Munitions Empire

Chapter 601: 560 Confidential

“General! The battle damage assessment is in, and it’s confirmed that one plane did not return—Stuka Dive Bomber number 80095 has crashed,” an officer reported to Ibrahim within the bustling Air Force headquarters.

“Has the wreckage been dealt with?” Ibrahim’s first reaction was the issue of technical leakage of the aircraft! This was a matter of grave secrecy, and he did not want his enemies to be able to build fighters capable of flying in the sky so soon.

Even if it was the outdated camel model fighter, it was still a tangible threat! Once these damned old planes appeared in the sky, the fighters under Ibrahim’s command would most likely not be able to be deployed for ground attack missions.

Nevertheless, despite his subconscious concern for the wreckage of the crashed plane, Ibrahim immediately followed up with another question, “Which pilot was sacrificed?”

“Lieutenant Durman and Flight Trainee Sergeant Faraday were the ones killed in action,” the officer reported. “Wingman Pilot Halsey and his accompanying flight trainee Braco confirmed that the aircraft was completely destroyed in a fire and explosion.”

“Has the cause of the accident been investigated and clarified?” Ibrahim asked next.

“It has been clarified. The dive brake was damaged during the dive and the flaps malfunctioned during the pull-up, causing the aircraft to plummet to the ground,” the officer immediately responded.

It had been two or three days since the people below had been handling this matter. They investigated the testimonies and dispatched planes for reconnaissance and confirmation.

After dropping two bombs in a low-altitude dive and finding the results mediocre, the pilots of these planes also brought back definite news: the wreckage of that aircraft had been destroyed beyond further destruction.

Of course, the accident investigation was also very thorough. The engineers checked their design drawings, and the ground crew checked over the more than 160 Stuka Dive Bombers at the front line.

Only after confirming that there were no issues with these aircraft did the Stuka Dive Bomber units resume their duties.

Yes, that’s right. After nearly a month of combat, the number of Stuka Dive Bombers in the Tang Army did not decrease but instead increased by nearly forty.

The main reason was that there were almost no combat losses, coupled with a large number of reinforcements from the rear. The number of pilots at the Tang frontline was also increasing, so the size of the squadrons was expanding accordingly.

If you include the B-17s, which had been expanding production like mad recently, the more than 300 aircraft that the Tang Army had at the frontline had increased to over 440.

The B-17 bombers had increased from the initial 100 to now 150, making them the model with the most significant increase in numbers.

On the other hand, the Butcher Fighter, which hardly had any combat escort missions, had increased by fewer than 30 because it had always been used as a bomber, which was clearly somewhat inappropriate.

The Tang Country Air Force, in dire need of weapons for ground attacks, most desired the B-17 and Stukas, and were not very enthusiastic about the Butchers.

“It’s indeed not a design issue, it should be just an accidental malfunction,” the officer concluded after a brief introduction to the ground crew’s fault investigation process.

Since the aircraft provided by Tang Mo were mature models, there definitely wouldn’t be any problems with their design, therefore, these weapons and equipment had been quite mature since their induction.

Tang Mo’s golden touch effectively helped the designers at the Great Tang Group to avoid the risks of exploration and test, greatly shortening the time for technological accumulation and adaptation.

Thus, the Great Tang Group was able to continuously introduce new weapons and equipment while ensuring technological maturity and reliability.

“We must be even more careful and cautious! Prevent our aircraft technology from leaking out!” Ibrahim reiterated.

He knew that even if he put out something like the twin-winged camel fighter on the market for sale, there would be countless eager buyers.

The aviation technology of the Great Tang Group was too advanced, at least two generations ahead of the rest of the world! Such a technological edge was his guarantee of invincibility as an Air Force commander, so he was particularly concerned about the possibility of his advantage disappearing inexplicably.

“Also, how far along are the engineers… We need to build an airport in Nanye and it has to be fast! Don’t get stuck without a forward base by the time the war is over!” he paused before moving on from the crash to focus on another issue, discussing airport construction with his subordinates.

“Rest assured, as long as our engineering and ground crews arrive in Nanye, the airport there can be used in just two or three days,” another Air Force officer in charge of the matter immediately replied.

Prior to the outbreak of the war between the two countries, Tang Country’s intelligence department had secretly purchased a manor in the outskirts of Nanye and quietly begun leveling the land.

After all, even if someone saw the construction, they wouldn’t guess that leveling the land was for building an airport runway because back then, nobody within Qi Country even knew what an airport runway was.

Owing to the pre-emptive construction, the Nanye airport only needed a simple completion of some buildings to be usable, which was very convenient.

It was precisely because of such prior arrangements that the person in charge of constructing the air force base could assure Ibrahim so easily and confidently that his subordinates would be able to swiftly complete the construction tasks.

