The Rise of the Third Reich

"There were 18 invading enemy aircraft, 6 of which were shot down by our Fokker Zeros, and the damage rate reached one-third. One of them fell into our hands relatively intact. This is undoubtedly a victory... "

Hersman arrived at the Palazzo Venezia in a happy mood, because he had just received the report on the results of the air battle-his son Hersman Jr.'s squadron showed great power this time, and actually killed it with 12 Fokker Zeros. 6 B-17s, and none of them were lost.

If it weren't for the fact that the other three Fokker Zero squadrons in Taranto were all out on missions (escorting Ju88s to bomb Crete and Tobruk) and did not participate in the battle over Rome, the invading B-17s would definitely have been in full force. Overturned.

What made him even more happy was that one B-17 escaped to Sardinia with injuries and made an emergency landing in a wheat field. This is equivalent to giving Germany one of the most advanced heavy bombers in the United States for research. It will not only help Germany fight against such aircraft in the future, but also provide a reference for Germany to develop its own high-altitude heavy bombers.

In particular, this B-17 also has a intact GR-1820-65 "Tornado" radial engine, and it also has a turbocharger. Although Germany also has similar technology, getting a cutting-edge engine from the United States can still be used as a reference.

"But they bombed Rome! They bombed Castel Sant'Angelo, St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Queen Margaret Hospital, and they bombed Gary The statue of Bodi..."

Mussolini was furious and roared in his office. Rome is a place full of monuments and art, all well preserved. Therefore, dozens of tons of bombs randomly dropped from the sky, and they all blew up a bunch of buildings that can be regarded as human historical and cultural heritage.

Moreover, there is a small "state in the city" Vatican on the west bank of the Tiber River in Rome, which also suffered some bombs this time.

"Is everything okay, Holy Father?" Since the Pope was mentioned, Hersman had to show a concerned expression. Although he didn't have a good impression of Pius XII, he was still a Catholic in name ( Catholic).

"Yes, and the Holy Father!" Mussolini gritted his teeth. "The Holy Father was reciting confessions in St. Peter's Basilica when the British bombed, and the bomb fell!"

"Blasted to death?" Hessman asked with his eyes wide open.

"No," Mussolini frowned, "but he was frightened and is now admitted to Queen Margaret Hospital."

it's a pity! Hirschman said to himself.

Before he became pope, Pius XII submitted dozens of notes and memorandums to the German government as the Secretary of State of the Holy See, attacking German policies. He also once opposed Germany's annexation of Austria.

What a relief it would be if this guy died beneath his beloved British bomb!

But there are still opportunities. Because the British bombing will not only come once, because the B-17 losses are too great, it is estimated that there will be no daytime bombing for the time being. But there will definitely be night bombings, if a bomb happens to fall into the Pope's hospital room...

"Then can we ask the Holy Father to issue an encyclical expressing his opposition to Britain's war and colonial policies?" Hersman still felt that the Pope should be given a chance.

"Galeazzo (Count Ciano) has already spoken," Mussolini said angrily, "but the Holy Father believes that the Holy See should remain neutral, and he is willing to forgive the British's crimes."

There's nothing he can do about it, he asked for it... Hessman shook his head regretfully.

"But we can't let the hateful British go like this," Mussolini turned the topic to revenge, "We must retaliate in kind!"

We must avenge the Pope! Hessman thought this in his heart and echoed: "We must take revenge. When we capture the British mainland, we will definitely seize the thugs who ordered this bombing and bring them to Rome for trial!"

"We can't wait that long," Mussolini said angrily, "We must bomb London! If they dare to bomb Rome, then we should bomb London!"

Blow up London? Hersman frowned. This was not a good idea. Although the German General Staff had been promoting "strategic bombing" before the outbreak of the war, the Luftwaffe was a tactical air force.

At present, the main bombers of the German Air Force and Naval Aviation are Ju88, Ju87, He-111 and He-115. Among them, the Ju88 and Ju87 are responsible for precision bombing, the He-115 is a torpedo bomber, and the main task of the He-111 is to harass the United Kingdom at night and also drop torpedoes part-time.

As for heavy four-engine bombers, although there are some, the number is limited and not as many as claimed to the outside world. The main models include Do-19, Ju89, He-177 (four-engine model) and Fokker 36, but each model is only equipped with a small amount of equipment in order to maintain the firepower of the strategic bombing force.

