Chapter 1,251 The Grieving Trenchart 2
Chapter 1251 The Grieving Trenchart 2
"Okay, everyone, we are home. Stabilize the last section and let the damaged aircraft and medium bombers land first." At this time, Colonel Short was also extremely excited when he saw the airport. No matter what, after 12 long After hours of fighting, they finally came back alive. This feeling of narrow escape from death made the pilot with at least 1,200 flying hours feel very sad. (Including airships and balloons) But even so, he still did not forget to do the last thing before landing.
Just as Colonel Short finished speaking and the order had not been fully conveyed, he saw a scarred FB27 twin-engine bomber that had broken away from the formation. However, this was obviously not a normal landing. The engine of this aircraft had gradually It stalled and the pilot seemed to have no time to even reorient himself! He rushed straight to the sand next to the flight runway!
"Damn it, no gas!" Colonel Short couldn't help but shook his head. As a veteran of the force, Colonel Short knew that many of the aircraft in the formation were already in semi-gliding state, and their ability to fly back depended entirely on the pilot's breath. On the last stretch of the road, two O-400 bombers had already made an emergency landing on the sea. superior. But now, the plane that has seen home can no longer hold on.
"Crews who are not sure about landing can choose to parachute." Finally, Colonel Short issued the last order of the operation.
"One, two, three..." Lieutenant General Trenchard stared at the bombers landing from the sky. When the number finally reached 19, Lieutenant General Trenchard felt To the point where my heart is broken! In the end, the number of British bombers that returned was less than 30% of the total! The lieutenant general felt a liquid with a sweet smell coming up. He realized that one year after the war started, no, not one year, the efforts and personnel accumulation of the Royal Air Force in the previous years were lost in this battle. heavy.
"Convey my order. All bombers will never take to the air again without my consent! Tell this old fox Churchill! We have tried our best! We have traded the future for today's victory! From now on, I refuse to start in the upcoming We will provide a large number of bombers for combat in the Battle of Dardanelles." At this time, Lieutenant General Trenchard's anger was beyond words!
When British bombers landed on the ground, the damage to these aircraft shocked the airport staff. The rear-firing machine gun turrets were beaten into briquettes, blood was left from the cockpit, half of the tail fins were missing, and the One-third of the lower wing of the aircraft was removed, as well as large marks left by the flames. There was also a crew member who was originally assigned a quota of nine people, but ended up with only two slightly injured people helping a seriously injured person off the plane. These scars and blood undoubtedly told everyone present how painful their experience was in the previous ten hours!
When four British pilots tremblingly stepped off an FB27 bomber, the moment their feet touched the ground. One pilot finally couldn't control his emotions, knelt on the ground, grabbed the dirt under his feet and cried loudly. The nerves that had been tense for more than ten hours finally relaxed at this moment.
The fear and bloodshed of the battle made these originally strong people extremely fragile. Too many companions failed to survive this sudden disaster. The colleagues next to them immediately walked over, comforting and helping them towards the end. Cars in the distance.
Half an hour later, in the huge restaurant, there were only about 100 people sitting in the restaurant that could originally accommodate more than 500 people. They also include some senior base and navy personnel. An atmosphere of emptiness and loneliness made everyone present breathless.
"I am proud of this operation of the Royal Air Force. The actions of you and your men are enough to be remembered by all the subjects of the empire." Lieutenant General Sturdy, representing the navy, said with an embarrassed face. Now he knows why Trenchard The lieutenant general was unwilling to send too many bombers to attack the port of Ereli because the risk was too great. And he and the Admiralty behind him saw more of the results of a lucky success, and did not consider the heavy price the Royal Air Force would have to pay if it lost.
"I hope you will realize the price and blood donation that the Royal Air Force needs to pay in every operation next time. Then, leave professional matters to professional people." Lieutenant General Trenchard said with a livid face. "I am more determined now. The Royal Navy can just take care of things on the water, and the Royal Air Force should become an independent service. Well, that's it!"
The entire dinner was held in a sinking and sad atmosphere, which can best be described as unhappy. Whether it was the personnel of the base or the pilots who had just returned from the edge of death, they were hastily filling their stomachs. After that, he fell on the clean bed. But Lieutenant General Trenchard did not allow himself to relax or wallow in grief. He still had a lot to do.
"The total number of bombers lost by Group A was 54, including 12 V1500 bombers, 28 FB27 bombers, and 14 O-400 bombers, with a permanent loss of 330 crew members."
"The total number of bombers lost by Group B was 12. These included 8 O-400 bombers, 4 FB27 bombers, and 75 permanent personnel losses."
"The total number of bombers lost by Group C was 22, half of which were O-400 bombers and FB27 bombers, and 130 permanent personnel were lost."
"After this battle, we have permanently lost a total of 88 bombers! Accounting for more than 60% of the total! The remaining aircraft all need major repairs, and visual inspection may cause new aircraft to be scrapped. (The maintenance cost is too high, so they were abandoned. ) and the personnel losses were 535, accounting for more than 60% of all combat personnel. In fact, the seven bomber squadrons we participated in this war have been disabled. It will take at least a year to restore combat effectiveness. , or to directly disband these bomber units and then assign them to other squadrons." Early the next morning, the staff submitted the compiled battle damage information.
"Well, the losses are simply unbearable. I think the gains of our attack outweigh the losses." Even though he already had a rough estimate in his mind, Trenchard's mood at this time was completely okay when he saw these verified data. To describe it as shocking!
"As for disbanding the troops, I think this is absolutely impossible. They paid such a heavy price for the empire. We cannot let these warriors go to other squadrons with both physical and mental trauma. These troops must be rebuilt!" Lieutenant General Trenchard said decisively.
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