mesbooks Chapter 353: Battle for Chittagong (5) VT Fuze Demonstrates Power
Chapter 353: Battle for Chittagong (5) VT Fuze Demonstrates Power
"Oh, Lord—"
Pilot John saw countless anti-aircraft guns roaring wildly on the ground below, and the muzzle flashes were everywhere.
The black cloud of artillery explosions spread rapidly in the air, and dense anti-aircraft shells rushed into the sky and exploded into countless fragments, like a web of death!
The Spitfire pilots, who had just been immersed in the air battle, were instantly caught in an extremely dangerous situation.
Only then did they realize that the reason why the Anmin Army's P-47s suddenly rose was because they had flown into the enemy's air defense fire zone!
"Damn it! Rise up! Rise up!"
But it's too late.
"boom!"
The Wangyi-2 fire control radar, coupled with a 90mm anti-aircraft gun using a radio proximity fuze, is a dimensionality reduction attack on these World War II fighters.
A Spitfire fighter was firmly locked onto by the fire control radar, and the M2 anti-aircraft gun quickly fired shells towards its predetermined flight direction based on the radar data.
Seconds later, the anti-aircraft shell flew right into the Spitfire's flight path.
Inside the VT fuze on top of the shell, the integrated miniature radio transceiver continuously emitted electromagnetic waves. As the electromagnetic waves reflected back by the Spitfire were received again, the transceiver quickly determined that the distance between the two had shortened to the preset threshold, 17 meters.
(The VT fuze detonation distance of the WWII White Eagle 127 dual-purpose anti-aircraft and anti-ground missile was 21 meters. Considering the smaller charge of the 90mm gun, it is set to 17 meters here.)
In an instant, the fuse detonated the shell, and more than 500 grams of explosives exploded. The high-speed projectile fragments and shock waves quickly reached the nearby Spitfire fighter.
Amid the pilot's wailing, the Spitfire fighter instantly exploded into a fireball, with its wings shattered and aluminum skin flying everywhere.
Another Mosquito bomber that tried to evade was also locked onto, and countless anti-aircraft shells exploded around it. The Mosquito bomber was overturned by the shock wave of the explosion and rolled over and crashed into its companion. The two planes collided in the air and then disintegrated into fragments.
"Oh my God! This is hell!"
Screams of terror continued to be heard over the radio.
Pilots continued to pray devoutly, but it was obviously of no use.
On the ground, Commander Shi of the Air Defense Regiment looked up through his binoculars, watching the scene with a sneer on his face. "These guys are really good at committing suicide."
The P-47 formation has safely left the battlefield to prevent accidental injuries.
The ground-based air defense forces were enjoying the harvesting of those Spitfire fighters and Mosquito bombers that were caught off guard.
The deputy commander's voice was breathless on the radio: "Black Hawk 1, I'm almost at the base. How are you guys doing?"
Cang Xingzhou, who was cruising in the sky, smiled easily: "Nothing, just another lesson for John's people."
"Haha," the deputy formation leader also laughed, "I'll treat you when we get back. Let's have a drink together as a group."
"Then you have to land alive first." Cang Xingzhou's tone was relaxed, but his eyes were a little solemn.
No one knew whether the damaged plane, which had flown back with great difficulty, could successfully make an emergency landing.
On the battlefield, countless unlucky people fell before dawn.
As the formation commander, Cang Xingzhou pushed the joystick to the right, and the plane rolled slightly, with the upper part of the fuselage slightly facing the ground.
Although the blood flows horizontally under the action of gravity, this posture allows Cang Xingzhou to have a better view through the hatch, allowing him to better observe the situation at low altitude.
The burning wreckage of enemy planes that crashed one after another formed a beautiful picture in Cang Xingzhou's eyes.
Although the Anmin Army lost some fighter planes in this battle, there is no doubt that they won.
This large formation of nearly a hundred John planes that attacked had been almost completely wiped out.
At this moment, a voice came from the radio:
"Ground station to Black Hawk 1, how's your fuel level?"
Cang Xingzhou knocked on the dashboard panel. The fuel gauge needle was exactly in the middle:
"We estimate we can continue the operation for another hour. Please give us your instructions!"
"Your aircraft is heading 7 degrees due west by south, 24 km away. A formation of over 30 enemy aircraft is approaching. We estimate them to be Swordfish attack aircraft. Intercept them immediately."
"Roger that!"
Cang Xingzhou pressed a few buttons and switched the radio back to the team channel:
"Hey guys, time to go again! Let's go hunt those old biplanes from the Johns!"
-----
On the other side, the leader of the Swordfish formation once again rejected the request to retreat.
Air Force Colonel John, who was responsible for planning the attack, roared at the Mosquito formation to retreat after it was attacked.
However, the team leader himself argued:
"We are flying along the coast. Even if the People's Security Army has early warning radar, it will not be able to scan us. As long as we launch an attack, the situation will definitely improve!"
The Swordfish attack aircraft has a crew of three: the pilot, the rear-seat machine gunner, and the middle-seat mechanic.
The team leader was sitting in the middle seat of one of the Swordfish planes. He picked up the intercom and called out to the entire team:
"Young men, remember the miracle of Taranto and let us do our duty!"
Under the encouragement of their leader, this naval aviation force belonging to the John Navy was full of morale. They all had smiles on their faces and imagined themselves turning Chittagong upside down.
Unfortunately, they soon stopped laughing.
The P-47 led by Cang Xingzhou has arrived.
Before the pilots could react, a group of P-47 Thunderbolt fighters swooped down from the clouds, like a group of ferocious falcons, and pounced on the slow-flying Swordfish attack aircraft.
These old biplanes each carried a 730kg air-launched torpedo.
The Swordfish pilots thought that this mission would be like the historical raid on Taranto, quietly reaching the target and then delivering a fatal blow to the enemy.
In that historic battle, John's Mediterranean Fleet only dispatched 21 Swordfish attack aircraft and other aircraft.
以只损失留2架飞机的代价，消耗了8条鱼雷和少量炸弹，就在短短65分钟内击沉、击伤了意呆海军战列舰3艘、巡洋舰2艘、驱逐舰2艘，从此掌握了地中海的制海权。
(The picture is an oil painting depicting the surprise attack on Taranto)
But the reality slapped them hard in the face - the People's Army of Japan was not a place where one could just play around with both civil and military power. The Johns' plan to replicate the classic battle and completely destroy the People's Army of Japan's naval squadron in Chittagong was completely dashed.
Bai Minghui, with radar in hand, had already detected their movements and sent the Air Force to intercept them.
John's Swordfish attack aircraft had a maximum speed of only 222 km/h, a ceiling of 3260 meters, and only a 7.7mm rotary machine gun in the back seat. It could neither defeat nor escape the attacking P-47s.
The sound of 7.7mm machine guns rang out sporadically, but the rotary machine gunners' fire posed no threat to the P-47 at all.
These P-47s were more than 300 km/h faster than them. From the moment they dived, they had already penetrated the Swordfish formation in just over ten seconds. They didn't even need to aim deliberately. With just a slight pull of the trigger, the strings of 12.7mm machine gun bullets could tear these fragile biplanes into pieces.