Because in the view of Hersman and Kesselring, the battlefield survivability of heavy four-engine bombers without high-altitude and high-speed penetration capabilities is too poor. If night bombing is used, the accuracy of bomb delivery is too poor, which is a waste of precious gasoline and raw materials.

Gasoline is too precious for Germany. At least until it conquers the Middle East, Germany has no time to use gas.

"But we don't have heavy bombers like the B-17." Hersman shrugged and told Mussolini helplessly. "We have a small number of heavy bombers, and they are already lagging behind. If we want to carry out the attack on Britain, Strategic bombing must wait until we complete the development of a new generation of heavy bombers.”

The research and development order for a new generation of heavy bombers has been placed, requiring six rounds (or four rounds), long range, high altitude, large bomb load and strong self-defense firepower. However, there was still a process from placing the order to completing the development. Being able to be put into use in 1943 was already considered ultra-high speed.

"We have such an aircraft!" Mussolini heard Hessmann saying that Germany had no available advanced heavy bombers, and immediately said, "Our P.108 is a very excellent four-engine heavy bomber. At present, the main The development work has been completed, and if you are willing to provide us with advanced engines, this aircraft will be ready for combat within two or three months."

The P.108 is a heavy bomber developed by Italy. It has now completed test flights and will soon be put into production. Hersman also knew about the existence of this kind of aircraft. Its design was actually quite advanced, and its bomb load and range were satisfactory. But there are many problems faced, the biggest of which is the power unit-this is a heavy bomber with a "heart disease".

"No problem," Hessmann thought for a while and agreed to Mussolini's request. "I can ask the armament department to provide Italy with BMW801 series engines with turbochargers, so that your P.108 can fly at high altitudes. Bombed. In addition, we can also give you the use of the newly built large airport in Brest, and you can deploy S.M.79 there... When the operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa are over, S.M.79 torpedo aircraft can be deployed in large numbers. Brest went."

Hersmann was not very interested in using strategic bombing to defeat Britain. The reason he agreed with Mussolini was to get the other party to agree to send a large number of Italian S.M.79 torpedo aircraft squadrons to Brest. Because he has found that this humpback torpedo aircraft is much more useful than Germany's own He-115 and He-111 torpedo bombers. The He-115 and He-111 torpedo planes are just fine for breaking up enemy ships, but not very useful against fleets.

"Okay, it's settled!" Mussolini waved his fist, "After we capture Egypt, we will send Italian planes to bomb London. We must let the British taste the power of Italian bombs!"

He suddenly looked at Hessman, "Marshal, when will the attack on Crete begin?"

"Today," Hersman replied, "it starts today!"

"today?"

"Yes, today!" Hessman said with a smile. "The attack on Crete is an amphibious landing operation, and before the amphibious landing operation can begin, air superiority must first be gained. Therefore, the Crete operation starts from Air raids began on airfields in Crete and Tobruk."

It turned out that at the same time when the British B-17 bombed Rome, the Ju88 and Z.1007 (another advanced three-engine medium bomber from Italy), the Italian engine was not good, so there was a three-engine medium bomber. A group of bombers composed of S.M.79s and Fokker Zeros were conducting indiscriminate bombings on the airfields and radar stations in Crete and the port of Tobruk.

Moreover, in today's bombing operation, the German naval aviation dispatched two squadrons equipped with Fokker Zero C-1s for the first time to serve as escorts. Although this Fokker Zero still has the disadvantage of weak dive performance, its performance at medium and high altitudes has been greatly improved. In addition, the MW50 "drug-taking" system also allowed the aircraft to gain "precious 10 minutes", thus causing considerable losses to the British "Spitfire" fighter jets.

"Admiral," at 6:30 pm on the 15th, Rear Admiral Crutchley, Chief of Staff of the British Mediterranean Fleet, walked into Cunningham's office on the "Warspite" with a heavy heart, taking the battle report he had just compiled. "Our losses were very heavy...The Germans improved their Fokker Zero aircraft and shot down a lot of Spitfires. Their bombing also caused a lot of damage to the airport and radar stations, with dozens of them The aircraft was destroyed on the ground.

In addition, the 90th Bomb Squadron's bombing of Rome was not very successful...6 B-17s were lost at one time. The Air Force has decided to cancel the daytime bombing and instead conduct air raids on Rome at night. "