Chapter 1144 Election and War 5

On the outskirts of Buenos Aires, at a dark and silent "grassland airport", a Fokker 42D large transport plane has landed on the runway. The tail door of the plane was lowered and placed on the runway. Several young men in naval missile uniforms were pushing a folded missile launcher out of the aircraft's cargo hold. This is a large set of equipment, a bit like a 170mm K18 gun mount, which can be folded into a four-wheeled vehicle. A Steyr 5-ton truck had been waiting by the runway for a long time. When the driver saw the missile launcher being pushed out, he drove the car to the Fokker 42D aircraft. The car door opened, and little Hersman, wearing the uniform of a major in the naval aviation force, got down from the co-pilot seat. A captain of a missile soldier walked up to little Hersman and saluted: "Major, you must be Mr. Heinsberg-Hersman?"

"Yes." Little Hersman took out his ID and handed it over. The other party took it with both hands and looked at it, then introduced himself: "I am Captain Friedrich von Oberhausen of the Navy Missile Force."

Navy missile soldiers are a new branch of the German Navy. The commander-in-chief of the Navy Missile Force is Admiral Hoffman (who has just been promoted to admiral) who defeated Halsey in the Battle of the Bermuda Islands.

Although little Hersman is not a missile soldier, the Air Force and the Naval Aviation Force also have plans to equip air-launched missiles. So little Hersman received an order from the Naval Aviation Command to observe the actual combat shooting of the W-10 "Waterfall" ship-to-air (surface-to-air) missile designed by Dr. ******. Thiel.

The W-10 "Waterfall" missile is a surface-to-air missile that can achieve supersonic flight. It was developed based on the A series rockets. Its guidance method is very interesting. It is a combination of three methods and is divided into three stages: At the beginning of the launch, the missile is slow and is visually controlled by the ground operator to control the approximate direction of the missile. At this time, the missile is controlled by four graphite gas rudders at the nozzle.

In the middle of the flight, two large fire control radars placed on the ground are used to illuminate the target and the missile respectively, and the azimuth difference is calculated by the computer, and then radio wave instructions are sent to the missile to make the missile fly along the radar beam illuminated by the target. At this time, the missile is controlled by the four control surfaces at the tail of the missile.

In the final stage of the missile flight, the missile is controlled by a radio proximity fuze and an infrared guidance head. The missile does not need to hit the target, it only needs to get close to the target to explode.

The 250-kilogram warhead that can be carried by the 3.5-ton missile body is extremely powerful, and even the enemy aircraft will be blown to pieces at a distance of 50 meters.

Another type of surface-to-air missile, code-named R-3 "Rhine Daughter" developed by German Rheinmetall and managed by the Air Force Armament Bureau, has also been transported to Buenos Aires. The combat weight of this missile is not much different from that of the W-10 "Waterfall", and it is also developed on the basis of the A series rocket.

However, the guidance method is much simpler, with only one method, that is, the ground personnel control the missile to hit the bomber through visual and radio control. Of course, there is also a radio proximity fuse, so the enemy aircraft can be shot down without a direct hit.

Because the guidance method is very simple, the reliability and hit rate of the R-3 "Rhine Daughter" surface-to-air missile during the test firing process are far higher than the technologically advanced W-10 "Waterfall".

However, the shortcomings of the R-3 "Rhine Daughter" are certainly obvious. First, because it relies solely on visual and radio guidance, the firing height is limited (too high to see clearly), only 7,000 meters; second, it is limited to use at night and in weather with poor visibility-it is not that it cannot be used, but it is greatly restricted. For example, at night, searchlights must be used to help search for targets, and missiles can be launched after the searchlight is locked, so that one shot can be accurate.

…

On the coast of Chile, near the Bay of Valparaiso, at a "grass field" used by the US Navy Air Force, when night fell, 12 PB4Y-1 (naval code for B-24D) bombers were already lined up on the runway.

These PB4Y-1s have been modified, and hangers are installed under both wings. On each hanger, there is an ASM-N-2 "Bat" radar-guided glide bomb that looks like a glider.

Major Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr., who "jumped" from the Army Air Force to the Navy Air Force, had already boarded the first PB4Y-1 bomber with his crew.

Because he is the first generation of "guided weapons operators" in the United States, and his father is likely to become the next vice president of the United States, he has also had some "official luck" and is now a major squadron leader of the Navy Air Force.

"John," when the plane's engine began to cough and roar, Kennedy Jr. turned around and asked his navigator, "It's all up to you tonight."

