Chapter 619: 619 I hope they are okay
Chapter 619619 I hope they are okay
Some things are actually very wonderful, and luck and misfortune are often just a relative comparison process.
If these pilots were lucky, then they would not be hit and crashed when hundreds of aircraft were bombing in formation.
But if they were unfortunate, at least dozens of pilots confirmed the location of their crash and watched them break away from the formation, dragging black smoke and falling into the sea.
On the radio channel, many pilots were reporting the news that a Flying Fortress had been shot down, and everyone was reporting what they saw.
On a flying fortress that had returned, the captain grabbed the intercom and reported everything he saw: "Tower! Tower! A flying fortress was hit! Yes! I don't know what hit it, but it's definitely not the one that was hit. It's malfunctioning...it's smoking..."
On another plane, after hearing the commanders' confirmation questions, the captain held the intercom and replied: "I know, the smoke may be a malfunction, but it does seem that it may have been hit! I can't judge, I couldn't break away from the formation to confirm whether it really crashed!"
Since the enemy's artillery fire cannot be seen, it is impossible to confirm whether the friendly flying fortress was shot down by just visual observation.
After all, a row of inconspicuous bullet holes cannot be seen clearly from a long distance. As for the smoking engine... a faulty engine may also be smoking...
Therefore, when some pilots reported the situation, they could only describe it as vaguely as possible: "I saw one of its engines smoking, and it seemed that the flight attitude was uncontrollable. Yes, I don't know if it was a mechanical failure."
"The enemy did not use tracer bullets. I can't see what weapon it was hit by. Yes, it can't be confirmed." As he spoke, the pilot in another plane with a relatively good vision was also talking about the same thing.
At the end of the bombing, many pilots saw the fallen Flying Fortress bomber.
Other pilots were reporting the approximate coordinates of the crash: "The approximate coordinates of the crash: 100, 200! Near the bombing target area! Repeat! The approximate coordinates of the crashed aircraft: 100, 200! Near the bombing target area!"
The navigator was also referring to his current position and calculating the spot where the plane just crashed. Their calculations were very inaccurate, after all, they only knew a rough idea of their own position.
There is also a pilot from the same unit who is confirming the specific number of the crashed plane: "Yes! The crashed plane number is 397!"
With reports coming one after another, the control tower has almost confirmed that one of their planes has indeed crashed. This is the first plane they have lost today.
An officer hurried over and saluted Xiao Yun at attention: "Sir! It has been confirmed that there are no patrol aircraft nearby..."
He placed the two messages on the table next to Xiao Yun: "Just now, two patrolling Flying Fortresses returned because they ran out of fuel, and the formation's Flying Fortresses are already on their way back..."
“Where are the second batch of bombers?” Xiao Yun looked at the other party and asked. What he actually asked was whether it was possible for the second batch of bombers to rush over and find the crashed plane.
The subordinate officer understood the situation and immediately reported: "The second batch of bombers are all Stukas, all carrying 500 kilograms of aerial bombs, and there is insufficient fuel to carry out the search mission."
“Which patrol ship is the closest to there?” Xiao Yun looked down at the two messages on the table and continued to ask.
The subordinate quickly replied: "The search and rescue ship we know the location of is the Little Knifefish. It is a new fishing boat with a radio, but it will take at least 3 hours to get there, which is about the same as the time it takes for us to take off a Flying Fortress to search again. "
There is no other way. As a patrol and support fishing boat, it does not dare to get too close to the enemy fleet and can only stay nearby.
After all, the Air Force also has to ensure the personal safety of the fishermen participating in the operation, and cannot require them to be too close to the war zone. This is a basic requisition rule.
So at this time, Xiao Yun really had an idea in his mind to establish the Air Force's own search and rescue ship formation.
It's a pity that the idea is just an idea. Nowadays, when the navy has a serious shortage of ships, it is too outrageous for the air force to build its own ships, and Tang Mo would not allow it.
I only heard this subordinate continue to report: "In fact, the Swordfish has already rushed to the area, because we can only rely on guiding it to rescue the few pilots who may survive."
Based on the principle of avoiding malfunctions and other factors from interfering with the mission, Xiao Yun hopes that at least two ships will participate in the search and rescue mission: "Are there any other ships? It seems not so safe to rely on only one small swordfish."
