were joined by fighters taking off from aircraft carriers, spreading out above, in front, on both wings and behind the bomber group. A complete air defense network has been formed, and a huge fleet of more than 400 aircraft of various types has accompanied the footsteps of the rising sun to the battlefield! What the? Where are the heavy bombers, you ask, for the British? Sorry, they didn't go the same way as this unit, and because of the cruising speed, they took off a little earlier.
Such a large fleet of aircraft simply could not be concealed, and this deadly air fleet was discovered by multiple German air defense posts and aircraft in charge of guarding. However, due to light and weather, they did not know the size and objectives of this flight formation, and the aircraft in charge of reconnaissance were also driven away by the escort aircraft. Only a huge figure looming between the clouds could be seen. Even so, the alert was quickly transmitted to the Luftwaffe command at all levels, and the airfields began to get busy, with planes being rolled out of the tarmac and then loaded with fuel and ammunition and taken to the runway by tractors, ready to take off.
"There are about ten minutes left to enter the radar warning zone of the other side. Ready to get started. "As the order was given, the electronic warfare aircraft, which opened the way for the entire fleet, began to operate at full capacity, after further verifying the operating frequency of the opposing radar. Electronic jammers begin to carry out targeted jamming on the radar, and once they enter the radar warning area. The aircraft responsible for throwing chaff and jamming ropes will also be started.
"Damn, what's wrong with these machines today? Murmur again? A German radar operator angrily fiddled with the equipment in front of him, why didn't he listen to what was fine just now? Is the antenna outside malfunctioning again? It's not the first time this damn device has had a problem, and all sorts of false positives happen from time to time. But today, when the opponent's massive bomber group is coming, it will be a big deal if this kind of thing happens again! Almost simultaneously, all German front-line radars were covered by jamming waves.
"Something is wrong." A major in charge of the radar station next to him keenly discovered that today's anomaly could not be accidental, even if the radar of this era is not reliable. But it can't all be bad! From other devices, he could sense that there was a radio wave of a similar frequency to his own interfering with the radar's detection! "A device has appeared on the other side to render our radar useless!" A terrible thought popped out of the major's head!
"Sir, the radar is back to normal." At this moment, a non-commissioned officer said happily, but then the alarm of discovering a large number of enemy planes made the radar station, which had just been cheering, instantly freeze. The non-commissioned officers quickly returned to their combat positions, ready to determine the opponent's position and guide the fighters to intercept the opponent!
"Damn, I knew something was going to happen to this thing!" A technician fiddling with the jammer on a twin-engine bomber slammed his fist into the malfunctioning machinery. The Germans' radar is sometimes unreliable, and the jammers of the Entente countries sometimes have problems, and when several jammers have problems, then the power of the jamming party will be greatly reduced, and if the other side increases the radar output, it is possible to penetrate the jamming wave through powerful electromagnetic waves. This is called burn-through. …
"Hey. Sometimes the simpler things are, the more practical they are. The operator saw that bundles of chaff and jamming ropes began to be thrown from the plane behind him, and the chaff strips that shone with silver-white brilliance began to drift away with the wind, and the jamming ropes of various shapes formed a huge reflector that blocked the irradiation of the radar beam. Several radars of enemy aircraft were occasionally found to be out of function again, while German fighter units, which were on standby in the air, were constantly circling in the air. They don't know where their targets are, and they don't know how many enemies are waiting for them. The air safety corridor formed by the jamming wave and chaff extended all the way, smoothly opening a safe passage in the German radar warning area, and hundreds of planes flew along the gap to the target, while the German fighter units could only spread out and use their eyes to find the incoming aircraft group, even if they found the opponent, they could only be in the situation of fighting more with less!
