.On July 7, 1924, Germany declared war on the United States, and the United States immediately declared war on Germany. The long-planned war finally broke out.

On the day of the war, Germany and Mexico dispatched a large number of fighter jets to attack a large number of military targets in the southern border area of ​​the United States and achieved extremely brilliant results. The news quickly spread throughout the United States and the entire world.

After nightfall, at the military airport of the Lynchburg Army Barracks in Virginia, people were discussing terrible wars and bad initial wars, but because it is more than 2,000 kilometers away from the southern border, no one is worried that the war in the south will spread here in a short period of time. The pilots seemed to care more about what the powerful German Navy would do. After all, it is only 300 kilometers from the largest Norfolk military port on the east coast of the United States. According to the usual thinking, the US Atlantic Fleet stationed there must be the primary target of the German Navy.

It was around 9 o'clock at night, because it was Monday, almost all the pilots stayed in the dormitory, playing poker, bragging, and other entertainment activities, besides strictly prohibited drinking, darts, billiards and other entertainment activities. The midsummer night was a little stuffy, and the occasional wind from the sea was also hot. The electric fan in the room was spinning desperately, but the sound was as annoying as mosquitoes.

There is a wide and straight runway on the airport not far from the dormitory. Most aircraft enter the hangar by finishing work. There are only a dozen p-5s and pwww.piaotian.com.com.com.     There is less than 280 kilometers north of Washington, which belongs to the "Guard and Defense Circle" of the US capital. Therefore, there are two squadrons of 36 fighters stationed. Due to the outbreak of the war, the two P-5 fighters carried out night patrol missions for the first time. However, there are still 300 kilometers to Norfolk, and more than 2,000 kilometers to the southern border area where the air strikes are encountered. No one thinks that such patrol will have any practical significance. The military airships are usually responsible for the night air alert in this area. They are concentrated in the airship base of the Norfolk Military Port, which is also the largest naval airship berth in the United States.

When the shrill alarm sounded, the quiet atmosphere disappeared without a trace. The pilots and crew members who were in the war did not dare to neglect at all. In just a few minutes, the pilots gathered in the combat command room not far from the runway, and the crew members pushed out the fighter planes staying in the hangar and quickly prepared each plane for the airplane to take off.

Soon, the squadron commander walked in with a pale face.

"Young guys, very, very bad news! A huge German fleet is flying from south to north. It will not take long to fly over our heads. The target is most likely our capital, Washington!"

Before the commander finished speaking, there was an uproar below.

"This...how is this possible?"

"Where did those German planes come from? Are there far away Mexico?"

"I can't believe it. In this way, they have already flew at least two thousand kilometers!"

The commander had to pat the table to calm his pilots down. At this time, everyone was full of disbelief, but the facts were already in front of him.

"No matter where they come from, our mission is to prevent them from getting close to our capital! It is estimated that those German planes will fly past us in a quarter of an hour, leaving us with little time. Let's prepare! Let's wait for the bell to take off and intercept it!"

The pilots stood up from their positions one after another. "Yes!"

The starry sky outside the window is still as beautiful. After a day of scorching sun, the ground at the airport is still slightly hot. At this time, the American pilots and crew members no longer care about it. After checking the fuel and ammunition, crew members tried their best to shake the rocker and start one fighter after another. There was a roar on the entire airport.

At about 10 o'clock, the first fighter jet flew off the ground. By 10:20, the two squadrons all 18 fighter jets had taken off. Their target was a German aircraft group composed of tens of thousands of long-range bombers.

At this moment, the German fleet was indeed flying at a high altitude not far from Lynchburg. Along with a pilot Donier DD bomber, nine crew members were performing their duties. Captain Major Gabriel had to keep his aircraft flying smoothly on the right route, which was very important for the entire fleet; Lieutenant Fokker, the co-pilot, was responsible for assisting in the flight, because long-term formation flights were easily fatigued; Navigator Lieutenant Mutter was responsible for determining the position of the aircraft and its relative position to the target and base, and also controlling the ground radio transceiver on the aircraft; the bomb dropper Sergeant Joseph had to take into account the 2x7.92mm machine gun at the head, and the five machine gunners each controlled the back, left and right sides, abdomen and tail of the aircraft, and the machine gunner on the back of the aircraft also had to serve as a mechanic.

"It's still 300 kilometers away from the target. According to the information we have at hand, the fleet has entered the American capital defense circle!"

Lieutenant Mutter left his map and leaned into the cab. Major Gabrie was flying the plane attentively. Lieutenant Fokk was holding a binoculars to observe the situation on the ground ahead, and the three of them had oxygen masks hanging next to their ears. Not long ago, they climbed to a height of 7,000 meters in order to avoid the attack of a group of American fighter jets. In this place with thin air, the pilots had to use auxiliary oxygen equipment to obtain enough oxygen.

