Chapter 1629: grit your teeth

   "Go to hell, **** Germans!"

  On a B-17 heavy bomber, the machine gunner was manipulating a self-defense 12.7mm aviation machine gun, firing wildly. Dense bullets chased a carrier-based FW-190 fighter jet. However, the carrier-based FW-190 fighter jets easily avoided these bullets.

   The FW-190 fighter jets that climbed to high altitude launched a counterattack. The two 30mm cannons in the wings started firing.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  The shell hit the B-17 heavy bomber, blasting holes the size of washbasins above the body. The plane caught fire, and soon the fire spread to the entire body along with the strong wind.

  The whole plane dragged thick smoke and fell to the sea.

   "My God! The Germans are killing us completely, we can't compete with them at all!"

   "The cannons installed on the German planes are so powerful that we can't fight them at all!"

  Although, the disadvantage of machine guns in air combat is very obvious due to insufficient ammunition. If the pilot doesn't pay attention, he can keep pressing the launch button for ten or a few seconds, and all the shells can be fired. Therefore, pilots often don't like machine guns, and they prefer aviation machine guns with sufficient ammunition. But even so, the German fighter jets were equipped with powerful cannons at the beginning of their design. And let the pilots familiarize themselves with the use of cannons in one battle after another. These are all preparations for dealing with the enemy's heavy bombers. Now, the reason why German pilots are able to slaughter the enemy's heavy bombers on the battlefield is inseparable from the previous training.

   "Boom boom boom! Da da da!"

  The air battle was very intense, and fighter planes were constantly shot down. But most of those shot down were US B-17 heavy bombers.

  It was not until the U.S. P-51 fighter jets came back and entangled the German carrier-based aircraft group that the loss of the U.S. B-17 heavy bomber was brought under control. But even so, the US military's fleet still suffered a lot. Whether it is their P-51 fighter jets or B-17 heavy bombers, in front of the German carrier-based aircraft fleet, they have almost no power to fight back.

  When the U.S. military fleet flew over the Bermuda Islands, only half of the original three hundred B-17 heavy bombers remained. The remaining half have been shot down by the German carrier-based aircraft fleet. The fleet of P-51 fighter jets escorting it also only has more than 200 left. It can be said that the entire U.S. Army Air Force's huge fleet has lost half of its aircraft.

   "Start dropping bombs!"

  The commander of the US bomber group issued an order. More than 150 B-17 heavy bombers opened their magazines.

   "Shhhhhh!"

   Aerial bombs hit the ground one after another. Each B-17 heavy bomber can carry up to eight tons of bombs, and 150 B-17 heavy bombers can drop more than 1,200 tons of bombs on Bermuda.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  The German anti-aircraft guns on the ground also fired back. The 88mm anti-aircraft guns, 40mm anti-aircraft guns, 20mm anti-aircraft guns, and 12.7mm anti-aircraft guns were all firing crazily.

  Although the US military's B-17 heavy bomber has rough skin and thick flesh. However, under the attack of anti-aircraft firepower on the ground, the loss of the US bomber fleet is still not small. Bombers were constantly being hit and fell to the nearby sea with thick smoke.

  However, the bombs dropped by the U.S. bomber fleet also caused great losses to the Bermuda Islands. Many military facilities that had just been built were destroyed in the bombing of the US military. The island's air defense force and the 1st Marine Corps suffered heavy losses, and many officers and soldiers were killed by the U.S. bombing.

  When the bombs were dropped, the US military fleet began to return. However, the German carrier-based aircraft fleet will not let them leave so easily. Those carrier-based fleets rushed up again and continued to attack the US military fleet.

   Even after dropping the bombs, the speed of the US military's B-17 heavy bomber can increase to 460 kilometers per hour. But in front of the German carrier-based FW-190 fighter jets, such a speed is nothing at all, and it will be easily caught up.

  The fierce battle continued, and fighter planes were constantly shot down. However, there are still very few German carrier-based aircraft that were shot down. Most of those shot down were U.S. Army Air Forces fighters. Whether it is a B-17 heavy bomber or a P-51 fighter jet, they are constantly shot down like dumplings.

   It was not until the German carrier-based aircraft ran out of fuel that they stopped chasing the U.S. aircraft fleet. It's just that the current US military fleet is not much left compared to the huge fleet when they first set off.

  The U.S. Army Air Force invested 500 P-51 fighter jets and 300 B-17 heavy bombers this time. But now, there are only more than 160 P-51 fighter jets returning. There are less than one hundred B-17 heavy bombers left. The rest of the fighter planes have been shot down by the German carrier-based fleet.

  The loss paid by the German carrier-based aircraft fleet was nothing more than the shooting down of more than 80 carrier-based FW-190 fighter jets.

   Moreover, the German Navy has dispatched seaplanes and light warships to rescue those pilots who fell into the water, and ensured that those pilots could be rescued as much as possible. But the U.S. Army Air Corps can't do it. They not only lost a large number of aircraft, but more importantly, they lost a large number of pilots and crew members. This hit the U.S. Army Air Force even more than the loss of the U.S. Army Air Force's fighter planes. After all, the fighter plane is lost, and with the strong industrial strength of the United States, it can be easily rebuilt. But the training of pilots and crew members is not so easy.

  U.S. Army Air Corps Commander General Henry Arnold was stunned after receiving the battle damage report. He never imagined that their loss would be so great.

   "God! Have the Germans become so strong? Even if we try our best, we can't fight them?" Admiral Henry Arnold's confidence was even shaken.

  However, after Admiral Marshall and President Roosevelt learned of the loss of the Army Air Force, although they were very distressed, they asked the Army Air Force to continue the bombing.

   On the one hand, the United States needs the Army Air Force to continue to attack Bermuda, delaying the time for Germany to build the Army Air Force. On the other hand, they hope to use this method to hold back the German Navy's Atlantic Fleet and Mediterranean Fleet, and create favorable conditions for the US and British fleets to defeat the German Navy's home fleet.

   It is precisely because of this that the U.S. Marine Corps has no choice but to grit its teeth and persevere no matter how big the loss is.