Before the changes on the battlefield could reach the Allied headquarters in the Balkans, airfields in places such as *Liberia began to take remedial measures on their own, although they were uncertain about the route of the attacking fleet. But the general direction is still understood, and airfields in places such as Leigh and Foliño began to release more fighters. At this point, the radar is no longer very useful. The only way is to use the number of planes and use human eyes to form an air defense network. But it is a pity that the situation of the war has developed to this point too late, and even if the Germans try hard, it is absolutely impossible for the fighters who take off temporarily to block the attack of hundreds of aircraft! Many planes had just taken off and were in the climbing stage, when the opposing fighters had already begun to dive and attack, and the bombs also came out of the bomb magazine and fell to the airfield on the ground and the rows of planes on the airfield!
The anti-aircraft guns hidden around the airfield began to fire into the air, and countless shells exploded in the air. In the chaotic battlefield, the anti-aircraft gunners did not even have the opportunity to distinguish between the enemy and the enemy, but subconsciously aimed at all the targets that could be seen to attack, several German planes were taken down by the anti-aircraft guns behind them shortly after take-off as enemy planes that were diving, and the number of heavy anti-aircraft guns was not much, plus because the opponent's back to the sunlight entered the range deviation, they could play a role in dispersing the opponent's bombing formation, unless they were extremely unlucky and were hit by 88mm shells, Otherwise, generally speaking, it will not be too much of a problem to be wiped by shrapnel at most.
Truly lethal are those 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns! The ultra-high rate of fire, large number and huge power have become the great enemy of low-altitude horizontal bombers. When the Entente planes approached the airport, countless fire snakes flew into the air as if suddenly out of the ground, the two bombers couldn't dodge and were directly removed from one of their wings and then plunged into the open space next to the airport, the explosion caused by several tons of aviation fuel and the ammunition on board tore several ground support vehicles next to them to pieces, and the personnel who had no time to avoid were also directly cremated.
These anti-aircraft guns equipped with a half-track chassis can change their position at any time, and a certain amount of armor protection also greatly reduces the suppression effect of fighters. And under the dense anti-aircraft fire, the fighter did not dare to fly too low, otherwise a 15mm machine gun could be shot down.
When breaking through the blockade of anti-aircraft artillery fire, the attack aircraft group paid some price, but soon, when the pilots saw the busy ground crew, vehicles and planes on the tarmac on the ground, they found that their efforts were worth it! Rows of bombs rained down on tarmacs, runways, and warehouses. It turns out that even if it is an Italian airport, the Italians naturally know it well. The sound of explosions and waves of air swept through the airport over and over again, overturning and shattering planes one after another. The Germans were like ants in the midst of the fire, and just a few weeks ago, German bombers had swept through Italian cities with impunity, bringing disaster and destruction. And now, it's your opponent's turn! …
In addition to attacking the most important airfields, the surrounding barracks and field airfields were also attacked by bomber forces, with hundreds of planes hovering and roaring at medium and low altitudes, scattering a rain of bullets representing death to the ground. Search for everything that moves, then destroy it. In just a few dozen minutes, under the concentrated attack of more than 100 bombers, the airfield and other surrounding facilities were completely paralyzed. At the same time, the situation at the front was transmitted to Kesselring's command.
"Order the fighters from other areas to quickly assemble in the direction of *Li, what is the other side doing this time? Are they crazy? "Kesselring couldn't figure it out, it was the last moment, why were the Entente still fighting so hard? What did you do earlier if you had this strength? In fact, you can figure it out from another angle, this is the last battle, if you don't participate in the war again, you won't have a chance to pass the actual combat test! Of course, at this time, you can't dwell on these things, and how to save the situation is the most important thing.
"According to intelligence, the number of aircraft on the other side is 500, and more than half of them are fighters, and the other side is very tenacious and fierce. An officer Hui reported.
"Huh?! 500 planes? More than half are fighters? Kesselring fell into deep thought, and for a moment he suddenly discovered a very important problem, that is, the opponent's fighter force was almost empty! The entire sky over Naples can be described as a wide open door, and even if the opponent retreats immediately, counting the return time and the time to replenish ammunition and fuel, it will take several hours. At this time, if you send a bomber force to bomb Naples, the effect should be very good! Kesselring had a flash of inspiration in his mind and came up with a way to not only free himself from doubt, but also to deal a blow to his opponent!
Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward ~~~~~~. (To be continued)