A large formation of such a large scale has been flying on US territory for 9 hours, but the German bomber group has not been subjected to a real threat. When passing Tennessee in the afternoon, two batches of American fighters took off to pursue them, but it is ridiculous that the speed of the P-5 fighters is so poor that even the Donier DD bombers flying at a cruising speed of 260 kilometers per hour cannot catch up, so there is no way to talk about the interception operations - although Boeing's pwww.piaotian.com.com                                                                                                                                                                                           �

"Aerial aircraft carriers, they released 24 fighters at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. These small aircraft quickly climbed to the same height as the German bomber group. In order to get rid of these poor little flying insects, the 125 Donier 44 bombers only did one thing - climb, 5,500 meters, 600 meters, 6,500,7,000 meters, German bombers are still rising, but those P-4s are in big trouble at an altitude of 6,000 meters. Their engines are non-supercharged. As long as the flight altitude exceeds 6,000 meters, the pilots in the open cabin cannot stand it, and the engines cannot obtain enough oxygen, so they have to give up the pursuit helplessly.

Thanks to the supercharge technology invented by Mr. Kalburnz, the boss and chief designer of Mercedes-Benz, the German Warhawks can break through the 6,000-meter floor ceiling (Benz's invention was originally used in cars in history, and the "free" type of supercharged engine for fighters was found in 1919. Before the advent of turbocharge technology, this supercharged engine was the mainstream of engine supercharged technology). In addition, the pilots of the Doniel DD bomber also wore special flight suits and oxygen equipment in the cabin for use when flying at high altitudes. However, because the supercharged technology was still in the development stage at this time, and the supercharged cockpit was not used on the plane, the practical ceiling of the Doniel model was only 8,000 meters, but this was enough to get rid of any American aircraft or airship.

As an important part of the Titan Plan, this long-range strategic bombing has received the focus of attention of the Supreme German Command. The generals believed that the most threat to the aircraft fleet was not the US fighter jets and airships, and the real threat would come from the ground. By 1924, in order to confront Germany and Japan. The two military technologies that the United States focused on developing were airships, and the other was the anti-aircraft artillery largely equipped on warships. On a South Dakota-class battleship, 127mm, 76mm, 40mm and 20mm air defense artillery were everywhere, among which the 127mm anti-aircraft gun was most likely to pose a threat to German bombers flying at high altitudes, with its maximum firing height of 10 kilometers!

The fighter jets that took off from Lynchburg were trying to pull the German fleet in the vast night sky, but the sound of the P-5 and PW-7a's own engines seemed to interfere with the judgment of the American pilots. Not long after, they encountered a fleet of airships flying from Norfolk. Although these big guys looked arrogant, their practical ceiling was only 5,000 meters. Even the height that German airships could reach was only this level, and they only had the ceiling advantage in front of the plane in the early days.

This group of fighter jets and airships combined to search for a long time before discovering the German bomber fleet at a high altitude. The reason why these Donier 44 returned to the altitude of 5,000 meters, saved fuel and protected pilots was one thing. Another point was that long-range bomber navigation technology was not very developed at this time. Visual navigation method, dead algorithm and astronomical navigation method were still the three most important navigation methods. Radio navigation can only play a role at a relatively close distance and with a signal transmitter. Therefore, reducing to a height of 5,000 meters is more conducive to German navigators to judge their own heading from the ground characteristics. As the world's most developed industrial power, most of the major towns in the United States are brightly lit at 9 and 10 o'clock in the night. Unless the US government is determined to carry out comprehensive light control, the German bomber fleet will still use the ground target characteristics as a very main navigation method.

After discovering the German aircraft fleet, the eight PW-7a with a speed of 310 kilometers per hour were the first to accelerate and climb. Although the 24 P-5s with a speed of only 210 kilometers per hour were slow, the positions of both sides were destined to intercept directly in front of the German bomber fleet this time. At this time, the "Bich" in the airship formation also released their small P-4 fighters. In just ten minutes, 36 land-based fighters and fighters launched from the airship became a roadblock for the German bomber fleet.

On the pilot Donier, German pilots also discovered American fighters and airships from low altitudes. Major Gabribe made a quick decision:

"Send a signal, the crew starts to climb, and we get rid of those Americans with our height!"

Lieutenant Mutter then used the signal light at the tail to send a signal to the German aircraft group at the rear. In this way, the Doniers, who had four high-power engines, began to climb one by one, and used the side-by-side machine guns at the head and belly of the aircraft to fire at a group of American fighters flying in the front. In front of these 125 heavy bombers flying in intensive formations, the American pilots found that they not only had no idea how to start, but also had to constantly avoid the opponent's fierce firepower.

