Chapter 320 Tinian Island
1,700 kilometers away, Mariana, Tinian Island, B-29 bomber base.
The crew members of the Ibonawa were dining at a dining table while passing aerial photos to each other showing landmark buildings in the four cities that might be bombed this time.
This is what they have been doing recently and it has become a repertoire during meals.
Compared with the various controversies in later generations, the entire team was in an excited and enthusiastic state at this time. Each of them had a sense of honor that they were about to create history.
"Hey, man, who do you see that?" Walter Ford, the navigator, elbowed mechanic Edward Battle beside him.
"One, two, three, four...Oh my God! Five-star general! How did he come to us?"
"Make a bet, 10 yuan, MacArthur."
"Follow, I guess it's Arnold."
"Raise, 20 yuan, Bradley."
"I paid 50 yuan, but it was nothing."
It seems that the six-month intensive training not only made each of them outstanding pilots, but the boring days on the island also created a group of bad gamblers.
The officers were whispering there, and at this time an old man wearing a senior officer's uniform had walked into the room.
Seeing the special five-pointed stars on the opponent's black cloth epaulettes, all the officers present stood up and saluted immediately.
"Damn it! Kill Tong, it's Marshall! He's the closest to here, I should have guessed it earlier." A gambler who opened the market angrily took out the banknotes from his pants pocket.
"Good afternoon! Gentlemen, please continue to eat. I won't delay everyone for too long." Marshall expressed his affinity appropriately.
No one took this sentence seriously, everyone was still standing.
Marshall briefly talked to everyone, and then motioned to Commander Tibbetts.
"Gentlemen, according to the request of Washington, I want to announce two pieces of news."
"First, there are some small changes in the plan. The first target of attack the day after tomorrow will be Hiroshima. Changed to Kokura, and doubled the bomb load for the day.”
Everyone looked at each other, and everyone knew that doubling the bomb load meant that they would drop bombs twice that day.
"Sir, can we know the reason? After all, our previous training was aimed at Hiroshima." The co-pilot, Major Robert Ray, asked a question from the side.
"It's just that the situation has changed, because our intelligence agent is now in Kokura, and he will provide us with navigation. Washington believes that this can greatly improve the accuracy and success rate." A young man next to Marshall Jump in to explain.
The officers looked at each other, and finally the navigator Walter Ford stood up and asked, "Sir, what method is used to provide navigation?"
"Use a low-frequency broadcast, our intelligence officer We will use low-frequency broadcasts locally to help us locate.”
Several pilots had doubtful looks in their eyes. They were all professionals. During the stalemate in the European battlefield, intelligence agents did use low-frequency broadcasts to assist the Air Force in locating targets for bombing. The effect was best especially at night.
But the attack day the day after tomorrow will obviously be in the daytime. Is it really necessary to attack a large city with clear vision?
The most critical question is that this is different from conventional bombing. It is expected to reach a direct killing radius of five kilometers. How can the intelligence agent responsible for guiding it escape?
The war is about to be won. There is no need to sacrifice human lives in exchange for the victory, right?
As if he sensed the doubts of several people, the young man next to Marshall took the initiative to stand up and explain, "Please rest assured that our intelligence agents evacuated in a safe way and there will not be any danger." As he said, the young man put his A piece of paper filled with words was handed to Commander Tibbetts.
"This is a guidance message. You listen to the local broadcast. The appearance of this message means that it is suitable to drop a bomb."
The navigator Walter Ford took the note and quickly memorized it. information.
They are soldiers, and when they don’t fully understand, they just obey orders.
"OK! The mission is over, here's the good news." Marshall clapped his hands and drew attention to himself.
"There will be a small banquet in the evening, and the main course is pan-fried veal ribs and tuna."
"YES! I love veal ribs!" someone shouted, raising their arms.
——
At night, the crew members all ate happily. The veal ribs tasted great. Almost everyone ate two more pieces. The officers carried them Dinner plates, walking around the lawn talking.
The atmosphere is completely different from the tense and depressing atmosphere two years ago.
After all, the war is almost over, and many people are enjoying the days of peace.
Navigator Walter Ford was sitting on the side, drinking Coca-Cola a little boredly. He was a person with some drinking habits. When he was training before, he could drink a limited amount of two drinks a week during breaks, but since then The entire team had been completely banned from drinking alcohol since a week ago, which made him a little uncomfortable.
A cup filled with rainbow-colored liquid was placed in front of him, and the young man who had been standing next to Marshall during the day sat across from him.
"Try it, I'm treating you." The young man pushed the cup forward.
Lieutenant Ford picked up the cup and was about to drink, but there was a puzzled look on his face.
At this time, the other party immediately spread his hands and explained, "The soft drink is 100% non-alcoholic, but I adjusted it to a similar taste."
Sure enough, the drink in the cup had a slight aftertaste of alcohol after entering the throat. It was so sweet that Ford couldn't help but drink it all in one gulp.
"Edwin Layton, Pacific Fleet Intelligence Officer." The young man stretched out his hand.
"Walter Ford, pilot of the Ibonawa." Lieutenant Ford also reached out and shook hands with the other man.
A glass of alcoholic beverage successfully broke down the communication barriers, and the two people who were not too old still had a pleasant chat.
Later in the topic, the intelligence officer named Layton seemed to inadvertently raise a question, "How does the B-29 navigate in the sky?"
The other party's question was not sensitive. Marshall's assistant status also allows The young navigator didn't think too much, so after another drink, he pulled out the B-29's navigation method
"Using gyroscope dead reckoning navigation, long-range radio navigation, and at the same time on the aircraft Just loaded the state-of-the-art AN /APQ-13 radar can scan and identify the coastline. "
"The rest depends on this." Walter Ford nodded his eyes proudly. "When the equipment cannot be relied on. I will rely on vision to manually identify the position. I have been doing this job for several years and I have never made a mistake."
"It's an amazing skill. To be honest, I know nothing about aviation. Thank you for your answer." The intelligence officer raised his glass.
"I just want to thank you. These days without wine have been too difficult for me."
The glasses clinked gently, Walter Ford drank the last glass of the prepared drink and left with satisfaction. He didn't know if it was an hallucination, but after a few drinks, he actually experienced a pleasure similar to being tipsy.
Looking at the other party's leaving figure, He Chi, who was dressed as an intelligence officer, spit out what was in his mouth.
(End of this chapter)