Bombers Moon

As soon as March came, and like an alarm clock rang on time, Captain Millston put Chuck's name on his roster, meaning the Air Force sergeant was now on patrol every two days, rising at six and seven. Take off before [-]:[-] and patrol the southeast coast.Chuck doesn't have his own plane, so he can only borrow Louis' "wings", numbered DWRX, a well-maintained Type II Spitfire.There was a small piece of metal hanging from the rearview mirror, and Chuck didn't know what it was, and he certainly didn't intend to ask.Communication between him and Louie is currently limited to "good morning" and "goodbye."No one mentioned the cemetery on a full moon night.The second lieutenant had been very polite to him since that day, maybe a little too polite, dragging unnecessary courtesy and laying it between the two of them like caltrops, preventing Chuck from taking another step forward.

The patrol mission was largely uneventful, summed up by a scrawled "nothing happened" on the action sheet.If you encounter a German reconnaissance plane by chance, the content on the form will become "encounter an enemy reconnaissance plane, nothing will happen" or "chasing the reconnaissance plane, the enemy will leave quickly", depending on the mood of the day and the flying altitude of the reconnaissance plane .

The Royal Air Force was originally responsible for escorting the transport convoy, but the Germans gave up air raids after their defeat in the summer of 1940, and instead used U-boats to attack Allied ships. The escort mission was naturally transferred to the Royal Navy.This was disastrous for the "fish heads" (*01). The submarine not only sank the cargo ships coming from the United States and Canada, but also sent a large number of destroyers to the repair shop.The Navy and the Air Force were constantly asking to "do something" and sabotage the Nazi shipyards in Normandy and Brittany.When Chuck was taken into the Situation Room by Louis one gloomy Tuesday morning, he was presented with a magnified aerial photo of the ports on the northwestern coast of France marked with tiny blue flags.Captain Millston, propping his hands on the table, pondered the blue marks, looked up at the sound of the door opening, and smiled at Chuck like a loving badger.

"Is everything all right, Sergeant Sinclair? Like our little nest?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yesterday we had six ships sent to the bottom of the sea by submarines, two colliers and four cargo ships, three of which came from the United States. This cannot continue."

Chuck didn't know why the captain was telling him this, and he glanced at Louie, and the second lieutenant was looking at the photo intently, as if the rest of the situation room didn't exist. "Of course not, sir."

"The Combined Command felt it was time to put the 'Flying Fortress' to work."

"To Normandy?"

"No, go a little further south to Saint-Nazaire. There's a shipyard there. We and Hornchurch combined can send thirty Blenheims with you."

The captain stopped here, waiting for Chuck to draw his own conclusions.Chuck examined the photo, then glanced at the map pinned to the wall. Saint-Nazaire was also marked with a small blue flag, hiding under the Brittany peninsula, at the mouth of the Loire River.Chuck gradually saw the unsettling prospect: "Saint-Nazaire is out of range of the fire."

"Yeah, I can't give you cover," Louie interjected, still not looking at Chuck, "so the bombers can only operate at night to reduce the risk—"

"But night bombing can't guarantee accuracy at all. Not to mention small targets like shipyards, even Saint-Nazaire may not be found."

"Daytime attack is not in our consideration." Louis reiterated, looking at Chuck, "without fighter escort, the bomber team has almost no chance of survival."

"If I fast in and fast out—"

"No way, you can't hide from the radar. As soon as you're on the Channel, the Germans can see you."

"There must be another way."

"Sergeant, there are too many casualties in daytime operations, and night bombing is the best plan after considering various factors by experienced pilots."

"Really? How many submarine bases did the 'experienced pilots' blow up?"

Louis pursed his lips tightly, but did not answer.Chuck knew that he had hit a sore spot. The Royal Air Force's air strikes on the northwestern coast of France this year had little effect, but there were not many casualties.This is why the U.S. Eighth Bomber Fleet is reluctant to put its own aircraft into these missions that are disproportionate to loss and effect.

"Listen." Chuck picked up the slender wooden pole on the table and poked the coastline of France. This billiard cue-like thing is used by dispatchers to indicate the position of the aircraft formation during dogfights. , I would rather choose the method with the highest success rate, I can try to fly low all the way and avoid the radar—”

"You're going to get shot down by flak. There's no chance of success."

"No, you can definitely use fighter jets to distract—"

"Sergeant Sinclair, Second Lieutenant Linden, thank you for your opinions." Captain Millston joined the conversation gently, and walked between Louie and Chuck, as if worried that the two young pilots would start a fight. The squadron is trying to save the bombers, so we will operate at night for safety reasons. If the weather permits, we will leave the day after tomorrow in the evening, so your crew will be ready to go at any time."

"Yes, sir."