The dense machine gun bullets flew past the air like a fluorescent flow, disturbing many Americans' dreams.

Washington, White House.

"What? Not only did they not shoot down a German plane, but they injured three fighters, but they also made the opponent break through our capital defense circle in a swagger?"

Warren Harding was so angry that he jumped from his seat after hearing the news from the Lynchburg Barracks. Although American fighters opened fire at the target before flying to their maximum ceiling, their 7.62mm machine guns were difficult to hit the target at 500 yards in the air combat, not to mention those German bombers that were more than 1,000 meters taller than themselves.

In this way, 125 German bombers flew to the heart of the United States.

In this gorgeous office, General Leonard Wood, Secretary of the Army General William Benson, Chief of the Navy General Peyton Mage, Chief of the Army General William Heams and other senior generals were all worried. During the afternoon's battle, the US army only lost a mess in the southern part of the land, but at night, even the capital was facing attacks from the other side. Now the Germans' fighting method really makes them increasingly unable to understand. You must know that this is just the first day of the war, and the most powerful navy of the Germans has not taken action yet!

"Our planes and airships are so useless!" Warren Harding smashed his desk with a punch.

"Mr. President..." General Connor Jackson, the commander of the Washington security, looked like he was reluctant to speak but stopped.

"Do you still need to ask? Is there an air defense alarm so that the citizens can hide in the nearby air-raid shelter as soon as possible!" Warren Harding looked extremely frustrated when he issued this order.

"I hope it won't cause a big panic!" William Benson murmured in a low voice.

"I hope our air defense facilities are enough!" General Leonard Wood shook his head.

At 11:42 pm on July 7, 1924, less than 12 hours after the war broke out, an air raid sirens sounded from Washington, the capital of the United States, and the citizens in horrified that the German plane was coming!

At 12:31, a group of German bombers flew over Washington. The whole city was filled with a suffocating tension. Most of the lights were extinguished, and only searchlight posts were still moving in the sky. For the defense of Washington, more than 120 anti-aircraft guns continued to fire at airplanes from 35 minutes, and all pilots of the six fighter squadrons were on standby in the cabin. However, the noisy night was always performed by only the US air defense forces, and no bomb was dropped in the air. A quarter of an hour later, the German aircraft group left the Washington airspace.

On the pilot German bomber, the pilot and bomb droppers were nervously calculating the flight, line and target position of the fleet. The reason why they flew over Washington without dropping bombs was not because they were lucky enough to find the wrong target. The German Emperor and his command did not simply believe that leveling Washington would make the Americans surrender. Don’t forget that the British occupied and burned Washington in 1814. Instead of risking the arousing Americans’ determination to resist, it would be better to drop the bombs into the industrial arteries of the United States more practically.

At 12:49, a German bomber formation flew to Baltimore, more than 60 kilometers northeast of Washington. After a minute, the first bomb fell from a height of more than 6,000 meters, opening the prelude to the strategic bombing.

Baltimore is not only an important seaport in the northeastern United States, but also an important industrial city in the United States. As the world's strongest industrial country, American industry was mainly concentrated in two regions in the 1920s - the northeast coastal industrial zone composed of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore to Washington, and the Great Lakes Industrial Zone composed of Detroit, Chicago and St. Paul. Since these two are located in the northeastern United States, they are also known as the Northeastern United States Industrial Zone. The reason why the Northeast Industrial Zone has become the largest industrial zone in the United States and even the world is that it is rich in natural resources and convenient transportation. Most of the steel, machinery, automobiles, electricity and chemical industries in the United States have hit the nine major industrial cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, and St. Paul.

High-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs fell from the Donier bomber in a series. Although this high-altitude bombing is not accurate, the power of 100 tons of high-explosive bombs and 200 tons of incendiary bombs is enough to turn a large area of ​​Baltimore into a sea of ​​fire. The bombs falling into the port area seriously damaged the docks, warehouses, railways, shipyards, and the fire also affected some large cargo ships anchored in the port, and landed at the thermal power plants, chemical plants and smelting in the northern part of the port area.

The factory bombs triggered a series of fires and explosions. Two huge chemical storage tanks at the Sketer Chemical Factory became fatal killers. Thousands of people thought they had inhaled toxic gases and were injured or even died. During the bombing that lasted for more than half an hour, the southwest was shipbuilding, arms and machinery industries were not spared. This famous industrial city was burning in the dark night, and even Washington, more than 60 kilometers away, can see the red sky.

Standing at his own window, Warren Harding was speechless.

After the bombing, the German war eagle turned around and flew over Washington again. Although the US military dispatched a large number of fighter jets, it could only watch these German heavy bombers flying at high altitudes move away.
Chapter completed!