The subordinates immediately walked out in embarrassment: "We need to ask. We don't know if there are any ships from the transportation department nearby, and we don't know if there are any ships from the naval department nearby..."
"I hope they are okay." Without stopping his men from making calls, Xiao Yun returned his attention to the attack aircraft group.
The crash of one plane actually doesn't make people feel bad, or even if two or three planes crash, it won't make the Tang Kingdom feel uncomfortable.
What everyone is worried about are precious pilots: Now with the put into use of civil aircraft, everyone is beginning to realize that aviation will become an indispensable mode of transportation in the future. Civil aviation is in urgent need of pilots, and the military also needs a large number of pilots. This makes all pilots a hot commodity and the most urgently needed talent.
The loss of five highly capable professionals in one fell swoop is a heartbreaking event for the entire Air Force. If these people are safe, then at least in the future, there will be 5 talents who can perform aerial missions.
The second batch of bombers was already approaching the enemy fleet, and the bombing was about to begin. The subordinates who walked out echoed at the door: "Yes, I hope they are okay."
"The Stuka pilot has found the damaged enemy fleet. As long as you follow the drowned man on the sea, you can see the smoking enemy ships." A commander took off his earphones and told Xiao Yun Reporting on the latest battle situation.
“When can the attack start?” Xiao Yun glanced at his watch and asked.
“We can start in 10 minutes.” A subordinate reported: “One of the returning fighter units had a malfunction and made an emergency landing at sea.”
“Today is really not going well.” Xiao Yun’s face turned ugly and he complained.
"Yes, sir." The subordinate agreed: "But fortunately, his captain confirmed that the pilot was still alive, and the orange life jacket was very eye-catching. The pilot was still waving to the sky, and he seemed to be in good condition."
“Are there any rescue ships nearby?” Xiao Yun asked with concern. He did not want to lose any of his pilots because these pilots were a valuable asset to the country.
“We have been contacted, and a ship is nearby. In about 20 minutes, a ship will arrive at the location where the pilot fell into the water.” The subordinate reported good news.
“Great, at least one bad news is followed by good news.” Xiao Yun showed a smile.
Soon, the officer who went to confirm came back with bad news: "The Navy has confirmed the news, sir. They don't have any combat ships performing missions nearby. It seems they can only rely on the Little Knifefish." "
“Has the Flying Fortress taken off?” Xiao Yun nodded and then asked. He knew that now they could only rely on themselves as much as possible.
The subordinate also nodded: "Yes, sir, we have scrambled two Flying Fortresses to go to the accident site... However, they have to fly very far..."
Xiao Yun sighed: "Now all we can do is wait."
…
“Boom!” On the sea, another Cyric warship was overwhelmed and exploded into a ball of fire.
If the battleships attacked by Stuka dive bombers will be directly sunk, then most of the battleships hit by small aerial bombs will only be injured.
Although the remaining battleships looked in a sorry state, the damage was actually not fatal. Most of the explosion locations are on the deck, so there is no danger of water intrusion.
It’s just that the damage control of these battleships is so poor, and many battleships even do not have specialized damage management equipment, so it is normal for small wounds to turn into fatal damage.
After all, this era was forcibly advanced by Tang Mo's technology. The development of the navy was driven by abnormal technology, and the warships that were born cannot actually be called modern warships at all.
By simply copying Datang Group’s technology, Cyric will not be able to make its own warships surpass Datang Group’s warships in terms of cost and combat effectiveness. Therefore, modifying the plan in invisible details to save costs has become an inevitable choice.
They omitted some seemingly insignificant compartments and fire doors, reduced the diameter of fire extinguishing pipes, and even dispensed with damage control training when delivered.
Furthermore, Cyric did not have the cruisers and battleships of the Datang Group to copy, so they did not even have the design concept of injecting water to preserve the ammunition bays.
Normally, these small details cannot tell whether a navy is powerful. At that time, everyone focused on the number of turrets, cannon caliber, speed, armor thickness, etc.
Because these combat effectiveness data can more intuitively reflect the strength of a navy. But in fact, damage control capabilities are also an integral part of whether a navy is strong.
Now the naval commander-in-chief of the Gobel Kingdom finally realizes how important fire fighting is. He also understood why when he visited the armored ship of Datang Group, it had two independent pumping fire-extinguishing systems.
(End of this chapter)