However, the weather was never "allowed". Rain clouds floated across the strait like a curtain of spider webs, blocking the air forces of both sides. However, the frequency of U-boat activities did not decrease, but increased. An American cargo ship carrying ammunition was sunk, and the "fish heads" urged the Air Force to act again.It was not until five days later, on the morning of March 3, that the clouds cleared and the sortie order finally slid down the command vine.In the evening, the B17 and sixteen Blenheim night bombers took off together, turned northeast under the command of the dispatcher, joined the fourteen bombers at the Hornchurch base above the strait, and headed for France in the night.

The cabin was so quiet that even Jody didn't speak, only Leo's voice occasionally broke the silence, reminding Chuck to adjust the course.There is also bright moonlight tonight, occasionally covered by thin clouds, and the wind speed is moderate, which is barely a good weather for attacking.With the help of moonlight, they could clearly see the British bombers flying neatly on both sides.There was silence on the radio.

Theoretically, they should have attracted the attention of the German radar station long ago, but it was not until the mouth of the Loire River came into view that the Nazi Air Force slowly appeared, and the two Me

110 Night Fighter, firing on them from the right rear, quickly disappeared into the darkness. The 31 British bombers immediately approached each other and formed a tight defensive formation, which not only facilitated the formation of crossfire, but also facilitated the mutual cover of the tail turrets.

"Jody," Chuck said.

"I know." The Heavy replied, "Give me two minutes and I can take them down."

However, those two Me

The 110s seemed to evaporate in the night sky, and every bomber's navigator and machine gunner was looking for them.With the sudden roar of machine guns, a Blenheim on the outside of the right wing was shot, burst into flames, and fell obliquely into the dark sea.

"Keep on course, don't scatter." Captain Milston's voice came over the radio, his bomber ahead of Chuck, in the middle of the line, "Heavy gunners keep an eye out for enemy planes. We're almost there, ready to drop bombs, over." "

B17 trembled suddenly, as if hitting some invisible obstacle, Me

The 110 hit the tail guard, and Jody fired back, but the black-painted Nazi fighter was very agile, pulled up quickly, and was out of sight again.They could hear bombers all around them firing at it, but they missed.

The second attack came in less than a minute, this time hitting the left side of the fuselage, the bullets still sweeping the steel guard with a horrible clang and no real damage.The German pilots undoubtedly took this conspicuous American bomber as their primary target, and Jody and the surrounding Blenheim kept asking Me

110 opened fire, but the two fighters still took turns swooping down and attacking B17.The wings on both sides were riddled with bullet holes, and the canopy was left with a dangerous crack by stray bullets.Chuck cursed in a low voice, gripped the joystick tightly, and lowered his altitude slightly. The other bombers gathered around and dispersed the firepower of the enemy fighters.

Clouds briefly covered the moon, and the bombers had flown over Saint-Nazaire. The ground was so dark that it was impossible to see anything, and they could only drop bombs in the general direction of the port and the shipyard.The flak joins this bloody serenade, another Blenheim is hit, their radios are on, their screams and cries fill the frequency band, then the fuel tank explodes and the flames burst into the darkness, disappear quickly.

Chuck had dropped all the HE and incendiary bombs and shed a considerable amount of weight, and the huge B17 was finally more nimble to dodge, but it didn't help significantly.Two black Me

110 is still chasing behind, the shield on the left side of the bomber has been shot into a honeycomb, and there is a terrible crack in the wing on the same side.

"Jordy!" Chuck raised his voice over the engine noise, "2 minutes is a long time coming!"

"Shut up!" the Heavy replied loudly, "Go right!"

Chuck did without thinking, and the bomber turned to the right, throwing the turret sights to the left, and the machine guns fired again, a Me

110 dragged fiery smoke into the sea, and the explosion briefly illuminated the dark waters.Another enemy plane turned around and left. It is not known whether it was because of the crash of its companion or insufficient fuel.Captain Millston gave the order for all to return, and the group of bombers, which had been beaten to pieces by fighter jets and anti-aircraft guns, regrouped and flew to the southwest in the pale moonlight.

Early the next morning, the British radio station reported the night air raid, portraying it as a heroic adventure, assuring listeners that it was a "great success".It wasn't until noon that Chuck realized how serious the actual casualties were last night. A total of five Blenheims were shot down, and two others made an emergency landing near the coast. Seven pilots died and three were injured.His own B17 had to be sent to the repair shop, which meant that it could no longer perform tasks for at least two days.To make matters worse, photos sent back by reconnaissance planes that day showed that the shipyard was only partially damaged, while the submarine base was almost unscathed.

Chuck went to the bar early, ordered a beer, sat restlessly for a while, and left without finishing his drink.He went to the command post first, but Louie wasn't there, nor was he in the hangar or break room.Chuck hesitated at the door of the lounge for a while, then went straight to the officer's quarters, found Louis' room, and knocked hard on the door.

"I want to go to Saint-Nazaire one more time," Chuck said before Louis could speak, after the door opened. "I have a plan."

Note 1:

"Fish head" is RAF slang for the Navy.