Chapter 1986 Continued Bombing One
At the same time, when the huge bomber fleet returned from the UK, the German Western Front Command was also evaluating the effects and losses of the air strikes. The bombing effects would not be known until the various flying wings returned, and Air combat losses come out faster.
"Even in our superior situation, we still lost at least 120 aircraft (including aircraft that were scrapped due to mechanical failure and return) in this bombing, of which the number of bombers was 60. Among them, the K8 bomber was in About 15." Major General Halder said.
"10% battle damage?! This number is a bit high. It seems that if we want to continue, I'm afraid we have to pay an unbearable price." After hearing the news, Ruprecht was also very shocked, although he and In history, the ratio of large-scale volleys in World War II is not high, but it still exceeds the upper limit of losses in long-term strategic bombing. Generally speaking, strategic bombing must limit the loss of bombers to less than 5% to be sustainable. Attack.
"It depends on the situation. In fact, regardless of the effect of the bombs we dropped, we are also the dominant side from the perspective of air combat. According to our assessment, this time it is not only the local air force in London that participated in the interception." There are also a large number of fighter jets and interceptors drawn from the Western Front, and the number of British aircraft participating in the war is one. To be honest, I admire the British’s ability to mobilize the battlefield.
"If it was a year ago, if more British aircraft gathered to meet our bomber force, even with the cover of fighter jets, it would still be a disaster, much worse than the current situation, but this time, I I have to say that the pilots who were able to fight the British fighter jets were almost dead. This time we shot down at least more than 300 aircraft of various types, and the battle damage ratio was even close to 1:3! If we are more optimistic, if the British continue to die with us If it goes on, after a month, we will lose thousands of planes, but the British Air Force may collapse before us." Halder said.
"From a strategic point of view, the decline of the British Air Force is inevitable. They have overdrawn their last strength. In my opinion, the British Air Force can no longer confront us in the two strategic directions of the Western Front and the Homeland at the same time. , they will either give up air supremacy on the western front, or allow London to come under our air raids. Under current technical conditions, even interceptors cannot be deployed to take into account both strategic directions at the same time, because the range of the aircraft is limited, and the speed is still somewhat Slow, there is a little too late in time." Halder said.
"Very good." Ruprecht nodded. In fact, if this time it was not to hunt down the British fighter group while bombing London, and let the main bomber force rush over, and then use horizontal bombing before leaving, the British fleet in France would have no time to intercept the German bomber group. This time, the prince deliberately prolonged the bombing time, and the purpose was to severely damage the British fleet again. Judging from the current situation, the simple air combat is already profitable. After all, many of the more than 300 British aircraft lost At least they are twin-engine interceptors like DH11.
"Then let's deduce the choices that the British may make and the possible consequences. First, if the British continue to maintain the number of air forces on the Western Front, then London is the fish on the chopping board for us. The British mainland It should be very empty. This can be seen from the quality of the fighter units they deployed around London. In the place where the worst possible attack on the mainland is also the most important place, only a third-rate fighter squadron is deployed. To illustrate a problem, the British home air force is mainly a training squadron or a non-combat force."
"And if the British withdraw the main force of the air force on the western front to the mainland,
Then it will be a very big trouble for us to continue bombing London. Because the British can take advantage of the home field advantage and wait for work, like this time, if we want to play another time difference, it will become impossible to break through each. If you want to reduce the loss, you can only bomb at night, and you should be very clear about the effect of night bombing. We can only guarantee that the bomb will be dropped in the city. As for where it will fall? It just depends on luck. said General Halder.
"Let me think about it first." Ruprecht said. As a professional technical officer, Halder had provided the prince with sufficient information, and now it was the prince's turn to make a decision based on this information. When the prince first came to the Western Front, the number of aircraft in the British Air Force was about 2,800 fighters and 2,300 bombers. At the beginning, the Luftwaffe had 6,000 aircraft of various types in the first-line air force alone. After several weeks of fighting, the British Air Force has conservatively lost more than 1,600 aircraft! Even if it can be supplemented, the number of British aircraft on the west line still drops to about 4,000 within a month. After receiving the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the follow-up aircraft fleet in Germany, the number of aircraft in the German Air Force has not decreased but increased, and now it has reached 7,000 aircraft! Judging from the situation, the Luftwaffe has an overwhelming advantage in terms of both quality and quantity!
The French Air Force has actually been reduced to a combat level. There are only about 1,000 aircraft in total that can't be put on the table.
So now when the Luftwaffe decides to target the British mainland, the British air force, which was originally insufficient in number, will allocate some troops to defend the mainland, so the problem of troop strength will be even more stretched. Think about it, but 4000 aircraft, to defend The southern part of Britain and the western front with thousands of kilometers of fronts, and the Germans can attack at any point. This is simply an impossible task.
What if the prince were on Trenchard's side? It will definitely give up the secondary aspects and concentrate its forces on the main aspects of defense, such as the English Channel waterway, important ports along the northern coast of France, rear transportation stations and material warehouses, and the city of London. In this case, the British Army Air Force, which was originally deployed on the entire Western Front, would be concentrated behind the Northern Front to which the United Kingdom belongs. And the French part will have to be discarded. Even if the German bomber force bombs the frontline targets of the British Army, as long as a large-scale ground attack is not launched, the British Air Force may not respond, because the safari tactics of a small fleet require high-level pilots, and the British excellent pilots There are already very few, so this tactic cannot be fought, and if it is a head-to-head confrontation with a large fleet, it is better for the Germans, because the only ones who suffer are the British.
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