"Don't worry," said the sergeant named John Tiny, "We will not get lost with the radio signal guiding the direction."

"What's going on? Can you tell me?" Joseph Kennedy Jr. was curious about the "radio signal" and asked.

"Of course," Tiny said, "It's the Argentine democratic fighters who are helping us... But they can only help us find Buenos Aires, and we have to find the location of the military port ourselves."

Juan Peron's authority in Argentina is not very solid yet, and there are still many people and organizations that oppose him. Some of them cooperate with the Americans and build large radio stations that can guide bombers.

"That's great!" When Kennedy Jr. sincerely praised the Argentine democratic fighters, the airport tower received a signal for the plane to take off. Kennedy Jr. began to taxi on the dimly lit runway, the engine roared, and the plane took off. , Flying into the misty sky under the moonlight.

The plane rumbled through the cold night sky and flew over the tall and steep Andes Mountains. Kennedy Jr. and his crew members sat in the dark and shaky cabin.

Before the plane crossed the Andes Mountains, the plane's intercom kept ringing, and people kept talking about some topics that made people feel relaxed. Someone mentioned Kennedy Jr.'s father, saying that he was so manly when he shot missiles with a pistol in New York, and said that he would vote for Truman and Kennedy in the presidential election.

However, after the plane crossed the Andes Mountains, the pilots of Kennedy Jr.'s bomber group (with about 40 PB4Y-1s) fell silent. Kennedy Jr. felt the air in the cabin was tense.

Because the Andes Mountains are the dividing line of air supremacy between the two sides, to the west of the Andes Mountains, air supremacy is in the hands of the US military, and to the east, it belongs to the European-New Azbanian coalition. Although it is night, everyone knows that the Germans have very powerful night fighters.

"Beep, beep..." A series of "beep" sounds came from the communication machine at this time. This is the navigation radio wave sent by the radio station of the Argentine freedom fighters. As long as the plane can receive this "beep" sound, it means that it has not deviated from the course.

"We have found the right direction." Navigator Tiny said, "We will arrive in Buenos Aires in about an hour and a half."

The plane continued to fly forward, because the German He219 could appear at any time, so everyone was nervous-tonight's night air raid was not fully escorted, because the P61 fighter jets that were responsible for the escort mission had a limited range and could not reach Buenos Aires. Moreover, in night air combat, the role of escort fighters is not very big, because most night fighters are twin-engine heavy aircraft, and they have no fighting ability. They all use energy tactics of hitting and leaving. There is no possibility of P61 and He219 fighting each other. In this case, the role of escort is very awkward, and the task of interception is easier to complete.

"You should see the searchlights and anti-aircraft guns." I don't know how long it took, the voice of navigator Tiny sounded. It turned out that the plane had reached the sky above Buenos Aires.

"Nothing," said Captain Kennedy Jr. "It's pitch black... John, are you going astray?"

"Impossible, we are flying along the radio signal." Tiny said.

The sound of "beep beep" continued to come.

"Maybe the German radar is broken?" Tiny said again, "We haven't been attacked along the way, this is not normal."

"Maybe the Germans have transferred all the night interceptors and radars back to Europe." Co-pilot Victor Killen said.

"Will it?" Just as Kennedy Jr. finished speaking, dozens of bright and dazzling beams of light suddenly flashed on the ground.

"Searchlight!" Tiny shouted loudly, "It seems we have found Buenos Aires!"

"Drop flares!" Kennedy Jr.'s plane was the navigator of the entire squadron, so there were flares in the bomb bay, and he could determine his specific position by dropping flares.

Just as the flares were dropped, a PB4Y-1 on the right side of Kennedy Jr.'s plane was locked by the searchlight beam.

"Anderson is going to be in trouble now!" Kennedy Jr. was very familiar with the pilot of that plane, and when he saw his plane locked by the beam, he was nervous for him.

But after a while, the fierce anti-aircraft guns that he imagined did not fire. When Kennedy Jr. was wondering, his co-pilot shouted again.

"Enemy plane! Two jet planes were found at 9 o'clock on the lower left!"

Jets?

Kennedy was startled and turned his head to look down. He saw two orange flashes rising at a very fast speed and rushing towards the PB4Y-1 bomber driven by Lieutenant Anderson.

"Oh my god, this speed..." Just as Kennedy was surprised by the high speed of this "plane", they were quickly approaching the target. One of them was very close to the PB4Y-1 bomber driven by Lieutenant Anderson and suddenly turned into a huge fireball!