The Rise of the Third Reich

Lieutenant General Yoshitoshi Tokugawa, commander of the Haneda Instruction Division of the Japanese Army Air Force, is currently sitting in the co-pilot seat of a Me264. He did not have to personally attack. Because today's operation is a sporadic attack, there is no formation at all, and there is no need for an air commander.

However, Tokugawa Yoshitoshi, as one of the few people in the army who knows Europe and America, is deeply aware of the consequences of the United States, an industrial giant, once it exerts its power. So he was very worried that his 42 crew members would collectively become gods in this operation... By then he would be a polished division commander.

And he was the commander of a division whose entire army was wiped out in the first battle! If the fight really ends like this, he will lose not just one person's face, but the face of the majestic Tokugawa family! Even Tosho Daigongen (Tokugawa Ieyasu), who became a god hundreds of years ago, will lose face in heaven, and may even be laughed at by Toyokuni Daimyojin (Toyotomi Hideyoshi).

In order not to embarrass his ancestors, Tokugawa Yoshitoshi resolutely flew out to fight... At worst, he would die on the soil of the United States. In this way, it would not be shameful to see Dai Gongen at Tosho Shrine, at least not from the Tokugawa family. Unworthy of descendants.

However, thinking about the possibility of leaving this world forever to meet Da Gongen, Comrade Hao Min, a good boy of the Tokugawa family, was not happy at all, and his face looked ugly as if he was suffering from airsickness.

On the other hand, the captain next to him, Lieutenant Hayashi Yaichiro, a farm boy from Osaka Prefecture, looked fearless and slightly excited.

"Yaichiro," Tokugawa Yoshitoshi asked calmly, "We are about to enter American airspace... We have probably been spotted by American radar. Aren't you afraid?"

In order to save fuel, this Me262 flew at a cruising altitude, so it could not avoid the US military radar.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I am not afraid!" Ichiro Hayashi replied with a smile, "Ichiro is only honored to be able to become a god in the United States and to be with the Division Commander!"

Of course you are honored! Tokugawa Yoshitoshi thought to himself, you, a farmer's son, died together with Shimizu Yoshitoshi (Tokugawa Yoshitoshi's alias). After becoming a god, you will probably be able to see the Great Gongen. It is really a blessing that has been cultivated in several lives.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, Captain," just when Tokugawa Yoshitoshi felt that Hayashi Yaichiro was really lucky, the navigator Taro Sato on the plane suddenly shouted, "The radar has detected an enemy aircraft, at 8 o'clock Direction, distance 30, height 7000..."

Now he is going to become a god!

Tokugawa Yoshitoshi took a deep breath, his heart pounding. The Me264 he was riding in didn't even have a machine gun for self-defense. When encountering American fighter jets, he could only stand firm and become a god.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, we are now going to raise the altitude to 10,000 meters." Hayashi Yaichiro seemed calm and composed, "Then we will rush towards the United States at full speed."

"Captain, can you get rid of the enemy plane?" Taro Sato, who is now responsible for watching the radar, asked - his tone sounded very calm.

He was so ashamed that Tokugawa Yoshitoshi tried his best to suppress his fear. He held the sword that had been passed down from generation to generation by the Tokugawa family with both hands and sat still.

"We can get rid of it," Yaichiro Hayashi replied firmly. "Our plane is very light, and there is eastward airflow at 9,000-11,000 meters that can accelerate the plane."

Only then did Tokugawa Yoshitoshi remember that the Me264 was a very fast heavy bomber with a top speed of 690 kilometers per hour. And it also has a turbocharged engine. At extremely high altitudes above 10,000 meters, even the P51 cannot catch up.

In addition, heavy bombers and transport aircraft can also use airflow to accelerate. There is an eastward high-altitude air current in the Pacific Ocean...the balloon bombs relied on this air current to reach the continental United States.

As long as the bomber is raised to a corresponding height, it can also take advantage of the force. In this way, Me264 can rush to the United States at extremely fast speed. Unless the plane in the sky now is a P47, the Me264 on which Tokugawa Yoshitoshi was riding will definitely escape.

Ten minutes later, Taro Sato loudly reported: "Your Excellency, division commander, the plane disappeared from the radar screen."

In fact, what they encountered was a B-24 reconnaissance aircraft. This aircraft was not as fast as the Me264, and it could not fly 10,000 meters.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, we have to lower our altitude." Hayashi Yaichiro reported loudly at this time.

"Why?"

"In order to avoid P47." Hayashi Yaichiro replied, "The plane just now was probably a reconnaissance plane equipped with radar. It should have discovered us. It will report our position and altitude. P47 will soon intercept , if we meet P47, we will become gods.”

"But there are also P51s at medium and low altitudes."

"Wait until you encounter it and then pull it up," Yaichiro Hayashi said. "The P51B/C cannot catch up with the Me264 at an extremely high altitude of 10,000 meters."