“Very good! This is indeed good news,” Ibrahim’s expression brightened somewhat as he turned to the officer who had brought the pursuit analysis report earlier, “Continue with the plan as before.”

“Do we still need to cancel today’s bombing of the eastern railway line this afternoon?” the officer asked a question of personal concern.

“No, proceed with the plan! We are using the Flying Fortress, anyway,” Ibrahim waved his hand and spoke. The Flying Fortress was the Tang Army’s official designation for the B-17 bomber, a name coined by Tang Mo himself.

As the supreme commander of the air force, Ibrahim knew that his troops were now major consumers of oil, with these B-17 bombers consuming a substantial amount of aviation fuel every time they took off in large formations.

This fuel was far more precious than what tanks and automobiles burned, with a different mixture of substances blended in it, making it exorbitantly expensive.

If it were not for a wealthy country like the Great Tang Kingdom, sponsors might not be willing to deploy air power on such a grand scale so boldly. Most countries might not even spare their armored corps.

“Understood! I will deliver the message immediately!” his subordinate said and went off to send the message. The bombers needed to prepare in a few minutes if they were to bomb the eastern railway line.

Thousands of bombs had to be mounted on the bomb racks inside the aircraft belly, the ground crew needed to check the planes, refuel them, and the planes had to take off in formation. It would take time to reach the bombing area…

The railway lines in Qi Country were actually not extensive, generally shaped like the Chinese character “门” (gate). Starting from the bottom left in sequence were Luo Town, Nanye, King City, and Beiyuan.

King City was roughly at the “dot” of the character “门”, and the encircled Imperial Guards were heading towards the “vertical” middle to rescue Nanye.

Beiyuan Port was roughly at the intersection of the cross and the hook of the “门” character, with the railway extending southward from Beiyuan representing the “hook”, which was the eastern theater of operations and the location of the Second Prince’s station.

It was because this “vertical” of the “门”, the section from Luo Town to Nanye, had been cut off by the Tang Army from west to east that King Jiang Xian of Qi ordered the distant Second Prince to lead the 2nd Army around Beiyuan to rush to the aid of King City.

Now, Ibrahim planned to use a bombardment to cut off Qi Country’s railway south of Beiyuan to create some trouble for the retreating Qi eastern group.

…

Elsewhere, in Anpu City, the headquarters of the Tang Army in the northern stronghold of Tang Country, Tang Mo was listening to Luff’s report: “Your Majesty, the 4th Armored Division has already captured Nanye; they have encircled the Qi Army’s Imperial Guards. If we can continue north along the railway, our forces can threaten the enemy’s King City.”

“Your Majesty, our military operations in Qi Country are quite successful. If the 2nd Armored Division can maintain the supply line along the railway, then the 4th Armored Division can advance to Qi’s King City and capture it,” the general in charge of logistics added.

“The following troops are moving north, everything is going smoothly, although there was a bit of chaos at the outset,” the infantry general immediately said.

Tang Mo, stroking his chin, listened to his subordinates’ briefing. He had been studying battlefield command recently and had finally developed some understanding and viewpoints of his own on the war.

At that moment, the liaison officer from the air force also spoke up: “On the air force side, we have bombed Qi’s industrial district in King City once again. Now the only thing they can rely on is the coastal Beiyuan City.”

“The production capacity of Beiyuan is nothing for us to covet,” Tang Mo continued to stroke his chin, sharing his own views: “Leaving it to Qi Country won’t have any impact on the war. But once Qi Country capitulates, we can immediately put it to use, so there’s no need to bomb it.”

“Isn’t there a plan to cut off the railway leading north to Beiyuan City?” Tang Mo raised his head as he said this, looking towards Luff.

“Yes, according to the plan, the Flying Fortresses will take off today to bomb and destroy the railway,” Luff replied.

Tang Mo nodded in satisfaction: “Hmm, that’s enough! Letting some of Qi’s troops escape won’t change the situation; what I want is to paralyze the vast majority of Qi’s troops at their original border defense positions.”

As he spoke, he pointed on the map: “The more Qi troops are stuck at the border defense line, unable to move, the easier it will be for our armored corps.”

As the founder of the Tang Army, Tang Mo was in no way worried about the 2nd or 1st Armies of Qi Country causing trouble for his troops. The only thing he didn’t want to face was Qi Country’s hundred-thousand-strong army entrenched in King City engaging him in urban warfare!

As long as the Qi troops were exposed in the open, as long as they did not resort to the most primitive scorched earth policies, Tang Mo was not worried that the war would slip out of his control.

Having said that, he placed his palm on Qi’s King City on the map: “Now, only this issue remains! Take down Qi’s King City, and end this war!”@@novelbin@@

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