President Roosevelt nodded with satisfaction after listening to the conversation between General Marshall and Harold Admiral Stark. In the face of national crisis, the army and navy can put aside their prejudices and join forces to fight the enemy. This is undoubtedly a great progress.
"Very well, generals. Although our enemy is very powerful, I believe that as long as everyone works together, it is entirely possible for us to defeat the powerful enemy!" President Roosevelt said.
"Yes, Your Excellency, President!" General Marshall and Harold Admiral Stark replied.
Afterwards, President Roosevelt personally summoned Army Air Corps Commander Henry? General Arnold and asked him to dispatch Army Air Corps's fighter planes to attack Bermuda Islands.
"Your Excellency, Army Air Corps has long been prepared and can launch an attack at any time!" General Marshall had already discussed this with Henry? General Arnold. Therefore, Henry? General Arnold is not surprised by this. In addition, Army Air Corps also wants to prove his strength in such a battle. This makes Henry? General Arnold look forward to this attack very much.
"General Arnold, our heavy-duty Bomber, is there any way to deal with German fleet?" President Roosevelt suddenly asked.
If the heavy Bomber can be used to destroy the Germany people's ships, this will play a great role in weakening the strength of German Navy. By then, the possibility of American Navy defeating German Navy will undoubtedly be greater.
"Your Excellency, this may be very difficult. Although the heavy-duty Bomber can carry a large number of bombs, even the heavy-duty aviation Armor-piercing Shell. However, the hit rate of the bombs is not very high. This is especially true for targets on the sea. Warships on the sea are moving at high speed, and the hit rate of the Dive Bomber will be Much higher. The heavy Bomber can only carry out horizontal bombing, and the hit rate will be very low. Unless the Germany ship is stationary on the sea, it is almost impossible to hit the Germany ship." Henry? General Arnold said.
President Roosevelt nodded, he also knew that he was thinking too much.
"Okay, General Arnold, the next step is up to you! As long as Army Air Corps can continue to bomb Bermuda Islands, Germany will Don't even think about building airports and other military facilities on the islands, so you can't build Bermuda Islands into a huge military base, let alone threaten our homeland," President Roosevelt said.
"Yes, Your Excellency, President." Henry? General Arnold said.
After receiving the order from President Roosevelt personally, US Army Air Corps immediately took action. A large number of P-51 fighter jets and B-17 heavy Bomber began to assemble towards coastal airports.
Among the various aircraft equipped with US Army Air Corps, only these two aircraft have a combat radius that can include Bermuda Islands. As for other aircraft, they can often only fly to Bermuda Islands, but they do not have enough fuel to return home.
It was six o'clock in the morning on October 17th, and it was just dawn. The airports located in the eastern part of United States have already been busy. The huge B-17 heavy-duty Bomber has been refueled with the efforts of the ground crew. Each heavy Aerial Bomb has been placed in the magazine. As long as these heavy-duty Bomber fly over Bermuda Islands, they can drop bombs. By then, the dense bombs will be enough to make German military on Bermuda Islands pay a heavy price.
You know, the maximum range of these B-17 heavy-duty Bomber can reach three thousand kilometers, which can completely include the Bermuda Islands within its combat radius. At the same time, its sturdy body and bomb load of up to eight tons have earned it the reputation of a flying fortress.
US Army Air Corps assembled a large number of B-17 heavy Bomber for this plan. In more than ten large airports in the east of United States, US Army Air Corps assembled more than three hundred B-17 heavy Bomber. There were as many as 500 P-51 fighter jets escorting it.
This is undoubtedly a very large scale. Although, the number of B-17 heavy-duty Bomber equipped with US Army Air Corps reaches thousands. The number of P-51 fighter jets exceeds thousands. And it is still producing these aircraft at full capacity. But it is undoubtedly very amazing to invest so many heavy-duty Bomber and fighter jets in one operation.
"Are the airports ready?" Henry? General Arnold asked.
Henry? General Arnold takes this action very seriously. This is US Army Air Corps's first large-scale operation after forming an army. Although, their enemy is the ferocious German Navy Carrier-based Aircraft Unit. But Henry? General Arnold is still full of confidence in this operation. He believed that US Army Air Corps could achieve significant results in this battle.
German Navy's Carrier-based Aircraft Unit, very powerful. It can be seen from the previous Battle of the Azores that German Navy's Carrier-based Aircraft Unit completely crushed Carrier-based Aircraft Unit from American Navy. However, US Army Air Corps is even more powerful. The P-51 fighter jet not only has a long range, but is also fast. Its performance in all aspects can be regarded as a world-class fighter jet. Even against German Navy's FW-190 fighter, it did not fall behind at all. Of course, the quality of the pilots of US Army Air Corps is a little worse than that of the elite German Navy and Carrier-based aircraft pilots. But as long as they go through the baptism of bloody battles, they can grow into elite pilots.
The B-17 heavy-duty Bomber has a solid body structure and is not easily shot down even if it is attacked. Especially the aviation machine gun, the damage caused to this heavy Bomber is very limited. Even if it is riddled with holes, as long as the key parts are not destroyed, it can still continue to fly. In addition, the B-17 heavy Bomber also has self-defense firepower composed of up to 13 12.7 mm aviation machine guns. It is not easy for enemy fighter jets to break through the dense air defense firepower and shoot down the US military's B-17 heavy Bomber. It is precisely because of this that Henry? General Arnold is full of confidence in US Army Air Corps's action.
"General, all our heavy-duty Bomber and escort fighters are ready!" the adjutant reported.
"Then, let all the aircraft take off in ten minutes!" Henry? General Arnold issued the order.
"Yes, General."
At 6:15 in the morning, US Army Air Corps's B-17 heavy Bomber took off first. After the three hundred B-17 heavy-duty Bomber all took off, the P-51 fighter jets took off one after another.