Although Tokugawa Yoshitoshi was the founder of the Japanese Army Aviation, he retired before the outbreak of the Pacific War, and all the aviation knowledge he knew was outdated.

However, Hayashi Yaichiro had participated in the South Pacific battle in this time and space, and had fought against the P51 deployed by the United States in the South Pacific. He knew the characteristics of the P51B/C and knew how to deal with this excellent American fighter jet-if Hayashi Yaichiro piloted it. It was a Japanese aircraft (he had previously flown Type 1 and Type 2 fighters). When encountering a P51B/C, he usually had three response options: dive to ultra-low altitude to escape, parachute to escape, and Kudanzaka Narukami.

"What if we meet the American P47 after we pull up?" Tokugawa Yoshitoshi asked again.

Hayashi Yaichiro smiled bitterly and said: "Your Excellency, division commander, if we encounter P51 and P47 at the same time... then let's go to Kudanzaka to become a god."

Going to Kudanzaka to become a god is no joke, just when Tokugawa Yoshitoshi and Hayashi Yaichiro were lucky enough to avoid the interception of P47 and P51 and flew to the mainland of the United States. Many Me264s have unfortunately encountered the American P51 and P47.

The Japanese pilots trained by Germany basically have a coping method, which is to pull up to more than 10,000 meters and try to escape with the help of high-altitude airflow and the high speed of the Me264.

Unfortunately, the Americans had already experienced this kind of tactics in the Guyana-Caribbean aerial tug-of-war - where the Americans encountered the Ju288, which had better high-altitude performance and faster speed. Therefore, they have long summarized a set of response methods, which is to use 4 P51B/C and 4 P47 to coordinate, P51B/C at medium and high altitude, and P47 at extremely high altitude. When the Ju288 was caught up at a very high altitude by the P51B/C, the P47 immediately dived and attacked! However, the German Ju288 is usually escorted by Fw-190C or Fw-190D during daytime operations. Both series of Fw-190s are high-altitude types.

Among them, the Fw-190C is equipped with the Mercedes-Benz DB603 series engine, while the Fw-190D series is equipped with the Jumo-213 series liquid-cooled engine. Both aircraft can fly at a speed of 704 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 11,300 meters, and their firepower is powerful enough to fight against the P47, which has powerful high-altitude performance.

But the Me264 that attacked the United States today did not have any escort. As long as it was caught by four P47s, it would be dead!

According to later statistics, of the 42 Me264 long-range bombers that carried out germ bombs, 16 were shot down by P47s that came to intercept them without even seeing the U.S. coastline. Therefore, only 26 Me264s actually broke into U.S. airspace.

The types of bacterial weapons loaded on these 26 Me264 bombers are all different - although Japan's Unit 731 has produced many various bacterial weapons, there are only three types of bacterial weapons selected to attack the United States, respectively. Yersinia pestis, Bacillus anthracis and Vibrio cholerae. Each Me264 bomber has only one type of bacterial weapon.

The reason for this is, firstly, to facilitate the release. According to the requirements of Unit 731, different types of bacterial weapons should be released in the corresponding areas.

For example, Bacillus anthracis spores should be released in areas with dense population or livestock (small towns are the first choice, followed by pastures).

Yersinia pestis should be placed on the outskirts of big cities as much as possible - of course it would be better to put it in the city center. However, considering the density of 127mm (radio proximity fuse shells can be used) anti-aircraft guns and 40mm anti-aircraft guns, it is undoubtedly useless for a single aircraft to penetrate large cities on the west coast of the United States. Die.

Vibrio cholerae will be released near rivers and spread through contaminated water sources.

The second reason is to prevent germs from infecting the crew members on the plane. While developing bacterial weapons, Unit 731 also produced corresponding vaccines. Moreover, these vaccines were developed after many human trials, and they are also the most targeted (targeting the strains used by Japanese people). Therefore, the crew members who are responsible for releasing certain germs are injected with the corresponding vaccine before setting off.

The Me262 long-range bomber driven by Tokugawa Yoshitoshi was loaded with Yersinia pestis, which was called "the king of bacterial weapons" by the commander of Japan's 731 Unit Shiro Ishii! However, these Yersinia pestis were not released in the form of bacteria, but existed in rat fleas. These rat fleas were taken from rats infected with plague and were stored in possessed rat attractants (that is, the female rats dispersed them to find rats). Her husband’s special smell) was stuffed with ceramic bacteria bombs on the cotton. These ceramic bacterial bombs are equipped with time-delay fuses. When dropped from an altitude of 3000-4000 meters, they will explode before touching the ground (exploding the ceramic shell only requires a small amount of explosives and will not endanger the fleas inside), thus contaminating the bait. Rat repellent "flea cotton" will attract American rats.