Chapter 253: The Intimidation of the Bomber

The bombing missions during this period were not as simple as imagined. They had no navigation, no radar, and not even radio.

All the pilot had to rely on was a map, a compass and a ruler.

Therefore, even if the exact location of the target is known and can even be found visually, it is still difficult to bomb it accurately.

It is very likely that a fleet of bombers will deviate from the target direction during flight. Initially, it is only a very small angle, but after flying for tens or even hundreds of kilometers, this small angle has caused a deviation of more than ten or even dozens of kilometers.

Hidden targets, such as German artillery positions carefully hidden in the woods and camouflaged, were almost impossible for bombers to find and destroy.

This is also the reason why the bomber was questioned and criticized by the so-called "military critics" in France:

"The bombers will probably only be able to attack obvious targets that are exposed, such as buildings, bridges, etc."

"They obviously have great limitations when it comes to concealed targets. I can't imagine how they can find the right position to drop the bomb."

"Besides, they are too big a target. If the enemy has anti-aircraft machine guns or artillery ready, they will simply be a bunch of flying targets!"

This is one of the reasons why the military did not order large quantities of bombers. The huge size of the bombers does make them look unsafe.

Charles knew that these "military critics" were bought by capitalists, at least some of them were. They took the lead in raising questions in newspapers, and other "critics" began to follow suit.

This is related to Charles' business. He can earn 30,000 francs from a "bomber", and the military will have to order at least several hundred to meet battlefield needs.

This meant a large order worth millions, tens of millions of francs, or possibly even more. How could Charles just watch it being ruined by "rumors"?

What Charles had to do was to blow up a hidden artillery position and give these "critics" a slap in the face with facts.

The specific bombing steps are roughly as follows:

The Army staff that Carter contacted were the staff sent by the aviation forces to the Army to be responsible for air-ground coordination. Several of them were artillery observers.

These artillery observers knew a certain location based on intelligence, and used artillery observation methods to calculate the exact direction and distance of the target.

Finally, at the specified time and appropriate location, use signal boards to form a large arrow on the ground pointing to the target, and mark an "N" behind the arrow.

"N" was agreed upon by the Air Force and the Army Staff. It is the 14th letter of the 26 English letters, which means the target is 14 kilometers away where the arrow points.

(Note: Using letters can simplify the representation of numbers and make them easier to distinguish. Some numbers can be easily misidentified by pilots due to interference from roads, trees, and rivers. For example, "7" can be easily mistaken for "2", and "6" and "9" can also be easily confused.)

The next to be dispatched were reconnaissance planes, which, under the cover of fighter jets, flew over the target according to the instructions on the signal board, circling and observing carefully with binoculars.

The Germans had machine guns and anti-aircraft artillery deployed on the high ground.

But for reasons of confidentiality the Germans did not dare to open fire.

Because once the firing is started, it would be a modern version of "there is no silver here", telling the enemy clearly that you have found the right place.

However, even if they could hold their temper and not open fire, it would be of no avail.

Soon, the reconnaissance plane manually dropped several smoke bombs downwards. Two streams of smoke rising in the valley were like a mark for the German artillery positions.

The German artillerymen looked at the smoke with confusion:

"What are they doing? Have they spotted us?"

"I don't think so, otherwise, they should have dropped bombs instead of smoke bombs!"

"But why did they throw smoke bombs?"

…

Before he finished speaking, everyone understood.

The rumbling sound of bomber engines was heard in the sky. Several terrifying bombers appeared in the clouds and began to lower their altitude.

It was then that the Germans suddenly realized:

"Oh my God, they found us, they are enemy bombers!"

"They are guiding the bombers! Disperse, disperse now!"

"Drive the ammunition truck away, quick!"

…

The valley, which originally seemed to be empty, suddenly began to move. People were moving ammunition, towing cannons, and carrying ammunition boxes, running back and forth in a chaos.

The air defense troops around the artillery positions and on the high ground were also busy, pointing their machine guns and artillery pieces at the direction from which the bombers were coming.

The bomber flew towards the artillery position calmly, without even its wings trembling.

With the instructions from the signal board and the markings from the smoke bombs, they easily locked onto the target, and even reduced their speed in order to hit the target more accurately.

"Boom boom!" The sound of cannons rang out.

That was the German 37MM anti-aircraft gun.

To be precise, it was not an anti-aircraft gun, but an "anti-balloon gun" invented by the Germans before the war to shoot down reconnaissance balloons.

However, this type of anti-aircraft gun used to counter balloons seemed to be powerless against high-speed flying aircraft, and their shells seemed to have no effect on bombers: their shells were not equipped with tracer powder, and no one knew where the shells flew after they were fired, and of course no one knew how far they deviated from the target, so they could not be corrected, and shooting depended entirely on feeling.

The sound of machine gun fire rang out, and bullets flew "da da da" into the air towards the bombers approaching them.

Some of the bullets might have hit, but they were equally incapable of stopping the bombers from getting closer.

In an instant, before the machine gun had time to change another ammunition belt, the bomber flew over the head and dropped bombs one after another.

The wind wheel behind the bomb was spinning rapidly in the air with a whistling sound, which scared the German soldiers so much that they dropped their machine guns and artillery and lay on the ground holding their heads tightly.

“Boom boom!”

“Boom boom boom!”

…

One after another, dense explosions rang out at the artillery positions.

Carter dispatched 20 bombers at once, and a total of 380 bombs poured down like dense raindrops on the valley where the German artillery positions were located, instantly turning the area below into a sea of ​​fire.

During this period, an artillery position also exploded. Violent explosions occurred one after another, and flames rolled in the thick smoke, as if a fire dragon was struggling and jumping in it.

The surviving German soldiers on the top of the mountain stared at this scene in amazement, and said in fear: "God, how can we defeat the French? They bomb wherever they want! And we are powerless to stop them!"

This is the desperation that bombers bring to their opponents, and it will form a psychological deterrent to ground forces.

The enemy couldn't help but think about a question:

If every time a war breaks out, enemy bombers can easily destroy headquarters or artillery positions, how can the war be fought?

(The picture above shows an anti-aircraft gun from the early days of World War I, invented in 1906, 37MM caliber, used to counter balloons, and could be towed by horses)

(The picture above shows the "anti-balloon cannon" exhibited in the Modern Museum)

(End of this chapter)