Chapter 1578: Unstoppable 3
Chapter 1578 Unstoppable 3
"Let our Saint-Montcha tank come on!" With the order, the French's most powerful self-propelled flat-fire armored unit in World War I appeared in front of the Germans for the first time! Like the German Beetle, this French self-propelled artillery is also equipped with a long barrel cannon of over 100MM. The French eventually moved the M 1912 105MM cannon to the tank.
This tank is somewhat similar in appearance to the SU76 tank destroyer in World War II. The fighting compartment is in the front, the engine and gearbox are in the rear, and the fighting compartment is open-topped. The thickness of the frontal armor is about 40MM, which is immune to 2-pound cannon attacks, but is powerless against 75MM-level artillery. He is a black gun player who has basic defensive capabilities, holds a sharp blade and wears cloth armor! It was urgently developed specifically to deal with the German Wolf tanks. As the final product of the Allied armored units, this tank was also promoted in the United Kingdom, but the British used truncated 4-inch naval guns or 18-pound guns. Of course, this is something for later, let’s not mention it for now.
At a distance of 1200 to 1500 meters, these new killers fully demonstrate the combat effectiveness of powerful cannons! After calibration and ranging, these artillery pieces easily knocked out bunkers exposed in the distance one by one at combat distances far beyond the normal combat range.
"The power of the 105MM armor-piercing projectile is very impressive. I saw with my own eyes that we penetrated a 75MM artillery bunker at a distance of 1,100 meters. One shell directly penetrated the 0.8-meter-thick rammed earth layer, forming a hole with a diameter of 15 centimeters. It perforated and then destroyed the logs and concrete layer behind it. This shell must have detonated the ammunition inside. With the violent explosion, we could clearly see a huge smoke column rising from the sky above the bunker." A Frenchman This is how officers described the weapon.
While the Saint-Montchas were pounding the German defenses like siege cones, a large number of 155MM towed howitzers were also deployed on the front line. It has to be said that the French artillery skills have made great progress. , they didn’t invest too much in order to save ammunition before, but now, when the French get serious, the small group of German troops are really not enough!
One after another, the 155MM artillery launched almost 2,300 meters away from the German position. They did not attack the current position, but carried out long-term fire suppression around the attack area. At least 6 105MM and 155MM artillery batteries were invested. During the continuous suppression, the flying artillery fire completely blocked the German reinforcements from other directions. At the same time, the dust raised by the dense artillery shells also effectively obscured the German army's vision. The regrouped French commandos and tank troops began to attack Saint-Mont. Launched an attack with the support of sand tanks!
The confrontation between the two sides is quickly approaching its peak! The Germans finally opened up their firepower, and the heavy howitzers hidden in anti-slope positions and permanent fortifications were also activated, and the Bavarian Air Force also began to provide support.
"The situation is not good!" However, this time, the Bavarian Air Force also came under considerable pressure.
When Hall entered the battlefield with his bomber squadron, an entire squadron of DH9 single-engine fighters was already waiting for him in the air!
"Holy shit! This isn't a Vickers machine gun!" Hall saw with his own eyes a series of bullets whizzing towards a K-4 bomber next to him. The bullets, like flying flame elves, easily hit the upper half of the bomber. Part of the wing was shattered into pieces, and the power was frightening. As an old man, Hall immediately determined that this was definitely a large-caliber machine gun!
Major Hall's guess was correct. These DH9 fighter-bombers were equipped with three French-produced Hotchkiss 13.2MM machine guns. The bullets used are 13.2MM*96MM! There is nothing difficult about large-caliber machine guns. Even if the French Hotchkiss is not as good as the German version of the M2, it is not as good in terms of weight and rate of fire. In terms of power, it is enough to deal with the hardwood aircraft of World War I. Got it! In order to ensure firepower, the DH9 fighter jet is actually equipped with 4! There is one on each side of the wing, one on the central axis of the propeller, and a rear-firing machine gun for the pilot in the back seat.
As the last propeller aircraft of World War I, the DH9 has excellent performance. Equipped with a 375-horsepower V12 liquid-cooled engine, the maximum flight speed is close to 200 kilometers per hour. Even with some armor, the flight speed is still It can reach about 170 kilometers per hour. The British have done a very good job in protection. They not only installed a bulletproof steel plate in front of the pilot, but also installed a 7MM thick armor plate in front of the front engine compartment. Although the comprehensive protection capability is not as good as the K-4M interceptor aircraft specially used by the Bavarian Air Force for interception, it still caused great discomfort to the Bavarian Air Force after it was first put into the battlefield.
"All planes should stay in formation! Abandon bombing for the time being!" Following Major Hall's order, the Bavarian Air Force, which was originally preparing to disperse and attack, reorganized into a dense box formation and began to rise at the same time. Waiting for the arrival of the assigned fighter jets, what Major Hall did not expect was that with the full support of the British, the 12 fighter jets that were supposed to be assigned to them had been entangled by British and French fighter jets in other airspaces until half an hour before the scheduled time. Finally, the fighter jet he was looking forward to still didn't arrive.
"It seems that both we and the British are disappointed." Looking at the British fighter jets hovering next to his fleet, Major Hall said mockingly. The British did not attack at first. Obviously, the hedgehog-like anti-aircraft firepower of the German bombers still made the British People are afraid, they are also waiting for their own reinforcements, but unfortunately, they can't wait...
"We can't keep delaying, prepare to implement Plan 2! Aim at the British logistics convoy, let's go!" Major Hall ordered. A total of 16 mixed K-6 and K-4 bombers began to change their formations. The fleet that was originally divided into two layers like a double-decker hamburger began to become one layer, but they still maintained a close team with each other. shape. They began to slowly descend in altitude, preparing to launch an attack using 300-meter horizontal bombing. At this moment, the British interceptor unit finally took action!
The 12 DH9 fighter jets were divided into two waves and entered from the rear of the bomber group! Four three-plane formations each withstood their respective targets. When the two sides approached a distance of 800 meters, dozens of machine guns opened fire at the same time, and a dense fire net was dragged out from the rear of the German bomber, like the beautiful tail feathers of a phoenix. ! Tracer bullets and incendiary bombs jumped towards the accelerating impact of the British fighter jets. Two DH9s were shot one after another. The first one was turned into briquettes by the bullets fired directly from the side. The continuous large-caliber machine gun bullets were like a chainsaw. This plane was cut into two pieces, and one and a half of the wings of the other plane were directly taken off! In the end, it turned around with only the lower half of the wing on.
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